The Age of Industralisation

The Age of Industrialisation AP 10th Class Social History 4th Lesson

Question 1.
Explain the following?

Question (a).
Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny?

Answer:

1. The women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny for it speeded up the process of spinning
2. As a result the demand of labour was reduced
3. This caused a genuine fear of unemployment among the women who were working in the woollen industry
4. Till the introduction of the Spinning Jenny, women survived on hand spinning but the new machine caused them the fear of losing work

Question (b).
In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages?

Answer:

1. The trade and commerce guild was in control of the market, raw materials and employees
2. It also controlled the production of goods in the towns
3. It created many problems for the merchants who tried to increase production by giving employment to more workers
4. As a result the merchants from towns began employing peasants and artisans living in villages

Question (c).
The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century?

Answer:

1. The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century because of the increasing power of the European companies engaged in trade in India
2. The European companies secured many concessions from the local courts in addition to getting the monopoly rights to trade
3. It led to the decline of the old ports, Surat and Hoogly, which were operated by the local merchants
4. Exports from those ports slowed and the banks in those areas became bankrupt

Question (d).
The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India?

Answer:

1. The East India Company developed a system of management and control to eliminate competition
2. It tried to establish a direct control over the weavers
3. It appointed a paid servant called gomastha to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth
4. Those who took loans had to handover the cloth that they produced to the gomastha

Question 2.
Write True or False against each statement?

Questiona.
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

Questionb).
The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the eighteenth century?

Answer: True

Questionc).
The American Civil War resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India?

Answer: False

Questiond).
The introduction of the fly shuttle enabled hancHoom workers to improve their productivity?

Answer: True

Question 3.
Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation?

Answer:

1. The farmers had small plots of land which could not provide work for all the members of the family
2. They took advances from merchants and worked for them
3. The farmers remained in the countryside and cultivated their small plots
4. It allowed them to make a fuller use of their family resources. Income from proto-industrial production supplemented their shrinking income from cultivation
5. The proto - industrial system was the part of a net work of commercial exchanges controlled by merchants
6. It was in practice before the establishment of factories
7. It might be termed as the prephase of the coming of factories

DISCUSS

Question 1.
Why did some industrialists in nineteenth - century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?

Answer: Some industrialists in the nineteenth century Europe preferred hand labour to machine production for various reasons

1. A range of products could be produced only with hand labour
2. Machines produced uniforms and standardised goods for a mass market. Goods with intricate designs and specific shapes could be produced only by hand labour. They were in demand in the market
3. Handmade products became a symbol of refinement and class.They were better finished, individually produced and carefully designed
4. In Victorian Britain of the nineteenth century, the upper classes, the aristocrats and the bourgeoisie preferred things produced by hand to appear superior to the common people
5. Labour was abundant. Workers were ready to accept the seasonal work
6. Workers were available at low wages because of their poverty

Question 2.
How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?

Answer: The East India Company followed, various methods to procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from the Indian weavers

1. The East India Company established political power and asserted monopoly right to trade
2. It eliminated competition, controlled costs and ensured regular supplies of silk and cotton from the Indian weavers following a series of steps
3. It appointed a paid servant called the gomastha to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth
4. The gomastha gave loans to weavers to buy the raw material for their production. The condition was that they should handover the cloth they produced to the gomastha. They could not sell their material to any other trader
5. As the demand increased the weavers took the advances to earn more
6. These methods enabled the company to procure the regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from the Indian weavers

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: In the Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries, merchants from the towns in Europe began moving to the countryside. They supplied money to peasants and artisans to produce for an international market. The associations of producers that trained crafts people, maintained control over production. It became difficult for the new merchants to set up business in towns. The poor people in the countryside had to look for alternative sources of income. It was the beginning of the phase of proto industrialisation. The proto industrial system was the part of a network of commercial exchanges controlled by merchants. It was in practice before the establishment of factories. It might be termed as the prephase of the coming of factories

