Ch. 5 The Age of Industrialisation Questions and Answers
Q. Who were the gomasthas?
A. The gomasthas were the paid servants appointed by the East India Company to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth.
Q. What do you mean by proto-industrialisation?
A. Before factories began to dot the landscape in England and Europe, there was a large scale industrial production for an international market which was not based on factories. This phase of industrialisation is known as proto-industrialisation.
Q. What were the trade guilds?
A. Trade guilds were the associations of producers that trained craftspeople, maintained control over production, regulated competition and prices, and restricted the entry of new people into the trade.
Q. Who is a stapler?
A. A stapler is a person who 'staples' or sorts the wool according to its fibre.
Q. Which city in England was known as the finishing centre for textile?
A. London came to be known as the finishing centre for textile during the proto-industrialisation.
Q. Which was the leading industry in the first phase of industrialisation?
A. Cotton industry was the leading industry in the first phase of industrialisation.
Q. Who invented the spinning jenny?
A. The spinning jenny was invented by James Hargreaves in 1764.
Q. Name an eminent pre colonial port.
A. Surat
Q. Why did the merchants begin moving from towns to the countryside in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe?
OR
In the 17th century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages. Explain. [N.C.E.R.T.]
A. ・In the 17th and 18th centuries, merchants from towns in Europe began moving to the countryside, supplying money to peasants and artisans, persuading them to produce for an international market. But merchants could not expand production within towns because here, urban crafts and trade guilds were powerful.
・Rulers granted different guilds the monopoly right to produce and trade in specific products. Whereas, in the countryside, poor peasants and artisans began working for merchants because this was the time when open fields were disappearing and commons were being enclosed. Cottagers and peasants who had earlier depended on the common lands for their survival now had to look for alternative means of income.
・Many had tiny plots of lands which could not provide work for all members of the household. So when the merchants came around and offered advances to produce goods for them, peasant households eagerly agreed. Income from proto industrialisation supplemented their shrinking income from cultivation.
Q. Describe the life of workers in Victoria in Britain.
A. ・The abundance of labour in the market affected the lives of workers. As the news of possible jobs travelled to the countryside, hundreds tramped to the cities. The actual possibility of getting a job depended on existing networks of friendship and kin relations.
・Many job seekers had to wait weeks, spending nights under bridges or night shelters. Some stayed in the Night Refugees that were set up by private individuals; some went to the Casual Wards maintained by the Poor Law authorities.
・Seasonality of work in many industries meant prolonged periods without work. After the busy season was over, the poor were on the streets again. Some returned to the countryside after the winter.
・Wages increased somewhat in the early 19th century. But they tell us little about the welfare of the workers. When prices rose sharply during the prolonged Napoleonic War, the real value of what the workers earned, fell significantly, since the same wages could now buy fewer things.
・The fear of unemployment made the workers hostile to the introduction of new technology. When the spinning jenny was introduced in the woollen industry, women who survived on hand spinning began attacking the new machines. this conflict over the introduction of the jenny continued for a long time.
Q. Why the industrialists in England did not want to get rid of hand labour once machines were produced?
OR
Why did some industrialists in 19th century Europe prefer hand labour over machines? [N.C.E.R.T.]
A. ・In Victorian Britain, there was no shortage of human labour. So industrialists had no problem of shortage or high wage costs. They did not want to introduce machines that got rid of human labour and required large capital investment.
・In many industries the demand for labour was seasonal. Gas works and breweries were especially busy through the cold months. In all such industries where the production fluctuated with the season, industrialists usually preferred hand labour, employing workers for the season.
・A range of products could be produced only with hand labour. The demand was often for goods with intricate designs and specific shapes. For instance, 500 varieties of hammers were produced and 45 kinds of axes. These required human skills, not mechanical technology.
・In Victorian Britain, the upper classes- the aristocrats and the bourgeoisie- preferred things produced by hand. Handmade products came to symbolise refinement and class.
・New technology was expensive and merchants and industrialists were cautious about using it. The machines often broke down and repair was costly. They were not as effective as their inventors and manufacturers claimed.
Q. How was the life of Indian weavers affected under the Company’s rule?
A. The condition of Weavers Under The Rule of The East India Company:
・In many weaving villages there were reports of clashes between weavers and gomasthas. Earlier supply merchants had very often lived within the weaving villages and had a close relationship with the weavers.
