The Making of a Global World – MCQs with Answers and Explanations

CBSE Class 10 History – Chapter 3: The Making of a Global World | MCQs with Answers & Explanations

Class 10 Social Science – History NCERT • CBSE Board Exams

Chapter 3 – The Making of a Global World

Book: India and the Contemporary World – II
Topics: The Pre-modern World • The Nineteenth Century • The Interwar Economy • Rebuilding a World Economy (Post-War Era)

Suitable for CBSE Board Examinations:

CBSE Class 10 Board Examination – Social Science (History)
Annual / Term-End School Examinations
Class Tests, Pre-Boards and Practice Assignments
Objective & Competency-Based Question Practice

MCQs with Explanations

CBSE Class 10 History – Chapter 3: The Making of a Global World (MCQs with Answers & Explanations)

The following 30 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) are prepared strictly as per the NCERT textbook for CBSE Class 10 Social Science – History. Each question includes a detailed, concept-clearing explanation to support exam-oriented learning and revision.

A. The Pre-modern World

MCQs 1 to 7 test your understanding of early global connections, Silk Routes, food travels, conquest and cultural exchange.

Q1. The Silk Routes are best described as:

A. Only sea routes that linked India with Europe
B. A network of land and sea routes connecting Asia with Europe and North Africa
C. Trade routes that existed only within China
D. Routes used only for religious pilgrimages

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The NCERT text explains that the Silk Routes included both land and sea routes linking China and other parts of Asia with Europe and North Africa. They carried silk, spices and other goods, as well as ideas and cultures. So option B correctly captures this wider network.

Q2. Why are these trade routes called “Silk Routes”?

A. Because they were covered with silken carpets
B. Because only silk traders were allowed to use them
C. Because silk was one of the most important and valuable goods traded on these routes
D. Because they passed only through China

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The routes are named after Chinese silk, a highly prized luxury item of the time. Silk was a major commodity moving along these routes, although many other goods also travelled. Therefore option C gives the historically accurate reason.

Q3. Which of the following best shows that globalisation is not a recent phenomenon?

A. Spread of television and internet
B. Existence of multinational companies
C. Movement of goods, people and ideas along the Silk Routes centuries ago
D. Use of mobile phones for online shopping

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The chapter emphasises that globalisation is a historical process. The Silk Routes linked distant regions through trade and cultural exchange long before modern technology, proving that global connections existed in the pre-modern world. Hence, option C is correct.

Q4. Which set of crops originally came from the Americas and later spread to Europe and Asia?

A. Wheat, rice, sugarcane
B. Potato, maize, tomato
C. Cotton, jute, indigo
D. Tea, coffee, rubber

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: NCERT mentions that potato, maize, tomato and chilli were first grown in the Americas and later introduced to Europe and Asia. These new crops changed food habits and agriculture. Option B lists this group correctly.

Q5. The drastic decline in the indigenous population of the Americas after European conquest was mainly due to:

A. Shortage of food grains
B. Spread of new diseases and forced labour
C. Migration to Europe
D. Voluntary mass suicides

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: NCERT clearly states that diseases like smallpox brought by Europeans, along with warfare and forced labour, caused a massive population decline in the Americas. Therefore option B best summarises the main reasons.

Q6. The triangular trade that developed between Europe, Africa and the Americas mainly involved:

A. Silk, spices and tea
B. Slaves, plantation products and European manufactured goods
C. Only precious metals and diamonds
D. Books, art and religious texts

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: European traders took manufactured goods to Africa, exchanged them for slaves, transported slaves to the Americas, and brought back plantation products like sugar and tobacco to Europe. This pattern of trade is described in option B.

Q7. Which of the following shows cultural exchange in the pre-modern world?

A. Export of cotton textiles from India alone
B. Spread of Buddhism from India to East Asia
C. Only import of gold into Europe
D. Insistence on strict separation of cultures

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The text gives the example of Buddhist monks carrying teachings from India to China, Korea and Japan. This is a clear instance of cultural and religious exchange, so option B is correct.

B. The Nineteenth Century (1815–1914)

MCQs 8 to 17 cover industrialisation, world trade, role of colonies, migration and the global agricultural economy.

Q8. Which development in the nineteenth century most increased the volume and speed of world trade?

A. Hand-operated looms
B. Steamships and railways
C. Use of bullock carts
D. Wooden sailing boats only

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The chapter highlights steamships and railways as key technologies that reduced transport time and cost. They connected interiors with ports and made long-distance trade faster and cheaper. Hence option B is correct.

