NCERT Solutions: The Age of Industrialisation
Below are detailed solutions to all exercises from the NCERT textbook. Answers are structured according to mark distribution: 1‑mark (brief and direct), 3‑mark (intro + 3 points + conclusion), and 5‑mark (intro + 5+ points + conclusion). Map‑based questions include location and significance.
๐ 1‑MARK QUESTIONS (Write in Brief)
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Explain the following: Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny.
Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny because it speeded up the spinning process and reduced labour demand. Women who survived on hand spinning feared losing their livelihood. This conflict over the introduction of the jenny continued for a long time as workers resisted new technology that threatened their jobs. -
Explain the following: In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.
Merchants turned to the countryside because urban crafts and trade guilds were powerful. Guilds restricted entry, controlled production, regulated competition, and had monopoly rights granted by rulers. Merchants found it difficult to set up business in towns, so they moved to villages where poor peasants and artisans were eager to work for them due to shrinking income from cultivation and need for alternative income sources. -
Explain the following: The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century.
The port of Surat declined because European companies gradually gained power, securing concessions and monopoly rights. Exports from Surat fell dramatically, credit that financed trade dried up, and local bankers went bankrupt. The gross value of trade passing through Surat slumped from Rs 16 million in last years of 17th century to Rs 3 million by 1740s. New ports like Bombay and Calcutta grew under European control. -
Explain the following: The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India.
The Company appointed gomasthas (paid servants) to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine cloth quality. They were outsiders with no long-term social link with the village. They acted arrogantly, marched with sepoys and peons, and punished weavers for delays – often beating and flogging them. This system eliminated competition, controlled costs, and ensured regular supplies for the Company. -
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.
False. Even at the end of the nineteenth century, less than 20 per cent of the total workforce was employed in technologically advanced industrial sectors. Textiles was dynamic but a large portion of output was produced outside factories, within domestic units. -
Write True or False against each statement: The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the eighteenth century.
True. Before the age of machine industries, silk and cotton goods from India dominated the international market in textiles. Finer varieties often came from India, while coarser cottons were produced in many countries. -
Write True or False against each statement: The American Civil War resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India.
False. When the American Civil War broke out and cotton supplies from the US were cut off, Britain turned to India. Raw cotton exports from India increased, and the price of raw cotton shot up. Indian weavers were starved of supplies and forced to buy raw cotton at exorbitant prices. -
Write True or False against each statement: The introduction of the fly shuttle enabled handloom workers to improve their productivity.
True. The fly shuttle was a mechanical device used for weaving that increased productivity per worker, speeded up production, and reduced labour demand. By 1941, over 35% of handlooms in India were fitted with fly shuttles. -
Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation.
Proto-industrialisation refers to the phase of large-scale industrial production for international market that existed even before factories. In the 17th-18th centuries, merchants from towns in Europe moved to the countryside, supplying money to peasants and artisans who produced goods for international market. This system was part of a network of commercial exchanges controlled by merchants, with goods produced by vast number of producers working within their family farms, not in factories.
๐ 3‑MARK QUESTIONS
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Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Ans:
Intro: In nineteenth-century Europe, many industrialists preferred hand labour over machines despite technological advancements.
1. Abundance of labour: There was no shortage of human labour. Poor peasants and vagrants moved to cities in large numbers seeking jobs. With plenty of labour, wages were low – industrialists had no problem of labour shortage or high wage costs.
2. Seasonal industries: Gas works, breweries, bookbinders, printers needed extra hands during peak seasons. At waterfront, ships repaired in winter. In such industries with fluctuating production, industrialists preferred hand labour, employing workers seasonally.
3. Demand for handmade goods: In Victorian Britain, aristocrats and bourgeoisie preferred handmade products – they symbolised refinement and class. Handmade goods were better finished, individually produced, carefully designed. Machine-made goods were for export to colonies.
Conclusion: The preference for hand labour was driven by economic, seasonal, and social factors, showing that industrialisation was not a simple shift from hand to machine.
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How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
Ans:
Intro: After establishing political power in Bengal and Carnatic in the 1760s-70s, the East India Company developed a system to ensure regular supplies.
1. Appointment of gomasthas: The Company appointed paid servants called gomasthas to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine cloth quality. They were outsiders with no social link to villages.
2. System of advances: Once an order was placed, weavers were given loans to purchase raw material. Those who took loans had to hand over cloth to the gomastha and could not take it to any other trader. This tied weavers to the Company.
3. Elimination of competition: The Company prevented weavers from dealing with other buyers. Weavers lost the space to bargain for prices. Prices were miserably low, and loans tied them to the Company.
