The Age of IndustrialisationClass 10 History NCERT Solutions
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Q1Discuss
Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Solution
Some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe, particularly in Britain, preferred hand labour over machines for several reasons:
- Abundance of Labour: There was no shortage of human labour. Poor peasants and migrants moved to cities in large numbers in search of work, which meant that wages were low. Industrialists did not have to worry about labour shortages or high wage costs, making hand labour a cheaper option than investing in expensive machinery.
- Seasonal Demand: Many industries had seasonal demand for labour, such as gas works, breweries, printing, and bookbinding. In these industries, it was more economical to employ workers only for the peak season rather than investing large capital in machines that would remain idle for much of the year.
- Requirement for Skill and Variety: Machines were suitable for producing standardized, uniform goods for a mass market. However, the market also demanded goods with intricate designs and specific shapes, which required human skill. For example, in mid-nineteenth-century Britain, 500 varieties of hammers and 45 kinds of axes were produced, which could only be made by hand.
- Status Symbol: The upper classes, including aristocrats and the bourgeoisie, preferred things produced by hand. Handmade products symbolized class and refinement, as they were better finished, individually produced, and carefully designed. Machine-made goods were often for export to the colonies.
Q2Discuss
How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
Solution
Once the East India Company established political power, it asserted a monopoly right to trade and developed a system of management and control to ensure regular supplies of textiles. This was done through a series of steps:
- Eliminating Competition: The Company first worked to eliminate existing traders and brokers connected with the cloth trade. This allowed them to establish direct control over the weavers.
- Appointing Gomasthas: The Company appointed paid servants called 'gomasthas' to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of the cloth. These gomasthas acted as the Company's direct agents in the weaving villages.
- System of Advances: The Company prevented its weavers from dealing with other buyers through a system of advances. Weavers were given loans to purchase raw materials for production. Those who took these loans were bound to hand over the cloth they produced to the gomastha. They could not sell their produce to any other trader.
This system tied the weavers to the Company, eliminated their bargaining power, and ensured that the Company received a regular supply of cloth at a miserably low price.
Q3Discuss
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.
Solution
Britain and the History of Cotton
The history of cotton in Britain is central to the story of the Industrial Revolution. Before the rise of factories, a 'proto-industrial' system existed where production, including spinning, was carried out in households in the countryside.
The late eighteenth century marked a turning point, with cotton becoming the first symbol of the new industrial era. A series of inventions revolutionized the production process. James Hargreaves's Spinning Jenny (1764) and later Richard Arkwright's creation of the cotton mill transformed cloth production. These new, costly machines were housed in mills, bringing the entire production process under one roof and management. This shift from domestic units to factories allowed for greater supervision, quality control, and regulation of labour.
The demand for cotton boomed. In 1760, Britain imported 2.5 million pounds of raw cotton; by 1787, this figure had soared to 22 million pounds. Cotton was the leading sector in the first phase of industrialisation up to the 1840s. The imposing new mills became a prominent feature of the English landscape, particularly in cities like Manchester.
However, the pace of change was not as rapid as is often believed. Traditional industries were not easily displaced, and even at the end of the nineteenth century, a large portion of textile output was produced in domestic units. Technological changes were slow to spread, as new machines were expensive and often unreliable.
The growth of Britain's cotton industry had a profound impact on its colonies, particularly India. To protect its domestic industry, Britain imposed import duties on Indian textiles and flooded the Indian market with cheap, machine-made Manchester cloth. This led to the collapse of the Indian export market and the decline of its traditional weaving industry. After the First World War, Manchester could not recapture its old position, as Britain's economy crumbled and local industrialists in the colonies began to capture the home market.
Q4Discuss
Why did industrial production in India increase during the First World War?
Solution
Industrial production in India saw a significant increase during the First World War (1914-1918) due to a combination of factors that created a new situation for Indian industries:
- Decline of Manchester Imports: With British mills busy with war production to meet the needs of the army, the export of British manufactured goods to India, particularly textiles from Manchester, declined sharply. This left a vacuum in the Indian market.
