The Age of Industrialization
Before the Industrial Revolution
• Proto-industrialisation was a phase when there was large-scale industrial production for an international market which was not based on factories.
• Proto-industrial system was part of a network of commercial exchanges.
The Coming Up of the Factory
• By the 1730s, the earliest factories in England came up.
• The first symbol of the new era was cotton.
→ A series of inventions in the eighteenth century increased the efficacy of each step of the production process.
• Richard Arkwright created the cotton mill.
The Pace of Industrial Change
How rapid was the process of industrialisation?
• The most dynamic industries in Britain were clearly cotton and metals.
• The new industries could not easily displace traditional industries.
• Technological changes occurred slowly because:
→ The New technology was expensive.
→ The machines often broke down and repair was costly.
→ They were not as effective as their inventors and manufacturers claimed.
Hand Labour and Steam Power
• In Victorian Britain, there was no shortage of human labour.
• Therefore, industrialists did not want to introduce machines which required large capital investment.
• Many seasonal industries were also there who usually preferred hand labour.
• Handmade goods came to symbolize refinement and class
Life of the Workers
• Labours were available in abundance in the market which affected the lives of workers.
• After the busy season was over, workers became jobless.
• In the early nineteenth century, wages increased but the prices of goods also increased.
Industrialisation in the Colonies
• Before the age of machine industries, silk and cotton goods from India dominated the international market in textiles.
• A vibrant sea trade operated through the main pre-colonial ports.
What Happened to Weavers?
• After the East India Company established political power, they tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers and establish a more direct control over the weaver.
• It appointed a paid servant called the gomastha to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth.
→ Loans were provided for purchasing raw material for production.
→ The produced cloth was to be handed over to the gomastha.
• In many weaving villages there were reports of clashes between weavers and gomasthas because:
→ The new gomasthas were outsiders, with no long-term social link with the village.
→ The price weavers received from the Company was miserably low.
Manchester Comes to India
• As cotton industries developed in England, industrial groups pressurised the government to impose import duties on cotton textiles so that Manchester goods could sell in Britain without competition.
• Also, they persuaded the East India Company to sell British manufactures in Indian markets as well.
• Thus, cotton weavers in India faced two problems at the same time:
→ Their export market collapsed as market overloaded with Manchester imports.
→ Availability of lower cost cotton goods produced by machines.
• By the end of the nineteenth century, factories in India began production, flooding the market with machine-made goods which created a problem of weavers.
Factories Come Up
• In 1854, the first cotton mill in Bombay came up.
• In 1855, first jute mill in Bengal came up.
• By 1862, four cotton mills came up.
• In 1862, another jute mill came up.
• In the 1860s, the Elgin mill was started in Kanpur
• In 1861, the first cotton mill of Ahmadabad was set up.
• In 1874, the first spinning and weaving mill of Madras began production.
*WHO Were Jobbers? What Was Their Role?
Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny because it speeded up the spinning process, and consequently, reduced labour demand. This caused a valid fear of unemployment among women working in the woollen industry. Till date, they had survived on hand spinning, but this was placed in peril by the new machine.
Q.In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.
In the seventeenth century, merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages because production in urban areas could not be increased due to the presence of powerful trade guilds. These maintained control over production, regulated prices and competition, and restricted the entry of new people in the trade. Monopolisation was also a common tactic. In the countryside, there were no such rules, and impoverished peasants welcomed these merchants.
Q.The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century. Give reason?
The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century on account of the growing power of European companies 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 slowed and local banks here went bankrupt.
Q.The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India. Why?
The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India to establish a more direct control over the weavers, free of the existing traders and brokers in the cloth trade. The gomasthas were the paid servants who supervised the weavers, collected supplies and examined the quality of cloth. The gomasthas ensured that all management and control of the cloth industry came under the British. This helped in eliminating competition, controlling costs and ensuring regular supplies of cotton and silk products.
Q.Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation.