Conclusion: Through coercion and control, the Company ensured regular supplies, but this led to clashes between weavers and gomasthas.
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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.
Ans:
Intro: The history of cotton in Britain is a story of technological innovation, industrial transformation, and global connections.
1. Early imports: In 1760, Britain imported 2.5 million pounds of raw cotton. By 1787, this soared to 22 million pounds due to technological changes.
2. Inventions: James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny (1764) which speeded up spinning. Richard Arkwright created the cotton mill, bringing all processes under one roof.
3. Factory system: Mills enabled careful supervision, quality control, and regulation of labour – difficult when production was spread in countryside.
4. Cotton as leading sector: Cotton was the most dynamic industry in the first phase of industrialisation up to 1840s. By 1873, Britain exported iron and steel worth £77 million, double the value of cotton export.
5. Impact on India: British cotton goods flooded Indian markets, destroying local weavers. Indian textile exports declined from 30% (1800) to below 3% by 1870s.
Conclusion: Cotton transformed Britain into the "workshop of the world" but had devastating effects on traditional textile economies in colonies.
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Why did industrial production in India increase during the First World War?
Ans:
Intro: The First World War created a dramatically new situation for Indian industries.
1. Decline of Manchester imports: With British mills busy with war production to meet army needs, Manchester imports into India declined sharply.
2. Vast home market: Indian mills suddenly had a vast home market to supply. They stepped in to fill the gap left by British goods.
3. War needs: Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs – jute bags, cloth for army uniforms, tents, leather boots, horse and mule saddles, and other items.
Conclusion: New factories were set up, old ones ran multiple shifts, many new workers were employed, and everyone worked longer hours – industrial production boomed.
๐ 5‑MARK QUESTIONS
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Explain the system of proto-industrialisation. How did it differ from factory-based industrialisation?
Opening: Proto-industrialisation was a phase of large-scale industrial production for international market that existed even before factories, based in the countryside rather than factories.
1. Location: Production was carried out in countryside households, not in factories. Merchants moved to villages because urban trade guilds restricted new entrants and controlled production.
2. Workers: Poor peasants and artisans worked for merchants while continuing to cultivate their small plots. Income from proto-industrial production supplemented their shrinking income from cultivation.
3. Control: Merchants were based in towns but work was done in countryside. They supplied money to peasants, controlled production through a network of workers at different stages.
4. Scale: At each stage, 20-25 workers were employed by each merchant. Each clothier controlled hundreds of workers, but they worked in their own homes, not in a central location.
5. Difference from factory system: Unlike factories, there was no central workplace, no supervision under one roof, and no machinery. Workers used their own tools, set their own pace, and combined industrial work with agriculture.
Conclusion: Proto-industrialisation was a crucial stage that prepared the ground for the factory system by creating a network of commercial exchanges and a workforce accustomed to industrial production.
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Describe the life of workers in Britain during the industrial revolution. What challenges did they face?
Opening: The life of workers in industrial Britain was marked by uncertainty, hardship, and struggle.
1. Job seeking: As news of possible jobs travelled to countryside, hundreds tramped to cities. Getting a job depended on networks of friendship and kin relations. Those without connections waited weeks, spending nights under bridges or in night shelters.
2. Seasonality: Many industries had seasonal demand. After the busy season, the poor were on streets again. Some returned to countryside, but most looked for odd jobs – difficult till mid-19th century.
3. Wages and employment: Wages increased somewhat, but average figures hide variations. During Napoleonic War, prices rose sharply – real value of earnings fell. Income depended not just on wage rate but also on number of days of work.
4. Poverty and unemployment: At best of times till mid-19th century, about 10% of urban population were extremely poor. In economic slumps like 1830s, unemployment went up to 35-75% in different regions.
5. Resistance to technology: Fear of unemployment made workers hostile to new technology. When Spinning Jenny was introduced, women who survived on hand spinning attacked the new machines. This conflict continued for a long time.
Conclusion: After 1840s, building activity intensified, opening up greater employment opportunities, but the lives of workers remained hard and uncertain.
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Trace the decline of Indian textiles and the rise of machine-made goods from Britain. What was its impact on Indian weavers?
Opening: The decline of Indian textiles and the rise of British machine-made goods was a dramatic transformation that devastated Indian weavers.
1. Pre-machine age dominance: Before the age of machine industries, silk and cotton goods from India dominated the international textile market. Finer varieties came from India.
2. Company control: After establishing political power, the East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers, eliminated competition, and forced weavers to accept low prices through system of advances.
3. Manchester competition: By early 19th century, cotton industries developed in England. Industrialists pressurised government to impose import duties on Indian textiles. British cotton goods flooded Indian markets. By 1850, cotton piece-goods constituted over 31% of Indian imports; by 1870s, over 50%.
