Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in Current Affairs.

The upper classes, during Victorian period, preferred things produced by hands because :
(i) They symbolized refinement and classic.
(ii) They were better finished.
(iii) They were individually produced and carefully designed

Restrictions imposed by the British Government upon the Indian merchants were :
(i) The colonial control over Indian trade tightened and space within which Indian merchants could function became limited.

(ii) They were barred from trading with Europe in manufactured goods.
(iii) They had to export mostly raw materials and foodgrains.
(iv) They were also gradually edged out of the shipping business.

As the industrial era came, huge amounts of land were taken and converted into industries. The labours didn’t have any option but to work for the merchants in town.

They had no work to do as it was an era of modernization. Earlier they could work on their plots and give a living to the whole family. But now the peasants and artisans had to look for alternative sources for earning rather than the common land for survival.

Jobber was employed to get new recruits for the factories or industrialists.
The jobber misused his position and power in the following ways :
(i) Initially, jobbers cured people from his village ensuring them jobs. He also helped then settle in the city and lent them money in the times of crisis.
(ii) Gradually, jobbers got position and power.
(iii) They started demanding money and gifts for all the favors.

(iv) They also started to control the lives of the workers.
(v) Jobbers got people from his own village and restricted entries of others in the mills.

(i) Due to the expansion of world trade, the merchants wanted to expand their production. But hade and craft guilds were very powerful.
(ii) They could create money problems for the merchants in their town
(iii) Rulers had granted different guilds and the monopoly rights to produce and trade in specific products. So merchants were handicapped in towns.
(iv) Guilds regulated competition and prices.
(v) In the countryside, peasants and artisans were available for work.

(i) In Victorian Britain, there was no shortage of human labor, so industrialists had no problem with labor shortage or high wage costs. They did not want to introduce machines that got rid of human labor and required large capital investment.
(ii) In many industries the demand for labor was seasonal. Gasworks and breweries were especially busy through the cold months. So they needed more workers to meet their peak demand. Bookbinders and printers, catering to X-mas demand, too needed extra hands before December.
(iii) A range of products could be produced only with hand labor. Machines were oriented to produce uniformly standardized goods for a mass market. But
the demand in the market was often for goods with intricate designs and specific shapes.
(iv) The aristocrats and bourgeoisie preferred things produced by hand in Victorian Britain. Hand-made products came to symbolize refinement and class.
(v) Hand-made products were better finished, individually produced and carefully designed.

(i) In Victorian Britain, there was no shortage of human labor, so industrialists had no problem with labor shortage or high wage costs. They did not want to introduce machines that got rid of human labor and required large capital investment.
(ii) In many industries the demand for labor was seasonal. Gasworks and breweries were especially busy through the cold months. So they needed more workers to meet their peak demand. Bookbinders and printers, catering to X-mas demand, too needed extra hands before December.
(iii) A range of products could be produced only with hand labor. Machines were oriented to produce uniformly standardized goods for a mass market. But
the demand in the market was often for goods with intricate designs and specific shapes.
(iv) The aristocrats and bourgeoisie preferred things produced by hand in Victorian Britain. Hand-made products came to symbolize refinement and class.
(v) Hand-made products were better finished, individually produced and carefully designed.

(a) Henry the Navigator of Portugal laid the foundation for long distance sea voyages. He established a navigation school to train sailors. In his school, he taught them how to use navigational instruments such as the mariner’s compass and the astrolabe.

(b) 1. When the Ottoman Turks blocked the land route between the East and the West, spices and other goods became costlier. 

2. This intensified the urge to discover a new sea route to Asia.

(c) 1. Many natives also died because of epidemic diseases brought by the colonizers. 

2. The most dangerous weapons the natives had to encounter were these deadly diseases against which they were defenseless. 

3. It led to the near annihilation of the natives in most parts of the Americas.

(d) The Trans-Atlantic Trade was a triangular trade. The European countries purchased slaves from Africa who were transported to America. In return they got sugar and other raw materials from America. The European countries profited immensely from this trade.

(a) Martin Luther rejected several teachings and practice of the Roman Catholic Church. He strongly disputed the Catholic view on indulgences.

(b) He argued that it was by faith alone that one could attain salvation. He put forward the doctrine of justification by faith. The grace of God would be bestowed by the divine will alone and not by the deeds of the people.

(c) King Henry VIII longed for a son who would succeed him to the throne. For this purpose Henry wanted to marry again and therefore appealed to the Pope to annul his marriage with Catherine. However, the Holy Roman Emperor was Catherine’s nephew and he pressurized the Pope not to agree to his request.

As the Pope kept evading his decision, King Henry VIII grew impatient and broke his ties with Rome. By a series of Acts he established a separate Anglican Church. He confiscated the properties of the Catholic Church and monasteries in England and declared himself the Supreme Head of the Anglican Church.

(d) St. Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus to propagate Christianity. Its main work was through education and service to the destitute. It started a number of educational institutions, orphanages and homes for the destitute. Soon their missionaries were present in all parts of the world to spread the Catholic religion.

