WEAVERS, IRON SMELTERS, AND FACTORY OWNERS TEXTBOOK (NCERT) Questions and Answers of CBSE, Class 8, History Chapter-7

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WEAVERS, IRON SMELTERS, AND FACTORY OWNERS TEXTBOOK (NCERT) Questions and Answers of CBSE, Class 8, History Chapter-7

Text book solutions.

1 . What kind of clothes had a large market in Europe?

Ans: In Europe, from 1680s there was a trend of printed clothes with small , colorful and extremely beautiful and delicate floral print on it. They bought those clothes from Indian cotton textile industries at a very cheap rate. Among them most popular cotton clothes were “ chintz” , “cossaes” , and “bandanna”. They were in a great demand in European countries. Not only the middle class people wore the Indian fabrics but also the rich people along with the queen worn clothes made up of Indian fabrics.

2 . What is “jamdani”?

Ans: Jamdani is a fine muslin on which decorative motifs are woven on the loom, typically in grey and white color. It was in a great demand and acquired a wide currency.

3 . What is bandanna?

Ans: Bandanna is a brightly colored and printed scarf meant for neck or head. It was derived from a Hindi word “bandhna”  as this bright colored cloth was made through a process of tying and dying.

4 . Who are the Agaria?

Ans: Agarias is the group of people who collected a basket full of iron ore from Rajhara hills which were located in the forest. They were the ones who pointed out the source of the finest ores to Weld and Dorabji in the year 1904.

YOU ARE READING: WEAVERS, IRON SMELTERS, AND FACTORY OWNERS TEXTBOOK (NCERT) Questions and Answers of CBSE, Class 8, History Chapter-7

5 . Fill in the blanks:-

a . The word chintz came from the word _________.

Ans: chhint.

b . Tipu’s sword was made of __________ steel.

Ans: wootz.

c . India’s textile exports declined in the _______ century.

Ans: nineteenth.

6 . How the names of different textiles tell us about the histories?

Ans: Earlier the traders named the products according to the name of the place from where they have purchased them. It made it easier to remember the place where the product is of good quality. Few examples are:-

A . The European traders saw enormous production of fine cotton cloth in India. Those were carried away by the Arab merchants in Mosul. So, they preferred calling all the finely woven textiles as “muslin”.

B .  The Portuguese in search of different varieties of spices came to India and targeted a place Calicut located on the Kerala coast in southwest India. The traders carried the cotton textiles as well as different spices to Europe and those were named as “calico” derived from the place Calicut.

C . There were many other varies of clothes that were known by their place of origin: Kasimbazar, Patna, Calcutta, Orissa, Charpoore, etc.

This suggests that at that time the Indian cotton textiles, spices, etc. were used by people worldwide. Not only the middle-class people but also the rich people including the Queen herself used Indian fabrics. These products attracted traders to India each and every time.

YOU ARE READING: WEAVERS, IRON SMELTERS, AND FACTORY OWNERS TEXTBOOK (NCERT) Questions and Answers of CBSE, Class 8, History Chapter-7

7 . Why did the wool and silk producers in England protest against the import of Indian textiles in the early eighteenth century?

Ans: During the eighteenth century, the popularity of Indian textiles grew all over the world. This became a threat to the wool and silk weavers in England. They became distressed and as a result, started protesting against the import of cotton textiles from India. Hence, an act was passed by the government in 1720 which was known as the Calico Act which aimed at prohibiting the use of the imported clothes from India specially the famous cotton cloth “chintz”.

The textile industries in England were not able to cope up with the Indian textiles. Hence, they prohibited the entry of Indian textiles in England so that they could acquire a position in the market. The Calico printing industry was the first to produce textiles in England. They copied and printed the Indian designs on white or plain muslin cloth. They were protected by their government. However, after all these efforts done by the government, Indian textile industries dominated all over the world at the end of the 18th century. The trading companies from all over the world like the French, the Dutch, and the English bought these products in exchange for silver. However, this process was stopped soon after the arrival of the East India Company.

8 . How did the development of cotton industries in Britain affect the textile producers in India?

Ans: In 1854, the first cotton mill was developed in Bombay . It exported huge amount of raw cotton from India to England and China. Later on, by 1900  , 84 mills rose up in Bombay. In 1861 first mill was operated in Ahmedabad. The cotton textiles set up by the British demanded a number of laborers . The Indian textile industries were the main sufferers. The problems they faced are as follows:-

A . The Indian textiles were not well accepted in the American and European markets. Hence, they faced a tuff competition.

B . In England, the import of Indian cotton textiles was banned. An act was passed in 1720 to prohibit the use of famous Indian cotton textile, “chintz”. High taxes were also imposed on Indian textiles by the British government.

C . The cotton textiles made in Britain easily expelled the Indian goods from their position in the markets of Africa, America, and Europe.

D . During the 1830s, the cotton clothes produced in Britain dominated the Indian markets. Almost 67-70 percent of cotton clothes used by the Indians were produced in Britain’s cotton textile industries. This affected the traditional weavers and spinners.

E . Many Indian spinners were thrown out of their job and they suffered poverty.

F . The weavers of Bengal faced a major problem. They were thrown out of their job. The European markets banned the Indian goods and the Indian weavers were not given any advantages. The weavers wrote petitions to the government but they were not given any support by the government.