Q9. In the nineteenth century world economy, colonies mainly acted as:

A. Independent industrial centres
B. Suppliers of raw materials and markets for finished goods
C. Centres of advanced technology
D. Countries lending capital to Europe

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: According to NCERT, colonies like India supplied raw materials (cotton, jute, etc.) and served as markets for industrial goods from imperial countries. They rarely developed as independent industrial centres. Option B summarises this role.

Q10. “Cash crops” grown in colonies were primarily meant for:

A. Local household consumption
B. Export and earning revenue
C. Religious rituals only
D. Feeding local livestock

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: Cash crops like cotton, jute, sugarcane and indigo were grown mainly to be sold in markets, especially for export to industrial countries. They were not primarily for local consumption. Hence option B is correct.

Q11. Which of the following is the correct definition of “indentured labour”?

A. Free labour that can leave anytime
B. Labour tied by a contract to work for a fixed period for an employer
C. Only family labour on small farms
D. Casual labour hired for a single day

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: Indentured labour is defined in the NCERT as workers who sign a contract (indenture) to work for an employer for a fixed period, often in another country, usually under harsh conditions. Option B matches this definition.

Q12. Which of the following was a major reason for many Indian peasants becoming indentured labourers?

A. Excess of land and low rents
B. Poverty, high rents and indebtedness
C. Desire for religious conversion
D. Government scholarship schemes

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The chapter explains that many Indian peasants faced poverty, high land rents and heavy debts. Recruiters used this distress to persuade them to sign indenture contracts. Option B correctly states these push factors.

Q13. A “global agricultural economy” in the nineteenth century meant:

A. Agriculture was done only within villages
B. Each country grew different crops without any trade
C. Agricultural production and prices became linked across countries through trade
D. Only industrial goods were traded globally

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: NCERT uses the term to show that food grains and raw materials produced in one region were sold in distant markets, so prices and production were influenced by global demand. Option C explains this idea correctly.

Q14. Which technological change made long-distance trade in perishable items like meat possible?

A. Sowing machines
B. Refrigerated ships
C. Bullock carts
D. Wooden plough

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The textbook gives the example of refrigerated ships which allowed meat to be frozen and shipped from countries like Argentina to Europe. This reduced costs and made meat more widely available. Hence option B is correct.

Q15. “Latecomers” to industrialisation such as some European countries and Japan often:

A. Completely rejected industrialisation
B. Relied only on agriculture
C. Used tariff protection and state support to develop industries
D. Closed their borders to trade

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The chapter notes that late industrialisers adopted tariff protection and state-led measures to protect their industries from British competition and catch up. Option C summarises this correctly.

Q16. Which of the following correctly describes the migration pattern in the nineteenth century?

A. Only Europeans moved within Europe
B. Only Asians migrated to Europe
C. Large-scale migration of Europeans and Asians to the Americas, Africa and Australia
D. No significant migration took place

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The NCERT text describes the nineteenth century as a period of mass migration, with Europeans and Asians moving to the Americas, Africa and Australia for work and settlement. Option C captures this global pattern.

Q17. A “global labour market” emerged in the nineteenth century because:

A. Workers were confined within local villages
B. Labour could move across regions to meet demand in plantations, mines and farms
C. Only slaves worked on plantations
D. Governments banned international migration

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The chapter explains that workers from Asia, Europe and Africa moved to plantations, mines and farms in other continents, creating a worldwide labour market where labour supply and demand were linked globally. Option B states this idea accurately.

C. The Interwar Economy

MCQs 18 to 24 focus on the First World War, post-war recovery, the Great Depression and its impact.

Q18. Which country emerged as a major economic power after the First World War?

A. Britain
B. United States of America
C. India
D. Japan

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The NCERT text points out that the United States became a major creditor and industrial power after the war, while European economies were weakened. Therefore, option B is correct.

Q19. The attempt to return to the Gold Standard after the First World War led to:

A. Higher wages and prosperity
B. Deflation, wage cuts and unemployment
C. Immediate full recovery
D. End of international trade

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: To restore pre-war gold values, countries adopted deflationary policies such as wage cuts, which caused unemployment and hardship. NCERT describes post-war recovery as fragile for this reason. So option B is correct.

Q20. The Great Depression of 1929 first began in:

A. India
B. Britain
C. United States of America
D. Japan

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: According to NCERT, the Great Depression started in the United States with the stock market crash of 1929 and then spread to other countries. Hence, option C is the right answer.

Q21. Which of the following was NOT a major cause of the Great Depression?

A. Overproduction in agriculture and industry
B. Speculative boom and crash in the stock market
C. Banking failures and shortage of credit
D. Increase in world population due to vaccines

Correct Answer: D

Explanation: The depression was caused by overproduction, a stock market crash, and banking failures, as explained in the chapter. Population change due to vaccines is not listed as a cause, so option D is NOT a major cause and is therefore correct.

Q22. How did the Great Depression affect export-dependent colonies like India?

A. Prices of export crops rose sharply
B. Prices of export crops fell and peasants' incomes declined
C. Land revenue was cancelled
D. Rural poverty was removed

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: NCERT notes that prices of export crops like jute, cotton and wheat dropped sharply during the Depression. Peasants received low returns, had to pay the same land revenue and often fell into deeper debt. Thus option B is correct.

Q23. Protectionist policies during the Depression involved:

A. Reducing import duties
B. Increasing tariffs and restricting imports
C. Free movement of goods
D. Stopping all domestic production

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: To protect their own producers, many countries during the Depression raised tariffs and imposed import restrictions, reducing world trade. These are called protectionist policies, as in option B.

Q24. The Great Depression demonstrated that the world economy had become:

A. Completely isolated
B. Interlinked, so a crisis in one country could spread globally
C. Dependent only on agriculture
D. Fully controlled by farmers

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The Depression began in the US but spread quickly to Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America through trade and finance links. This shows the world economy was highly interdependent, as described in option B.

D. Rebuilding a World Economy – The Post-War Era

MCQs 25 to 30 focus on the Bretton Woods system, IMF & World Bank, decolonisation and the new phase of globalisation.

Q25. The Bretton Woods Conference (1944) aimed to:

A. Plan another world war
B. Design a new international monetary and financial system
C. Divide colonies among imperial powers
D. Promote only agricultural trade

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: Representatives of 44 countries met at Bretton Woods to create a stable international monetary system after the war. The IMF and World Bank were established for this purpose. Option B reflects this accurately.

Q26. Which two institutions were created at Bretton Woods?

A. WTO and FAO
B. IMF and World Bank
C. NATO and SEATO
D. WHO and UNICEF

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were set up at Bretton Woods to ensure monetary stability and support reconstruction and development. So, option B is correct.

Q27. Under the Bretton Woods system, exchange rates were:

A. Completely free to float daily
B. Fixed to gold with no adjustment allowed
C. Fixed but adjustable, with currencies pegged to the US dollar
D. Determined only by farmers

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The NCERT explains that currencies were pegged to the US dollar, which was linked to gold. Exchange rates were fixed but could be changed with IMF approval. Option C accurately describes this arrangement.

Q28. “Decolonisation” after the Second World War refers to:

A. Colonies gaining independence from imperial powers
B. Creation of new colonies
C. Only economic reforms in Europe
D. End of world trade

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: After the war, many Asian and African territories became independent nation-states, a process known as decolonisation. Option A gives the correct meaning.

Q29. The collapse of the Bretton Woods system in the early 1970s led to:

A. Return to the Gold Standard
B. Adoption of floating exchange rates in many countries
C. Complete ban on international trade
D. End of globalisation

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: When the US ended the dollar’s convertibility into gold, the fixed rate system collapsed. Many countries then moved to floating exchange rates, where currency values are decided by market forces. Option B matches this NCERT explanation.

Q30. Which of the following is a key feature of the new phase of globalisation after the 1970s?

A. Strict control over foreign capital movement
B. Expansion of multinational corporations and freer movement of capital
C. End of technological progress
D. Closure of all world markets

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The NCERT chapter notes that after the 1970s, globalisation was marked by freer movement of capital, growth of multinational corporations and rapid spread of technology. Option B summarises these features correctly.

These 30 MCQs with detailed explanations are closely aligned with the NCERT syllabus for Class 10 History – Chapter 3: The Making of a Global World and are ideal for CBSE Board exam practice, concept clarification and quick revision.

The Making of a Global World – MCQs with Answers and Explanations

CBSE Class 10 History – Chapter 3: The Making of a Global World (MCQs with Answers & Explanations)

A. The Pre-modern World

B. The Nineteenth Century (1815–1914)

C. The Interwar Economy

D. Rebuilding a World Economy – The Post-War Era

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