Kundali IQ
Menu ☰
SSC Maths AcademyHomeSchool 6–12Free notesExplore allMy study planSearchExamsTeachers & parentsPricingFAQOpen appGet it on Google Play

Home › Free notes › Class 10 Social Science › Print Culture and the Modern World

Print Culture and the Modern World – Class 10 Social Science notes, important questions and MCQs

NCERT Class 10 Social Science, chapter 5. Notes, key terms, important questions with answers and MCQs.

हिंदी में पढ़ें

Chapter overview

Printing began in East Asia and spread to Europe, where Gutenberg's press started a print revolution. Print changed how people read, spread new ideas, helped reform movements and nationalism, and in India it shaped debates on religion, caste and women's rights.

Early print and the print revolution

  • The earliest print technology was developed in China, Japan and Korea; China used hand printing with wooden blocks.
  • The oldest Japanese printed book is the Buddhist Diamond Sutra (AD 868); Marco Polo brought knowledge of woodblock printing to Italy in 1295.
  • Johann Gutenberg developed the first known printing press in the 1430s; the first book he printed was the Bible (about 180 copies).
  • Print made books cheaper, created new readers and a reading public, and spread ideas fast.

Print, religion and new ideas

  • Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses (1517) were printed widely and led to the Protestant Reformation.
  • The Roman Catholic Church kept an Index of Prohibited Books from 1558; the miller Menocchio was punished for his views.
  • Print spread the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers and is believed to have helped bring about the French Revolution.

Print in India

  • Portuguese missionaries brought the printing press to Goa in the mid-16th century.
  • James Augustus Hickey started the Bengal Gazette in 1780; Raja Rammohun Roy published Sambad Kaumudi from 1821.
  • Women writers such as Rashsundari Debi (Amar Jiban, 1876) and reformers such as Jyotiba Phule (Gulamgiri, 1871) used print.
  • The Vernacular Press Act (1878) gave the government power to censor Indian-language newspapers; Tilak's Kesari criticised British rule.

Key terms

Calligraphy
the art of beautiful and stylised writing
Manuscript
a book or document written by hand
Protestant Reformation
a 16th-century movement to reform the Catholic Church, started by Martin Luther
Vernacular Press Act
a law of 1878 that allowed the government to censor reports and editorials in Indian-language newspapers

Important questions with answers

Who was Menocchio and why was he punished?2 marks

Menocchio was a miller in 16th-century Italy who read books available in his locality and reinterpreted the Bible in his own way. His views about God and Creation angered the Roman Catholic Church, and he was hauled up before the Inquisition and finally executed.

Why did some people in 18th-century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism?3 marks

Print spread knowledge widely and quickly, so ideas of reason, rationality and freedom reached more people. Writers such as Rousseau and Voltaire were read widely, and readers began to question tradition, superstition and the authority of kings and the Church. Many believed that books could change the world and free society from despotism and tyranny.

Explain how print culture helped the growth of nationalism and reform in 19th-century India.5 marks

Newspapers in Indian languages and English carried news from one part of the country to another and created a sense of shared identity. Reformers such as Raja Rammohun Roy used periodicals like Sambad Kaumudi to debate social issues such as widow immolation and idolatry. Writers such as Jyotiba Phule and later B.R. Ambedkar wrote against caste discrimination, and women such as Rashsundari Debi wrote about their own lives. Nationalist newspapers like Tilak's Kesari criticised colonial misrule and reported on nationalist activities. Worried by this, the government passed the Vernacular Press Act in 1878 to censor Indian newspapers, but nationalist papers continued to grow and helped mobilise public opinion.

Quick revision

  • Woodblock printing began in East Asia.
  • Gutenberg's press started the print revolution in Europe.
  • Luther's theses → Protestant Reformation.
  • Vernacular Press Act 1878 censored Indian newspapers.

Exam tips

  • Learn the 'firsts': Diamond Sutra 868, Marco Polo 1295, Gutenberg Bible 1448, Luther 1517, Goa press 1550s, Bengal Gazette 1780, Vernacular Press Act 1878.
  • In 'why did some people fear print' answers, give both the Church's view and the colonial government's view.

Practice MCQs

  1. The first printing press in Europe was developed by

    1. Marco Polo
    2. Martin Luther
    3. Johann Gutenberg
    4. Erasmus
    Show answer

    Answer: (c) Johann Gutenberg. Gutenberg developed it in Strasbourg and Mainz in the 15th century.

  2. The first book printed by Gutenberg was the

    1. Diamond Sutra
    2. Ninety-Five Theses
    3. Bible
    4. Gulamgiri
    Show answer

    Answer: (c) Bible. He printed about 180 copies of the Bible.

  3. The Diamond Sutra is the oldest printed book of

    1. China
    2. Japan
    3. Korea
    4. India
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Japan. It was printed in AD 868.

  4. Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses criticised the practices of the

    1. Mughal court
    2. Japanese emperor
    3. British Parliament
    4. Roman Catholic Church
    Show answer

    Answer: (d) Roman Catholic Church. Printed copies spread quickly and began the Reformation.

  5. The Bengal Gazette was started by

    1. Rammohun Roy
    2. James Augustus Hickey
    3. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
    4. Jyotiba Phule
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) James Augustus Hickey. Hickey started this weekly in 1780.

  6. Gulamgiri, a book on the injustices of caste, was written by

    1. Jyotiba Phule
    2. Rashsundari Debi
    3. B.R. Ambedkar
    4. Periyar
    Show answer

    Answer: (a) Jyotiba Phule. Phule published it in 1871.

  7. The Vernacular Press Act of 1878

    1. encouraged Indian newspapers
    2. banned English newspapers
    3. introduced printing in Goa
    4. allowed the government to censor Indian-language newspapers
    Show answer

    Answer: (d) allowed the government to censor Indian-language newspapers. It was modelled on the Irish Press Laws.

  8. The Index of Prohibited Books was maintained by the

    1. Protestant churches
    2. Roman Catholic Church
    3. British East India Company
    4. Mughal emperors
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Roman Catholic Church. It was kept from 1558 to control heretical ideas.

All chapters of Class 10 Social Science

Written by Kundali IQ from standard, well-established facts to help with revision. This is not an official NCERT publication; always read your textbook too.