YOU ARE READING: WEAVERS, IRON SMELTERS, AND FACTORY OWNERS TEXTBOOK (NCERT) Questions and Answers of CBSE, Class 8, History Chapter-7

9 . Why did the Indian iron smelting industry decline in nineteenth century?

Ans: One of the common occupation in India till the end of 19th century was iron smelting. In almost every districts iron smelting was practiced. The smelters used local ore to produce iron  tools. The women also helped them by pumping air for keeping the charcoal burning. But during the 19th century the Indian iron smelting industry started facing a huge loss and slowly it declined. The reasons for their decline are as follows:-

A . As the British government arrived they imposed many strict forest laws and many forests were reserved by the government. Entry of any local people for collecting  forest goods was banned . Hence, it became difficult for the iron smelters to collect wood for burning charcoal and they also did not get the supply of iron ores. Sometimes, they disobeyed the forest laws and entered the forest to collect the forest products but they were unable to continue this process for long. Most of the smelters became distressed and opted for other sources of livelihood.

B .  In some places the British government allowed the local people to use the forest products but in return they had to pay heavy taxes or they had to work under the British government.

C . In the late 19th century , the Britain came up with iron smelting industries and started importing iron in India. So, the local iron smelters of India used the imported iron and this considerably lowered the demands for iron that was made by the Indian smelters.

10 . What problems did the Indian textile industry face in the early years of its development?

Ans: Earlier the goods produced by the Indian textile industries flourished all over the world. The cotton clothes like “chintz” , “bandanna”, etc. were exported in almost every part of the world.  These clothes were not only used by the common people but also used by the rich people including the Queen herself. Later on, with the growth of Britain industries the Indian textile industries faced many problems. Some of them are as follows:-

A . The England textile industries were unable to compete with the Indian textile industries hence they prohibited the use of Indian fabrics. They also passed an act in 1720 known as the Calico Act which banned the import of the famous cotton cloth “chintz”.

B . Under the protection of the government many countries started their own textile industries. In England, cotton textile industries were raised where the designs were copied from the Indian clothes.

C . They also imposed high taxes on the goods imported from India. The Indian weavers and spinners unable to pay those heavy taxes opted for another source of livelihood.

D . The iron smelting industries also faced problems after the forest laws were imposed which brought an end to the Indian iron smelting industries.

E . The Indian colonial government did not support the local weavers and spinners and hence they became helpless. Unwillingly, they had to leave their occupation and use the imported products from Britain, England, etc.

YOU ARE READING: WEAVERS, IRON SMELTERS, AND FACTORY OWNERS TEXTBOOK (NCERT) Questions and Answers of CBSE, Class 8, History Chapter-7

11 . What helped TISCO expand steel production during the First World War?

Ans: In the year 1904, Charles Weld and Dorabji Tata were traveling in Chhattisgarh in the search of iron ore to setup an iron and steel industry. One day they saw a group of people carrying basketful of iron ores. They were known as the “Agarias”. Weld and Dorabji asked them about the source and they pointed towards a hill. The hill was known as Rajhara Hills where the finest iron ore was found but the only problem was , the area surrounding the hill was dry and the required amount of water to run a factory was not available. They continued their search and later on found a place near the banks of the river Subarnarekha in Jamshedpur which was suitable for setting up a factory. Hence, in 1912 the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) was setup.

TISCO was set up at the appropriate time. The situation was changing as the First World War broke out in 1914. The import of steel from Britain stopped as they had to fulfill the demands of the war in Europe. So, the Indian railways seemed to help from TISCO for the supply of rails. As the war continued for long, TISCO had to supply shells and carriage wheels for the war. The government started buying 90 percent of the steel produced by TISCO by the year 1919.  Within British rule, TISCO became the biggest steel industry.

As the British government stopped importing steel from England and Britain to India, it became a major turning point for TISCO to expand the steel production during the First World War.

12 . Find out about the history of any craft around the area you live. You may wish to know about the community of craftsmen, the changes in the techniques they use, and the markets they supply. How have these changed in the past 50 years?

Ans: Handloom weaving is one of the crafts which is till now very famous in India. The process have changed a lot due to the invention of modern technologies. Earlier , almost all the villages had weavers who fulfilled the demands of people for clothing such as sarees, dhotis etc. Some areas were also popular for wool weaving during the winters . The quality of the products was very satisfying as they were hand-spun and hand-woven . The cotton or silk or wool was supplied by the farmers or shepherds and was cleaned by the weavers . They used small, traditional instruments specially the spinning wheel or charkha. After making the fabrics, they used to sell them in local markets . They also supplied those clothes in Europe, Africa, Egypt, Britain, etc. The Indian clothes became famous all over the world.

Nowadays many modern technologies have been invented to help weavers in improving their work. There are many programs held up by the government to educate the weavers. It ensures that they are getting proper skills, knowledge about modern technologies. The largest economic sector after the agricultural activity is the handloom sector. The government also decided to increase the market value of the handloom products. The government also took the initiative to provide the weavers with better quality cotton, silk so that they can make clothes of superior quality. Hence, the weavers are getting major support from the government which was quite unexpected 50 years back.

YOU ARE READING: WEAVERS, IRON SMELTERS, AND FACTORY OWNERS TEXTBOOK (NCERT) Questions and Answers of CBSE, Class 8, History Chapter-7

13 . On a map of India, locate the centers of different crafts today. Find out when these centers came up.

Ans:

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