Class 10 History Chapter 2 Question Answers - India and the Contemporary World - II

Short Answer (SA) Type Questions

Q1:  Explain the meaning of the term ‘Industrial Revolution .
Ans:

• The term ‘Industrial Revolution‘ stands for those developments and inventions which revolutionized the technique and organization of production in the later half of the 18th century. 
• This Industrial Revolution replaced the previous domestic system of production by the new factory system. In place of manual and animal power, new machines and steam power were used for producing things. 
• This revolution replaced cottage industries by factories, hand labor by machine work and craftsmen and artists by capitalists and factory owners.

Q2: How did factory production began in England?
Ans:

• Factory production began in England with the establishment of early factories by the 1730s. The number of factories increased dramatically in the late 18th century During this period, cotton was the first good whose production flourished. It was followed by the rapid establishment and expansion of the iron and steel industry.
• The driving force of industrialisation was the inventions and technological changes of the 18th century. This innovation increased the efficiency at each stage of production and enhanced the output produced per worker, especially in the case of cotton and other textile industries.
• Richard Arkwright laid the foundation of the factory system by creating the cotton mill. The spinning Jenny and other devices were invented to speed up textile production. 
• This allowed more careful supervision over the production process, proper check over quality and regulation of the labor force employed. Thus, in the late 19th century, factories increasingly became an intimate part of Britain.

Q3: Highlight any three benefits of industrialisation on the society
Ans: The benefits of industrialisation on the society can be are

• Industrialisation leads to improved standards of the entire society as a whole and improves the condition. 
• It leads to prosperity in the form of the availability of better and more food and clothing and gives longer life expectancies, freedom from hard physical work, more and better facility for development of intellectual capability of individuals. 
• It produces employment wealth and Technical skill, it provides modern convenience medical advances, changes in Lifestyle education, transportation development etc. 

Q4: Describe the conditions of workers in Europe after the industrial revolution. (CBSE 2019)
Ans: The conditions of  workers in Europe after the industrial revolution were

• In most of the industries, the demand for labor was seasonal. The actual possibility of getting a job depended on existing networks of friendship and relations.
• The workers were getting very low wages.
• Factories employed a large number of women. With technological development women gradually lost their industrial jobs.
• Most of the workers were living in slums. Factory or workshop owners did not provide housing facilities to the migrant workers.

Q5: Explain how Indian merchants and bankers were involved in the export trade in the early 18th century.  
Ans: Indian merchants and bankers were involved in the export trade in early 18th century in the following ways: 

• They were financing production, carrying goods and supplying exporters.
• The supply merchants linked the port towns to the inland regions.
• They gave advances to the weavers. produced the woven cloths from weaving villages and carried the supply to the ports.
• At the port the big shippers and export merchants had brokers who negotiated the price and bought goods from the supply merchants operating Island.

Q6: Mention any three restrictions imposed by the British government upon the Indian merchants in the 19th century.
Ans: The restriction imposed by the British government upon the Indian merchants in the 19th Century were:

• The British government developed a system of management and controlled that would eliminate competition and restrict the space within which.
• Indian merchants could function Indian merchants are not allowed to trade with Europe in manufactured good 
• Indian merchants had to export mostly raw materials like raw cotton, opium, wheat and Indigo required by the British. They were also gradually thrown out of the shipping business

Q7: Critically examine how the British companies gradually asserted monopoly rights in India.
Ans: British companies gradually asserted monopoly rights in India in the following ways

• The company appointed paid gomasthas to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth   
• The company introduced the system of advances to the weavers to prevent company weavers from dealing with other buyers.
• The company introduced a system of management and control that would eliminate competition, control costs and ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk goods.

Q8: Examine the causes of clashes between weavers and gomasthas in many weaving villages.
Ans: The causes of clashes between the weavers and the gomasthas were:

• The gomasthas gave loans to the weavers to purchase the raw material for their production. Those who took loans had to hand over the product timely to the gomasthas.
• They had no option to sell their products to other traders. 
• Often the price given by the gomasthas (dictated by the company) was miserably low and the loans the weavers had accepted tied them to the company. Weavers along with village traders revolted and opposed the company official and sometimes migrated to other villages.
• The gomasthas had no feelings for the weavers. They marched into villages with sepoys and peons and punished the weavers.
• Thus, clashes between the weavers and gomasthas became very common.