Proto-industrialisation is the phase of industrialisation that was not based on the factory system. Before the coming of factories, there was large-scale industrial production for an international market. This part of industrial history is known as proto-industrialisation.
Q.Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Some industrialists in nineteenth-century England preferred hand labour over machines because there was no labour shortage in the market, and as a result, there was no problem of high wage costs either. Industrialists did not wish to replace hand labour with machines that would require large capital investment. Also, in industries where the production and amount of labour required were dependent on the seasons, hand labour was preferred for its lower costs. Apart from this, many goods could only be manufactured by hand. Machines could provide mass quantities of a uniform product. But the demand was for intricate designs and shapes; this required human skill, and not mechanical technology. Handmade products also stood for refinement and class status. It was commonly believed that machine-made goods were for export to the colonies.
Q.How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
After establishing political power, the East India Company successfully procured regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers via a series of actions. These actions were aimed at eliminating competition from other colonial powers, controlling costs and ensuring regular supplies of cotton and silk goods for Britain.
Firstly, it appointed gomasthas or paid servants to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine textile quality.
Secondly, it disallowed Company weavers from dealing with other buyers. This was ascertained by a system of giving advances to the weavers for procuring raw materials. Those who took these loans could not sell their cloth to anyone but the gomasthas.
1. Explain the following:
Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny
In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages
The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century
The East India Company appointed ‘gomasthas’ to supervise weavers in India
Solution:
James Hargreaves designed the Spinning Jenny in 1764. This machine speeded up the spinning process and reduced the demand for labour. By the use of this machine, a single worker could turn a number of spindles, and spin several threads at a time. Due to this, many weavers would lose employment. The fearful prospect of unemployment drew women workers, who depended on hand-spinning, to attack the new machines.
World trade expanded at a very fast rate during the 17th and 18th centuries. The acquisition of colonies was also responsible for the increase in demand. The producers in the towns failed to produce the required quantity of cloth. The producers could not expand the production in the towns, because urban crafts and trade guilds were powerful. These were the associations of producers that restricted the entry of new people into the trade. The rulers granted different guilds the monopoly right to produce and the trade-in specific products.
The European companies were gaining power by securing a variety of concessions from the local courts. It was very difficult for the Indian merchants and traders to face the competition as most of the European countries had huge resources. Some of the European companies got the monopoly rights to trade.
All this resulted in the decline of Surat Port by the end of the eighteenth century. In the last years of the seventeenth century, the gross value of trade that passed through Surat had been 16 million. By the 1740s, it had slumped to 3 million. With the passage of time, Surat and Hooghly decayed, while Bombay (Mumbai) and Calcutta (Kolkata) grew.
The company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers connect with the cloth trade, and establish more direct control over the weavers. It appointed a paid servant called Gomastha to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth.
2. Write True or False against each statement:
At the end of the nineteenth century, 80 per cent of the total workforce in Europe was employed in the technologically advanced industrial sector
The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the eighteenth century
The American Civil War resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India
The introduction of the fly shuttle enabled handloom workers to improve their productivity.
Solution:
False
True
False
True
3. Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation
Solution: Even before factories began to appear on the landscape of England and Europe, there was a large scale industrial production for an international market. This was not based on factories. Many historians now refer to this phase of industrialization as proto-industrialization or the precursor to industrialization. During this period, most of the goods were hand manufactured by trained crafts-persons for the international market.
4. Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Solution: In the 19th century, Europe some British industrialists preferred hand labour over machines because
New technologies and machines were expensive and untested. So the producers and the industrialists were cautious about using them.
Machines often broke down and repairing them was an expensive affair.
Poor peasants and migrants moved to cities in large numbers in search of jobs. As a result, there was a large pool of labourers available for cheap labour
In seasonal industries, where production fluctuated with the seasons, industrialists usually preferred hand labour, employing workers only for the season, when it was needed.
The variety of products required in the market could not be produced by the machines available at that time. In the mid-nineteenth century, Britain, for instance, 500 varieties of hammers and 45 kinds of axes were produced, these required human skills and not mechanical technology.
