The Age of Industrialisation – Class 10 Social Science notes, important questions and MCQs

Chapter overview

Industrialisation did not begin only with factories. Proto-industrial production for international markets existed earlier. In Britain and India, hand labour and new machines existed side by side, and Indian industry grew in the 20th century despite colonial control.

Before the Industrial Revolution

• Proto-industrialisation: merchants supplied money to rural spinners and weavers who produced at home for international markets.
• In England, wool passed from the stapler to the spinner, the weaver, the fuller and then to finishers in London.
• The cotton mill, built after Richard Arkwright's inventions, brought processes under one roof and allowed close supervision.

Pace of industrial change

• Cotton and metals were the most dynamic industries in Britain; James Watt improved the steam engine.
• Hand labour remained common because labour was cheap and many products needed human skill and seasonal demand.
• The Spinning Jenny (James Hargreaves, 1764) speeded up spinning but workers feared losing jobs.

Industrialisation in the colonies

• Indian textiles dominated world markets before the 1750s; the East India Company later controlled weavers through gomasthas (paid agents).
• Manchester goods flooded India in the 19th century, and weavers faced high raw cotton prices and falling demand.
• The first cotton mill in Bombay came up in 1854; the first jute mill in Bengal in 1855; Elgin Mill started in Kanpur in 1860.
• Early Indian industrialists included Dwarkanath Tagore, Dinshaw Petit, Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy and Seth Hukumchand; jobbers recruited mill workers.
• Improved fly shuttles helped handloom weavers increase output, and advertisements and calendars created markets for new products.

Key terms

Proto-industrialisation

a phase of large-scale production for international markets before factories, based in homes

Gomastha

a paid servant of the Company who supervised weavers and collected cloth

Jobber

a person employed by industrialists to recruit workers, often from his own village

Fly shuttle

a mechanical device that helps a weaver move the weft thread quickly across the loom

Important questions with answers

Quick revision

• Proto-industry = home-based production for world markets.
• Hand labour survived because it was cheap and flexible.
• Gomasthas controlled Indian weavers for the Company.
• First cotton mill in Bombay in 1854.

Exam tips

• Use one example each from Britain and India when asked about the pace of industrial change.
• Remember people with their inventions: Hargreaves (Spinning Jenny), Arkwright (cotton mill), Watt (steam engine).

Practice MCQs

1. The Spinning Jenny was invented by

   1. Richard Arkwright
   2. James Hargreaves
   3. James Watt
   4. Matthew Boulton
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) James Hargreaves. Hargreaves made it in 1764.

2. The first cotton mill in Bombay came up in

   1. 1817
   2. 1854
   3. 1874
   4. 1917
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) 1854. It was set up in 1854.

3. A gomastha was

   1. a weaver
   2. a British trader
   3. a paid agent of the Company
   4. a factory owner
   Show answer

   Answer: (c) a paid agent of the Company. Gomasthas supervised weavers and collected supplies.

4. Who among these improved the steam engine

   1. Hargreaves
   2. James Watt
   3. Arkwright
   4. Dwarkanath Tagore
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) James Watt. Watt patented an improved engine in 1781.

5. In proto-industrialisation, production took place

   1. in homes in the countryside
   2. in large factories
   3. in government workshops
   4. only in cities
   Show answer

   Answer: (a) in homes in the countryside. Merchants gave money to rural families who worked at home.

6. A jobber was employed to

   1. sell goods abroad
   2. design advertisements
   3. collect taxes
   4. recruit workers for factories
   Show answer

   Answer: (d) recruit workers for factories. He brought people from his village and helped them settle.

7. Many Victorian industrialists in Britain preferred hand labour to machines because

   1. machines were banned
   2. labour was cheap and demand was seasonal
   3. workers refused machines
   4. the government gave subsidies
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) labour was cheap and demand was seasonal. With plenty of cheap labour, costly machines were not needed for seasonal work.

8. Why did Indian handloom weavers suffer in the 19th century

   1. Cheap Manchester imports reduced demand and raw cotton became costly
   2. They lacked skill
   3. They migrated to Africa
   4. The British banned spinning
   Show answer

   Answer: (a) Cheap Manchester imports reduced demand and raw cotton became costly. Export markets collapsed and local markets shrank under cheap imports.