・The new gomasthas appointed had were outsiders, with no long-term social link with the village. They acted arrogantly, marched into the villages with sepoys and peons, and punished weavers for delays in supply- often beating and flogging them.
・The weavers lost the space to bargain for prices and sell to different buyers. The price they received from the Company was miserably low and loans they had accepted tied them to the Company.
・In many places such as Carnatic and Bengal, weavers deserted villages and migrated, setting up looms in other villages where they had some family relation.
・Elsewhere, weavers along with the village traders revolted, opposing the Company and its officials.
Q. Why was it difficult for east India to procure a regular supply of goods for export in the beginning? Explain.
A. ・The consolidation of East India Company power after the 1760s did not initially lead to a decline in textile exports from India. British cotton industries had not yet expanded and Indian fine textiles were in great demand in Europe.
・Before establishing political power in Bengal and Carnatic in the 1760s and 1770s, the East India Company had found it difficult to ensure a regular supply of goods for export.
・The French, Dutch, Portuguese as well as the local traders competed in the market to secure woven cloth. So, the weaver and supply merchants could bargain and try selling the produce to the best buyer.
Q. How did the industries develop in the second half of the 19th century? Explain.
A.・From the late 18th century, the British in India began exporting opium to China and took tea from China to England. Many Indians became junior players in this trade, providing finance, and shipping consignments.
・Businessmen had visions of developing industrial enterprises in India. e.g. Dwarkanath Tagore in Bengal; in Bombay, Parsis like Dinshaw Petit and Jamsetjee Nusserwanjee Tata, who built huge industrial enterprises in India; Seth Hukumchand, a Marwari businessman who set up the first Indian jute mill in Calcutta in 1917; father and grandfather of the famous industrialist G.D. Birla.
・European Managing Agencies, e.g. Bird Heiglers & Co., Andrew Yule and Jardine Skinner & Co.which dominated industrial production in India, were interested in certain kinds of products. They established tea and coffee plantations, invested in mining, indigo and jute.
・When Indian businessmen began setting up industries in the late 19th century, they avoided competing with Manchester goods in the Indian market. Since yarn was not an important part of British imports into India, the early cotton mills in India produced coarse cotton yarn rather than fabric.
・As the Swadeshi movement gathered momentum, nationalists mobilised people to boycott foreign cloth. Industrial groups organised themselves to protect their collective interests, pressurising the government to increase tariff protection and grant other concessions.
・Till the First World War, industrial growth was slow. The war created a dramatically new situation. With British mills busy with war production to meet the needs of the army, Manchester imports to India declined. Suddenly, Indian mills had a vast home market to supply. Industrial production boomed over the war years. After the war, Manchester could never recapture its old position in the Indian market.
Q. Explain the following: [N.C.E.R.T.]
a) Women workers in Britain attacked the spinning jenny.
A. ・ The fear of unemployment made workers hostile to the introduction of new technology.
・When the spinning jenny was introduced to the woollen industry women who survived on hand spinning began attacking the new machines.
・ This conflict over the introduction of the jenny continued for a long time.
b) The port of Surat declined by the end of the 18th century.
A. ・ By the 1750s, the European countries gradually gained power first securing a variety of concessions from local courts, then the monopoly rights to trade.
A. The gomasthas were the paid servants appointed by the East India Company to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth.
Q. What do you mean by proto-industrialisation?
A. Before factories began to dot the landscape in England and Europe, there was a large scale industrial production for an international market which was not based on factories. This phase of industrialisation is known as proto-industrialisation.
Q. What were the trade guilds?
A. Trade guilds were the associations of producers that trained craftspeople, maintained control over production, regulated competition and prices, and restricted the entry of new people into the trade.
Q. Who is a stapler?
A. A stapler is a person who 'staples' or sorts the wool according to its fibre.
Q. Which city in England was known as the finishing centre for textile?
A. London came to be known as the finishing centre for textile during the proto-industrialisation.
Q. Which was the leading industry in the first phase of industrialisation?
A. Cotton industry was the leading industry in the first phase of industrialisation.
Q. Who invented the spinning jenny?
A. The spinning jenny was invented by James Hargreaves in 1764.
Q. Name an eminent pre colonial port.
A. Surat
Q. Why did the merchants begin moving from towns to the countryside in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe?
OR
In the 17th century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages. Explain. [N.C.E.R.T.]