Q9: Describe any three major problems faced by Indian cotton weavers in the nineteenth century.
Ans: The major problems that the Indian weavers faced in the nineteenth century were:
(i) Their export market collapsed and the local market shrank
(ii) Local market was flooded with Manchester goods (goods imported from Britain). These imported cotton goods were so cheap that Indian Weavers could not easily compete with them
(iii) Due to Civil war in USA Weavers in India did not get sufficient supply of raw cotton and they were formed to buy raw cotton and high prices in this situation weaving were not profitable

Q10: How did many Indian entrepreneurs survive despite the tight economic control imposed by the British government?
Ans: Many Indian entrepreneurs survive despite of tight economical control imposed by British government by adopting the following ways: 

• Some merchants traded with Burma, Middle East and East Africa accumulated capital through other rate networks.
• Some merchants operated within India. Carrying goods from one place to another, banking money, transferring funds between cities and financing traders. 
• When opportunities of investment in industries opened up many Indian entrepreneurs set up their home factories.

Long Answer (LA) Type Questions

Q11: What was proto industrialisation? In what ways does proto-industrial production help the poor farmers in the countryside?
Ans: The proto-industrial system was a part of a network of commercial exchanges. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with the expansion of world trade and acquisition of colonies, the demand for goods expanded. But the merchants could not set up business in towns due to the strict restriction imposed by guilds.

• So the merchants turned to the countryside. Proto-industrialisation helped the poor farmers in the countryside in the following ways:
• The peasants and cottagers looked for alternative ways for their survival.
• Many had small land holdings, which couldn’t provide work for all the members.
• When merchants came around and offered money to produce goods for them, peasants eagerly accepted.   
• By working for the merchants, they could remain in the countryside and also could cultivate their own small plots of land.
• In this way, proto-industrial production supplemented the shrinking income of the poor peasants and raised their standard of living.

Q12: Describe the role of ‘technology’ in the transformation of the world in the nineteenth century.
Ans: The role of technology in transformation of the world in the nineteenth century was

• Technological advancement through the invention of railways, steamships, telegraph etc transformed the nineteenth century world. Faster railways, lighter wagons and larger ships helped move food more cheaply and quickly from far away farms to final markets.   
• Development of new technology like refrigerated ships enabled the transport of perishable foods like meat, egg more quickly than before. As a result, poor European countries got better food, This brought social peace and also support for imperialism.
• Industrialisation forced people to migrate from rural areas to urban areas in search of jobs in the factories. It encouraged the spirit of  individualism among both men and women. Collective values of rural life begin to fade out in urban areas.
• It further widened the gap between rich and poor. The factory workers were forced to live in healthy slum areas of cities instead of a pollution free rural landscape. 
• Industrialisation forces the entire household i.e. women and children to work. Child labour become a major problem of the society

Q13: Describe the life of workers during the 19th century in England.
Ans: The life of workers during the 19th century in England was 

• Low wages. The workers were getting very low wages in the third 19th century. About 10% of the population was extremely poor. The abundance of labor in the market affected the lives of the workers.
• Women workers. Factories employed large number of women. With technological development women gradually lost their industrial jobs.
• Overcrowded cities. Most of the workers were living in slums. As the new possible job opportunities were in the cities, a number of people from the countryside traveled towards the cities in search of work.
• Seasonal work. In most of the industries the demand for labor was seasonal. The actual possibility of getting a job depends on existing networks of friendship and kin relations. Many of the workers had to wait for weeks, spending nights under bridges or night shelters.