5. How did East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
Solution: The East India Company adopted various steps to ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles.
They established political power to assert a monopoly on the right to trade.
The company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers connected with the cloth trade and establish direct control over the weavers. It appointed paid servants called the ‘Gomasthas’, to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth.
It prevented the company weavers from dealing with other buyers. Once an order was placed, the weavers were given loans to purchase the raw material. Those who took loans had to hand over the cloth they produced to the Gomasthas only. They could not take it to any other trader.
They developed a system of management and control that would eliminate competition, control cost and ensure regular supply of cotton and silk goods. This system forced the sell at a price dictated by the company. By giving the weavers a loan, the company tied the weavers with them.
6. Imagine that you have been asked to write an article for an encyclopedia on Britain and the history of cotton. Write your piece using information from the entire.
Solution: The following inventions in 18th century England (given in chronological order) are important milestones in the history of cotton.
James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny’ in 1764. This speeded up spinning work significantly.
John Key invented the ‘Flying Shuttle’ in 1769, which sped up the weaving process.
Richard Arkwright improved the ‘Spinning Jenny’ in 1769 so that it could be run by water power. He called it the ‘Water Frame’.
In 1776, Samuel Crompton invented the ‘Mule’, which combined the advantages of both the ‘Water Frame’ and the ‘Spinning Jenny’.
In 1785, Edmund Cartwright invented the power loom, which used steam power for both spinning and weaving.
Eli Whitney (in the USA) invented the ‘Cotton Gin’ in 1793, which solved the problem of removing seeds from cotton fibres. This could separate the seeds from the fibres 300 times faster than by hand. Later on, Arkwright created a complete cotton mill, where all the textile manufacturing process could be completed under one roof and management.
The use of steam power played a very significant role in running cotton mills. Production of textiles increased in a very short time and with less manual labour. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were near about 321 steam engines in England, out of which 80 were in use in cotton textile mills.
The East India Company appointed ‘Gomasthas’, the paid servants of the company to supervise weavers, collect supplies and judge and inspect the quality of textiles. The Gomasthas were the link between the East India Company and the weavers. The company arranged loans to the weavers to purchase raw material for weaving the cloth.
7. Why did industrial production in India increase during the First World War?
Solution: Industrial production in India increased during the First World War due to the following reasons
The British mills were busy with war production to meet the needs of the army, thus Manchester imports into India declined.
With the decline of imports suddenly, Indian mills had a vast home market to supply.
As the war prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs also, such as Jute bags, cloth for uniforms of soldiers, tents, leather boots.
New factories were set up and old ones organized multiple shifts; during the war years, Indian industries boomed.
Overall, the First World War gave a boost to Indian industries.
Before the Industrial Revolution
• Proto-industrialisation was a phase when there was large-scale industrial production for an international market which was not based on factories.
• Proto-industrial system was part of a network of commercial exchanges.
The Coming Up of the Factory
• By the 1730s, the earliest factories in England came up.
• The first symbol of the new era was cotton.
→ A series of inventions in the eighteenth century increased the efficacy of each step of the production process.
• Richard Arkwright created the cotton mill.
The Pace of Industrial Change
How rapid was the process of industrialisation?
• The most dynamic industries in Britain were clearly cotton and metals.
• The new industries could not easily displace traditional industries.
• Technological changes occurred slowly because:
→ The New technology was expensive.
→ The machines often broke down and repair was costly.
→ They were not as effective as their inventors and manufacturers claimed.
Hand Labour and Steam Power
• In Victorian Britain, there was no shortage of human labour.
• Therefore, industrialists did not want to introduce machines which required large capital investment.
• Many seasonal industries were also there who usually preferred hand labour.
• Handmade goods came to symbolize refinement and class
Life of the Workers
• Labours were available in abundance in the market which affected the lives of workers.
• After the busy season was over, workers became jobless.
• In the early nineteenth century, wages increased but the prices of goods also increased.