The earliest factories in England came up by the 1730s. But it was only in the late eighteenth century that the number of factories multiplied. Cotton was the first symbol of the new era. Its production increased rapidly in the late nineteenth century. In 1760 Britain imported 2.5 million pounds of raw cotton for its cotton industry. It increased to 22 million pounds by 1787. It became possible with the introduction of the cotton mill and new machines. As a result cotton became the leading sector in the first phase of industrialisation till the 1840s. Textile was a dynamic sector. A large portion of the output was produced not within factories, but outside, within domestic units. The technological changes occurred slowly. They did not spread dramatically across the industrial landscape. The machines often broke down and repair was costly. So they were proved to be not much effective. The industrialists did not want to introduce machines because they required large capital investment. There was no shortage of human labour

Some products could be produced only with hand labour. Machines produced standardised goods for a mass market. The demand was for goods with intricate designs and specific shapes. The upper classes in Britain preferred things produced by hand. Handmade products came to symbolise refinement and class. So they used handmade goods and exported machine made goods to colonies. Before the age of machine industries silk and cotton goods from India dominated the-international market in textiles. The finer varieties came from India. A variety of Indian merchants and bankers were involved in the network of the export trade. By 1750s the network controlled by the Indian merchants started breaking down

The East India Company attained political power. They exploited the weavers, by force for the benefit of Britain. The trade dried up and bankers went bankrupt. The old trading houses were closed down. Those that wanted to survive had to work within the network of the European companies. Their monopoly trade resulted in the decline of the old ports Surat and Hoogly. The ports of Bombay and Calcutta grew. The shift from the old ports to the new ones was an indicator of the growth of the colonial power. As cotton industries developed in England, the British Government imposed import duties and encouraged their companies with the help of the East India Company, the British manufacturers entered Indian markets. Manchester became the centre of cotton production. Factories were established in India also. The first cotton mill in Bombay came up in 1854. By 1862 four mills were at work. The First World War created a new situation. The British mills were busy with war production to meet the needs of the army. Manchester imports into India declined. Suddenly the Indian mills had a vast home market. After the First World War the economy of Britain crumbled. Exports of cotton cloth from Britain, fell dramatically. Within colonies, the local industrialists consolidated their position, substituting foreign manufacturers and capturing the home market

Question 4.
Why did Industrial production in India increase during the First World War?

Answer: Till the First World War, the industrial growth was slow. Suddenly the First World War created a new situation. The industrial production in India increased. There were many reasons for the increase. The salient of them were

1. The British mills were busy with war production to meet the needs of the army
2. Manchester imports into India declined. It helped the Indian mills to have a vast home market to supply
3. As the war prolonged, Indian factories also supplied war needs: jute bags, cloth for army uniforms, tents and leather books, horse and mule saddles and many other items
4. New factories were set up ; the old factories ran in more shifts
5. Many new workers were employed, every worker worked for longer hours
6. Thus, during the war years, industrial production boomed

PROJECT WORK

Question?.
Select any one industry in your region and find out its history. How has the technology changed ? Where do the workers come from ? How are the products advertised and marketed ? Try and talk to the employers and some workers to get their views about the industrys history?

Answer: Cotton is the primary industry of our region, Gujarat: In the countryside, poor workers began working for merchants. They used the spindle for the production of yarn. One wheel moved only one spindle. They had to work hard to produce yarn. Then the merchants offered advances to produce goods for them. They remained in their countryside, worked for merchants and earned money. This income from proto-industrial production helped for their better living. It also enabled them to make a fuller use of their family labour resources

Later cotton mills were set up in different parts of the country, including our area. Machines were used. Factories began to work for twenty four hours. The machines, to suit to the needs, were invented. Workers from different states, including Gujarat came to work in factories. Some workers came by cycles. Many workers settled near the factories. More people living in one area created many problems to those living in cities