- Vast Home Market: Suddenly, Indian mills had a vast home market to supply. They were no longer facing stiff competition from imported goods, which allowed them to expand their production and sales within India.
- War Production: As the war prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs. They produced jute bags, cloth for army uniforms, tents, leather boots, horse and mule saddles, and many other items for the war effort.
- Expansion of Industries: To meet the increased demand from both the home market and the war, new factories were set up and old ones ran multiple shifts. Many new workers were employed, and everyone was made to work longer hours.
As a result of these developments, industrial production in India boomed during the war years. After the war, Manchester could not recapture its old dominance, allowing Indian industrialists to gradually consolidate their position and capture the home market.
Q1Write in brief
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 the eighteenth century. d) The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India.
Solution
a) Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny.
Women workers in Britain, particularly those in the woollen industry, depended on hand spinning for their livelihood. The Spinning Jenny was a new machine that speeded up the spinning process and reduced the demand for labour. By turning a single wheel, a worker could spin several threads at the same time. This threatened the employment of women who survived on hand spinning. The fear of unemployment and losing their source of income made them hostile towards the new technology, leading them to attack the Spinning Jenny machines.
b) In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.
Merchants from European towns moved to the countryside for several reasons. Within towns, urban crafts and trade guilds were extremely powerful. These guilds controlled production, regulated prices and competition, and restricted the entry of new merchants into the trade. Rulers had granted them monopoly rights, making it difficult for new merchants to set up business. In the countryside, poor peasants and artisans were looking for alternative sources of income, as common lands were disappearing and their plots of land were too small to support their families. They eagerly agreed to work for the merchants, supplementing their income from cultivation.
c) The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century.
Before the consolidation of European power, Surat was a major port connecting India's trade with the Gulf and Red Sea Ports, and the trade network was controlled by Indian merchants and bankers. As the European companies gained power, they secured monopoly rights to trade. They developed new ports under their control, such as Bombay and Calcutta. This shift in trade away from the old ports led to the decline of Surat. Exports from Surat fell dramatically, the credit that financed the trade dried up, and local bankers went bankrupt. By the 1740s, the value of trade passing through Surat had slumped significantly from its level in the late seventeenth century.
d) The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India.
The East India Company appointed paid servants called gomasthas to establish direct control over the weavers and ensure a regular supply of cotton and silk goods for export. The gomasthas' role was to eliminate the existing network of traders and brokers, supervise the weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of the cloth. They also enforced a system of advances, where weavers who took loans had to hand over their cloth to the gomastha and could not sell to any other buyer. This system allowed the Company to control costs and prevent weavers from dealing with competing buyers.
Q2Write in brief
Write True or False against each statement: a) At the end of the nineteenth century, 80 per cent 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 eighteenth century. c) The American Civil War resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India. d) The introduction of the fly shuttle enabled handloom workers to improve their productivity.
Solution
a) False. The text states that even at the end of the nineteenth century, less than 20 per cent of the total workforce was employed in technologically advanced industrial sectors.
b) True. The text mentions that before the age of machine industries, silk and cotton goods from India, especially the finer varieties, dominated the international market in textiles.
c) False. The American Civil War disrupted cotton supplies from the US to Britain. As a result, Britain turned to India to meet its demand, which led to an increase, not a reduction, in raw cotton exports from India.
d) True. The fly shuttle was a technological improvement that increased the productivity of handloom workers. It allowed them to operate larger looms, speeded up production, and enabled them to weave wider pieces of cloth.
Q3Write in brief
Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation.
Solution
Proto-industrialisation refers to the phase of industrialisation that existed even before the establishment of factories in England and Europe. It was a system of large-scale industrial production for an international market that was not based on factories. In this system, merchants from towns would move to the countryside and supply money to peasants and artisans, persuading them to produce goods. The work was done by a vast number of producers working within their family farms and households. This system was controlled by merchants and was part of a wider network of commercial exchanges, effectively connecting the town and the countryside in a production chain. It represents the early or first form of industrialisation.