Very Short Answer Questions (VSA) 1 Mark

Question 1.
What is the rearing of silk worms for the production of silk fiber known as?
Answer:
Sericulture

Question 2.
How were human societies interlinked in ancient times?
Answer:
In ancient times human societies were interlinked by travellers, traders, priests and pilgrims who travelled vast distances for knowledge, opportunity and spiritual fulfillment or to escape persecution.

Question 3.
Which was the earliest active coastal trade link?
Answer:
As early as 3000 BCE an active coastal trade linked the Indus Valley civilisations with the present day West Asia.

Question 4.
Name one earliest form of currency.
Answer:
Cowries (the Hindi cowdi or seashells) were used as a form of currency.

Question 5.
To which century the long distance spread of disease-carrying germs may be traced?
Answer:
Seventh Century.

Question 6.
Mention one example of vibrant pre-modem trade and cultural link between distant parts of the world.
Answer:
The silk routes are a good example of vibrant pre-modern trade and cultural links between distant parts of the world.

Question 7.
What does the name ‘silk routes’ point to?
Answer:
The name ‘silk routes’ points to the importance of West-bound Chinese silk cargoes along the route.

Question 8.
Who took pasta to Sicily?
Answer:
Perhaps Arab traders took pasta to fifth century Sicily, an island now in Italy.

Question 9.
Name the foods that were introduced in Europe and Asia after the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.
Answer:
The foods were potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies and sweet potatoes.

Question 10.
What was the effect of potatoes on the lives of the poorest in Europe?
Answer:
The new crops of potatoes made a great change in the lives of the poor in Europe because they began to eat better and live longer. In Ireland poorest peasants became so dependent that when disease destroyed the potato crop in the mid-1840s, thousands died of starvation.

Question 11.
When did the Great Irish Potato Famine take place and what were its results?
Answer:
The Great Irish Potato Famine took place during 1845-1849. As a result of it, around 1,000,000 people died of starvation in Ireland and double the number emigrated in search of work.

Question 12.
How did the discovery of America in the 16th century transform trade and lives everywhere? Give one example.
Answer:
Precious metals, particularly silver, from mines located in present-day Peru and Mexico enhanced Europe’s wealth and financed its trade with Asia.

Question 13.
What was the most powerful weapon of the Spanish conquerors of America?
Answer:
The most powerful weapon of the Spanish conquerors was not a conventional military weapon at all. It was the germs such as those of smallpox that they carried on their person.

Question 14.
Why did the Europeans leave Europe for America in the nineteenth century?
Answer:
The reasons were poverty, hunger, diseases, religious conflicts and persecution of religious dissenters.

Question 15.
What was the position of China and India among the countries in the 18th century?
Answer:

1.     Until well into the eighteenth century, China and India were among the world’s richest countries.

2.     They were also pre-eminent in Asian trade.

Question 16.
By the eighteenth century in America, how did the plantations work and what was grown there?
Answer:

1.     In America by the eighteenth century, plantations worked by slaves captured in Africa.

2.     They were growing cotton and sugar for European markets.

Question 17.
Which were the three types of movements or flows within international economic exchanges?
Answer:

1.     Flow of trade i.e., trade in goods.

2.     Flow of labour i.e., migration of poeple in search of employment.

3.     Movement of capital for short-term or long-term investments over long distances.

Question 18.
State any one reason that was responsible for the increased demand for food grains in Britain in the late eighteenth century.
Answer:
Population growth.

Question 19.
What were Corn Laws? Why were they passed?
Answer:

1.     The laws allowing the government to restrict the import of corn were known as Corn Laws.

2.     Under pressure from landed groups, the government had passed these laws.

Question 20.
Mention two steps that were taken to meet the increased demand for food in Britain.
Answer:

1.     Lands were cleared in Eastern Europe, Russia, America and Australia to expand food production to meet the British demand.

2.     New harbours were built and old ones expanded to ship the new cargoes.

Question 21.
What were Canal Colonies in Punjab?
Answer:
The Canal Colonies consisted of areas irrigated by the new canals. These were settled by peasants from other parts of Punjab.

Question 22.
State any one bad effect of expansion of trade and a closer relationship with the world economy.
Answer:
It resulted in a loss of freedoms and livelihoods. African continent was divided by big European powers between them.

Question 23.
What was Rinderpest?
Answer:
It was a fast-spreading disease of cattle plague that affected Africa in the 1890s.

Question 24.
State any one feature of Africa’s society before the nineteenth century.
Answer:
Africa had abundant land and a relatively small population. As a result of it land and livestock sustained African livelihoods and people rarely worked for a wage.

Question 25.
Why were the Europeans attracted towards Africa?
Answer:
Europeans were attracted to Africa due to its vast resources of land and minerals. They hoped to establish plantations and mines to produce crops and minerals for export to Europe.

Question 26.
What do you understand by indentured-labour?
Answer:
A bonded labourer under contract to work for an employer for a specific amount of time, to pay off his passage to a new country or home.

Question 27.
What were the main destinations of Indian indentured migrants in the nineteenth century?
Answer:
Main destinations were the Caribbean islands i.e., Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam, Mauritius and Fiji.

Question 28.
Why Indian workers were forced to migrate in search of work as indentured workers in the
19th century?
Answer:
The reasons were as mentioned below :

1.     Decline of cottage industries.

2.     Rise in land rent.

3.     Clearing of lands for mines and plantations.

Question 29.
Name a few important persons who have descended from indentured labour migrants from India. When was this system abolished?
Answer:
(a)

1.     V.S. Naipaul – Noble Prize winning writer.

2.     Shivnarine Chanderpaul – Cricketer.

3.     Ramnaresh Sarwan – Cricketer.

(b) The indentured labour migration was abolished in 1921.

Question 30.
Which crop was grown in India and exported to China by the Britishers? What was its importance?
Answer:

1.     Opium.

2.     The money earned through the export of opium was used to finance tea and other imports from China.

Question 31.
What were ‘home charges’?
Answer:
Home charges included private remittances to home by British officials and traders, interest payments on India’s external debt, and pensions of British officials in India.

Question 32.
Which were the two power blocs that fought the First World War?
Answer:

1.     Allies – Britain, France and Russia later joined by the US.

2.     Central powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Turkey.

Question 33.
Why the First World War is called the first modem industrial war?
Answer:
Because machine guns, tanks, aircraft, chemical weapons etc. were used. These were products, of modern large scale industry.

