The Age of Industrialization – Case-based Questions with Answers
Topic 1 – Before the Industrial Revolution
- (a) Why did merchants move to the countryside for production?
- (b) How did this system benefit the peasants?
- (c) What was the main limitation merchants were trying to avoid in the towns?
Answer (a): Merchants moved to the countryside to organise production because urban trade guilds controlled craft production in towns and restricted entry, prices and methods of production. Working in villages helped them expand output freely.
Answer (b): Poor peasants got an additional source of income. They could use their family labour and free time to spin or weave at home while still cultivating small plots of land.
Answer (c): Merchants wanted to avoid the strict rules of town trade guilds, which controlled who could produce, what could be produced and how it could be produced.
- (a) How did enclosure affect peasants’ livelihoods?
- (b) Why were peasants willing to work for low wages?
- (c) How did rising demand for goods influence this proto-industrial system?
Answer (a): Enclosure of common lands reduced the peasants’ access to grazing and farming land, lowering their agricultural income and making them economically insecure.
Answer (b): Because of falling agricultural earnings and lack of alternative jobs, peasants accepted home-based work for merchants even at low wages to survive.
Answer (c): Rising demand for cloth and other goods encouraged merchants to expand rural production. This strengthened the proto-industrial system, where production took place outside factories, in peasants’ homes.
- (a) What is meant by the proto-industrial system?
- (b) How did it connect villages to international markets?
- (c) Why is this system considered a foundation for the industrial revolution?
Answer (a): The proto-industrial system refers to a phase before large factories, when merchants got goods produced by dispersed rural households using simple tools and family labour.
Answer (b): Merchants collected finished goods from villages and sold them in distant European and overseas markets, linking rural producers with global trade.
Answer (c): It created a large network of producers, trained workers in specialised tasks and built markets for manufactured goods, which later helped the growth of factory-based industrialisation.
Topic 2 – Hand Labour and Steam Power
- (a) Why did machines not entirely replace hand labour in Britain?
- (b) What type of products continued to rely on hand labour?
- (c) How did the tastes of aristocrats affect production methods?
Answer (a): Machines did not completely replace hand labour because many tasks required careful, flexible and skilled handwork that machines could not easily do. Also, machines were expensive and needed large, steady orders.
Answer (b): Goods that needed intricate designs, fine finishes or small customised batches, such as luxury wear, ornaments and specialised metal work, relied heavily on hand labour.
Answer (c): Aristocrats and rich middle classes preferred unique and finely made articles. Their tastes created a demand for hand-crafted goods and discouraged full mechanisation in some sectors.
- (a) How did the availability of labour influence the choice between machines and hand labour?
- (b) Why were machines less profitable in industries with fluctuating demand?
- (c) Give one reason why industrialists preferred seasonal hand workers.
Answer (a): Because large numbers of workers were available at low wages, industrialists found it cheaper to use hand labour rather than invest in costly machines.
Answer (b): Machines required heavy investment and had to be used constantly to recover costs. In industries with fluctuating demand, machines would remain idle for long periods, reducing profits.
Answer (c): Seasonal hand workers could be hired and dismissed as needed, giving industrialists flexibility and reducing fixed costs.
- (a) Why did women workers oppose the spinning jenny?
- (b) What does their reaction tell us about the impact of new technology on workers?
- (c) Do you think all machines are always beneficial for workers? Give one point from the case to support your answer.
Answer (a): Women opposed the spinning jenny because it could spin more threads at a time and threatened to replace many hand spinners, causing job loss.
Answer (b): Their reaction shows that new technology can create fear and insecurity when it reduces employment or weakens workers’ bargaining power.
Answer (c): No, machines are not always beneficial for workers. Here, the spinning jenny increased productivity but reduced the need for hand spinners, pushing many out of work.
Topic 3 – Industrialisation in the Colonies (India)
- (a) How did British policies affect Indian cotton textile exports?
- (b) Why did Indian weavers lose their local market also?
- (c) Mention one long-term impact of this competition on traditional weaving in India.
Answer (a): British policies imposed heavy duties on Indian cotton textiles entering Britain, making them costlier and reducing their exports.
Answer (b): Cheap machine-made cloth from Manchester entered India freely and flooded the market. Indian consumers began buying these cheaper goods instead of local handloom cloth.
Answer (c): A long-term impact was the decline of many traditional weaving centres and increased poverty and unemployment among weavers.
- (a) Why did early Indian cotton mills depend on imported machinery?
- (b) What type of product did many of these mills produce in the beginning?
- (c) Did handloom weaving disappear with the coming of mills? Give evidence from the case.
Answer (a): Early Indian mills lacked local engineering skills and industries to make complex machines, so they used textile machinery imported from Britain.
Answer (b): Many mills mainly produced coarse yarn, much of which was exported to China for weaving.
Answer (c): No, handloom weaving did not disappear. The case clearly says that handloom weaving continued in many regions even after mills grew.
- (a) What role did European managing agencies play in Indian industries?
- (b) Give two examples of products made mainly to serve British needs.
- (c) How did this pattern of production reflect India’s colonial status?
Answer (a): European managing agencies financed, managed and marketed many big industrial enterprises, especially in jute, tea and shipping.
Answer (b): Examples include railway tracks and other railway materials, and military uniforms and tents produced for British wars and army needs.
Answer (c): It shows that Indian industry mainly served the economic and political interests of Britain rather than catering to India’s own industrial and consumer needs.
- (a) How did some Indian weavers survive Manchester competition?
