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.
Britain and the History of Cotton During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, merchants would trade with rural people in textile production. A clothier would buy wool from a wool stapler, carry it to the spinners, and then, take the yarn to the weavers, 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. What was present instead was a network of commercial exchanges. The first symbol of the new era of factories was cotton. Its production increased rapidly in the late nineteenth century. Imports of raw cotton sky-rocketed from 2.5 million pounds in 1760 to 22 million pounds in 1787. This happened because of the invention of the cotton mill and new machines, and better management under one roof. Till 1840, cotton was the leading sector in the first stage of industrialisation. Most inventions in the textile production sector were met with disregard and hatred by the workers because machines implied less hand labour and lower employment needs. The Spinning Jenny was one such invention. Women in the woollen industry opposed and sought to destroy it because it was taking over their place in the labour market. Before such technological advancements, Britain imported silk and cotton goods from India in vast numbers. Fine textiles from India were in high demand in England. When the East India Company attained political power, they exploited the weavers and textile industry in India to its full potential, often by force, for the benefit of Britain. Later, Manchester became the hub of cotton production. Subsequently, India was turned into the major buyer of British cotton goods. During the First World War, British factories were too busy providing for war needs. Hence, demand for Indian textiles rose once again. The history of cotton in Britain is replete with such fluctuations of demand and supply.
Explain how the global transfer of disease in the pre-modern world helped in the colonisation of the Americas.
List all the different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921. Then choose any three and write about their hopes and struggles to show why they, joined the movement.
Compare the images of Bharat Mata in this chapter with the image of Germania in Chapter 1.
a) The British government’s decision to abolish the Corn Laws.
b) The coming of rinderpest to Africa.
c) The death of men of working-age in Europe because of the World War.
d) The Great Depression on the Indian economy.
e) The decision of MNCs to relocate production to Asian countries.
Briefly trace the process of German unification.
Explain what is meant by the 1848 revolution of the liberals. What were the political, social and economic ideas supported by the liberals?
How was the history of nationalism in Britain unlike the rest of Europe?
Write a newspaper report on:
a) The Jallianwala Bagh massacre
b) The Simon Commission
What steps did the French revolutionaries take to create a sense of collective identity among the French people?
Who were Marianne and Germania? What was the importance of the way in which they were portrayed?
Explain what is referred to as the G-77 countries. In what ways can G-77 be seen as a reaction to the activities of the Bretton Woods twins?
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.
a) Why growth of nationalism in the colonies is linked to an anti-colonial movement.
b) How the First World War helped in the growth of the National Movement in India.
c) Why Indians were outraged by the Rowlatt Act.
d) Why Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Explain the three types of movements or flows within international economic ex- change. Find one example of each type of flow which involved India and Indians, and write a short account of it.
How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth century India mean to:
a) Women
b) The poor
c) Reformers
Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation.
Write a newspaper report on:
a) The Jallianwala Bagh massacre
b) The Simon Commission
Discuss the Salt March to make clear why it was an effective symbol of resistance against colonialism.