Class X - The Age of Industrialisation

Class X - The Age of Industrialisation NCERT EXERCISE Q: 1

Explain the following: (a)  Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny. (b) In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages. (c) The port of Surat declined by the end of eighteenth century. (d) The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India.

Answer

(a) Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny because it could spin many spindles with one wheel. This increased productivity and led to decrease in employment of women for spinning. Angry women therefore, attacked the machine.    (b) The trade and commerce guild controlled the market, raw materials, employees, and also production of goods in the towns. This created problems for merchants who wanted to increase production by employing more men. Therefore, they turned to peasants and artisans who lived in villages. (c) By the end of 18th century the port of Surat declined mainly because of the growing power of the European Companies in India. These European Companies gradually gained power and started to control sea-trade in India. They secured a variety of concessions which they obtained from local courts and by gaining monopoly rights to trade. These companies did not want to use the old ports of Surat, Masulipatnam, and Hooghly etc. In stead they developed the port of Bombay. (d) As the East India Company established political power in India, it wanted to further assert a monopoly right to cotton textile silk trade. The Company’s objective was to develop a system of management and direct control over the weavers so that it could eliminate competition over costs, and ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk goods. They did this through a series of steps. So, with this aim they appointed ‘gomasthas’ as their paid servants to supervise weavers, ensure timely supplies, examine the quality of cloth and also advanced loans to weavers.

Q: 2

Write True or False against each statement. (a) At the end of 19th century, 80% of the total workforce in Europe was employed in the technologically advanced industrial sector. (b) The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the 18th century. (c) The American civil war resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India. (d) The introduction of fly shuttle enabled handloom workers to improve their productivity.

Answer

(a) False (b) True (c) False (d) True Q: 3 Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation.   Answer ‘Proto’ means the first or early form of something. By proto-industrialisation historians refer to the period in which Europe and England produced goods for the international market, on a large scale, even before there were factories. Thus, proto-industrialisation is meant for the phase of industrialisation when handmade products were produced for the industrial market. Q: 4 Why did some industrialists in 19th century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?    Answer Some industrialists in 19th century Europe prefer hand labour over machines due to the following reasons: a. Machines were costly, ineffective, difficult to repair, and needed huge capital investments. b. Labour was available at low wages at that period of time. c. In seasonal industries only seasonal labour was required. d. Market demands of variety of designs and colour and specific type could not be fulfilled by machine made clothes. Intricate designs and colours could be done by human-skills only. e. In Victorian age, the aristocrats and other upper class people preferred articles made by hand only. Q: 5  How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian Weavers ? Answer The East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian Weavers by - (i) It eliminated the existing traders and brokers and established a more direct control over the weaver. It appointed a paid servant called the gomastha to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth. (ii) It prevented Company weavers from dealing with other buyers. Q: 6 Imagine that you have been asked to write an article for an encyclopaedia on Britain and the history of cotton. Write your piece using information from the entire chapter.   Answer Britain and the History of Cotton During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, merchants would trade with rural people in textile production. A clothier would buy wool from a wool stapler, carry it to the spinners, and then, take the yarn to the weavers, fuller and dyers for further levels of production. London was the finishing centre for these goods. This phase in British manufacturing history is known as proto-industrialisation. In this phase, factories were not an essential part of industry. What was present instead was a network of commercial exchanges. The first symbol of the new era of factories was cotton. Its production increased rapidly in the late nineteenth century. Imports of raw cotton sky-rocketed from 2.5 million pounds in 1760 to 22 million pounds in 1787. This happened because of the invention of the cotton mill and new machines, and better management under one roof. Till 1840, cotton was the leading sector in the first stage of industrialisation. Most inventions in the textile production sector were met with disregard and hatred by the workers because machines implied less hand labour and lower employment needs. The Spinning Jenny was one such invention. Women in the woollen industry opposed and sought to destroy it because it was taking over their place in the labour market. Before such technological advancements, Britain imported silk and cotton goods from India in vast numbers. Fine textiles from India were in high demand in England. When the East India Company attained political power, they exploited the weavers and textile industry in India to its full potential, often by force, for the benefit of Britain. Later, Manchester became the hub of cotton production. Subsequently, India was turned into the major buyer of British cotton goods. During the First World War, British factories were too busy providing for war needs. Hence, demand for Indian textiles rose once again. The history of cotton in Britain is replete with such fluctuations of demand and supply.        Q: 7 Why did industrial production in India increase during First World War?   Answer India witnessed increased industrial production during the First World War due to following reasons: (i) British industries became busy in producing and supplying war-needs. Hence, they stopped exporting British goods or clothes for colonial markets like that in India. (ii) It was a good opportunity for Indian industries to fill in empty Indian markets with their products. It was done so. Therefore, industrial production in India increased. (iii) Also the British colonial government asked Indian factories to supply the war needs like - jute bags, cloth or army uniforms, tents and leather boots, horse and mule saddle, etc. (iv) The increased demands of variety of products led to the setting up of new factories and old ones increased their production. (v) Many new workers were employed and everyone was made to work longer hours. These were the various reasons responsible for the boom in the industrial production in India during the First World War.