NCERT Solutions: The Making of a Global World
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
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Q1. Give two examples of different types of global exchanges which took place before the seventeenth century, choosing one example from Asia and one from the Americas.
Ans1. Asia: The silk routes linked Asia with Europe and northern Africa. Chinese silk, Indian textiles and spices, and Buddhist missionaries travelled these routes.
Americas: Before the seventeenth century, America was cut off from regular contact with the rest of the world. However, indigenous peoples had their own exchange networks – for example, maize, potatoes, and chillies were cultivated and traded within the Americas long before European contact. -
Q2. Explain how the global transfer of disease in the pre-modern world helped in the colonisation of the Americas.
Ans2. The global transfer of disease, particularly smallpox, played a crucial role in the colonisation of the Americas. European conquerors carried germs like smallpox on their person. Because of their long isolation, America's original inhabitants had no immunity against these diseases. Smallpox spread deep into the continent, even ahead of Europeans, killing and decimating whole communities. This weakened native populations and paved the way for conquest. Guns could be bought or captured, but diseases to which conquerors were immune could not be fought.
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Q3. Write a note to explain the effects of the following: The British government's decision to abolish the Corn Laws.
Ans3. The abolition of the Corn Laws allowed food to be imported into Britain more cheaply than it could be produced within the country. British agriculture declined, and thousands were thrown out of work. They flocked to cities or migrated overseas. Food prices fell, consumption rose, and Britain's faster industrial growth led to higher incomes and more food imports. This stimulated global food production – lands were cleared in Eastern Europe, Russia, America, and Australia to meet British demand.
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Q4. Write a note to explain the effects of the following: The coming of rinderpest to Africa.
Ans4. Rinderpest arrived in Africa in the late 1880s through infected cattle imported from British Asia to feed Italian soldiers invading Eritrea. It moved west like forest fire, reaching the Atlantic coast in 1892 and the Cape five years later. It killed 90% of African cattle, destroying African livelihoods. European colonisers used the scarcity of cattle to force Africans into the labour market, strengthening their power and subduing Africa.
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Q5. Write a note to explain the effects of the following: The death of men of working-age in Europe because of the World War.
Ans5. The First World War killed 9 million and injured 20 million, mostly men of working age. These deaths and injuries reduced the able-bodied workforce in Europe. With fewer numbers within the family, household incomes declined after the war. The reduction in workforce also affected industrial production and economic recovery.
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Q6. Write a note to explain the effects of the following: The Great Depression on the Indian economy.
Ans6. The Great Depression severely affected Indian trade – India's exports and imports nearly halved between 1928 and 1934. Wheat prices fell by 50%. Peasants producing for the world market were worst hit. Jute producers in Bengal saw raw jute prices crash over 60%. Peasants fell deeper into debt, used up savings, mortgaged lands, and sold jewellery. India became an exporter of precious metals, especially gold. Rural unrest grew, coinciding with the Civil Disobedience Movement (1931). Urban India with fixed incomes was better off due to falling prices.
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Q7. Write a note to explain the effects of the following: The decision of MNCs to relocate production to Asian countries.
Ans7. From the late 1970s, MNCs began shifting production operations to low-wage Asian countries like China. Wages were relatively low, making them attractive for investment. This relocation stimulated world trade and capital flows. Countries like India, China, and Brazil underwent rapid economic transformation. However, industrial countries faced rising unemployment from the mid-1970s to early 1990s.
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Q8. Give two examples from history to show the impact of technology on food availability.
Ans8. Example 1: Refrigerated ships (1870s) enabled transport of frozen meat from America, Australia, and New Zealand to Europe. This reduced shipping costs and lowered meat prices, allowing the European poor to consume a more varied diet.
Example 2: Railways and steamships in the nineteenth century linked agricultural regions to ports, enabling food to be transported quickly and cheaply from faraway farms to markets. This made food available to distant populations. -
Q9. What is meant by the Bretton Woods Agreement?
Ans9. The Bretton Woods Agreement was signed in July 1944 at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. It established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with external surpluses and deficits and the World Bank to finance post-war reconstruction. It created a system of fixed exchange rates where national currencies were pegged to the dollar, and the dollar was linked to gold at $35 per ounce.
๐ 3‑MARK QUESTIONS
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Q1. Explain the three types of movements or flows within international economic exchange. Find one example of each type of flow which involved India and Indians, and write a short account of it.
Ans1.
Intro: International economic exchanges involve three interwoven flows – trade, labour, and capital. Each flow deeply affected people's lives in the nineteenth century.
1. Trade flow: The flow of goods like cloth, wheat, and minerals. India had a long history of exporting textiles and spices. However, by the 1870s, cotton textile exports dropped below 3%, while raw cotton exports rose to 35% (1812-1871). India became an exporter of raw materials to Britain.
2. Labour flow: Migration of people in search of employment. Hundreds of thousands of Indian indentured labourers migrated to the Caribbean islands (Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam), Mauritius, Fiji, Ceylon, and Malaya under contracts promising return travel after five years. They worked on plantations, mines, and railways.
