Class 7 History Question Answers - Towns, Traders and Craftspersons

Short Q & A :

Q1: What did Ibn Battutah say about cash crops and industries based on them?

Ans : Ibn Battutah said that the Indian soil is so fertile that it produced rice, sugarcane, sesame and cotton in abundance. They founded the base of various village industries such as oil-processing, making of jaggery, weaving, etc.

Q2: What was the status of Kashmir in the field of crafts during the medieval period?

Ans : Kashmir's status in crafts was very good as Kashmir became an important centre of making paper and wood binding trades. Various crafts such as stone cutting, stone polishing, bottle making, window cutting and gold beating also developed in Kashmir and other regional art and craft centers.

Q3: What do you understand by the term 'karkhanas'?

Ans : Karkhanas' were factories or organised groups of people manufacturing articles; they were the most important centers of production. These karkhanas supplied material for the royal household.

Q4: Write a short note on the Mughal karkhanas.

Ans : The karkhanas in the Mughal period were known as Buyutat also. Together with storing and manufacturing articles for the royal household and nobles' requirements, the mint, public treasury, treasury, department of construction of monuments, repairing, roads and artillery also came under Buyutat.

Q5: What was the status of Kashmir in the field of crafts during the medieval period?

Ans : Kashmir's status in crafts was very good as Kashmir became an important centre of making paper and wood binding trades. Various crafts such as stone cutting, stone polishing, bottle making, window cutting and gold beating also developed in Kashmir and other regional art and craft centers.

Q6: Give details about Masulipattinam and its important trade activities.

Ans : Masulipattinam was a known port city and occupied a grand economic status in the time of Golconda Sultanate. It was connected with two trade cycles-those in the Bay of Bengal in the east and in the Arabian Sea in the west and worked as export and import port for vast hinterland. Main items of exports were textiles, iron and steel, indigo, rice, pepper, spices and salt while main items of import were tin, aromatic woods, wines, bullions and elephants.

Q7: Name the Sultanate rulers who introduced silver tanka and bronze coin respectively?

Ans : The Silver 'tanka' was introduced by the first legitimate ruler of Delhi Sultanate Illtutmish and bronze coin was introduced by Mohammad bin Tughlaq as token money

Q8: Vorah community was the most impressive trading community- Explain.

Ans : The trading communities in India were fairly large in number and incorporated some of the richest merchants in the world. The name of Virji Vorah, who dominated Gujarat trade for several decades had a large fleet of ships, Malaya Chetti on the Coromandal Coast and Abdul Gaffar Vohara were some of the noteworthy big merchants.

Q9: What was the com ment made by French traveller Bernier on Indian merchants?

Ans : Bernier said that the merchants tried to look poor because they were scared that they would be used like 'filling sponges' by the ruling class.

Q10: Which were the main centers of cotton manufacturing?

Ans : The key centers of cotton manufacturing were- Patna, Cambay and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Burhanpur in Kahandesh, Bengal, Kashmir, Lahore and United Provinces.

Q11: Name the places famous for indigo production?

Ans : The best quality indigo was produced in Sarkhej in Gujarat and at Bayana near Agra. Indigo was a major industry.

Q12: What did Ralph Fitch assume about Fatehpur Sikri and Agra?

Ans : Ralph Fitch came to India in the Mughal period and he said that both Fatehpur Sikri and Agra were larger than London

Q13: Why there was a sudden rise in crafts and townships during the medieval period?

Ans : The production of cash crops and growth of grain markets led to the rise of small townships or qasbas. The demand of all types of bourgeoisie led to the expansion of handicrafts and growth of towns. There was peace and security prevailing which boosted the external and internal trade.

Q14: Mentions any three distinct type of urban centres in the medieval period.

Ans : 

The three distinct types of urban centres can be identified as:

• Administrative towns- Delhi, Agra, Lahore, etc.
• Commercial and manufacturing towns- Daulatabad, Patna, Ahmadabad, Muziris, etc.
• Pilgrim towns- Banaras, Kanchipuram, Mathura, etc.

Q15: Why was Surat termed as "Gateway to the west" in Medieval India?

Ans : Surat was the emporium of western trade during the Mughal period. People in Surat used to trade with West Asia via the Gulf of Ormuz. There were a number of religious pilgrims who used to set sail on ships to Mecca from Surat. It was a cosmopolitan city and people of all castes lived in the city. Portuguese and the Dutch had their factories and warehouses at Surat.According to an English chronicler, on an average a hundred ships of different countries could be found anchored at the port at a given time. There were several retail and whosale shops selling textiles to the western traders in the city. The Surat hundis were honoured in far off places like Egypt, Iraq and Belgium.

Q16: Describe the life of various trading communities in Medieval India.

Ans : 

There were many kinds of traders in Medieval India.

• Several traders, especially horse traders, formed associations with headmen who negotiated on their behalf with warriors who bought horses.
• There were also communities like the Chettiars and the Marwari Oswal who went on to become the principal trading groups of the country.
• Gujarati traders, including the communities of Hindu Baniyas and Muslim Bohras, traded extensively with the ports of the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, East Africa, Southeast Asia and China.They sold textiles and spices in these ports and, in exchange, brought gold and ivory from Africa, and spices, tin, Chinese blue pottery and silver from Southeast Asia and China.

Q17: What kind of market did the small towns have?

Ans : Small towns had mandapika (mandi) and hatta (haat) for the villagers to sell their products. Besides, there were streets for different kinds of artisans. Traders came from far to buy local articles and sell products of distant places

Q18: What was the role of a Samanta or a zamindar?

Ans : A Samanta or a zamindar built a fortified palace in or near these towns. They levied taxes on traders, artisans and articles of trade and sometimes "donated" the "right" to collect these taxes to local temples, which had been built by themselves or by rich merchants.

Q19: Why did European traders come to India?

Ans : Indian spices and cloth sold in the Red Sea ports reached European markets, and became an important part of European lifestyle. This drew European traders to India.

Q20: Who tried to play off Dutch and English against each other?

Ans : The Mughal governor Mir Jumla who was also a merchant, began to play off Dutch and English against each other.

Long Q & A :

Q1: Describe the trading community of the medieval period.

Ans : The middle classes in medieval India consisted mainly of merchants, proficient classes and officials. There was high class professionalism among Indian merchants. They were experts in wholesale and retail trade. The wholesale traders were called Seth or Vorah and the retailers were Beoparies or Baniks. In south India, the Chettis formed the trading community. There was a special class called Banjaras who moved from place to place carrying food grains, salt, ghee etc.

Q2: The rise in trade and commerce increased the prosperity of Indian cities. Explain?

Ans :   The mounting crafts and commerce and the increased use of money propped up the economy and prosperity of several towns during the medieval period. Important towns in North India were- Agra, Delhi,Gwalior, Kanauj, and in East India- Dhaka, Rajmahal and Patna. In South India- Malabar, Tamil Nadu, Daulatabad, Dabhol, and further in west India- Ahmedabad, Cambay and most parts of Gujarat got prosperous.