Question 34.
Describe one feature of ‘assembly line’ method.
Answer:
The ‘assembly line’ method would allow a faster and cheaper way of producing vehicles because it forced workers to repeat a single task mechanically and continuously – such as fitting a particular part to the car – at a pace dictated by the conveyor belt.

Question 35.
What was the advantage of mass production?
Answer:
Mass production lowered costs and prices of engineered goods.

Question 36.
What was the period of the Great Depression?
Answer:
The Great Depression began around 1929 and lasted till the mid-1980s.

Question 37.
State any one factor for the Great Depression.
Answer:
Agricultural overproduction and falling agricultural prices was one of the factors responsible for the Great Depression.

Question 38.
Describe two effects of the Gre?t Depression on India.
Answer:

1.     India’s exports and imports nearly halved between 1928 and 1934.

2.     Wheat prices too fell by 50 percent.

Question 39.
During the Great Depression how did the Indian peasants meet their expenses?
Answer:
The Indian peasants used up their savings, mortgaged lands, and sold whatever jewelery and precious metals they had to meet their expenses.

Question 40.
Why did the Great Depression prove less grim for urban India?
Answer:
Because of falling prices urban people such as middle-class salaried employees found themselves better off as everything cost less.

Question 41.
What did famous economist John Maynard Keynes say about Indian gold exports during the Great Depression?
Answer:
He thought that Indian gold exports promoted global economic recovery.

Question 42.
State any one factor responsible for shaping post-war reconstruction.
Answer:
Emergence of the US as the dominant economic, political and military power in the Western world.

Question 43.
Describe one key lesson which the economists and politicians drew from the inter-war economic experiences.
Answer:
The goal of full employment could only be achieved if governments had power to control flows of goods, capital and labour.

Question 44.
Which institutions were established by the Bretton Woods Conference in July 1944 and why?
Answer:

1.     International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, popularly known as World Bank.

2.     These institutions known as Bretton Woods’s twins were set up to finance post-war construction.

Question 45.
Which problems were faced by the independent nations that became free after the Second World War?
Answer:
These nations faced the problems as mentioned below :

1.     Poverty,

2.     Lack of resources,

3.     Their economies were handicapped by long period of colonial rule.

Question 46.
Why did the most developing countries organise themselves as a group – the Group of 77?
Answer:
They organised themselves as a group – Group of 77, because they did not benefit from the fast growth of western economies experienced in the 1950s and 1960s.

Question 47.
What do you understand by exchange rates?
Answer:
The exchange rates link national currencies for purposes of international trade.

Question 48.
What is the difference between fixed exchange rates and flexible exchange rates?
Answer:
When exchange rates are fixed, the governments intervene to prevent movements in them. On the other hand, flexible or floating exchange rates fluctuate depending on demand and supply of currencies in foreign exchange markets is principle without interference by the governments

Short Answer Questions (SA) 3 Marks

Question 49.
Describe how human societies have become steadily more interlinked in the ancient times.
                    Or
Mention any three sources of interlinkage between nations in ancient times. 
Answer:
It is true to say that the human societies have become steadily more interlinked in the following ways :

1.     From ancient times, travellers, traders, priests and pilgrims travelled vast distances for knowledge, opportunities and spiritual fulfillment or to escape persecution.

2.     They carried goods, money, values, skills, ideas, inventions and even germs and diseases.

3.      As early as 3000 BCE an active coastal trade linked the Indus Valley civilisation with present-day West Asia.

4.     For more than a millenia, cowries (in Hindi cowdi or sea-shells) were used as a form of currency. From the Maldives they found their way to China and East Africa.

5.     The long distance spread of disease-carrying germs are traced as far back as the seventh century. By the thirteenth century it had become an unmistakable link.

6.     From the ninth century, images of ships appear regularly in memorial stones found in the western coast, indicating the significance of oceanic trade.

Question 50.
“Food offers many examples of long distance cultural exchange.” Support your answer with three examples. 
Answer:
Food offers many examples of long distance cultural exchange as mentioned below :

1.     Travellers and traders introduced new crops to the lands they travelled. Even ‘ready’ foodstuff in distant parts of the world might share common origins. For example, noodles travelled west from China to become spaghetti.

2.     Arab traders took pasta to fifth century Sicily (Italy). Similar foods were known to the Indians and Japanese people. Their origins cannot be ascertained, but the fact remains that there was long distance cultural contact even in the pre-modern world.

3.      Our major common foods are potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies, sweet potatoes. These were not known in India until about five centuries ago. These were introduced in Europe and Asia after the discovery of Americas by Christopher Columbus. Actually many of our common foods came from America’s original inhabitants i.e., the American Indians.

Question 51.
Explain with example, how the new crops could make the difference between life and death for people. Explain with an example from Ireland.
                              Or
Show the importance of new crops for the poor.
Answer:
Sometimes new crops make remarkable difference in the lives of the poor people. For example, with the introduction of potatoes in Europe, the poor began to eat better and live longer. In Ireland, the poorest peasants were so much dependent on potatoes that when disease destroyed the potato crop in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands died of starvation. Hungry children used to dig for potatoes in the fields that had already been harvested. Thousands of people emigrated in search of work.

Question 52.
Describe the main features of the pre-modern world before the sixteenth
century. How did it change with the discovery of new sea routes to America? Give any three examples to explain the statement. ‘ 
Answer:
(a) The main features of the pre-medern world before the sixteenth century were as mentioned below :

1.     Before the sixteenth century, the Indian Ocean had known for a bustling trade, with goods, people, knowledge, customs etc. cross-crossing its waters.

2.     The Indian subcontinent was central to these flows and a crucial point in their networks. However the entry of Europeans helped expand or redirect some of these flows towards Europe.

(b) In the sixteenth century, European sailors discovered sea route to Asia and also successfully crossed the western ocean to America. With these discoveries, the pre-modern world shrank and changed in the following ways:

1.     With the discovery of America, its vast lands, abundant crops and minerals transformed
trade and lives everywhere in the world.

2.     Precious metals, particularly silver, from mines located in present day Peru and Mexico enhanced Europe’s wealth and financed its trade with Asia.

3.     Legends spread in seventeenth century Europe about South America’s abundant wealth. Thus many expeditions were sent in search of El Dorado, the Tabled city of gold.

Question 53.
“The Spanish conquest and colonisation of America was decisively underway by the mid-sixteenth century.” Explain with examples.
                              Or
How did the smallpox prove as the most powerful weapon of the Spanish f conquerors in the early modern phase? Explain. 
Answer:
See Textbook Question 2.