3. Capital flow: Short-term and long-term investments over long distances. Indian bankers like the Shikaripuri Shroffs and Nattukottai Chettiars financed export agriculture in Central and Southeast Asia. They used their own funds or borrowed from European banks, developing sophisticated systems to transfer money over large distances.
Conclusion: These three flows interconnected India with the global economy, though often under colonial constraints.
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Q2. Explain the causes of the Great Depression.
Ans2.
Intro: The Great Depression (1929 – mid-1930s) was caused by a combination of factors that created the worst economic crisis in modern history.
1. Agricultural overproduction: During the war, production expanded in America, Canada, and Australia. After the war, Eastern European production revived, creating a glut. Grain prices fell, rural incomes declined, and farmers fell into debt.
2. US loan withdrawal: In the mid-1920s, many countries financed investments through US loans. In 1928, US overseas lending was $1 billion; a year later it was one-quarter of that. Countries dependent on US loans faced acute crisis.
3. US import duties: The US doubled import duties to protect its economy, dealing a severe blow to world trade.
4. Banking collapse: With falling prices, US banks slashed domestic lending and called back loans. By 1933, over 4,000 US banks had closed, and 110,000 companies collapsed.
Conclusion: These factors combined to create a global economic crisis that affected every part of the world.
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Q3. Explain what is referred to as the G-77 countries. In what ways can G-77 be seen as a reaction to the activities of the Bretton Woods twins?
Ans3.
Intro: G-77 refers to the Group of 77 developing countries that organised themselves to demand a New International Economic Order (NIEO).
1. Background: After decolonisation, many former colonies were overburdened by poverty and lacked resources. The IMF and World Bank were designed for industrial countries and did little for developing nations.
2. NIEO demands: The G-77 demanded real control over their natural resources, more development assistance, fairer prices for raw materials, and better access for their manufactured goods in developed countries' markets.
3. Reaction to Bretton Woods twins: The G-77 was a reaction because the IMF and World Bank were controlled by Western industrial powers, with the US having veto power. Developing countries felt these institutions did not address their developmental needs.
Conclusion: The G-77 represented the collective voice of the developing world against the dominance of the Bretton Woods institutions.
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Q4. Briefly summarise the two lessons learnt by economists and politicians from the inter-war economic experience.
Ans4.
Intro: The inter-war economic experiences, including the Great Depression, taught economists and politicians two crucial lessons.
1. Need for government intervention: An industrial society based on mass production cannot be sustained without mass consumption. To ensure mass consumption, stable incomes were needed, which required full employment. Markets alone could not guarantee this – governments had to step in to minimise fluctuations in price, output, and employment.
2. Control over external links: Full employment could only be achieved if governments had power to control flows of goods, capital, and labour. Economic stability required managing a country's links with the outside world.
Conclusion: These lessons shaped the post-war international economic system, leading to the Bretton Woods institutions.
๐ Continue Your Journey: Explore Chapter 4 – The Age of Industrialisation – to understand how industrialisation transformed economies and societies.
๐ 5‑MARK QUESTIONS
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Q1. Write a note to explain the effects of the Great Depression on the Indian economy in detail.
Ans1.
Opening: The Great Depression (1929-34) had a devastating impact on the Indian economy, demonstrating how integrated India was with the global economy.
1. Collapse of trade: India's exports and imports nearly halved between 1928 and 1934. International prices crashed, and prices in India plunged – wheat prices fell by 50%.
2. Peasants worst hit: Peasants producing for the world market suffered the most. Jute producers in Bengal saw raw jute prices crash over 60% as gunny exports collapsed. A jute growers' lament described how traders paid only Rs 5 per maund while peasants bore all costs.
3. Increased indebtedness: Across India, peasants' indebtedness increased. They used up savings, mortgaged lands, and sold jewellery and precious metals to meet expenses. India became an exporter of gold during the depression years.
4. Rural unrest: The economic distress led to widespread rural unrest. The colonial government refused to reduce revenue demands despite falling prices. This fuelled the Civil Disobedience Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 at the height of the depression.
5. Urban India better off: Those with fixed incomes – town-dwelling landowners receiving rents and middle-class salaried employees – found themselves better off because everything cost less. Industrial investment grew as the government extended tariff protection under nationalist pressure.
Conclusion: The Great Depression widened the divide between rural and urban India and intensified the nationalist movement against colonial rule.
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Q2. Describe the role of indentured labour migration from India in the nineteenth century world economy.
Ans2.
Opening: In the nineteenth century, hundreds of thousands of Indian labourers migrated to work on plantations, mines, and railways around the world under the indentured labour system.
1. Origins of migration: Indentured workers came from eastern UP, Bihar, central India, and dry districts of Tamil Nadu. These regions experienced cottage industry decline, rising land rents, and land clearance for mines and plantations, forcing the poor to migrate in search of work.
2. Destinations and conditions: They were taken to the Caribbean islands (Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam), Mauritius, Fiji, Ceylon, Malaya, and Assam tea plantations. Hired under contracts promising return travel after five years, they faced harsh living and working conditions with few legal rights – described as a "new system of slavery".
3. Recruitment methods: Agents engaged by employers tempted migrants with false information about destinations and working conditions. Sometimes they even forcibly abducted unwilling migrants.