A. ・In the 17th and 18th centuries, merchants from towns in Europe began moving to the countryside, supplying money to peasants and artisans, persuading them to produce for an international market. But merchants could not expand production within towns because here, urban crafts and trade guilds were powerful.
・Rulers granted different guilds the monopoly right to produce and trade in specific products. Whereas, in the countryside, poor peasants and artisans began working for merchants because this was the time when open fields were disappearing and commons were being enclosed. Cottagers and peasants who had earlier depended on the common lands for their survival now had to look for alternative means of income.
・Many had tiny plots of lands which could not provide work for all members of the household. So when the merchants came around and offered advances to produce goods for them, peasant households eagerly agreed. Income from proto industrialisation supplemented their shrinking income from cultivation.
Q. Describe the life of workers in Victoria in Britain.
A. ・The abundance of labour in the market affected the lives of workers. As the news of possible jobs travelled to the countryside, hundreds tramped to the cities. The actual possibility of getting a job depended on existing networks of friendship and kin relations.
・Many job seekers had to wait weeks, spending nights under bridges or night shelters. Some stayed in the Night Refugees that were set up by private individuals; some went to the Casual Wards maintained by the Poor Law authorities.
・Seasonality of work in many industries meant prolonged periods without work. After the busy season was over, the poor were on the streets again. Some returned to the countryside after the winter.
・Wages increased somewhat in the early 19th century. But they tell us little about the welfare of the workers. When prices rose sharply during the prolonged Napoleonic War, the real value of what the workers earned, fell significantly, since the same wages could now buy fewer things.
・The fear of unemployment made the workers hostile to the introduction of new technology. When the spinning jenny was introduced in the woollen industry, women who survived on hand spinning began attacking the new machines. this conflict over the introduction of the jenny continued for a long time.
Q. Why the industrialists in England did not want to get rid of hand labour once machines were produced?
OR
Why did some industrialists in 19th century Europe prefer hand labour over machines? [N.C.E.R.T.]
A. ・In Victorian Britain, there was no shortage of human labour. So industrialists had no problem of shortage or high wage costs. They did not want to introduce machines that got rid of human labour and required large capital investment.
・In many industries the demand for labour was seasonal. Gas works and breweries were especially busy through the cold months. In all such industries where the production fluctuated with the season, industrialists usually preferred hand labour, employing workers for the season.
・A range of products could be produced only with hand labour. The demand was often for goods with intricate designs and specific shapes. For instance, 500 varieties of hammers were produced and 45 kinds of axes. These required human skills, not mechanical technology.
・In Victorian Britain, the upper classes- the aristocrats and the bourgeoisie- preferred things produced by hand. Handmade products came to symbolise refinement and class.
・New technology was expensive and merchants and industrialists were cautious about using it. The machines often broke down and repair was costly. They were not as effective as their inventors and manufacturers claimed.
Q. How was the life of Indian weavers affected under the Company’s rule?
A. The condition of Weavers Under The Rule of The East India Company:
・In many weaving villages there were reports of clashes between weavers and gomasthas. Earlier supply merchants had very often lived within the weaving villages and had a close relationship with the weavers.
・The new gomasthas appointed had were outsiders, with no long-term social link with the village. They acted arrogantly, marched into the villages with sepoys and peons, and punished weavers for delays in supply- often beating and flogging them.
・The weavers lost the space to bargain for prices and sell to different buyers. The price they received from the Company was miserably low and loans they had accepted tied them to the Company.
・In many places such as Carnatic and Bengal, weavers deserted villages and migrated, setting up looms in other villages where they had some family relation.
・Elsewhere, weavers along with the village traders revolted, opposing the Company and its officials.
Q. Why was it difficult for east India to procure a regular supply of goods for export in the beginning? Explain.
A. ・The consolidation of East India Company power after the 1760s did not initially lead to a decline in textile exports from India. British cotton industries had not yet expanded and Indian fine textiles were in great demand in Europe.
・Before establishing political power in Bengal and Carnatic in the 1760s and 1770s, the East India Company had found it difficult to ensure a regular supply of goods for export.
・The French, Dutch, Portuguese as well as the local traders competed in the market to secure woven cloth. So, the weaver and supply merchants could bargain and try selling the produce to the best buyer.
Q. How did the industries develop in the second half of the 19th century? Explain.
A.・From the late 18th century, the British in India began exporting opium to China and took tea from China to England. Many Indians became junior players in this trade, providing finance, and shipping consignments.