Question 54.
Describe the centers of world trade before and after the eighteenth century.
Answer:
Before the eighteenth century the center of world trade was Asia. China and India were among the world’s richest countries. They were also pre-eminent in Asian trade. However from the fifteenth century, China restricted overseas contacts and retreated into isolation. China’s reduced role and the rising importance of the America’s gradually moved the center of world trade westwards. Europe now emerged as the center of world trade.

Question 55.
Describe three types of movements or flows within international economic exchanges in the nineteenth century. What were its effects?
Answer:
(a) The economists identify three types of movement or flows within international economic exchanges. These are as mentioned below:

1.     The first is the flow of trade which is referred largely to trade in goods e.g., cloth or wheat.

2.     The second is flow of labour – the migration of people in search of employment.

3.     The third is the movement of capital for short-term or long-term investments over long distances.

(b)

1.     All these flows were closely interwoven and affected people’s lives more deeply now than ever before.

2.     The interconnection could sometimes be broken, for example, labour migration was often restricted than goods or capital flows.

Question 56.
What were Com Laws? Why were these laws abolished? How did the abolition of ‘Com Laws’ affect the people of England?
How was the food problem solved by Britain after scrapping the Com Laws? Explain.
Answer:
(a) The Corn Laws were laws that allowed the government to restrict the import of corn.
(b) In Britain, population growth in the late eighteenth century had increased the demand for food grains. As urban centers expanded and industry grew, the demand for agricultural products increased leading to rise in food grain prices. The landed group put pressure on the government to restrict the import of corn.
(c) After the abolition of the Corn Laws, food could be imported cheaply. British agriculture could not compete with imports. Thus, vast areas of land were left uncultivated and unemployment increased. They flocked to the cities for jobs or migrated overseas. This also led to lowering in the living standard and social conflict.
(d) From mid-nineteenth century faster industrial growth in Britain led to higher income and more foods were imported. To meet this demand, lands were cleared around the world in Eastern Europe, Russia, America and Australia.

Question 57.
From mid-nineteenth century, how the demand for more food led to the flow of capital and labour all over the world?
Answer:
Lands were cleared and food production was expanded to meet demand for more food but it was not enough because there was need for secondary and tertiary activities as given below :

1.     Railways’ services were required to link the agricultural regions to the ports.

2.     New harbours had to be built and old ones expanded to ship the new cargoes.

3.     People had to settle on the lands to bring them under cultivation.

4.     These activities required labour and capital which came from financial centers such as London. The demand for labour in places where labour was in short supply – as in America and Australia – led to more migration.

5.      Nearly 50 million people emigrated from Europe to America and Australia in the nineteenth century.

6.     All over the world some 150 million left their homes in search of better future.

Question 58.
Explain major features of global agricultural economy that had taken shape towards the close of 19th century.
Answer:
By the end of the 19th century, a global agricultural economy had taken shape. It has the following features:

1.     There were changes in labour movement patterns, capital flows, ecologies and technology.

2.     The food requirement was met not from a nearby village but from places that were thousands of miles away. For example, the British demand for more food was met by expansion of food production in Eastern Europe, Russia, America and Australia.

3.     The work in a field was not done by a peasant tilling his own land but by an agricultural worker working on a large farm which was a forest earlier.

4.     Agricultural produce was transported by railways and ships.

5.     Low paid workers from other distant places such as Southern Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean were employed in the ships and railways.

6.      In addition to food, the cultivation of cotton also expanded worldwide to fulfil the needs
of the British textile mills.

7.     Regional specialisation developed so rapidly that between 1820 and 1914 the world trade multiplied 25 to 40 times. Nearly 60 percent of this trade was of agricultural products such as wheat and cotton and mineral such as coal.

Question 59.
Describe any three dramatic changes that occurred in west Punjab in the 19th century, in the field of agriculture. 
Answer:
When the global agricultural economy was taking place, some dramatic changes occurred in west Punjab in the 19th century as mentioned below :

1.     The British government in India built a network of irrigation canals to transform semi-desert wastes into fertile agricultural lands for production of wheat and cotton for export.

2.     The Canal Colonies came into existence.

3.     These colonies were settled by peasants from other parts of Punjab.

Question 60.
How did technological inventions transform 19th century world? Give three examples.
                                           Or
Assess the role of the technology in shaping the world economy of the 19th century.
Answer:
See Textbook Question 4.

Question 61.
“Trade flourished and markets expanded in the late 19th century but there was a darker side to the process.” Explain.
Answer:
In many parts of the world, the expansion of trade and a closer relationship with the world economy led to a loss of freedoms and livelihoods. Colonised societies suffered in many ways as mentioned below:

1.     European conquests produced many painful economic, social and ecological changes through which the colonised societies were brought into the world economy. For example, the African continent was divided by the European powers at a Berlin conference in 1885 without caring for the local inhabitants.

2.     Britain and France made vast additions to their overseas territories.

3.     Belgium and Germany became colonial powers. The US also became colonial power in the late 1890s by taking over some colonies earlier held by Spain.

4.     The explorations by Sir Henry Morton Stanley and other explorers helped the conquest of Africa. These explorations were not driven by an innocent search for scientific [information. They were directly linked to imperial projects.

5.     A fast-spreading disease of cattle plague or rinderpest affected the people’s livelihood
and local economy in Africa. It killed 90 per cent of the cattle between Atlantic coast and the Cape (Africa’s southernmost tip).

6.     Africans rarely worked for a wage but the Europeans imposed heavy taxes in order to compel them to work for wages on plantations and mines. Peasants were displaced from land to work in labour market.

7.     Control over scarce resources of cattle enabled European colonisers to conquer and subdue Africa.
It shows how in the era of conquest even a disease affecting cattle reshaped the lives and fortunes of thousands of people and their relations with the rest of the world.

Question 62.
What attracted the Europeans to Africa in the late nineteenth century? Give any three reasons.

Answer:
In the late nineteenth century the main reasons for the attraction of Europeans to Africa were as mentioned below :

1.     There were vast resources of land and minerals.

2.     Europeans hoped to establish plantations to produce crops.

3.     They wanted to control mines to produce minerals for export to Europe.

Question 63.
Before the arrival of outsiders, most of the Africans had a little reason to work for a wage. Explain three reasons.
Answer:
Three reasons were as mentioned below :

1.     Africa had abundant land and a relatively small population.

2.     Land and livestock sustained African livelihoods. People rarely worked for a wage.

3.     There were few consumer goods that wages could buy. If you had been an African possessing land and livestock, there would have been no reason to work for a wage. The fact was that there was plenty of land and livestock.

