Age of Industrialisation
NCERT Exercise Solution
Write True or False against each statement:
- At the end of the nineteenth century, 80 per cent of the total workforce in Europe was employed in the technologically advanced industrial sector.
Answer: False - The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the eighteenth century.
Answer: True - The American Civil War resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India.
Answer: False - The introduction of the fly shuttle enabled handloom workers to improve their productivity.
Answer: True
Explain the following:
Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny.
Answer: Women workers in Britain saw the Spinning Jenny as a threat for their livelihood. This was the reason, they began to attack the Spinning Jenny.
In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.
Answer: There were powerful trade and craft guilds in urban areas. These associations controlled competition and prices and prevented entry of a new player in the market. Because of them, it was difficult for new merchants to set business in towns. Hence, the merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisan within the villages; during seventeenth century.
The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century.
Answer: The East India Company had consolidated its business by the mid-eighteenth century. This led to decline of the earlier centres of trade; like Surat.
The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India.
Answer: The Company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers who were connected with the cloth trade. It tried to establish a more direct control on the weavers. A paid servant; called gomastha was appointed to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth.
Answer the following questions:
Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation. Write in brief.
Answer: The period of industrialization before the first factories came up in Europe. This period was marked by merchants from towns getting products made in villages. The proto-industrial system was a network of commercial exchanges. It was controlled by merchants. Goods were produced by peasants who worked within their family farms and not in factories. The finished product passed through several stages and reached the markets of London. From London, the products were supplied to the international market.
Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Answer: During this period, there was no shortage of human labour. Because of good supply of workers, there was no problem of labour shortage or high wages. As a result, the merchants and industrialists preferred to manage with human labour rather than investing in costly machines.
How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
Answer: The Company prevented weavers from dealing with other buyers. This was done through the system of advances. Under this system, the weavers were given loans to purchase raw materials. Once a weaver took the advance, he could not sell his produce to any other trader.
Why did industrial production in India increase during the First World War?
Answer: The First World War changed the situation. The British mills became busy in meeting the needs of the army. This resulted in decline of imports to India. There was a vast home market to be catered by the Indian mills. The Indian mills were also asked to supply goods for the British army. This created a boom in industrial activities. All of this led to growth of industry in India during this period.