CLASS X CHAPTER 05 - THE AGE OF INDUSTRIALISATION NCERT SOLUTIONS

CHAPTER 05 - THE AGE OF INDUSTRIALISATION
Write in Brief
Question 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 the
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 speeded up the spinning process, and
consequently, reduced labour demand. This caused a
valid fear of unemployment among women working in
the woollen industry. Till date, they had survived on
hand spinning, but this was placed in peril by the new
machine.
(b) In the seventeenth century, merchants from towns
in Europe began employing peasants and artisans
within the villages because production in urban areas
could not be increased due to the presence of
powerful trade guilds. These maintained control over
production, regulated prices and competition, and
restricted the entry of new people in the trade.
Monopolisation was also a common tactic. In the
countryside, there were no such rules, and
impoverished peasants welcomed these merchants.
(c) The port of Surat declined by the end of the
eighteenth century on account of the growing power
of European companies in trade with India. They
secured many concessions from local courts as well as
the monopoly rights to trade. This led to a decline of
the old ports of Surat and Hoogly from where local
merchants had operated. Exports slowed and local
banks here went bankrupt.
(d) The East India Company appointed gomasthas to
supervise weavers in India to establish a more direct
control over the weavers, free of the existing traders
and brokers in the cloth trade. The gomasthas were
the paid servants who supervised the weavers,
collected supplies and examined the quality of cloth.
The gomasthas ensured that all management and
control of the cloth industry came under the British.
This helped in eliminating competition, controlling
costs and ensuring regular supplies of cotton and silk
products.
Question 2:
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
Answer :
(a) False
(b) True
(c) False
(d) True
Question 3:
Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation.
Answer :
Proto-industrialisation is the phase of industrialisation
that was not based on the factory system. Before the
coming of factories, there was large-scale industrial
production for an international market. This part of
industrial history is known as proto-industrialisation.
Discuss
Question 1:
Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century
Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Answer :
Some industrialists in nineteenth-century England
preferred hand labour over machines because there
was no labour shortage in the market, and as a result,
there was no problem of high wage costs either.
Industrialists did not wish to replace hand labour with
machines that would require large capital investment.
Also, in industries where the production and amount
of labour required were dependent on the seasons,
hand labour was preferred for its lower costs. Apart
from this, many goods could only be manufactured by
hand. Machines could provide mass quantities of a
uniform product. But the demand was for intricate
designs and shapes; this required human skill, and not
mechanical technology. Handmade products also
stood for refinement and class status. It was
commonly believed that machine-made goods were
for export to the colonies.
Question 2:
How did the East India Company procure regular
supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian
weavers?
Answer :
After establishing political power, the East India
Company successfully procured regular supplies of
cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers via a
series of actions. These actions were aimed at
eliminating competition from other colonial powers,
controlling costs and ensuring regular supplies of
cotton and silk goods for Britain. Firstly, it appointed
gomasthas or paid servants to supervise weavers,
collect supplies and examine textile quality.  Secondly,
it disallowed Company weavers from dealing with
other buyers. This was ascertained by a system of
giving advances to the weavers for procuring raw
materials. Those who took these loans could not sell
their cloth to anyone but the gomasthas.
Question 3:
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.
Question 4:
Why did industrial production in India increase during
the First World War?
Answer :
Industrial production in India increased during the
First World War because British mills became busy
with tending to war needs. Manchester imports
decreased, and Indian mills suddenly had a huge
home market to supply. Later, they were also asked to
supply war needs such as jute bags, cloth for army
uniforms, tents, leather boots, saddles and other
items. There was so much demand that new factories
had to be set up even when old ones ran on multiple
shifts. Industrial production boomed with the
employment of new workers and longer working
hours.