Question 64.
Describe various methods employed by the Europeans to recruit and retain labour in Africa.

Answer:
The following methods were used by the Europeans to recruit and retain labour in Africa:

1.     Heavy taxes were imposed which could be paid only by working for wages on plantations and mines.

2.     Inheritance laws were changed which displaced the peasants from land. Only one member of a family was allowed to inherit land, as a result of which the others were pushed into the labour market.

3.     Mine workers were also confined in compounds and not allowed to move about freely.

Question 65.
Write any three factors responsible for indentured labour migration from India.
Answer:
Most Indian indentured workers came from the present-day regions of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, central India and the dry districts of Tamil Nadu.
The causes for the migration were as given below:

1.     In mid-nineteenth century, cottage industries had declined in the above regions.

2.     Land rents had risen.

3.     Lands were cleared for mines and plantations.
The above factors affected the lives of the poor. They failed to pay their rents and became deeply indebted and were forced to migrate in search of work.

Question 66.
Highlight the methods used for recruitment of the Indentured labour in the nineteenth century.
Answer:
In the nineteenth century hundreds of thousands of Indian and Chinese labourers went to work on plantations, in mines and in road and railway construction projects around the world.
The methods used for recruitment of the indentured labour in the nineteenth century were as mentioned below:

1.     In India indentured labourers were hired under contracts which promised return travel to India after they had worked five years on their employer’s plantation.

2.     Their recruitment was done by agents engaged fyy employers and paid a small commission.

3.     Agents tempted the prospective migrants by providing false information about final destination, modes of travel, the nature of work and living and working conditions.

4.     Sometimes agents even forcibly abducted less willing migrants.

5.     Their living conditions were harsh.

6.     They had no legal rights. That is why it has been described as a new system of slavery.

7.     Often migrants were not told that they were to embark on long sea voyage.

Question 67.
What is meaning of ‘cultural fusion’? Highlight any three forms of cultural fusion which were part of the making of the global world.
Answer:
(a) Cultural fusion is a part of the making of the global world where things from different places get mixed, lose their original characteristics and become something entirely new.
(b) Some examples of cultural fusion or a new culture among the indentured workers were as follows:

1.     In Trinidad the annual Muharram procession was transformed into a riotous carnival
called “Hosay” (for Imam Hussain). Workers of all races and religions joined in this carnival.

2.     The protest religion of Rastafarianism is also another example of social and cultural links with Indian migrants to the Caribbean.

3.     ‘Chutney music’ in Trinidad and Guyana is also an example of cultural fusion.
These forms of cultural fusion are part of the making of the global world, where things from different places get mixed, lose their original characteristics and become something entirely new.

Question 68.
Describe the contribution of Indian entrepreneurs in the world market.
Answer:
There was need of capital for growing food and other crops for the world market. Large plantations could borrow capital from banks and markets. Others, such as humble peasants fulfilled their requirements as mentioned below:

1.     There were the Shikaripuri Shroffs and Nattukottai Chettiars who were bankers and jr traders that financed export agriculture in Central and South-East Asia. They used their own capital or borrowed from European banks. They had a sophisticated system to transfer money over large distances. They even developed indigenous forms of corporate organisation,

2.     Indian traders and moneylenders followed European colonisers into Africa also.

3.     Hyderabadi Sindhi traders established flourishing emporia at busy ports worldwide.
They sold local and imported curios to the tourists whose numbers were beginning to swell due to the development of safe and comfortable passenger vessels.

Question 69.
How did the industrialisation in Britain affect the export of Indian cotton and textiles? What was then exported from India?
Answer:
(a) The industrialisation in Britain affected the export of Indian cotton and cotton textiles in the following ways :

1.     With industrialisation, British cotton manufacturers began to expand. The industrialists pressurised the government to restrict cotton imports and protect local industries.

2.     Tariffs were imposed on cloth imports into Britain.
As a result of above steps, the inflow of fine Indian cotton began to decline.

3.     The share of exports of cotton textiles declined from 30 per cent around 1800 to 3 per cent by the 1870s due to stiff competition in the international markets.

(b) With the decline in the exports of manufactures the following products were exported:

1.     Between 1812 and 1871, the share of raw Cotton exports rose from 5 per cent to 35 percent.

2.     Indigo was exported for dying cloth.

3.     From 1820s British grew opium in India and exported it to China and with the money earned through this sale, it financed its tea and other imports from China.

Question 70.
India played a crucial role in the latis 19th century world economy. Explain with examples.

                                     Or
What is meant by ‘Trade Surplus’? Why did Britain have a trade surplus with India?
                                     Or
Describe the term ‘Trade Surplus’. How was the income received from trade surplus with India used by Britain?
Answer:
(a) When the value of exports is more than the value of imports, it is called ‘trade surplus’.
(b) Britain had a trade surplus with India because over the 19th century exports from India to Britain and the rest of the world increased. The value of British exports to India was much higher than the value of British imports from India. Thus, Britain had ‘Trade Surplus’ with India.
(c)

1.     Britain used this surplus to balance its trade deficits with other countries.

2.     In this way, India helped not only Britain to maintain balance but also played a crucial role in the late nineteenth century world economy.

3.      Britain’s trade surplus in India also helped to pay the so-called ‘home charges’ that included private remittances home by British officials and traders, interest payments on India’s external debt and pensions of British officials in India.

Question 71.
Describe the main features of World War I.
                                   Or
Write a note on wartime transformations.
Answer:
The main features of World War I were as follows :

1.     War between two power blocs: The war was fought between two power blocs i.e., the Allies – Britain, France and Russia and later joined by the US and the Central Powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Turkey.

2.     First modern industrial war: Machine guns, tanks, aircraft, chemical weapons produced on large scale by the industries were used in the war.

3.     ecruitment of soldiers throughout the world : The soldiers were not only recruited in the main participating countries but throughout the world from the colonies such as India. They were sent to fight in the war on ships and trains.

4.     Death and destruction of property: It is estimated that nine million people died and about twenty million were injured in the war. Most of the killed and maimed were men of working age. The loss of wealth and property was beyond imagination.

5.     Restructuring of industries: Industries were restructured to produce war-related goods. Entire societies were reorganised for war as men went to fight war, women started working in factories.

6.     Snapping of economic links between world’s largest economic powers: The war led to snapping of economic links between world’s largest economic powers which were now fighting each other.

7.     Britain borrowed large sums from US banks as well as US public. US became an international creditor instead of an international debtor.