• The Protestant reformation posed a threat to the Catholic Church.
• In order to meet the challenge Pope Paul III and his successors introduced a number of rigorous reforms in the Church. They dealt with corruption severely and stopped the sale of offices.
• The Council of Trent reemphasized the importance of ceremonies and the significance of the mass. 
• Further, it revitalized the Inquisition to deal with opposition to the Church. It also gave official sanction to the Society of Jesus.
• This reformation of the Catholic Church from within is known as Counter Reformation.

The Jobber was a person with some authority and he used to help the industrialists to get workers. His role was to ensure job to workers and workers to industrialists. He used to be an old and trusted worker.
Functions :
(i) He got people from his village.
(ii) He ensured them jobs.
(iii) He helped the workers to settle in the cities.

(iv) He provided money in time of crisis.

(i) Supply merchants linked the port towns to the inland regions.

(ii) They gave advances to weavers, procured the woven cloth from wearing villagers and carried the supply to the ports.

(iii) At ports, they had brokers who negotiated the price and bought goods from the supply merchants who were operating inland.
 

(i) In Victorian Britain, there was no shortage of human labor, so industrialists had no problem with labor shortage or high wage costs. They did not want to introduce machines that got rid of human labor and required large capital investment.
(ii) In many industries the demand for labor was seasonal. Gasworks and breweries were especially busy through the cold months. So they needed more workers to meet their peak demand. Bookbinders and printers, catering to X-mas demand, too needed extra hands before December.
(iii) A range of products could be produced only with hand labor. Machines were oriented to produce uniformly standardized goods for a mass market. But
the demand in the market was often for goods with intricate designs and specific shapes.
(iv) The aristocrats and bourgeoisie preferred things produced by hand in Victorian Britain. Hand-made products came to symbolize refinement and class.
(v) Hand-made products were better finished, individually produced and carefully designed.

Britain and the History of Cotton
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, merchants would trade with rural people in textile production. A clothier would buy wool from a wool stapler, carry it to the spinners, and then, take the yarn to the weavers, fuller and dyers for further levels of production. London was the finishing centre for these goods. This phase in British manufacturing history is known as photo-industrialisation. In this phase, factories were not an essential part of industry. What was present instead was a network of commercial exchanges.
The first symbol of the new era of factories was cotton. Its production increased rapidly in the late nineteenth century. Imports of raw cotton sky-rocketed from 2.5 million pounds in 1760 to 22 million pounds in 1787. This happened because of the invention of the cotton mill and new machines, and better management under one roof. Till 1840, cotton was the leading sector in the first stage of industrialisation.
Most inventions in the textile production sector were met with disregard and hatred by the workers because machines implied less hand labour and lower employment needs. The Spinning Jenny was one such invention. Women in the woollen industry opposed and sought to destroy it because it was taking over their place in the labour market.
Before such technological advancements, Britain imported silk and cotton goods from India in vast numbers. Fine textiles from India were in high demand in England. When the East India Company attained political power, they exploited the weavers and textile industry in India to its full potential, often by force, for the benefit of Britain. Later, Manchester became the hub of cotton production. Subsequently, India was turned into the major buyer of British cotton goods.
During the First World War, British factories were too busy providing for war needs. Hence, demand for Indian textiles rose once again. The history of cotton in Britain is replete with such fluctuations of demand and supply.

The Jobber was a person with some authority and he used to help the industrialists to get workers. His role was to ensure job to workers and workers to industrialists. He used to be an old and trusted worker.
Functions :
(i) He got people from his village.
(ii) He ensured them jobs.
(iii) He helped the workers to settle in the cities.

(iv) He provided money in a time of crisis.

(i) The invention of the printing press accelerated the process of modernisation. Earlier, manuscripts were written by hand on animal skin called vellum. Only the privileged few could access them. Johannes Gutenberg (1394-1468 A.D. (C.E.)) invented the printing press in Germany in the middle of the fifteenth century. The printing press enabled the production of multiple copies of a manuscript and their spread all over Western Europe.

(ii) In less than fifty years after the invention of the Gutenberg printing press, about six million books had been printed.

(iii) The invention of printing press not only spread knowledge widely, but also promoted critical thinking.

A great movement of change and discovery spread across Europe which radically altered the pattern of peoples lives and thinking.This movement, representing a new spirit in every field of life, is referred to as the Renaissance. It is a French word that means ‘rebirth’ or ‘revival’.

The invention of the printing, press helped to spread the ideas of the Renaissance thinkers far and wide.

1. The Renaissance thinkers believed in life in this World.

2. The term Reformation refers to two major developments, the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Reformation.

3. Vasco-da-Gama reached Calicut on the West Coast of India.

4. The Industrial Revolution began in England in about 1750.

5. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented a Cotton gin

The Renaissance fostered a spirit of exploration and discovery which led to a steady growth of trade and commerce. A new- class of rich merchants emerged in society. These merchants accumulated enormous wealth and helped their rulers to build prosperous, strong and stable states. The king’s dependence on feudal lands gradually declined.