The cotton industry provided work to many labourers who were engaged in ginning, spinning, weaving, designing, packaging etc. The farmers in villages supplied cotton to the mills and earned their living. The European traders bought the fine variety of cotton in Gujarat. The products were advertised by the agents of mills under the East India Company, local merchants and traders. The companies used many labels to attract the buyers. The European traders were also attracted by the fine cotton of India. Thus, the European Managing Agencies dominated Industrial production in India. Their domination led to the /decline of the old ports, Surat and Hoogly, which were operated by the local merchants

In the beginning of the twentieth century, many changes affected the pattern of industrialisation. Cotton piece goods production in India doubled. During the First World War, Manchester imports into India declined. Indian mills had avast home market to supply. New factories were set up and old ones ran in multiple shifts over the war years, industrial production boomed. Meanwhile the Nationalist Movement spread all over the country. The Swadeshi Movement gathered momentum. Nationalists encouraged Indians to boycott foreign cloth. Though the workers were unhappy at the beginning, gradually their conditions improved. The same ideas were expressed by the workers in the industry, when they were interviewed

ACTIVITY

Question 1.
Give two examples where modern development that is associated with progress has led to problems. You may like to think of areas related to environmental issues, nuclear weapons or disease?

Answer: Industrial Development has increased smoke, released high levels of carbon monoxide, dust, smoke and many other health hazardous things. To increase production many developments became necessary. Hybrid seeds yielded much crop at the same time, they made the lands barren. Chemical manures were produced to increase yield. They increased yield ; but they did more harm to the land than good. They created environmental problems. More consumption of water reduced the ground water levels. Nuclear weapons are another dangerous example of the modern development. They are helpful in the construction of bridges, dams and many other useful activities. At the same time they lead to destruction. The bombs used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have still their dangerous effects on the area. Today we have invented weapons many times more powerful. We cannot imagine their destructive power. Fortunate are the few who die instantly ; the others die daily before their actual death

Question 2.
The way in which historians focus on industrialisation rather than on small workshops is a good example of how what we believe today about the past is influenced by what historians choose to notice and what they ignore. Note down one event or aspect of your own life which adults such as your parents or teachers may think is unimportant, but which you believe to be important?

Answer: The historians focussed on the development of the world as a whole. For this development industrialisation is the only alternative. Industrialisation process became rapid. The most dynamic industries were cotton and metals. In the first phase of industrialisation was the cotton sector. Later there was the expansion of iron and steel industry, railways and many others. At the sametime the development ignored many other things and caused a lot of damage to them. The modern industries displaced traditional industries ; made the workers jobless and homeless. The industries produced things for the mass market. As a result the handmade goods with intricate designs and specific shapes preferred only by a few rich people. Handmade products which came to symbolise refinement and class, gradually disappeared. Though the products of the handmade workers appear to be unimportant in the modern world, they are still important because they represent the tradition and culture of an area or a country

Question 3.
Look at Figs. 4 and 5. Can you see any difference in the way the two images show industrialisation? Explain your view briefly?

Answer:

1. In figure 4, the Lancashire cotton mill is very huge shining with electricity in the twilight. It is the most impressive sight adding to the beauty of the city
2. In figure 5, we find Manchester with a cluster of industries emitting a lot of smoke
It represents industrial development as well as environmental pollution
3. The main difference between the two figures is that, figure 4 represents beauty where as figure 5 symbolises pollution, the result of industrialisation

Question 4.
Imagine that you are a merchant writing back to a salesman who has been trying to persuade you to buy a new machine. Explain in your letter what you have heard and why you do not invest in the new technology?

Answer: Machines are useful. They do the work of many labourers. The cost of production is cheap. We need not depend much on labourers. We can operate them and stop them whenever we want to do so. But this is all one side of the coin. They create many problems. We have to invest a lot of money on machines. If we do not get sufficient work, it becomes difficult to pay the loan instalments. Once there is a repair, the work will be disturbed. We have to spend a lot of money on repairs and replacement of the damaged parts. Sometimes we have to dispose of the machine and buy a new one, a very costly affair. For the above reasons, I do not invest in. the new technology

Question 5.
On a map of Asia, find and draw+he sea and land links of the textile trade from India to Central Asia, West Asia and Southeast Asia?