Question 72.
Explain the impacts of the First World War on British economy.
                      Or
Describe the condition of Britain after the World War I.
Answer:
The First World War was the first modern industrial war. The fighting involved the world’s leading industrial nations. The machine guns, tanks and aircrafts etc. were used on a large scale.
In view of these facts, the war had affected the British economy significantly as
mentioned below :

1.     Post-war recovery was a difficult process in Britain because during the war industries had developed in Japan and India. After the war, it became difficult for Britain to recapture the earlier position of dominance in the Indian market and to compete with Japan in the international market.

2.     It had borrowed huge amount from US to meet war expenditures. Thus, at the end of the war Britain had huge external debts.

3.     The war had led to economic boom due to a large increase in demand, production and employment. After the war, production decreased and unemployment increased. The government reduced bloated war expenditure to bring them into line with peacetime revenues. These developments resulted in huge job losses. Thus, in 1921, one in every five British workers was out of work. Anxiety and uncertainty about work became an enduring part of the post-war scenario.

Question 73.
Describe the condition of agricultural economies after the First World War with examples.
Answer:
The condition of agricultural economies after the First World War was bad as mentioned below :
Many agricultural economies particularly of wheat producers faced a crisis. For example before the war, eastern Europe was a major supplier of wheat in the world market. When this supply was disrupted during the war wheat production in Canada, America and Australia increased significantly. After the war once again production in Eastern Europe was revived leading to more supply of wheat in the market. As a result of it, prices of grain fell and incomes declined and farmers fell deeper into debt. Thus, the agricultural economies suffered more after the war.

Question 74.
Explain any four measures adopted by America for post-war recovery.
Answer:
The US recovery was quicker than the European countries. The war had already helped the US economy. There was, however, some trouble after the war but the US economy , grew in the early 1920s due to following measures :

1.     Mass production : The growth of US economy was due to mass production. Car manufacturer Henry Ford made significant contribution in this field. He adopted the assembly line of a Chicago slaughter-house in his new car plant in Detroit. As a result of this method, production of cars increased and a car was ready every three-minutes. The T-Model Ford was the world’s first mass-produced car.

2.     Hire purchase system : Increase in wages led to a spurt in the purchase of refrigerators, washing machines, radios etc. through a system of hire purchase i.e., on credit repaid in weekly or monthly installments.

3.     This demand was further increased by a boom in house construction and home ownership, financed again by loans.

4.     The housing and consumer boom led to prosperity in the US. Large investments in housing and consumer products led to higher employment and income. In view of the above factors there was quicker post-war recovery. In 1923, the US resumed exporting capital to the rest of the world and became the largest overseas lender. US imports and capital exports boosted European recovery and world trade and income growth.

Question 75.
Explain the main features of ‘assembly line method of mass production’. What problem was faced by Ford ? How did he overcome it ?
Answer:
(a) Main features of assembly line method were as mentioned below :

1.     It would allow a faster and cheaper way of producing vehicles.

2.     This method forced workers to repeat a single task mechanically and continuously at a pace dictated by the conveyor belt.

3.     Standing in front of the conveyer belt no worker could afford to delay the motions, take a break or even have a friendly word with a workmate.

4.     This method increased the output per worker and cars came off the assembly line at three minutes intervals.

5.     The workers, however, were not able to work speedily. So they quit in large numbers. To overcome this problem, Henry Ford doubled the daily wages in January 1914. At the same time he banned trade unions from operating in his plants.

(b) Henry Ford recovered the high wage by repeatedly speeding up the production line and forcing workers to work even harder. So much so, he would soon describe his decisions to double the daily wage as the ‘best cost-cutting decision’ he had ever made.

Question 76.
Explain the causes of the Great Depression. [Textbook Question]
Answer:
The main causes of the Great Depression were as follows :

1.     Agricultural over-production : As the agricultural prices were falling and there was decline in agricultural income, the farmers tried to increase their income by more production. However, this resulted in further fall in prices. Farm products rotted in the market for lack of buyers. This created more hardships for the farmers.

2.     Financial dependence of many countries on US and crisis : Many countries of the world were dependent on US. They had taken loans from that country. It was easy to raise loans in US if everything was fine.

3.     But condition did not remain so. In the first half of 1928 the overseas loans had amounted to over $ 1 billion. A year later it was one quarter of that amount. Countries that depended crucially on US loans now faced an acute crisis.

4.     The withdrawal of US loans led to failure of banks, collapse of currencies (the British pound-sterling), slump in agricultural and raw material prices. The US government doubled import duties to protect its economy and it proved to be another severe blow to world trade.

Question 77.
Describe the effects of the Great Depression on the US. 
Answer:
Major effects of the Great Depression on the US were as given below :

1.     There was fall in prices.

2.     US banks and loans : US banks reduced domestic lending and asked people to return their loans. People, however, could not repay the loans due to lesser incomes. They were forced to give up their homes, cars and other consumer durables.

3.     Unemployment: Unemployment increased. People trudged long distances looking for any work they could find.

4.     Collapse of US banking system : US banking system collapsed as it could not recover loans and repay depositors. Thousands of banks went bankrupt and were closed. By 1933, over 4,000 banks had closed. Between 1929 and 1932 about 1,10,000 companies had collapsed.

Question 78.
Explain the effects of the Great Depression of 1929 on the Indian economy. 
Answer:
See Textbook Question 3(d).

Question 31.
In the post-war era, which two crucial influences shaped post-war recon-struction.
Answer:
Two crucial influences that shaped post-war reconstruction were as mentioned below :

1.     The first was the US’s emergence as the dominant economic, political and military power in the western world.

2.     The second was the dominance of the Soviet Union. It had made huge sacrifices to defeat Nazi Germany, and transformed itself from a backward agricultural country to a world power during the very years when the capitalist world was trapped in the Great Depression.

Question 79.
Describe two lessons drawn by the politicians and economists from the inter-war economic experiences.
Answer:
Two lessons are as given below :

1.     An industrial society based on mass production cannot be sustained without mass consumption. To ensure mass consumption there should be stable income and full employment which in turn need intervention of the government.

2.     The goal of full employment can only be achieved if the government has the power to control flows of goods, capital and labour. It is related to country’s economic links with the outside world.

Question 80.
What are IMF and World Bank also known as? Why did their shift their attention to the developing countries?
Answer:
(a) See Textbook Question 5.
(b)

1.     IMF and World Bank were designed to meet the financial needs of the industrial nations.

2.     They were not equipped to cope with the challenge of poverty and lack of development in the former colonies.

3.     As Europe and Japan rapidly rebuilt their economies, they grew less dependent on IMF and the World Bank.
In view of the above, from the late 1950s the Bretton Woods institutions began to shift their attention more towards developing countries.

