Question

Arrange the following foreign travellers according to their year of visit to India in chronological order. (A) Duarte Barbosa from Portugal.
(B) Francois Bernier from France.
(C) Marco Polo from Italy.
(D) Ibn Battuta from Morocco. Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• A. B, C, D, A
• B. C, D, B, A
• C. A, B, C, D
• D. C, D, A, B

Hint:

To remember the timeline of travellers, group them by eras:

• \textbf{Medieval (Sultanate):} Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta.
• \textbf{Early Colonial/Transition:} Duarte Barbosa.
• \textbf{Mughal Zenith:} Francois Bernier.

This mental grouping helps you sort them even if you forget the exact years.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Concept: Foreign travellers played a crucial role in documenting the social, political, and economic conditions of India throughout different eras. To arrange them chronologically, we must associate each traveller with the specific century or ruling dynasty they visited.
Step 1:Determining the timelines for each traveller.

• (C) Marco Polo (13th Century): The Venetian traveller visited South India (the Pandya kingdom) around 1292–1294 on his way back from China. He is the earliest among the given options.
• (D) Ibn Battuta (14th Century): Coming from Morocco, he arrived in India in 1333 during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. He served as a Qazi in Delhi for several years.
• (A) Duarte Barbosa (16th Century): A Portuguese official and writer who visited India (specifically the Vijayanagara Empire and the Malabar coast) between 1500 and 1516. He provided detailed accounts of the trade and customs of South India.
• (B) Francois Bernier (17th Century): A French physician and traveller who was in India from 1656 to 1668. He is famous for being the physician to Prince Dara Shikoh and later served at the court of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

Step 2:Establishing the Chronological Sequence.
By ordering the years: 1. Marco Polo (Late 1200s) $\rightarrow$ C 2. Ibn Battuta (1330s) $\rightarrow$ D 3. Duarte Barbosa (Early 1500s) $\rightarrow$ A 4. Francois Bernier (Mid 1600s) $\rightarrow$ B The sequence is C, D, A, B.