Industrialisation in the Colonies
The Age of Indian Textiles
• Before the age of machine industries, silk and cotton goods from India dominated the international market in textiles.
• A vibrant sea trade operated through the main pre-colonial ports.
What Happened to Weavers?
• After the East India Company established political power, they tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers and establish a more direct control over the weaver.
• It appointed a paid servant called the gomastha to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth.
→ Loans were provided for purchasing raw material for production.
→ The produced cloth was to be handed over to the gomastha.
• In many weaving villages there were reports of clashes between weavers and gomasthas because:
→ The new gomasthas were outsiders, with no long-term social link with the village.
→ The price weavers received from the Company was miserably low.
Manchester Comes to India
• As cotton industries developed in England, industrial groups pressurised the government to impose import duties on cotton textiles so that Manchester goods could sell in Britain without competition.
• Also, they persuaded the East India Company to sell British manufactures in Indian markets as well.
• Thus, cotton weavers in India faced two problems at the same time:
→ Their export market collapsed as market overloaded with Manchester imports.
→ Availability of lower cost cotton goods produced by machines.
• By the end of the nineteenth century, factories in India began production, flooding the market with machine-made goods which created a problem of weavers.
Factories Come Up
• In 1854, the first cotton mill in Bombay came up.
• In 1855, first jute mill in Bengal came up.
• By 1862, four cotton mills came up.
• In 1862, another jute mill came up.
• In the 1860s, the Elgin mill was started in Kanpur
• In 1861, the first cotton mill of Ahmadabad was set up.
• In 1874, the first spinning and weaving mill of Madras began production.
The Early Entrepreneurs
• In Bengal, Dwarkanath Tagore made his fortune in the China trade.
• In Bombay, Parsis like Dinshaw Petit and Jamsetjee Nusserwanjee Tata who built huge industrial empires in India.
• After colonial power came in power, Indian businessmen were barred from trading with Europe in manufactured goods.
Where Did the Workers Come From?
• In most industrial regions workers came from the districts around.
• Industrialists usually employed a jobber to get new recruits.
→ He got people from his village, ensured them jobs, helped them settle in the city.
The Peculiarities of Industrial Growth
• European Managing Agencies established tea and coffee plantations, acquiring land at cheap rates from the colonial government.
• By the first decade of the twentieth century, the swadeshi movement promoted Indian industries.
• From 1906, moreover, the export of Indian yarn to China declined since produce from Chinese and Japanese mills flooded the Chinese market.
• During the First World War, British mills busy with war production to meet the needs of the army, Manchester imports into India declined.
• After the war, Manchester could never recapture its old position in the Indian market.
Small-scale Industries Predominate
• Large industries formed only a small segment of the economy and most of them were located in Bengal and Bombay.
• In the twentieth century, handicrafts production and handloom actually expanded.
• By the second decade of the 20th century, weavers used looms with a fly shuttle.
Market for Goods
• New consumers are created is through advertisements.
• Advertisements appear in newspapers, magazines, hoardings, street walls, television screens.
• Advertisements became a vehicle of the nationalist message of Swadeshi.
*WHO Were Jobbers? What Was Their Role?
Jobbers were kept for recruitment. Jobber was generally an old confident. He used to bring people from villages.
*What Is Staples?
A person who ‘Staples’ or sorts wool according to fiber.
*What Is Fuller?
Fuller is a person who ‘Fulls’ that it gathers cloth by pleating.
*What Is Meant By Carding?
The process in when fibres such as cotton or wool are prepared prior to spinning.
*Why New Industrialist Could Not Displace Traditional Industries?
1. Number of people working in industries was less.
2. Slow changes in technology.
3. Cloth industry was dynamic
4. Technology was expensive.
5. A large part of production was done in Handlooms
2. Slow changes in technology.
3. Cloth industry was dynamic
4. Technology was expensive.
5. A large part of production was done in Handlooms
Years Of Events
1600: The East India company was established.
1760: Britian imported New cotton to feed its cotton industry.