Q14: Why did the export of Indian textile decline at the beginning of the nineteenth century? Explain any three reasons. 
Ans: By the end of the 19th century, export of Indian textile industry started to decline due to the following reasons:

• East India Company Gained Power. Once the East India Company established political power, it asserted a monopoly right to trade. It proceeded to develop a system of management and control that would eliminate competition, control costs and ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk goods.
• Growth of Cotton Industries in England. As cotton industries developed in England, industrial groups became worried about the imports from other countries. They pressured the government to impose import duties on cotton textile, so that Manchester goods could easily sell in Britain without facing any competition from outside. 
• Further the industrialists persuaded the East India Company to sell British products forcefully in the Indian market.
• The result of two edge policies. To sell British products in India East India Company followed a two edged policy I.e. no taxes on imports but high taxes on Exports. Due to this policy, local Indian markets were flooded with cheap Manchester machine made products.
• Shortage of raw material. Due to the American Civil War, cotton supplies from the US were cut off and Britain turned to India for cotton supplies.  As raw cotton exports from India increased. Indian Weavers face the problem due to the shortage of raw material for the textile industry.

Q15: Describe the role of early entrepreneurs of India in the development of industries.
Ans: The role of early entrepreneurs of India in the development of industries was 

• From the late 18th century, the British in India began exporting opium to China and took tea from China to England many Indian Businessmen were involved in this trade.
• In the 19th century many cotton mills, Jute mills, spinning and weaving mills were set up and most of this was set up by Indian entrepreneurs.
• In Bengal Dwarkanath Tagore, in Bombay Diksha petit and Jamshedji Tata build huge industrial Empire by accumulating their initial wealth partly from export of China and partly from raw cotton export to England. Other businessmen like Seth Hukumchand, JN Tata setup Jute mill iron and steel factories in India.
• Some merchants from Madras traded with Burma and some others traded with the Middle East and East Africa.
• Some entrepreneurs operated within India, carry goods from one place to another, banking money, transferring funds between cities and financing other traders. When opportunities of investment were opened up, many factories were set up.

Q16: By the first decade of the 20th century, a series of changes affected the pattern of industrialisation in India. Explain. 
Ans: By the first decade of the 20th century, a series of changes affected the pattern of industrialisation in India in the following ways:

• Effect of Swadeshi and Boycott Movement. After the partition of Bengal, the Swadeshi Movement was developed. It has two sides i.e. positive and negative. In the positive side, nationalists urged people to use only swadeshi goods and ill the negative side to boycott foreign goods.
• This movement had an immense effect on the economy. There was an increase in the demand for Indian goods, especially clothes.
• Aim of industrial groups. Industrial groups organized themselves to protect their collective interests. They pressured the government to increase tariff protection and grant other concessions.
• Decline of export to China. From 1906 the export of Indian yarn to China declined as produce from Chinese and Japanese mills flooded the Chinese Market. Thus Industrial Estate in India began shifting from yarn to cloth production. Cotton goods production in India doubled between 1900 and 1912.
• Result of the first world war. Till the first world war, industrial growth was slow, British mills became busy with war productions. Thus, Manchester imports to India declined. Suddenly, Indian mills got a vast home market to supply. As the war prolonged, Indian factories had to supply different war needs. 
• This led to the setting up of new factories and multiple shifts for the old factory. Indian industry developed immensely at that period. After the war Manchester could not recapture its old position in the Indian market.

Q17: ‘We find that from the very beginning of the industrial age, advertisements played a vital role in expanding the markets for products.’ Explain the statement in the context of the pre-independence period of our country.
Ans: From the very beginning of the industrial age, advertisements played a vital role in expanding the markets for products in the following ways:

• The Manchester industrialists began selling their cloth in India by putting labels on the cloth bundles. When buyers saw such labels on the cloth like ‘Made In Manchester’, they felt confident about buying the cloth. 
• The manufacturers also used images of Indian Gods, Goddesses and important personalities on these labels. These images helped to make the foreign products somehow familiar to Indian people.
• In the late 19th century, the British manufacturers used calendars to popularize their products. Unlike newspapers and magazines, calendars were being used even by illiterate people.
• Indian manufacturers even advertised the nationalist message which was clear and specific. For example, ‘if you care for the nation then buy products that Indians produce’. Advertisement became a medium of the message of Swadeshi.