Question 81.
Describe the factors responsible for the end of the Bretton Woods system and the beginning of ‘Globalisation’.
Answer:
The factors or circumstances leading to the end of the Bretton Woods system and the beginning of ‘Globalisation’ are as given below :

1.     From the 1960s, US finances and competitive strength weakened due to rising costs of its overseas involvements. US dollar was no longer a principal currency in the world. It could not maintain its value in relation to gold.

2.     Weakening of US position led to the collapse of fixed exchange rates. Its place was taken up by floating exchange rates.

3.     From mid-1970s, the developing countries were forced to borrow from Western Commercial banks and private lending institutions. This resulted in debt-crises, lower income and increase in poverty in Africa and Latin America.

4.     The industrial countries were also hit by unemployment from the mid-1970s and remained high until the early 1990s.

5.     MNCs began to shift production operations to low-wage Asian countries to earn more profits. Low wages in China made that country an attractive destination for investment by MNCs to capture world markets.

6.     Some other incidents like new economic policies in China, the collapse of Soviet Union and Soviet-style communism in Eastern Europe brought many countries into the fold of the world economy. These activities increased world trade and capital flows.

Question 82.
Describe the effects of the Bretton Woods system.
Answer:

1.     There was unprecedented growth of trade and incomes for the Western industrial nations and Japan.

2.     World trade grew annually at over 8 per cent between 1950 and 1970 and incomes at nearly 5 per cent.

3.     The growth was stable and without large fluctuations.

4.     Unemployment averaged less than 5 per cent in most industrial countries.
(a) There was worldwide spread of technology and enterprise. Developing countries tried to make advancement like advanced industrial countries. They invested vast amount of capital, imported industrial plants and equipment with modern technology.

Question 83.
Why did developing countries organise the G-77? Give three reasons. 
                                      Or
What was the Group of 77? Why was it formed? Describe its aim and activities.
Answer:
(a) The Group of 77 was a group of developing nations which have become independent in 1950s and 1960s.
(b) The main reasons for its formation were as mentioned below:

1.     The IMF and the World Bank were designed to meet the financial needs of the industrial countries.

2.     They were not equipped to cope with the challenge of poverty etc. of the developing countries.

3.     The former colonial powers still controlled and exploited vital natural resources of former colonies or developing countries.

(c) Thus the developing countries formed the Group of 77 to demand a new international economic order (NIEO) as mentioned below :

1.     Real control over their natural resources.

2.     More development assistance.

3.     Fairer prices for raw materials.

4.     Better access for their manufactured goods in developed countries’ markets.
Thus it was a reaction to the activities of the Bretton Woods system and to protect the interests of the developing countries.

Question 84.
What lessons were learnt from inter-war economic experiences by the economists and politicians during the Second World War? Describe.
Answer:
Economists and politicians learnt two key lessons from inter-war economic experiences during the Second World War:

1.    An industrial society based on mass production cannot be sustained without mass consumption. But to ensure mass consumption, there was a need for high and stable incomes. Income could be stable if employment was stable. So stable incomes and employment were needed.

2.    Markets could not guarantee full employment. Therefore, Government would need to check fluctuations of prices and provision of employment. Economic stability can be ensured with the interference of the Government.

3.    The second lesson was a country’s economic links with the outside world. The goal of full employment could only be achieved if Government had power to control flow of goods, capital and labour.

Question 85.
What role did the ‘Silk route’ play in linking distant parts of the world? (2013, 2014)
Or, “The silk routes are a good example of vibrant pre-modem trade and cultural links between distant parts of the world.” Explain how.
Answer:
The routes on which cargoes carried Chinese silk to the west were known as ‘Silk routes’.
(i) Historians have discovered several silk routes over land and by sea, covering vast regions of Asia and connecting Asia with Europe and North Africa. Even pottery from China, textile and spices from India and South Asia also travelled the same route.

(ii) In return, precious metals like gold and silver flowed from Europe to Asia. The traders along with trading items carried knowledge, ideas, values, skills, inventions, lifestyles, food habits, religious beliefs, etc.

(iii) Culturally, Buddhism emerged from Eastern India and spread in several directions through the silk routes. Thus, silk route not only played a major role in linking distant parts of the world, but also promoted pre-modern trade and cultural links.

Question 86.
“The new crops could make the difference between life and death”. Explain the above statement in context of Irish Potato Famine.
Answer:
Sometimes the new crops could make the difference between life and death.
Europe’s poor began to eat better and live longer with the introduction of the humble potato.

Ireland’s poorest peasants became so dependent on the potatoes that when disease destroyed the potato crop in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands died of starvation.

Hungry children dug for potatoes in a field that had already been harvested, hoping to discover some leftovers.
During the Great Irish Potato Famine around ten lakh people died of starvation in Ireland and double the number emigrated in search of work.

Question 87.
‘Many a times introduction of new crops make the difference between life and death/ Explain the statement with the example of introduction of potato crop in Europe.
Answer:

1.    Foods such as potato which were unknown before were only introduced in Europe and Asia after Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered the vast continent known as the Americas.

2.    Sometimes the new crops like potato could make the difference between life and death. It was with the introduction of the humble potato that Europe’s poor began to eat well, eat better and live longer.

3.    Ireland’s poor peasants became so dependent on potatoes that when the potato crop was destroyed by disease in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands of peasants died of starvation.

Question 88.
What were the IMF and the World Bank designed for? What made them shift their attention towards developing countries?
Answer:
The IMF and the World Bank were designed to meet the financial requirements of industrial countries. They were known as the Bretton Woods Twins. They were not equipped to deal with the challenges of poverty and lack of development in the former colonies. Fortunately, Europe and Japan rapidly rebuilt their economies and grew less dependent on the IMF and the World Bank.

As a result, IMF and the World Bank began to shift their attention more towards developing countries. The major challenge before the newly independent and developing countries was to help the majority of the people to come out of the severe poverty. Even after many years of decolonisation, the former colonial powers still controlled vital resources such as minerals and land in some of their colonies. Even the US also often enjoyed the rights to exploit natural resources of the developing countries very cheaply.

The formation of the group of 77 developing countries (G-77) helped these countries to demand a New International Economic Order (NIEO) that would give them real control over their natural resources, more development assistance, fairer prices for raw materials and better access for their manufactured goods in developed countries’ markets.