1781: James watt improvised steam engine & patented it.
1840: Cotton was the leading sector in the first phase of Industrialisation in Britain.
1854: The first cotton mill was established in Bombay.
1855: The first Jute Mill was set up in Bengal.
1860: Elgin Mill was started in Kanpur.
1861: The first cotton mill was setup in Ahmedabad.
1874: The first spinning & weaving mill & Madras began its production.
1912: J.N. Tata set up first Iron & Steel works in Jameshedpur.
1917: Seth Hukumchand set up first Jute Mill in Calcutta.
1760: Britian imported New cotton to feed its cotton industry.
1781: James watt improvised steam engine & patented it.
1840: Cotton was the leading sector in the first phase of Industrialisation in Britain.
1854: The first cotton mill was established in Bombay.
1855: The first Jute Mill was set up in Bengal.
1860: Elgin Mill was started in Kanpur.
1861: The first cotton mill was setup in Ahmedabad.
1874: The first spinning & weaving mill & Madras began its production.
1912: J.N. Tata set up first Iron & Steel works in Jameshedpur.
1917: Seth Hukumchand set up first Jute Mill in Calcutta.
Multiple Choice Questions – MCQ
1. Who invented steam engine
(a) James Watt
(b) New Comen
(c) Richard Arpwright
(d) E.T. Paull
2. Who were Jobbers?
(a) A person employed by industrialist to new recruits
(b) A paid servant of East India company
(c) A person employed by farmer to sell their products
(d) A person doing most important job in a factory
3. Dwarkanath Tagore was a ___________
(a) Indusrialist
(b) Painter
(c) Philosopher
(d) Social Reformer
4. When did the exports of British cotton increase dramatically?
(a) In the early 17th century
(b) In the early 18 century
(c) In early 19 century
(d) In early 20 century
5. Which of the following were the most dynamic industries of the Great Britain?
(a) Cotton and Metal Industry
(b) Metal & Agrobased industries
(c) Cotton and Sugar Industry
(d) Ship & Cotton
(a) James Watt
(b) New Comen
(c) Richard Arpwright
(d) E.T. Paull
2. Who were Jobbers?
(a) A person employed by industrialist to new recruits
(b) A paid servant of East India company
(c) A person employed by farmer to sell their products
(d) A person doing most important job in a factory
3. Dwarkanath Tagore was a ___________
(a) Indusrialist
(b) Painter
(c) Philosopher
(d) Social Reformer
4. When did the exports of British cotton increase dramatically?
(a) In the early 17th century
(b) In the early 18 century
(c) In early 19 century
(d) In early 20 century
5. Which of the following were the most dynamic industries of the Great Britain?
(a) Cotton and Metal Industry
(b) Metal & Agrobased industries
(c) Cotton and Sugar Industry
(d) Ship & Cotton
Answers to MCQ
1. (a)
2. (a)
3. (a)
4. (c)
5. (a)
2. (a)
3. (a)
4. (c)
5. (a)
One Mark Questions With Answers
1. In the 19th industrialist in which country started using machines.
2. Name two most important industries of Europe?
3. In which decade factories opened in England?
4. Why industrialist was reluctant to use machines?
5. Who were Gomashtas?
6. In the initial phase of Industrialisation.
7. What kind of products introduced European Managing Agencies?
8. How did spinning Jenny accelerated production?
9. How do Urban producers control production?
10. Which methods were adopted to create new consumers?
2. Name two most important industries of Europe?
3. In which decade factories opened in England?
4. Why industrialist was reluctant to use machines?
5. Who were Gomashtas?
6. In the initial phase of Industrialisation.
7. What kind of products introduced European Managing Agencies?
8. How did spinning Jenny accelerated production?
9. How do Urban producers control production?
10. Which methods were adopted to create new consumers?
Answers of 1 Mark Questions
1. USA
2. Cotton and steel industry
3. In 1730s.
4. Cheap Human Labour – Avail ability
5. Supervisor appointed by East India Company over Weavers.
6. Cotton and Metal Industries
7. Plantation – Tea and Coffee
8. Spinning
9. Merchants used to give loans to Artisans
10. Through advertisements
Q.Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny. Why?
Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny because it speeded up the spinning process, and consequently, reduced labour demand. This caused a valid fear of unemployment among women working in the woollen industry. Till date, they had survived on hand spinning, but this was placed in peril by the new machine.
Q.In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.
In the seventeenth century, merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages because production in urban areas could not be increased due to the presence of powerful trade guilds. These maintained control over production, regulated prices and competition, and restricted the entry of new people in the trade. Monopolisation was also a common tactic. In the countryside, there were no such rules, and impoverished peasants welcomed these merchants.
Q.The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century. Give reason?
The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century on account of the growing power of European companies 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 slowed and local banks here went bankrupt.
Q.The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India. Why?
The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India to establish a more direct control over the weavers, free of the existing traders and brokers in the cloth trade. The gomasthas were the paid servants who supervised the weavers, collected supplies and examined the quality of cloth. The gomasthas ensured that all management and control of the cloth industry came under the British. This helped in eliminating competition, controlling costs and ensuring regular supplies of cotton and silk products.
Q.Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation.
Proto-industrialisation is the phase of industrialisation that was not based on the factory system. Before the coming of factories, there was large-scale industrial production for an international market. This part of industrial history is known as proto-industrialisation.
Q.Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Some industrialists in nineteenth-century England preferred hand labour over machines because there was no labour shortage in the market, and as a result, there was no problem of high wage costs either. Industrialists did not wish to replace hand labour with machines that would require large capital investment. Also, in industries where the production and amount of labour required were dependent on the seasons, hand labour was preferred for its lower costs. Apart from this, many goods could only be manufactured by hand. Machines could provide mass quantities of a uniform product. But the demand was for intricate designs and shapes; this required human skill, and not mechanical technology. Handmade products also stood for refinement and class status. It was commonly believed that machine-made goods were for export to the colonies.
Q.How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
After establishing political power, the East India Company successfully procured regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers via a series of actions. These actions were aimed at eliminating competition from other colonial powers, controlling costs and ensuring regular supplies of cotton and silk goods for Britain.
Firstly, it appointed gomasthas or paid servants to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine textile quality.
Secondly, it disallowed Company weavers from dealing with other buyers. This was ascertained by a system of giving advances to the weavers for procuring raw materials. Those who took these loans could not sell their cloth to anyone but the gomasthas.
1. Explain the following:
Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny
In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages
The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century
The East India Company appointed ‘gomasthas’ to supervise weavers in India
Solution:
James Hargreaves designed the Spinning Jenny in 1764. This machine speeded up the spinning process and reduced the demand for labour. By the use of this machine, a single worker could turn a number of spindles, and spin several threads at a time. Due to this, many weavers would lose employment. The fearful prospect of unemployment drew women workers, who depended on hand-spinning, to attack the new machines.
World trade expanded at a very fast rate during the 17th and 18th centuries. The acquisition of colonies was also responsible for the increase in demand. The producers in the towns failed to produce the required quantity of cloth. The producers could not expand the production in the towns, because urban crafts and trade guilds were powerful. These were the associations of producers that restricted the entry of new people into the trade. The rulers granted different guilds the monopoly right to produce and the trade-in specific products.
The European companies were gaining power by securing a variety of concessions from the local courts. It was very difficult for the Indian merchants and traders to face the competition as most of the European countries had huge resources. Some of the European companies got the monopoly rights to trade.
All this resulted in the decline of Surat Port by the end of the eighteenth century. In the last years of the seventeenth century, the gross value of trade that passed through Surat had been 16 million. By the 1740s, it had slumped to 3 million. With the passage of time, Surat and Hooghly decayed, while Bombay (Mumbai) and Calcutta (Kolkata) grew.
The company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers connect with the cloth trade, and establish more direct control over the weavers. It appointed a paid servant called Gomastha to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth.
