The Age of Industrialization – MCQs Online Practice Test with Automatic scoring
Class: 10
Subject: Social Science – History
Chapter: 4 – The Age of Industrialisation
CBSE Board Examinations – NCERT Based 30 MCQ Quiz (30 Minutes) with Automatic Scoring
These MCQs are designed strictly as per the NCERT syllabus and are ideal for CBSE Class 10 Board Exam preparation.
Instructions: This timed quiz contains 30 Multiple Choice Questions from the chapter
“The Age of Industrialisation” – Before the Industrial Revolution, Hand Labour and Steam Power, Industrialisation in the Colonies, Factories Come Up, The Peculiarities of Industrial Growth, and Market for Goods.
You have 30 minutes to complete the quiz. Select the correct option for each question.
As soon as you select an option, the correct answer and a detailed explanation will appear below that question.
When the timer ends, the quiz will auto-submit. You can also click “Submit Quiz & Show Answers” to see your score and all explanations.
Topic 1 – Before the Industrial Revolution
Q1. The proto-industrial system that existed before large factories mainly involved:
Before the Industrial Revolution, merchants based in towns carried raw materials to villages and got goods produced by peasants in their homes. This decentralised system linking rural households to urban and international markets is called the proto-industrial system.
Q2. Why did many merchants move production to the countryside in eighteenth-century Europe?
Urban guilds controlled entry of new producers and fixed wages and production methods. To escape these controls and expand output freely, merchants shifted production to the countryside where such restrictions did not exist.
Q3. The proto-industrial system helped peasants mainly because it:
Poor peasants could spin or weave in their homes during free time while continuing agriculture. This gave them an important supplementary income in a period of land shortage and low farm earnings.
Q4. Which of the following developments pushed peasants towards proto-industrial work?
Enclosure restricted peasants’ access to common grazing and farming land. As their agricultural income fell, they were ready to accept home-based industrial work at low wages to survive.
Q5. Proto-industrialisation is considered a foundation for the Industrial Revolution because it:
Proto-industrialisation connected merchants and rural producers, trained workers in specialised tasks and built markets for manufactured goods. These networks made it easier to move to factory-based machine production later.
Topic 2 – Hand Labour and Steam Power
Q6. In nineteenth-century Britain, even after machines were introduced, hand labour remained important because:
Machines were suited for mass, uniform production. However, luxury goods, ornaments and finely finished articles required flexible, careful handwork. Hence, hand labour stayed important even in an age of machines.
Q7. Industrialists in Britain often preferred hand labour over machines because:
Britain had a large reserve of unemployed poor who accepted low wages. For many tasks, using such cheap hand labour was more economical than investing in expensive machines and their maintenance.
Q8. Why did workers oppose machines like the spinning jenny?
Machines like the spinning jenny could do the work of many hand spinners at once, reducing the need for manual labour. This created fear of unemployment among workers, leading to resistance and even machine-breaking.
Q9. In industries with highly fluctuating demand, industrialists preferred hand labour because:
Heavy investment in machines made sense only if they ran regularly. Where orders came only during certain seasons or wars, it was cheaper to hire or dismiss hand workers than keep machines idle.
Q10. Which statement best describes the relationship between hand labour and machines in nineteenth-century Britain?
Mechanisation spread slowly. Mass, standardised goods were produced on machines, while fine, customised or small-batch products continued to be made by skilled hand workers. Thus, both systems operated side by side.
Topic 3 – Industrialisation in the Colonies (India)
Q11. The first modern cotton mill in India was set up in:
The first modern cotton textile mill in India was established in Bombay in 1854. Bombay’s port, access to raw cotton and active trading community made it a natural centre for the cotton industry.
Q12. Indian handloom weavers faced severe problems in the nineteenth century mainly due to:
British policies encouraged imports of cheap, machine-made textiles from Manchester into India. These goods flooded the market and displaced costlier and slower handloom cloth, badly affecting traditional weavers.
Q13. Which policy step by the British hurt Indian cotton textile exports the most?