1. The Renaissance and the Reformation along with new voyages ushered in the Modern Age. True. 

2. The Industrial Revolution began in Germany. False. 

3. Me Adam devised railway tracks. False. 

4. The Rise of capitalism and imperialism can be attributed to the industrial Revolution. True. 

5. The East India Company gradually became rulers from being traders. True.

The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India to establish a more direct control over the weavers, free of the existing traders and brokers in the cloth trade. The gomasthas were the paid servants who supervised the weavers, collected supplies and examined the quality of cloth. The gomasthas ensured that all management and control of the cloth industry came under the British. This helped in eliminating competition, controlling costs and ensuring regular supplies of cotton and silk products.

New inventions and discoveries led to rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. Mass production of goods whetted the appetite for profit of industrialists. Development of modem infrastructure led to establishment of industries. Invention of flying shuttle, spinning jenny, water frame, mule, power loom, cotton gin, blast furnace and overall steam engine led to the Industrial Revolution

Martin Luther was a German Christian monk and preacher at the University town of Wittenburg.

1. The Modem Age in India began with the conquest of India by the British. 

2. India was ruled by the British for nearly 200 years. 

3. The two kinds of source material for the Modem period are primary sources and secondary sources. 

4. The Renaissance ushered in revolutionary changes in Europe and marked the transition from the Medieval Age to the Modern Age. 

5. The four characteristic features of the Renaissance period are advent of new and powerful ideas of Humanism, rationalism, scientific spirit and spirit of inquiry.

• The church was split up permanently. Civil wars broke out in many countries between the Catholics and the Protestants. 

• Religious intolerance, hatred and persecution of Protestants in Catholic countries and 

• Catholics in Protestant countries became the order of the day, and led to many wars in Europe. 

• Religious persecution of the Protestants in England was a major reason for their migration to and colonization of North America (New England). By the end of the 18th century the colonists would establish the United States of America.

Export items: 

1. Cotton fabrics 

2. Indigo 

3. Salt 

4. Sugar 

Import Items Metals 

5. Leather 

6. Velvet 

7. Dry fruits 

8. Horse

The British cloth was very cheap. The Indian cloth was expensive as it was a hand-made and little bit uncomfortable at that time.

Their was an increase in the number of mills in Britain as a result of which huge quantities of cloth was produced at a very large scale.

In comparison to India Britain was producing on a very large scale. When the American civil war broke, there was pressure on India for all the imports in England.

As a result, a huge amount of loan was taken, and the debt increased at cotton was bought at an exorbitant price , after the war, the imports again came from America thus Indian producers had so much debt that couldn’t be repaid thus it declined on a very large scale.

In India the Modern Period is generally regarded as having begun in the mid-l8th century.

1. The source material of the Modern period is of two kinds— primary and secondary True 

2. Primary sources of history includes books, reviews, reports and articles False. Secondary sources of history includes books, reviews, reports and articles. 

3. Renaissance scholars shifted the focus from divine affairs to human affairs. True. 

4. The voyages of discoveries led to a decline of trade and commerce. False. 

5. The Reformation was also known as the Protestant Movement. True

The primary sources for the study of the Modern Period are preserved in archives.

The characteristic features of the Modern Period are: urbanization, technological advancement, democratic institutions, fundamental civil liberties, rationalism and humanism and industrialization.

Europe the Modern Age started in 15th century. In India the Modem Period is generally regarded as having begun in the mid- 18th century.

(a) Many of these primary sources have been preserved in archives and museums. 

They include : 

1. Original documents like British official records 

2. Literary works like accounts of European residents, visitors and Indian officials, novels, plays, short stories and poems by British and Indian authors of this period 

3. Historical works by contemporary historians 

4. Artistic works like paintings, sketches engravings and drawings 

5. Photographs, audio cassettes, films and videotapes of incidents and interviews of important personalities 

6. Newspapers in both English and in Indian languages 

7. Archaeological remains like monuments and artifacts 

8. Oral history 

(b) Secondary Sources include books, reviews, reports and articles written by historians and scholars who study and research primary source material, interpret evidence and arrive at conclusions.

The houses during the vedic period were earthen or wattle and daub constituents. Wattle means woven lattice of wooden strips which is daubed with clay mixed with cow dung. A house was called griha or shala.

(a) In the religious ideas of the vedic period, forces of nature such as the sun, wind, rain, lightening, storms and rivers were given the form of deities. 

(b) Yajna is the act of offering havi into fire. The Vedic people put offering (havi) into the yajna fire to please the deities.

Correct option is: (b) Clothings

Correct option is: (a) house

Correct option is: (b) head

Correct option is: (a) Joint

Correct option is: (c) Upanishads

Fundamental Rights are the basic rights given to an individual by the constitution for his development.

Correct option is: (c) garments