Chapter 4: The Age of Industrialisation

Textbook Questions

Write in Brief

1. Explain the following:
(a) Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny.
(b) In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.
(c) The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century.
(d) The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India.

Answer:

(a) Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny because:

It speeded up the spinning process and reduced labour demand. With the Spinning Jenny only one worker was enough to set a number of spindles in motion by turning one single wheel and could spin several threads at the same time.

• Women workers in Britain had survived on hand spinning.
• The new machine caused a valid fear of unemployment among women working in the woollen industry.

(b) In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages because:

• The demand for goods increased with the expansion of world trade. The acquisition of colonies was also responsible for the increase in demand. The town producers failed to produce the required quantity.

• The trade and commerce guilds were very powerful. They controlled the market, raw materials, employees, and also production of goods in the towns. This created problem for merchants who wanted to increase production by employing more men.
• The rulers granted different guilds the monopoly right to produce and trade in specific products. It was therefore difficult for new merchants to set up business in towns. So they turned to the countryside and began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.

(c) The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century because

• The European companies gradually gained power in trade with India.
• They secured many concessions from local courts as well as the monopoly rights to trade.
• This led to a decline of the old ports of Surat and Hoogly from where local merchants had operated. Exports from these ports fell abruptly and local banks here went bankrupt.

(d) The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India to:

• eliminate the existence of traders and brokers and establish a direct control over the weavers.
• ensure regular supply of fine silk and cotton textiles.
• prevent weavers from dealing with other buyers by means of advances and control. In this manner, weavers who took loans and fees in advance were obligated to the British.

2. Write True or False against each statement:

(a) At the end of the nineteenth century, 80 per cent of the total workforce in Europe was employed in the technologically advanced industrial sector.

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

(c) The American Civil War resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India.

(d) The introduction of the fly shuttle enabled handloom workers to improve their productivity.

Answer:

(a) False

(b) True

(c) False

(d) True

3. Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation.

Answer: The early phase of industrialisation in which the large-scale production was carried out for international market was known as proto-industrialisation. This type of industrialization was not based on the factory system but on decentralised units.

Discuss

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

Answer: Some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe preferred hand labour over machines because:

• Machines were expensive and their repair was also costly.
• They were not as effective as claimed by their inventors and manufacturers.
• As the poor peasants and migrants moved to cities in large numbers in search of jobs, the supply of workers was more than the demand due to which labour was available at low wages.
• In seasonal industries only seasonal labour was required.
• The market demanded goods with variety of designs, colours and specific shapes which could not be fulfilled by using machines. Intricate designs and shapes could be produced only with hand labour.
• In Victorian age, the aristocrats and other upper class people preferred articles made by hand only.

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

Answer: The English East India Company used different means to procure silk and cotton from the Indian weavers:

• They appointed paid supervisors called Gomasthas to develop a system of management. They also collected supplies and examined cloth quality of the weavers.
• The existing traders and brokers were eliminated to establish a more direct control over the weavers.
• The company weavers were prevented from dealing with other buyers through a system of advances and loans. Once an order was placed, the weavers were given loans to purchase the raw material for their production.
• At many places weaver were often beaten and flogged for delays in supply.

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: Write this answer in your own words. You may take help form the following explanation:

Britain and the History of Cotton

• During the 17^th and 18^th centuries, merchants used to trade with rural people in textile production.
• In the first phase, clothier used to buy wool from a wool stapler, carry it to the spinners, and then, take the yarn to the weavers. Lastly, it was take to the fuller and dyers for further levels of production.
• London was the finishing centre for these goods.
• This phase in British manufacturing history is known as proto-industrialisation. In this phase, factories were not an essential part of industry.
• Cotton was the first symbol of the new era of factories. Its production increased rapidly in the late nineteenth century.
• With the invention of the cotton mill, new machines, and better management, Imports of raw cotton increased from 2.5 million pounds in 1760 to 22 million pounds in 1787.
• Till 1840, cotton was the leading sector in the first stage of industrialisation.
  
  Most of the inventions in the textile industry led to the unemployment.
• Women in the woollen industry opposed and demanded to destroy it because it was taking over their place in the labour market.
  
  Before such technological developments, Britain imported silk and cotton goods from India in vast numbers.
• The East India Company exploited the weavers and textile industry in India after attaining political power in the country.
• Later, Manchester became the hub of cotton production and India was turned into the major buyer of British cotton goods.
• During the First World War, British factories were busy in fulfilling the war essentials. This, once again, resulted in high demand for Indian textiles. Thus, the history of cotton in Britain is all about such fluctuations of demand and supply.

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

Answer: Industrial production in India increased during the First World War due to following reasons:

• British industries became busy in producing and supplying the war-essentials. Hence, they stopped exporting British goods or clothes for colonial markets like that in India.
• With the decline of imports suddenly, it was a good opportunity for Indian industries to produce enough goods to meet the demand of home market.
• As the war prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs such as jute bags, cloth for the army uniforms, tents and leather boots, etc.
• To meet the increased demands of variety of products, new factories were set up and old ones were made to increased their production.
• Many new workers were employed. Thus, the First World War gave a boost to Indian industries.