Heavy import duties made Indian textiles costly in Britain, leading to a sharp decline in exports. At the same time, British cloth entered India with low or no duties, giving Manchester a clear advantage.
Q14. In the early years, many Indian mills mainly produced:
Many Indian cotton mills produced coarse yarn rather than fine cloth. A large share of this yarn was exported to China, where it was woven on handlooms, showing continuing links between mills and traditional weaving.
Q15. In colonial India, big industries like jute and tea were largely controlled by:
European managing agencies owned or managed many large-scale enterprises, especially in jute, tea and shipping. Their control reflected the dominance of foreign capital and colonial interests in Indian industry.
Topic 4 – Factories Come Up
Q16. A typical working day in an early factory usually lasted for:
Early factory workers toiled for 12–14 hours a day, often with very short breaks, doing the same specialised task repeatedly. Such long hours and strict discipline made factory work extremely exhausting.
Q17. In Indian factories, a “jobber” was:
Jobbers were influential middlemen appointed by industrialists. They recruited workers from villages, helped them settle in the city and in return often demanded loyalty, gifts or services, giving them great power over labourers.
Q18. Why did many factories in India not run throughout the year at full capacity?
Factory production was driven by irregular large orders from the colonial government or big traders. When orders declined, factories cut shifts or closed, so they did not operate at full capacity all year round.
Q19. As factories brought together workers from different castes and regions, over time they developed:
Working together under similar conditions and facing shared problems, labourers gradually began to see themselves as “workers” first. This new identity helped them unite in unions and collective actions like strikes.
Q20. Living conditions of many early industrial workers in cities were:
Rapid urban growth created crowded slums with poor ventilation, unsafe water and little drainage. Workers often lived in single rooms with many family members, making their living conditions unhealthy.
Topic 5 – The Peculiarities of Industrial Growth
Q21. Industrial growth in colonial India was:
Sectors such as cotton and jute expanded relatively fast, while many other industries remained small. Modern factories coexisted with numerous small workshops and handloom units, showing uneven industrial growth.
Q22. During the First World War, Indian industries grew because:
During the war, British mills concentrated on producing war materials, so exports of Manchester cloth to India fell. Indian mills used this chance to expand and supply both military and civilian demands.
Q23. After the First World War, Indian industries faced new difficulties because:
After the war, British manufacturers wanted to regain their overseas markets. Renewed imports of Manchester cloth created serious competition for Indian mills and slowed down their post-war expansion.
Q24. Many small workshops in India survived by:
Many small units used old machines or simple tools and focused on producing limited goods for nearby customers or working on orders from big factories. This flexible strategy helped them survive competition from large mills.
Q25. In the textile sector, the main difference between mill-made cloth and handloom cloth was that:
Machine-based mills were efficient at producing large quantities of coarse cloth. Skilled handloom weavers continued to make fine-quality or specially designed fabrics that machines could not easily replicate.
Topic 6 – Market for Goods
Q26. Manufacturers began to use advertisements mainly to:
In a competitive market, colourful labels, posters and calendars helped products stand out. Advertisements built a brand image that customers recognised easily, encouraging them to buy the same product again.
Q27. Foreign manufacturers selling in India used Indian religious images on labels mainly to:
By using images of Indian gods, goddesses and cultural symbols, foreign companies tried to tap into local beliefs so that Indian consumers would feel more comfortable and trusting towards their imported goods.
Q28. During the Swadeshi movement, Indian manufacturers used nationalism in their advertisements by:
To promote Swadeshi goods, advertisements used patriotic symbols such as Bharat Mata, the national flag and freedom leaders. Buying Indian products was presented as a way of supporting the national movement.
Q29. What was the main economic message of the Swadeshi movement?
Swadeshi activists urged people to reject foreign goods and instead support Indian industry and handicrafts. This economic boycott aimed to weaken British control and strengthen India’s own productive capacity.
Q30. Which of the following best shows that markets are influenced by culture and politics?
Advertisers used gods, goddesses and patriotic icons to appeal to people’s beliefs and national feelings. This shows that buying and selling are shaped not just by price but also by cultural and political ideas.
Your score: