The Age of Industrialisation Class 10 NCERT Solutions 2026 PDF Download

Ans:
(a) The Spinning Jenny sped up the spinning process and reduced labour demand. Women who relied on hand spinning for their livelihood feared unemployment and thus attacked the new machines.
(b) Merchants could not expand production in towns due to powerful trade guilds that restricted entry. They turned to the countryside, supplying money to peasants to produce for the international market (Proto-industrialisation).
(c) As the European companies (British, French) gained power, they secured concessions and monopoly rights. They shifted trade to new ports like Bombay and Calcutta, causing the decline of the old port of Surat and its local bankers.
(d) To establish direct control over weavers and eliminate the existing traders and brokers, the EIC appointed paid servants called Gomasthas to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and check the quality of cloth.

Ans:
(a) False (It was much smaller, about 20%).
(b) True.
(c) False (It increased exports as US supply was cut off).
(d) True.

Ans: Proto-industrialisation refers to the phase of industrialisation that occurred before the establishment of factories. During this period, there was large-scale industrial production for an international market, but it was decentralized and carried out in homes and farms in the countryside, not in factories.

Ans: 1. Cheap Labour: There was no shortage of labour; poor peasants moved to cities, making labour cheap. Machines required huge capital investment.
2. Seasonal Demand: Industries like gas works and breweries had seasonal demand. Industrialists preferred employing hand labour for short periods rather than investing in machines that sat idle.
3. Intricate Designs: Machines produced uniform goods. Market demand was often for goods with intricate designs (like specific shapes of axes or hammers) which required human skill.

Ans: 1. They eliminated existing traders and brokers connected to the cloth trade.
2. They established direct control over the weaver by appointing Gomasthas.
3. They prevented weavers from dealing with other buyers by giving them advances (loans). Once a weaver took a loan, he was tied to the Company and had to hand over the cloth to the Gomastha.

Ans: 1. British mills became busy with war production to meet the needs of the army, so Manchester imports into India declined.
2. Indian mills suddenly had a vast home market to supply.
3. As the war prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs: jute bags, cloth for army uniforms, tents, and leather boots.
4. New factories were set up, and old ones ran multiple shifts.

Ans: Richard Arkwright.

Ans: Dinshaw Petit and Jamsetjee Nusserwanjee Tata.

Ans: It was a mechanical device used for weaving, moved by means of ropes and pulleys. It increased the speed of weaving and allowed weavers to operate wider looms.

Ans: To recruit new workers. He was usually an old and trusted worker who got people from his village, ensured them jobs, and helped them settle in the city.

Ans: London. Merchants carried wool to the countryside for spinning and weaving, and the finished cloth was brought to London to be finished before export.

Ans: 1. Job Scarcity: There was an oversupply of labour. Hundreds tramped to cities and waited for weeks under bridges or in night shelters for work.
2. Seasonality: Many jobs were seasonal. After the busy season, workers were on the streets again.
3. Low Wages: Real wages fell because prices rose faster than earnings.
4. Health: Housing was crowded and unsanitary, leading to disease.

Ans: 1. Labels: They put labels on cloth bundles (e.g., 'Made in Manchester') to verify quality and make the consumer feel confident.
2. Images of Gods: Labels often carried images of Indian gods (Krishna, Saraswati) to make the foreign product appear familiar and divine.
3. Calendars: They printed calendars which were hung in shops and homes, ensuring constant brand visibility.
4. Royal Figures: Images of emperors and nawabs were used to imply the product was of royal quality.

Ans: 1. Cotton Industries in Britain: As cotton industries developed in England, industrial groups pressured the government to impose import duties on cotton textiles so Manchester goods could sell in Britain without competition.
2. Competition in International Markets: British machine-made goods were cheaper than Indian handmade goods, causing Indian exports to collapse.
3. Loss of Domestic Market: By the 1850s, cheap British cotton flooded the Indian market.

Ans: 1. Specialized Designs: Machines could not produce intricate borders (like Banarasi sarees) or traditional woven patterns. These had a demand among the rich and middle classes.
2. Technological Changes: Weavers adopted technologies like the Fly Shuttle, which improved productivity without increasing costs significantly.
3. Famines: The demand for coarse cloth (bought by the poor) fluctuated, but the demand for fine varieties (bought by the well-to-do) was stable even during famines.

Ans: * **Positive:** It brought modern technology, railways, and created a new class of entrepreneurs (Tata, Birla). It also provided employment during the war years. * **Negative:** It destroyed traditional handicrafts, exploited workers with low wages and long hours, and was primarily driven by colonial interests rather than national development until independence.

Ans: James Watt (in 1781). His engine was manufactured by Matthew Boulton.

Ans: The first jute mill was set up in Bengal in 1855.

Ans: Dwarkanath Tagore (Bengal), Dinshaw Petit and Jamsetjee Nusserwanjee Tata (Bombay), Seth Hukumchand (Marwari businessman).

Ans: Ports like Surat and Masulipatam connected India to the Gulf and Red Sea ports. They were controlled by Indian merchants and bankers who financed production.

Ans: Because there was an abundance of labor (oversupply). When the supply of workers exceeds the demand, wages tend to be low.