・Businessmen had visions of developing industrial enterprises in India. e.g. Dwarkanath Tagore in Bengal; in Bombay, Parsis like Dinshaw Petit and Jamsetjee Nusserwanjee Tata, who built huge industrial enterprises in India; Seth Hukumchand, a Marwari businessman who set up the first Indian jute mill in Calcutta in 1917; father and grandfather of the famous industrialist G.D. Birla.
・European Managing Agencies, e.g. Bird Heiglers & Co., Andrew Yule and Jardine Skinner & Co.which dominated industrial production in India, were interested in certain kinds of products. They established tea and coffee plantations, invested in mining, indigo and jute.
・When Indian businessmen began setting up industries in the late 19th century, they avoided competing with Manchester goods in the Indian market. Since yarn was not an important part of British imports into India, the early cotton mills in India produced coarse cotton yarn rather than fabric.
・As the Swadeshi movement gathered momentum, nationalists mobilised people to boycott foreign cloth. Industrial groups organised themselves to protect their collective interests, pressurising the government to increase tariff protection and grant other concessions.
・Till the First World War, industrial growth was slow. The war created a dramatically new situation. With British mills busy with war production to meet the needs of the army, Manchester imports to India declined. Suddenly, Indian mills had a vast home market to supply. Industrial production boomed over the war years. After the war, Manchester could never recapture its old position in the Indian market.
Q. Explain the following: [N.C.E.R.T.]
a) Women workers in Britain attacked the spinning jenny.
A. ・ The fear of unemployment made workers hostile to the introduction of new technology.
・When the spinning jenny was introduced to the woollen industry women who survived on hand spinning began attacking the new machines.
・ This conflict over the introduction of the jenny continued for a long time.
b) The port of Surat declined by the end of the 18th century.
A. ・ By the 1750s, the European countries gradually gained power first securing a variety of concessions from local courts, then the monopoly rights to trade.
・ This resulted in a decline of the old ports of Surat and Hoogly through which the local merchants operated. Exports from these ports felt dramatically, the credit that had financed the earlier trade began drying up, and the local bankers slowly went bankrupt.
・ While Surat and Hoogly decayed, Bombay and Calcutta grew. This shift from the old ports to the new ones was an indicator of the growth of colonial power.
c) The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India.
A. ・Once the East India Company established political power, it could assert a monopoly right to trade. It preceded to develop a system of management and control that would eliminate competition, control costs and ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk goods.
・First: the company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers connected with the cloth trade, and establish a more direct control over the weaver. It appointed a paid servant called the gomastha to supervise weavers, collect and examine the quality of cloth.
・Second: It prevented company weavers from dealing with other buyers. One way of doing it was through the system of advances. Once an order was placed, the weavers were given loans to purchase the raw material for their production. Those who took loan had to hand over the cloth they produced to the gomastha. They could not take it to any other trader.
Q. The typical worker in the mid 19th century was not a machine but the traditional craftsperson and labourer. Justify the statement.
A.・Cotton and metals were the most dynamic industries in Britain. Growing at a rapid pace, cotton was the leading sector in the first phase of industrialisation up to the 1840s. After that, the iron and steel industry led the way. With the expansion of railways, in England form the 1840s and in the colonies from the 1860s, the demand for iron and steel increased rapidly.
・The new industries could not easily displace traditional industries. Even at the end of the 19th century, less than 20% of the total workforce was employed in technologically advanced industrial sectors.
・The pace of change in traditional industries was not set by steam-powered cotton or metal industries, but they did not remain entirely stagnant either. Ordinary and small innovations were the basis of growth in many non-mechanised sectors such as food processing, building, pottery, glasswork, tanning, furniture making, and production of implements.
・Technological changes occurred slowly. New technology was expensive and merchants and industrialists were cautious about using it. The machines often broke down and repair was costly. They were not as effective as their and inventors and manufacturers claimed.
・For instance, James Watt improved the steam engine produced by Newcomen and patented the new engine in 1781. His industrialist friend Mathew Boulton manufactured the new model. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were only 321 steam engines all over England. Out of these 80 were in cotton industries, 9 in wool industries and the rest in mining, canal works, and iron works.
・So even the most powerful technology that enhanced the productivity of labour manifold was slow to be accepted by industrialists.
Thus the typical worker in the mid 19th century was not a machine operator but the traditional craftsperson and labourer.
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