The Age of Exploration and Early Colonialism – NDA History PYQs

NDA 2026-I

Q. 1. Arrange in chronological order (earliest to recent):

1. British East India Company formed

2. Magellan circumnavigated the globe

3. Dutch East India Company formed

4. Vasco da Gama reached Calicut/Kozhikode

(a) IV, I, II, III

(b) IV, II, I, III

(c) II, IV, III, I

(d) II, IV, I, III

Answer: (b) IV, II, I, III

Explanation: Vasco da Gama reached Calicut first, in 1498. Magellan’s circumnavigation followed in the early 1520s. The British East India Company was formed next, in 1600. The Dutch East India Company followed shortly after, in 1602. This gives the order Vasco da Gama, Magellan, British Company, Dutch Company. So option (b), IV-II-I-III, is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Chronology of key voyages and trading company foundings

NDA 2023-I

Q. 2. Which Renaissance artist painted ‘The Last Supper’?

(a) Michelangelo

(b) Donatello

(c) Botticelli

(d) Leonardo da Vinci

Answer: (d) Leonardo da Vinci

Explanation: Leonardo da Vinci painted ‘The Last Supper’ as one of his celebrated works. It remains among the most recognised images of the Renaissance. Michelangelo, Donatello, and Botticelli created separate, distinct masterworks. So option (d) Leonardo da Vinci is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Artist behind ‘The Last Supper’

NDA 2023-I

Q. 3. Which one of the following European explorers conquered Mexico?

(a) Vasco da Gama

(b) Bartholomew Diaz

(c) Magellan

(d) Hernán Cortés

Answer: (d) Hernán Cortés

Explanation: Hernán Cortés led the Spanish conquest of Mexico and the Aztec Empire. His expedition overthrew Aztec rule in the early sixteenth century. Da Gama, Diaz, and Magellan pursued separate exploration routes instead. So option (d) Hernán Cortés is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Explorer who conquered Mexico

NDA 2018-I

Q. 4. Which one of the following statements about Renaissance Humanist culture is NOT true?

(a) It slackened the control of religion over human life

(b) It believed that human nature was many-sided

(c) It was concerned with good manners

(d) It criticized material wealth, power and glory

Answer: (d) It criticized material wealth, power and glory

Explanation: Renaissance humanism actually celebrated worldly wealth, power, and glory. Patrons and thinkers alike embraced these as marks of virtue and achievement. So statement (d) wrongly claims humanism criticized these pursuits. Humanism did loosen religion’s total grip over daily life. It did view human nature as complex and many-sided. It did concern itself with refined manners and courtly conduct. These other statements about Renaissance humanism are accurate. Concept Tested: Humanism’s actual embrace, not rejection, of worldly glory

★ JOVIK Exam Insight: NDA often reverses Renaissance humanism’s real attitude toward wealth and glory. Humanists embraced and celebrated these, rather than criticizing them.

NDA 2016-II

Q. 5. Statement I: The city of Rome revived in a spectacular way in the 15th century.

Statement II: From the 15th century onwards, artists were known individually by name, not as member of a group or a guild, in Roman society.

(a) Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I

(b) Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I

(c) Statement I is true but Statement II is false

(d) Statement I is false but Statement II is true

Answer: (b) Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I

Explanation: Rome genuinely experienced a spectacular revival in the 15th century. Artists did increasingly gain individual recognition rather than guild anonymity. This naming shift reflects a related trend, not the direct cause of Rome’s revival. Papal patronage and wealth drove the city’s revival more directly than this. So both statements are true, but II does not explain I. Concept Tested: Rome’s 15th-century revival versus the rise of the named artist

---