Q.1. Explain the following:
(a) Woman workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny.
When the Spinning Jenny was introduced in Britain in the 19th century, it sped up spinning and reduced the need for hand spinners. Many women workers depended on hand spinning for their livelihood. Fearing job loss and unemployment, they attacked the new machines to protect their work and income.
(b) In the seventeenth century, merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.
The growth of international trade increased demand for goods. Urban craft guilds in towns restricted entry and production, so merchants turned to villages. Peasants and artisans in the countryside, seeking extra income due to loss of common lands, agreed to do work for merchants.
(c) The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century.
Surat once dominated India’s sea trade, but by the 1750s European companies gained monopoly rights and controlled trade. Indian merchant networks were weakened, and new ports like Bombay and Calcutta grew. Trade shifted to European ships, old trading houses collapsed, and Surat’s trade value fell dramatically.
(d) The East India Company appointed Gomasthas to supervise the weavers in India.
To control trade, the Company replaced local brokers with Gomasthas—paid supervisors who managed weavers, collected cloth, and checked quality. They gave advances to weavers, who had to sell only to the Company. Delays in supply sometimes led to harassment by Gomasthas, ensuring strict Company control over production.
Q.2. True or False:
(a) False
(b) True
(c) False
(d) True
Q.3. Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation.
Proto-industrialisation was a phase of large-scale production for the international market before factories, involving merchant-organised work done by peasants and artisans in villages, outside urban guilds and factories.
Q.4. Why did some industrialists in 19th-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
- New machines/technology were expensive.
- Machines broke down often and repairs were costly.
- Cheap workers were easily available.
- Markets demanded unique and intricate goods, which only skilled hands could produce, not standard machine-made items.
Q.5. How did the East India Company procure regular supplies from Indian weavers?
- Established monopoly and direct control.
- Eliminated existing traders, appointed Gomasthas.
- Provided advances for raw materials with the condition of delivering finished cloth only to the Company.
- Used force or police when weavers refused.
Q.7. Why did the industrial production in India increase during the First World War?
- Imports from Britain (Manchester) declined due to war.
- Indian mills gained a large home market.
- Factories supplied army needs (jute bags, cloth, boots).
- New factories and more shifts were added; more workers employed.
- After the war, British industry declined and India’s production captured the market.