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TNPSC Nayaks and European settlements in Tamil Nadu: practice questions

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

Between the Cholas and the freedom struggle lies a period that students often skip: the Nayaks, the Marathas of Thanjavur and the arrival of European traders. It matters for the exam because it explains how the East India Company took root in Tamil Nadu, and it feeds directly into the freedom-struggle chapter. The five questions below cover the Nayaks, the settlements and the Carnatic Wars. The wider syllabus view is in TNPSC Tamil Nadu History, Culture and Heritage.

What this topic covers

• The Nayaks: the Nayaks of Madurai, Thanjavur and Gingee, who ruled as governors of the Vijayanagara Empire and later as independent kings.
• The palayakkarar system: the grant of territory (palayams) to military chiefs.
• Thanjavur Marathas: who took Thanjavur from the Nayaks in the seventeenth century.
• Europeans: the Portuguese, Dutch, Danes, French and English settlements, and the Carnatic Wars between the French and the English.

Sample questions

Question 1

The English East India Company's first fortified settlement in Tamil Nadu, Fort St George, grew into the city of:

• A. Cuddalore
• B. Madras (Chennai)
• C. Pondicherry
• D. Nagapattinam

Question 2

Tharangambadi (Tranquebar) was a trading settlement of the:

• A. Dutch
• B. Portuguese
• C. French
• D. Danes

Question 3

Thirumalai Nayak, who built the palace that bears his name, ruled from:

• A. Madurai
• B. Thanjavur
• C. Gingee
• D. Vellore

Question 4

The palayakkarar system in the Madurai Nayak kingdom was introduced by:

• A. Thirumalai Nayak
• B. Rani Mangammal
• C. Viswanatha Nayak
• D. Raghunatha Nayak

Question 5

The decisive battle of the Third Carnatic War, fought in 1760, was the Battle of:

• A. Plassey
• B. Wandiwash
• C. Buxar
• D. Adyar

Answers and explanations

1. B. Fort St George was founded by Francis Day and the English East India Company in about 1639 to 1640, and the town that grew around it became Madras, now Chennai. Fort St David at Cuddalore came later.
2. D. The Danes settled at Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) in 1620. The Dutch were at Pulicat, the Portuguese at San Thome and the French at Pondicherry.
3. A. Thirumalai Nayak (1623 to 1659) ruled the Madurai Nayak kingdom and built the Thirumalai Nayak Mahal at Madurai. Thanjavur, Gingee and Vellore had their own Nayak lines.
4. C. Viswanatha Nayak, with his minister Ariyanatha Mudaliar, divided the Madurai kingdom into 72 palayams under palayakkarars, who kept order and supplied troops.
5. B. The English general Eyre Coote defeated the French under Lally at Wandiwash in 1760, which broke French power in India. Plassey and Buxar were fought in Bengal and Bihar, and the Battle of Adyar (1746) was in the First Carnatic War.

How to prepare this period

Use two timelines. The first is local: Vijayanagara governors, Nayaks of Madurai (Viswanatha, Thirumalai, Rani Mangammal), Nayaks of Thanjavur, the Marathas of Thanjavur and the end of Nayak rule in the early eighteenth century. The second is European: arrival, settlement, rivalry and the Carnatic Wars (1746 to 1748, 1749 to 1754 and 1756 to 1763). Place each Tamil Nadu event inside the all-India story so that it connects with TNPSC modern India practice.

Add three recurring items: the palayakkarar system (it explains the later poligar wars), Thirumalai Nayak's building activity at Madurai and the Saraswathi Mahal Library of Thanjavur, which grew under the Maratha ruler Serfoji II. Every one of these appears in textbook summaries and can be asked directly.

Map practice helps. Mark Pulicat, San Thome, Tranquebar, Pondicherry and Madras on a map of the Coromandel Coast, and you will rarely confuse the powers. The poligar rebellions that followed are in TNPSC Tamil Nadu freedom struggle practice.

Take the full topic test on PrepMatic

Tamil Nadu history is a large unit, so repeat the chapters in short, timed PrepMatic topic tests (about 15 questions, 30 minutes). The result shows accuracy by subject and the subject that cost you the most marks, and your Basic plan includes 5 topic tests. You can also select Tamil as the exam language if you prefer to read the questions in Tamil.

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