AQA A-Level History Component 1J
(The British Empire, c1857–1967).
Section 1: The Indian Rebellion / Mutiny (1857 onwards)
1. What triggered the Indian Rebellion in 1857?
A) High taxes
B) The new Enfield rifle cartridge greased with animal fat
C) British trade laws
D) Famine
Answer: B – The cartridges offended Hindu and Muslim religious practices.
2. Who was the last Mughal emperor associated with the 1857 Rebellion?
A) Akbar
B) Shah Jahan
C) Bahadur Shah II
D) Aurangzeb
Answer: C – He was exiled to Rangoon after the rebellion.
3. How did the British government change rule after 1858?
A) East India Company kept control
B) Crown took direct control (Raj)
C) India became independent
D) French took over
Answer: B – Government of India Act 1858 transferred power to the Crown.
4. What was the new oath of loyalty to the Queen called?
A) Delhi Pledge
B) Queen’s Proclamation
C) Royal Charter
D) India Act
Answer: B – Issued 1 November 1858.
5. What was a military consequence of the rebellion?
A) Indian soldiers banned
B) Ratio of British to Indian troops increased
C) All Indians disarmed
D) British army withdrew
Answer: B – British troops became 1:3 ratio to sepoys.
,Section 2: British Empire Expansion & Scramble for Africa
6. Which event began the Scramble for Africa (c.1881)?
A) Berlin Conference
B) Suez Crisis
C) Boer War
D) Mahdist War
Answer: A – Berlin Conference 1884–85 formalised partition rules.
7. Who led the expedition to relieve Gordon at Khartoum (1884–85)?
A) Kitchener
B) Wolseley
C) Roberts
D) Napier
Answer: B – The relief arrived two days after Gordon’s death.
8. What was Britain’s main interest in Egypt after 1875?
A) Oil
B) Suez Canal
C) Gold
D) Cotton
Answer: B – Suez Canal was vital for route to India.
9. When did Britain occupy Egypt?
A) 1875
B) 1882
C) 1898
D) 1914
Answer: B – After the Urabi Revolt, Britain occupied to protect bondholders.
10. Who won the Battle of Omdurman (1898)?
A) Mahdist forces
B) British-Egyptian army under Kitchener
C) French army
D) Ethiopian army
Answer: B – Kitchener defeated the Khalifa.
Section 3: Colonial Administration & Ideologies
11. What was the policy of ‘Indirect Rule’ associated with?
, A) Lord Curzon
B) Lord Lugard
C) Cecil Rhodes
D) Disraeli
Answer: B – Used in Northern Nigeria.
12. What was the main aim of ‘Direct Rule’?
A) Keep local chiefs in power
B) Impose British laws and officials directly
C) Encourage self-government
D) Abolish taxation
Answer: B – Used in India and some African colonies.
13. Who wrote ‘The White Man’s Burden’ (1899)?
A) Kipling
B) Rhodes
C) Chamberlain
D) Lugard
Answer: A – Poem justifying imperial rule as a moral duty.
14. What was ‘Social Darwinism’ used to justify?
A) Indian independence
B) European superiority over colonised peoples
C) Free trade
D) Disarmament
Answer: B – ‘Survival of the fittest’ applied to races/nations.
15. Which Governor-General introduced English education in India (1835)?
A) Wellesley
B) Macaulay
C) Bentinck
D) Canning
Answer: B – Macaulay’s Minute aimed to create ‘Indian in blood but English in taste’.
Section 4: The Boer War (1899–1902)
16. What was the main cause of the Boer War?
A) Gold on the Witwatersrand
B) Abolition of slavery
C) French alliance with Boers
D) Zulu uprising
Answer: A – British wanted control of Transvaal gold mines.
(The British Empire, c1857–1967).
Section 1: The Indian Rebellion / Mutiny (1857 onwards)
1. What triggered the Indian Rebellion in 1857?
A) High taxes
B) The new Enfield rifle cartridge greased with animal fat
C) British trade laws
D) Famine
Answer: B – The cartridges offended Hindu and Muslim religious practices.
2. Who was the last Mughal emperor associated with the 1857 Rebellion?
A) Akbar
B) Shah Jahan
C) Bahadur Shah II
D) Aurangzeb
Answer: C – He was exiled to Rangoon after the rebellion.
3. How did the British government change rule after 1858?
A) East India Company kept control
B) Crown took direct control (Raj)
C) India became independent
D) French took over
Answer: B – Government of India Act 1858 transferred power to the Crown.
4. What was the new oath of loyalty to the Queen called?
A) Delhi Pledge
B) Queen’s Proclamation
C) Royal Charter
D) India Act
Answer: B – Issued 1 November 1858.
5. What was a military consequence of the rebellion?
A) Indian soldiers banned
B) Ratio of British to Indian troops increased
C) All Indians disarmed
D) British army withdrew
Answer: B – British troops became 1:3 ratio to sepoys.
,Section 2: British Empire Expansion & Scramble for Africa
6. Which event began the Scramble for Africa (c.1881)?
A) Berlin Conference
B) Suez Crisis
C) Boer War
D) Mahdist War
Answer: A – Berlin Conference 1884–85 formalised partition rules.
7. Who led the expedition to relieve Gordon at Khartoum (1884–85)?
A) Kitchener
B) Wolseley
C) Roberts
D) Napier
Answer: B – The relief arrived two days after Gordon’s death.
8. What was Britain’s main interest in Egypt after 1875?
A) Oil
B) Suez Canal
C) Gold
D) Cotton
Answer: B – Suez Canal was vital for route to India.
9. When did Britain occupy Egypt?
A) 1875
B) 1882
C) 1898
D) 1914
Answer: B – After the Urabi Revolt, Britain occupied to protect bondholders.
10. Who won the Battle of Omdurman (1898)?
A) Mahdist forces
B) British-Egyptian army under Kitchener
C) French army
D) Ethiopian army
Answer: B – Kitchener defeated the Khalifa.
Section 3: Colonial Administration & Ideologies
11. What was the policy of ‘Indirect Rule’ associated with?
, A) Lord Curzon
B) Lord Lugard
C) Cecil Rhodes
D) Disraeli
Answer: B – Used in Northern Nigeria.
12. What was the main aim of ‘Direct Rule’?
A) Keep local chiefs in power
B) Impose British laws and officials directly
C) Encourage self-government
D) Abolish taxation
Answer: B – Used in India and some African colonies.
13. Who wrote ‘The White Man’s Burden’ (1899)?
A) Kipling
B) Rhodes
C) Chamberlain
D) Lugard
Answer: A – Poem justifying imperial rule as a moral duty.
14. What was ‘Social Darwinism’ used to justify?
A) Indian independence
B) European superiority over colonised peoples
C) Free trade
D) Disarmament
Answer: B – ‘Survival of the fittest’ applied to races/nations.
15. Which Governor-General introduced English education in India (1835)?
A) Wellesley
B) Macaulay
C) Bentinck
D) Canning
Answer: B – Macaulay’s Minute aimed to create ‘Indian in blood but English in taste’.
Section 4: The Boer War (1899–1902)
16. What was the main cause of the Boer War?
A) Gold on the Witwatersrand
B) Abolition of slavery
C) French alliance with Boers
D) Zulu uprising
Answer: A – British wanted control of Transvaal gold mines.