Answer:

DISCUSS

Question 1.
Look at Figs. 3, 7 and 11, then reread source B. Explain why many workers were opposed to the use of the Spinning Jenny?

Source -B: A magistrate reported in 1790 about an incident when he was called in to protect a manufactures property from being attacked by workers : From the depredations of a lawless Banditti of colliers and their wives, for the wives had lost their work to spinning engines they advanced at first with much insolence, avowing their intention of cutting to pieces the machine lately introduced in the woollen manufacture; which they suppose, if generally adopted, will lessen the demand for manual labour. The women became clamorous. The men were more open to conviction and after some expostulation were induced to desist from their purpose and return peaceably home. J.L. Hammond and B. Hammond, The skilled Labourer 170-1832, quoted in Maxine Bert, The Age of Manufactures

Answer: In figure 3, we find one wheel moving only one spindle. In figure 7, we see the giant wheels moved by steam power. They can set in motion hundreds of spindles to manufacture thread. In figure 11, we notice a number of spindles that are operated with one wheel. Many workers, especially women, lost their work because of spinning engines. They reduced the demand of labour. As a result many workers were opposed to the use of Spinning Jenny

SOURCES

Question A.
Write a brief account of Will Thorne on job seekers?

Answer:

1. Will Thorne went in search of the seasonal work
2. He described the condition of job seekers who went to London
3. He was stimulated by the letters of his workmate^
4. He decided to go to London in November, 1881
5. He started to walk to London with two friends
6. They had little money ; not enough to pay for food and lodgings on the way
7. Their money was gone by the end of the third day
8. They slept under a hay stack once and once in an old farm shed
9. They reached London but could not meet their friend
10. They slept in an old building that night
11. The next day they went to the Old Kent Gas works for work
12. To their surprise, they found their friend there
13. He spoke to the foreman and Will Thorne was given a job

Question B.
Write a brief report of a magistrate in 1790?

Answer:

1. In 1790, a magistrate reported when he was called in to protect a manufacturers property from being attacked by workers
2. The wives of the workers lost their work to spinning engines
3. They feared that the machines would lessen the demand for manual labour
4. They threatened to cut the machine, which was lately introduced in the woollen manufacture to pieces
5. They were persuaded not to do so
6. After sometime, they were convinced and left the place peacefully

Question C.
Write briefly about the account of the Commissioner of Patna on trade in the manufacture of cloth?

Answer:

1. The Commissioner of Patna wrote about the trade
2. Twenty years ago a brisk trade was carried on in the manufacture of cloth at Jahanabad and Behar
3. Later in Jahanabad it was totally stopped
4. In Behar, it was very limited
5. The goods of Manchester were durable and cheap
6. The native manufacturers could not compete with them

Question D.
Write briefly about the report on the Koshtis, a community of weavers?

Answer: The Koshtis, a community of weavers, fell upon evil times. They were unable to compete with the large quantity of showy goods of Manchester. They emigrated in large numbers to Berar. They worked there as day labourers

Question E.
What did Vasant Parkar say about granting of leave in the mills?

Answer: Vasant Parkar was a millworker in Bombay. The workers paid money to jobbers to get their sons work in the mill. The mill worker was closely associated with his village. He used to go home for sowing and harvesting. It was an accepted practice for which the mills granted leave

Question F.
What did Bhai Bhosle say about work in the mills, in the 1930s and 1940s?

Answer: Bhai Bhosle was a trade unionist of Bombay. He recollected his childhood in the 1930s and 1940s. In those days the shift was from 5 pm to 3 am ; ten hours a day. They were terrible working hours. His father worked for 35 years. He got asthma like disease and so he could not work any more. Then he went back to his village