Let’s Recall
Q1. What kinds of cloth had a large market
in Europe?
Ans. Cotton
and silk textiles had a huge market in Europe. Indian textiles were by far the
most popular, both for their fine quality and exquisite craftsmanship.
Different varieties of Indian textiles were sold in the Western markets; for
example, chintz, cossaes or khassa, bandanna and jamdani. From the 1680s, there
started a craze for printed Indian cotton textiles in England and Europe,
mainly for their exquisite floral designs, fine texture, and relative
cheapness.
Q2. What is jamdani?
Ans. Jamdani
is a fine muslin on which decorative motifs are woven on the loom, typically in
grey and white. Often a mixture of cotton and gold thread is used.
Q3. What is bandanna?
Ans. The
word ‘bandanna’ refers to any brightly coloured and printed scarf for the neck
or head. The term is derived from the word ‘bandhna’ (Hindi for tying) which
refers to a variety of brightly coloured cloth produced through a method of
tying and dying.
Q4. Who are the Agaria?
Ans. Agaria
is a community of iron smelters, living in a village of Central India. Agarias, are specialized in the craft of iron smelting.
Q5. Fill in the blanks
(a) The word chintz comes from the word
_________.
(b) Tipu’s
sword was made of_________ steel.
(c) India’s
textile exports declined in the _________
century.
Ans.
(a)
The word chintz comes from the word chhint.
(b) Tipu’s sword was made of Wootz steel.
(c) India’s textile exports declined in the nineteenth century.
Let’s Discuss
Q6. How do the names of different textiles
tell us about their histories?
Ans. By
tracing the origins of the names of different textiles, one can find out a lot
about their histories. Take the case of ‘muslin’ a word that refers to any
finely woven textile. This word is a derivative of the city of Mosul (in
present-day Iraq). It was here that the European traders first encountered fine
cotton cloth from India, which was brought over from India by Arab merchants. Another
example is calico, the general name for all cotton textiles. This word is
derived from the word Calicut, a city on the coast of Kerala. When the
Portuguese first came to India, they landed in Calicut, and the cotton textiles
that they took along with them to Europe came to be called calico. Chintz, a
printed cotton cloth, is a term that is derived from the Hindi word chhint, a
cloth with small and colourful flowery designs. Bandanna, which refers to any
brightly coloured and printed scarf for the neck or head, is a term that leads
one to the Hindi word for tying, that is, bandhna, a variety of brightly
coloured cloth produced through a method of tying and dying. The widespread use
of such words shows how popular Indian textiles had become in different parts
of the world.
Q7. Why did the wool and silk producers in
England protest against the import of Indian textiles in the early eighteenth
century?
Ans. Indian
textiles had long been renowned, both for their fine quality and exquisite artisanship.
They were extensively traded in Southeast Asia and West and Central Asia. From
the sixteenth century, European trading companies began buying Indian textiles
for sale in Europe. There was quite a craze for Indian cotton textiles in
England and Europe, mainly for their exquisite floral designs, fine texture,
and relative cheapness.
By the early eighteenth century, worried by the popularity of Indian textiles,
the wool and silk makers in England began protesting against the import of
Indian cotton textiles. At this time, the textile industries had just begun to
develop in England. Unable to compete with Indian textiles, English producers
wanted a secure market within the country by preventing the entry of Indian
textiles
Q8. How did the development of cotton industries
in Britain affect textile producers in India?
Ans. Effects
of the development of cotton industries in Britain on the textile producers in
India.
(i) Competition: Indian textiles had to compete with British textiles in
European and American markets.
(ii) High duties: Exporting textiles to England became increasingly difficult
due to the very high duties imposed on Indian textiles imported into Britain.
(iii) The capture of foreign markets: By the beginning of the nineteenth century,
English-made cotton textiles ousted Indian textiles from their traditional
markets, thereby throwing thousands of Indian weavers out of employment. The
English and European companies stopped buying Indian textiles and their agents
no longer gave out advances to weavers to secure supplies.
(iv) The capture of the Indian market: By the 1830s, British cotton cloth flooded
Indian markets. By the 1880s, two-thirds of all cotton clothes worn by Indians
were made of cloth produced in Britain. This greatly affected both the weavers
and the spinners.
Thus, Indian textiles declined in the nineteenth century and thousands of
Indian weavers and spinners lost their livelihood.
Q9. Why did the Indian iron smelting
industry declined in the nineteenth century?
Ans. The
Indian iron smelting industry declined in the nineteenth century for the
following reasons.
(a) The forest laws implemented by the colonial administration prevented the
free movement of people in reserved forests. Charcoal, an essential ingredient
in the iron smelting process, could therefore not be obtained easily.
(b) When in some areas the government did grant access to the forests, the iron
smelters were in return required to pay a very high amount in tax to the forest
department for every furnace they used. This reduced their income.
(c) By the late nineteenth century, iron and steel was being imported from
Britain. Ironsmiths began using the imported iron to manufacture utensils and
implements. This reduced the demand for iron produced by local smelters.
(d) In the late nineteenth century, a series of famines devastated the dry
tracts of India. As a result, many of the local smelters stopped work, deserted
their villages, and migrated, looking for some other work to survive the hard
times.
Q10. What problems did the Indian textile
industry face in the early years of its development?
Ans. In the
first few decades of its existence, the Indian textile industry faced certain
problems. One such problem was that of competition from imported goods. Being
in its early years of development, the Indian textile industry found it
difficult to compete with the cheap textiles imported from Britain. Unlike
other countries where governments allowed local industries to grow by imposing
heavy duties on imports, the colonial government in India did not protect and
support the local textile industries in any such way.
Q11. What helped TISCO expand steel
production during the First World War?
Ans. TISCO was able to expand steel production during the
First World War because the British imports of iron and steel into India
declined and the market for the steel manufactured by it increased. During the
war, the steel produced in Britain had to meet the demands of the war. As a
result, the imports of British steel into India declined dramatically. At this
time, the Indian Railways turned to TISCO for the supply of rails. As the war
dragged on for several years, TISCO had to produce shells and carriage wheels
for the war. To meet the demands of the war, TISCO had to expand its capacity
and extend the size of its factory. By 1919, the colonial government was buying
90 per cent of the steel manufactured by TISCO.
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