Question 89.
What steps were taken by economists and politicians of the world to meet the global economic crisis that arose after World War II?
Answer:
The Second World War caused an immense amount of economic devastation and social disruption. To preserve economic stability and full employment in the industrial world a Conference was held in 1944 at Bretton Woods, USA. The Bretton Woods Conference established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Popularly known as World Bank) to deal with external surpluses and deficits of its member nations and to finance post-war reconstruction.

The post-war international economic system is also often described as the Bretton Woods System. The Bretton Woods System was based on fixed exchange rates. In this system, national currencies were pledged to the dollar at a fixed exchange rate. The dollar itself was anchored to gold at a fixed price of $35 per ounce of gold.

The IMF and the World Bank were designed to meet the financial needs of the industrial countries. But as Europe and Japan rapidly rebuilt their economies, they grew less dependent on the IMF and the World Bank. Thus from the late 1950s the Bretton Woods institutions began to shift their attention more towards developing countries. The developing countries which were former colonies came under the guidance of international agencies dominated by the former colonial powers.

Question 90.
Explain the causes of the Great Depression in the US between 1929-30.
Answer:
There were several factors that had caused the ‘Depression’. Some of those were as follows:
(i) Agricultural Overproduction. Agricultural overproduction remained a problem. Falling of agricultural prices had made it even worse. As the prices fell, the agricultural income declined. To meet this situation, farmers brought larger volume of produce to the market to maintain their small income. The excessive supply couldn’t be sold due to lack of buyers and farm produce rotted.

(ii) US Loan Crisis. In the mid-1920s, many countries financed their investments through loans from the US. The overseas lenders panicked at the first sign of trouble. Countries that depended crucially on US loans faced an acute crisis due to the withdrawal of US loAnswer: It led to the failure of major banks and collapse of currencies such as the British pound sterling. In Latin America and elsewhere, it intensified the decline of agricultural and raw material prices. By doubling import duties, US gave another severe blow to world trade.

Question 91.
Describe the effect of the Great Depression on the world? Who were the worst affected by this depression?
Answer:
The Great Depression began around 1929 and lasted till the mid-1930s. During this period, there were catastrophic declines in production, employment, incomes and trade. Agricultural regions and communities were worst affected due to the great fall of agricultural prices.

In the US, farmers could not sell their harvests, households were ruined and businesses collapsed. Many households in the US could not repay their loans due to fall in their income and were forced to give up their homes, cars and other consumer durables. Unemployment increased rapidly and people had to travel long distances in search of work.

The Great Depression’s wider effects on society, politics and international relations and on peoples needs proved more enduring. The Depression immediately affected Indian trade. India’s exports and imports halved between 1928 and 1934.

Peasants and farmers suffered more than urban dwellers. Though argicultural prices fell sharply, the colonial government refused to reduce revenue demands. Peasants producing for the world market were the worst hit. Across India, peasants indebtedness increased.

Question 92.
“The relocation of industry to low-wage countries stimulated world trade and capital flows.” Justify the statement.
Answer:
The industrial world was hit by unemployment that began rising from the mid-1970s and remained till 1990s. From the late 1970s, MNCs began to shift production operations to low-wage Asian countries. New Economic policies in China and collapse of the Soviet Union and communication in Eastern Europe brought many countries back into the world economy.

Wages were relatively low in countries like China. The became attractive destinations for investments by foreign MNCs competing to capture world market.

Thus the relocation of industry to low-wage countries stimulated world trade and capital flow.

Question 93.
Why did the developing countries organize the G-77? Give three reasons.
Answer:
(i) The formation of the G-77 was a response to certain changes in the international financial system proposed by the Bretton Woods Conference. The IMF and the World Bank (Bretton Woods Twins) were designed to meet the financial requirements of industrial countries. Although there was unprecedented growth in the West and Japan, nothing was done about the poverty and lack of development in the countries which were earlier colonies.

(ii) The developing countries did not benefit from the fast growth the western economies experienced under the guidance of the World Bank and the IMF. Thus, there arose a need for the developing nations to organise themselves into the G-77 group to demand a New International Economic Order.

(iii) The formation of the New International Economic Order (NIEO) meant a system that would give them real control over their natural resources, more development assistance, fairer prices for raw materials and better access for their manufactured goods in developed countries’ markets.

Question 94.
“The pre-modem world changed with the discovery of new sea routes to America. “Give any three suitable examples to explain the statement.
Answer:
Christopher Columbus discovered the vast continent that later came to be known as America. With the discovery of America, started the cultural exchange with the original inhabitants of a vast continent.

1.    Foods like potatoes, maize, tomatoes, chillies, sweet potatoes, which were not known to people of other continents, were introduced there and became a part of their daily diet.

2.    Precious metals, particularly silver from mines located in present-day Peru and Mexico, also enhanced Europe’s wealth and financed its trade with Asia.

3.    Slave trade started. European traders captured slaves in Africa and took them to America, where they worked on plantations. Europe became the centre of World trade.

4.    Religious dissenters were persecuted in Europe. Thousands, therefore fled Europe for America.

5.    From the sixteenth century, America’s vast lands and abundant crops and minerals began to transform trade and lives everywhere.

Question 95.
‘Trade flourished and markets expanded in the late 19th century, but there was a darker side to this process’. Substantiate.
Answer:

·         Trade flourished and market expanded in the late 19th century. But this was not only a period of expanding trade and increased property (wealth). There was a darker side to this process.

·         In many parts of the world, the expansion of trade and a close relationship with the world economy also meant a loss of freedom and livelihoods.

·         Late 19th century European conquests produced many painful economic, social and ecological changes through which colonised societies were brought into the world economy.

·         In Africa in the 1890s a fast spreading disease of cattle plague or rinderpest had a terrifying impact on peoples livelihoods and local economy.

·         The example of indentured labour migration from the colonies also shows the two-sided nature of the 19th century world. A world of economic growth as well as misery, higher incomes for some and poverty for others, technological advances along with new forms of coercion.

Question 96.
Explain the impact of the First World War on Britain’s economy.
Answer:
Britain, world’s leading economy in the pre-war period, faced a prolonged crisis:

1.    To finance war expenditure, Britain had borrowed liberally from US. This meant that at the end of the war, Britain was burdened with huge external debts.

2.    The war had disturbed Britain’s position of dominance in the Indian market. In India, the Nationalist Movement had gathered strength and anti-British feeling had become stronger among common people. Promotion of Indian industries had become one of the objectives of the Nationalist leaders, which adversely affected industries in Britain.