4. Workers' survival strategies: Despite harsh conditions, workers found ways to survive. Many escaped into the wilds, though facing severe punishment if caught. Others developed new forms of cultural expression – blending different cultural forms, old and new.
5. Cultural fusion: In Trinidad, the annual Muharram procession transformed into 'Hosay' carnival. Rastafarianism reflected links with Indian migrants. Chutney music emerged in Trinidad and Guyana as a creative expression of the post-indenture experience.
Conclusion: Indentured labour migration connected India to the global economy and created lasting communities of Indian descent abroad, contributing to cultural fusion worldwide.
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Q3. Explain how Indian trade and colonialism were linked to the global economic system in the nineteenth century.
Ans3.
Opening: In the nineteenth century, India's economy was deeply integrated into the global system through colonial trade patterns that favoured Britain's interests.
1. Decline of textile exports: Fine Indian cottones were historically exported to Europe. With industrialisation, British manufacturers pressurised the government to restrict cotton imports. Tariffs were imposed, and Indian textile exports declined from 30% (1800) to below 3% by the 1870s.
2. Rise of raw material exports: While manufactured exports declined, raw material exports increased dramatically. Raw cotton exports rose from 5% to 35% (1812-1871). Indigo for dyeing and opium shipments to China became major exports.
3. Britain's trade surplus: British manufactures flooded the Indian market. The value of British exports to India was much higher than imports from India. Britain used this surplus to balance its trade deficits with other countries – a multilateral settlement system.
4. Home charges: Britain's trade surplus in India helped pay 'home charges' – private remittances by British officials, interest payments on India's external debt, and pensions of British officials.
5. Indian bankers abroad: Indian bankers like the Shikaripuri Shroffs and Nattukottai Chettiars financed export agriculture in Central and Southeast Asia. Hyderabadi Sindhi traders established emporia worldwide from the 1860s.
Conclusion: India played a crucial role in the nineteenth century world economy as a supplier of raw materials and a market for British goods, while Indian capitalists also participated in global finance and trade.
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Q4. Imagine that you are an indentured Indian labourer in the Caribbean. Drawing from the details in this chapter, write a letter to your family describing your life and feelings.
Ans4.
Opening: My dear family, I hope this letter finds you well. It has been two years since I left our village in Bihar, and I think of you every day.
1. The journey: The agents told us we would find good work and return rich. They did not tell us about the long sea voyage – weeks of sickness, crowded conditions, and people dying. Many of us did not even know we were crossing an ocean until we were on the ship.
2. Life on the plantation: I work on a cocoa plantation in Trinidad. The tasks are extremely heavy – I cannot complete them in a day. My hands are bruised all over from the work. When I could not work for a week, I was prosecuted and sent to jail for 14 days.
3. Wages and punishment: Deductions are made from wages if work is considered unsatisfactory. Many cannot earn full wages and are punished in various ways. We have few legal rights and the supervisors are harsh.
4. Finding comfort: Despite everything, we have found ways to survive. We celebrate together – the Muharram procession has become a big carnival called 'Hosay' where everyone joins. We have created new music blending our songs with local rhythms.
5. Hopes: My five-year contract will end someday. Some people stay on here – there is now a community of our people. Others return home. I work hard every day hoping to see you again. Tell everyone at home not to believe the agents' sweet words.
Conclusion: Your loving son, [Name].
๐บ️ MAP‑BASED QUESTIONS
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Q1. On the outline map of the world, locate and label the following with significance:
Ans1. (a) Silk Route (Asia-Europe) – Ancient trade route linking China, India, and Europe; carried silk, spices, textiles, and ideas like Buddhism.
(b) Irish Potato Famine region (Ireland) – Where potato crop failure (1840s) killed 1 million and forced 2 million to emigrate.
(c) Witwatersrand (South Africa) – Gold fields discovered in 1880s; by 1890s South Africa contributed over 20% of world gold production.
(d) Bretton Woods (New Hampshire, USA) – Site of UN Monetary and Financial Conference (1944) that established IMF and World Bank.
(e) Berlin (Germany) – Where European powers met in 1885 to carve up Africa at the Berlin Conference. -
Q2. On the map, mark the following destinations of Indian indentured labour with their significance:
Ans2. (a) Trinidad and Tobago – Hosay carnival developed; Chutney music popular.
(b) Mauritius – Major destination for Indian indentured labourers.
(c) Fiji – Large community of Indian descent.
(d) Ceylon (Sri Lanka) – Tamil migrants went to work on plantations.
(e) Malaya (Malaysia) – Indian labourers worked on rubber plantations. -
Q3. Locate and label the following regions involved in the global food economy:
Ans3. (a) Punjab (India) – Canal colonies developed to grow wheat and cotton for export.
(b) America (USA) – Wheat production expanded during WWI to meet demand.
(c) Australia – Land cleared for wheat production and sheep farming; exported frozen meat.
(d) Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine) – Major wheat supplier before WWI; production revived after war creating glut.
These solutions cover all NCERT exercise questions. For map work, practice locating each place on a blank map and memorise one key fact about its significance.