- (b) What kind of market did they serve?
- (c) What does this case show about the uneven impact of colonial industrialisation?
Answer (a): Some weavers shifted to producing finer, high-quality cloth and specialised designs that machine-made Manchester cloth could not easily imitate.
Answer (b): They served a niche market of customers who wanted traditional, handwoven saris and fabrics for religious, festive and ceremonial use.
Answer (c): It shows that while many weavers suffered, some regions and products adapted and even flourished, so the impact of colonial industrialisation was uneven and varied.
Topic 4 – Factories Come Up
- (a) Describe two features of the working day in early factories.
- (b) How were workers disciplined?
- (c) What were the living conditions of workers like?
Answer (a): Workers had to work for 12–14 hours a day with very short breaks, doing the same specialised task again and again.
Answer (b): Factory managers imposed strict discipline; workers could be fined, insulted or dismissed for coming late, slowing work or making mistakes.
Answer (c): Most workers lived in overcrowded slums with poor sanitation, inadequate housing and unhealthy surroundings.
- (a) Who was a jobber in the context of Indian factories?
- (b) How did jobbers help factory owners?
- (c) In what way could jobbers exploit workers?
Answer (a): A jobber was a middleman employed by factory managers to recruit and control workers, often from his own village or community.
Answer (b): Jobbers maintained a supply of workers for factories and ensured that labour was available when production needed to be increased.
Answer (c): Since workers depended on him for jobs and help, the jobber could demand bribes, gifts or personal services, leading to exploitation.
- (a) Why did factories not run at full capacity all through the year?
- (b) What happened to workers during slack seasons?
- (c) How did this pattern affect workers’ economic security?
Answer (a): Factories depended on large and irregular orders, so they increased production only when such orders came and remained partly idle at other times.
Answer (b): During slack seasons, workers were often laid off, worked fewer days, or received very low and irregular wages.
Answer (c): This made workers’ incomes uncertain and unstable, keeping them in a state of constant economic insecurity and poverty.
- (a) How did factories bring together different social groups?
- (b) What new identity did workers gradually develop?
- (c) How did this new identity lead to collective action?
Answer (a): Factories employed people from various regions, castes and communities, making them work side by side in the same workplace.
Answer (b): Over time, they developed a common identity as industrial workers rather than only as members of a particular caste or village.
Answer (c): This shared identity encouraged them to unite in workers’ associations, organise strikes and protests to demand higher wages and better working conditions.
Topic 5 – The Peculiarities of Industrial Growth
- (a) Was industrial growth in India uniform across all sectors? Explain.
- (b) Which sectors grew rapidly?
- (c) How did modern mills and handlooms coexist in the textile sector?
Answer (a): No, industrial growth was uneven. Some industries expanded fast while many others stayed small or stagnant.
Answer (b): Cotton and jute industries were among the sectors that grew rapidly in colonial India.
Answer (c): Mills mainly produced coarse yarn and cloth on machines, while handloom weavers continued to make fine and special varieties of cloth by hand.
- (a) Why did Manchester imports into India decline during the First World War?
- (b) How did this affect Indian mills?
- (c) What new challenge did Indian industries face after the war?
Answer (a): During the war, British mills were busy producing war materials, so they could not export as much cloth to India.
Answer (b): Indian mills filled the gap by increasing their own production and supplying cloth to the army as well as to Indian markets.
Answer (c): After the war, Manchester tried to capture its lost markets again, leading to renewed competition for Indian industries.
- (a) What type of technology was used in many small industrial units?
- (b) How did these units manage to survive?
- (c) What does this tell us about the nature of industrialisation in India?
Answer (a): Many small units used old machines as well as simple, traditional tools instead of the latest technology.
Answer (b): They survived by producing limited quantities for local customers or by doing subcontract work for larger factories.
Answer (c): It shows that industrialisation in India was a mix of modern large-scale factories and numerous small, semi-modern or traditional workshops.
Topic 6 – Market for Goods
- (a) Why did manufacturers start using advertisements?
- (b) Mention two common forms of advertising used at that time.
- (c) What was the main purpose of creating a brand image?
Answer (a): Manufacturers used advertisements to attract customers in a competitive market and to increase the sale of their products.
Answer (b): They used colourful labels on cloth bundles and attractive posters or calendars displayed in public places and homes.
Answer (c): The main purpose was to make their products easily recognisable and create trust and loyalty among customers.
- (a) Why did foreign manufacturers use Indian religious images on their products?
- (b) How did this strategy influence Indian consumers?
- (c) What does this tell us about the role of culture in the market for goods?
Answer (a): They used Indian religious images to make their foreign products look familiar, respectable and trustworthy to Indian buyers.
Answer (b): Many consumers associated these images with faith and respect, so they were more likely to accept and buy the products.
Answer (c): It shows that cultural symbols and religious feelings were used cleverly in advertisements to influence the market for goods.
- (a) What was the main aim of the Swadeshi movement regarding goods and markets?
- (b) How did Indian manufacturers use nationalism in their advertisements?
- (c) Explain how political feelings influenced consumer choices in this period.
Answer (a): The Swadeshi movement aimed to boycott foreign goods and promote the use of Indian-made products to weaken British economic control.
Answer (b): They used images of Bharat Mata, national flags and freedom leaders on labels and posters to present their products as patriotic and “truly Indian”.
Answer (c): Consumers began to see buying Indian goods as a political act supporting the freedom struggle, so nationalism directly shaped what they bought and used.