3.    There was widespread increase in unemployment coupled with decrease in agricultural and industrial production. Cotton production collapsed and export of cotton from Britain fell dramatically.

4.    Unable to modernize, Britain was finding it difficult to compete with U.S., Germany and Japan internationally.

Question 97.
What attracted the Europeans to Africa? Give any three reasons.
Answer:

·         In the late 19th century, Europeans were attracted to Africa due to its vast resources of land and minerals.

·         Europeans came to Africa hoping to establish plantations and mines to produce crops and minerals which they could export to Europe.

·         The loss of cattle disease destroyed African livelihoods. Planters, mine owners and colonial governments now successfully monopolised what scare cattle resources remained to force Africans into the labour market.

·         African countries were militarily weak and backward. So they were in no position to resist military aggression by European states. Thus it was easy for European states to conquer them and establish colonies.

Question 98.
Describe the effect of the Great Depression on the world? Who were the worst affected by this depression?
Answer:
The Great Depression began around 1929 and lasted till the mid-1930s. During this period, there were catastrophic declines in production, employment, incomes and trade. Agricultural regions and communities were worst affected due to the great fall of agricultural prices.

In the US, farmers could not sell their harvests, households were ruined and businesses collapsed. Many households in the US could not repay their loans due to fall in their income and were forced to give up their homes, cars and other consumer durables. Unemployment increased rapidly and people had to travel long distances in search of work.

The Great Depression’s wider effects on society, politics and international relations and on peoples needs proved more enduring. The Depression immediately affected Indian trade. Indian exports and imports halved between 1928 and 1934.

Peasants and farmers suffered more than urban dwellers. Though agricultural prices fell sharply, the colonial government refused to reduce revenue demands. Peasants producing for the world market were the worst hit. Across India, peasants indebtedness increased.

Question 99.
“The new crops could make the difference between life and death”. Explain the above statement in context of Irish Potato Famine.
Sometimes the new crops could make the difference between life and death.
Answer:
Europe’s poor began to eat better and live longer with the introduction of the humble potato.
Ireland’s poorest peasants became so dependent on the potatoes that when disease destroyed the potato crop in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands died of starvation.

Hungry children digged for potatoes in a field that had already been harvested, hoping to discover some leftovers.
During the Great Irish Potato Famine, around ten lakh people died of starvation in Ireland and double the number emigrated in search of work.

Long Answer Questions (LA) 5 Marks

Question 100.
What are indentured labourers? How were they recruited? Explain the condition of the indentured labourers who went to work in different parts of the world.
Answer:
Indentured labour was a practice introduced by the British in the nineteenth century. Indentured labour refers to bonded labour under contract. The labourer works for an employer for a specified period of time. In the 19th century hundreds of thousands of Indian and Chinese labourers went to work on plantations, in mines and in road and railway construction projects around the world.

1.    In India, indentured labour were hired under contracts which promised return travel to India after they had worked five years on their employers’ plantations.

2.    Recruitment was done by agents employed by the plantation owners and paid a small commission.

3.    Agents also sometimes tempted these migrants by providing false information regarding their destinations, modes of travel, the nature of work and living and working conditions. Sometimes agents even forcibly abducted less willing workers.

Condition of Indentured Labour. Many migrants agreed to take up work to escape poverty and oppression in their home villages.

1.    On arrival at the plantations labourers found conditions to be different from what they had imagined. Living and working conditions were hard and there were very few legal rights.

2.    But workers discovered their own ways of surviving. Many of them escaped into the wilds, though if caught they would face severe punishment.

3.    Others developed new forms of individual and collective self-expression, blending different cultural forms. In Trinidad, the annual Muharram procession was transformed into a riotous carnival called ‘Hosay’, in which workers of all races and religions joined. The protest religion ‘Rastafarianism’ and ‘Chutney Music’ popular in the Caribbean both were developed post the indenture experience.

Most indentured labour gradually found that their economic and social positions were not inferior to but often better off than their own country.

Question 101.
Describe the factors that led to the end of the Bretton Woods system and the beginning of Globalisation.
Answer:
Most of the developing countries could not benefit from the fast growth of western economies. Therefore, they organised themselves as a group of 77 (G-77) and demanded a New International Economic Order (NIEO). NIEO meant a system that would give them control over their own natural resources, more development assistance, fairer prices for raw materials and better access for their manufactured goods in developed markets.

From the mid-1970s, the international financial system changed in an important way. Developing countries could no longer turn to international institutions for loans.

They were now forced to borrow from western commercial banks and private lending institutions. This led to debt crisis in the developing world.

The industrial world was also hit by unemployment and MNCs began to shift production operations to low wage Asian countries. Countries like China became attractive destinations for investment by foreign MNCs competing to capture the world market. This stimulated world trade and capital flows and led to the beginning of globalisation.

Question 102.
Why have the historians described the 19th century indenture as a ‘new system of slavery’? Explain any five reasons.
Answer:
Indentured labour is a bonded labourer under contract to work for an employer for a specific amount of time, to pay for his passage to a new country or home.
Reasons why it can be described as new system of slavery:

1.    Many migrants agreed to take up work to escape poverty and oppression in their home villages. They were cheated and were provided false information by the agents regarding their destination, modes of travel, the nature of work and working conditions.

2.    Often migrants were not even told that they were to go on long sea journeys and sometimes agents forcibly abducted less willing workers.

3.    The tasks allotted to them on plantations were extremely heavy and could not be completed in a day. They were beaten or imprisoned for not being able to meet tasks.

4.    Deductions were made from wages if the work was considered unsatisfactory or if they failed to complete a job.

5.    Living and working conditions were harsh and there were few legal rights to protect the workers.

Question 103.
Describe any five effects of the abolition of ‘Corn Laws’ in Britain.
Answer:
With the population growth and the expansion of urban sector and industry the demand for agricultural products went up, pushing up prices of food grain. Under pressure from landed groups, the Government also restricted the import of com. The laws allowing the Government to do this were commonly known as Com Laws. Unhappy with high food prices, the industrialists and urban dwellers forced the abolition of Com Laws.

Effect: Abolition of Corn Laws allowed the merchants in England to import foodgrains from abroad at lower costs.
The major effects of this were:

1.    It led to widespread unemployment in the agricultural sector, but prosperity in the industrial sector.

2.    It also resulted in the rise of a prosperous capitalist class in the urban areas.

3.    Another immediate effect that was noticed was that unemployment in the rural sector forced the movement of labour from agricultural to industrial sector.

4.    Migration of agricultural labourers to industrial sectors led to the growth of population in the urban areas.