2. Write True or False against each statement:
At the end of the nineteenth century, 80 per cent of the total workforce in Europe was employed in the technologically advanced industrial sector
The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the eighteenth century
The American Civil War resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India
The introduction of the fly shuttle enabled handloom workers to improve their productivity.
Solution:
False
True
False
True
3. Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation
Solution: Even before factories began to appear on the landscape of England and Europe, there was a large scale industrial production for an international market. This was not based on factories. Many historians now refer to this phase of industrialization as proto-industrialization or the precursor to industrialization. During this period, most of the goods were hand manufactured by trained crafts-persons for the international market.
4. Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Solution: In the 19th century, Europe some British industrialists preferred hand labour over machines because
New technologies and machines were expensive and untested. So the producers and the industrialists were cautious about using them.
Machines often broke down and repairing them was an expensive affair.
Poor peasants and migrants moved to cities in large numbers in search of jobs. As a result, there was a large pool of labourers available for cheap labour
In seasonal industries, where production fluctuated with the seasons, industrialists usually preferred hand labour, employing workers only for the season, when it was needed.
The variety of products required in the market could not be produced by the machines available at that time. In the mid-nineteenth century, Britain, for instance, 500 varieties of hammers and 45 kinds of axes were produced, these required human skills and not mechanical technology.
5. How did East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
Solution: The East India Company adopted various steps to ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles.
They established political power to assert a monopoly on the right to trade.
The company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers connected with the cloth trade and establish direct control over the weavers. It appointed paid servants called the ‘Gomasthas’, to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth.
It prevented the company weavers from dealing with other buyers. Once an order was placed, the weavers were given loans to purchase the raw material. Those who took loans had to hand over the cloth they produced to the Gomasthas only. They could not take it to any other trader.
They developed a system of management and control that would eliminate competition, control cost and ensure regular supply of cotton and silk goods. This system forced the sell at a price dictated by the company. By giving the weavers a loan, the company tied the weavers with them.
6. Imagine that you have been asked to write an article for an encyclopedia on Britain and the history of cotton. Write your piece using information from the entire.
Solution: The following inventions in 18th century England (given in chronological order) are important milestones in the history of cotton.
James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny’ in 1764. This speeded up spinning work significantly.
John Key invented the ‘Flying Shuttle’ in 1769, which sped up the weaving process.
Richard Arkwright improved the ‘Spinning Jenny’ in 1769 so that it could be run by water power. He called it the ‘Water Frame’.
In 1776, Samuel Crompton invented the ‘Mule’, which combined the advantages of both the ‘Water Frame’ and the ‘Spinning Jenny’.
In 1785, Edmund Cartwright invented the power loom, which used steam power for both spinning and weaving.
Eli Whitney (in the USA) invented the ‘Cotton Gin’ in 1793, which solved the problem of removing seeds from cotton fibres. This could separate the seeds from the fibres 300 times faster than by hand. Later on, Arkwright created a complete cotton mill, where all the textile manufacturing process could be completed under one roof and management.
The use of steam power played a very significant role in running cotton mills. Production of textiles increased in a very short time and with less manual labour. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were near about 321 steam engines in England, out of which 80 were in use in cotton textile mills.
The East India Company appointed ‘Gomasthas’, the paid servants of the company to supervise weavers, collect supplies and judge and inspect the quality of textiles. The Gomasthas were the link between the East India Company and the weavers. The company arranged loans to the weavers to purchase raw material for weaving the cloth.
7. Why did industrial production in India increase during the First World War?
Solution: Industrial production in India increased during the First World War due to the following reasons
The British mills were busy with war production to meet the needs of the army, thus Manchester imports into India declined.
With the decline of imports suddenly, Indian mills had a vast home market to supply.
As the war prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs also, such as Jute bags, cloth for uniforms of soldiers, tents, leather boots.
New factories were set up and old ones organized multiple shifts; during the war years, Indian industries boomed.
Overall, the First World War gave a boost to Indian industries.
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