4. Two problems for weavers: Export market collapsed, and local market shrank due to Manchester imports. Machine-made goods were cheaper – weavers couldn't compete.
5. American Civil War impact (1860s): When American Civil War cut off cotton supplies from US, Britain turned to India. Raw cotton exports increased, prices shot up. Weavers were starved of supplies and forced to buy raw cotton at exorbitant prices – weaving couldn't pay.
Conclusion: By late 19th century, Indian factories began production, flooding market with machine-goods – yet weaving survived through adaptations like fly shuttle and specialised weaves.
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Explain the role of jobbers in Indian factories. How did they influence workers' lives?
Opening: Jobbers played a crucial role in recruiting and managing workers in Indian factories, wielding significant power over their lives.
1. Recruitment: Industrialists usually employed a jobber to get new recruits. Very often the jobber was an old and trusted worker who got people from his village and ensured them jobs.
2. Settlement: Jobbers helped workers settle in the city and provided them money in times of crisis. Vasant Parkar, a millworker, recalled: "The workers would pay the jobbers money to get their sons work in the mill."
3. Authority: The jobber became a person with authority and power. He began demanding money and gifts for his favour and controlling workers' lives.
4. Control: Workers depended on jobbers for jobs, loans, and settlement. This dependency gave jobbers immense control over the workforce.
5. Village connections: Jobbers maintained connections with villages, bringing workers during harvest seasons and festivals. Workers moved between village and city, and jobbers facilitated this movement.
Conclusion: Jobbers were both helpers and exploiters – they provided essential support but also exploited workers through demands for money and gifts.
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How did advertisements play a role in shaping markets for industrial goods? Give examples from India and Britain.
Opening: Advertisements played a crucial role in expanding markets for products and shaping a new consumer culture.
1. Manchester labels: When Manchester industrialists began selling cloth in India, they put labels on cloth bundles with "MADE IN MANCHESTER" to make place of manufacture familiar and as a mark of quality.
2. Images of Indian gods: Labels carried images of Indian gods and goddesses like Krishna and Saraswati – association with gods gave divine approval and made foreign goods appear familiar to Indian people.
3. Calendars: By late 19th century, manufacturers printed calendars to popularise products. Calendars were used even by people who couldn't read, hung in tea shops, poor people's homes, and offices.
4. Nationalist messages: When Indian manufacturers advertised, the message was clear – if you care for the nation, buy products that Indians produce. Advertisements became a vehicle of swadeshi message.
5. Figures of emperors and nawabs: Labels also carried figures of important personas – emperors, nawabs – suggesting that if you respect the royal figure, respect this product.
Conclusion: Advertisements shaped consumer preferences, created new needs, and in India, became a tool for nationalist propaganda.
๐ Continue Your Journey: Next, explore Chapter 5: Print Culture and the Modern World – to understand how the printing press revolutionised the spread of knowledge.
๐บ️ MAP‑BASED QUESTIONS
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On the outline map of India, locate and label the following with significance:
(a) Bombay (Mumbai) – First cotton mill established here in 1854; grew as major trading port.
(b) Calcutta (Kolkata) – First jute mill set up here in 1855; Seth Hukumchand set up first Indian jute mill here in 1917.
(c) Kanpur – Elgin Mill started here in 1860s; textile mills got workers from villages within the district.
(d) Ahmedabad – First cotton mill set up here in 1861; became major textile centre.
(e) Madras (Chennai) – First spinning and weaving mill began production here in 1874.
(f) Surat (Gujarat) – Major pre-colonial port that declined by end of 18th century; trade slumped from Rs 16 million to Rs 3 million.
(g) Jamshedpur – Where J.N. Tata set up first iron and steel works in India in 1912. -
On the map of India, mark the following regions known for textile production and trade:
(a) Bengal – Major textile region; Hoogly port had trade links with Southeast Asia.
(b) Coromandel Coast – Masulipatam port connected to Southeast Asian ports.
(c) Gujarat – Surat port connected India to Gulf and Red Sea ports.
(d) Punjab – Goods taken from here to Afghanistan, Persia, Central Asia by Armenian and Persian merchants. -
On the map of India, identify the regions where the first cotton mills were established with years:
Bombay (1854) – First cotton mill
Bengal (1855) – First jute mill
Kanpur (1860s) – Elgin Mill
Ahmedabad (1861) – First cotton mill
Madras (1874) – First spinning and weaving mill -
On the map of India, locate Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) and write its significance.
Ratnagiri – Over 50% workers in Bombay cotton industries in 1911 came from this neighbouring district.
