CBSE Class 8 Social Science Weavers Ironsmeltors And Factory Owners Notes

Notes Weavers, Iron Smelters and Factory Owners Class 8 Social Science

1. The chapter tells the story of the crafts and industries of India during British rule by focusing on two industries:
i. Textiles
ii. Iron and Steel.

2. Around 1750, India was by far the world’s largest producer of cotton textiles. Indian textiles had long been renowned both for their fine quality and exquisite craftsmanship. They were extensively traded in Southeast Asia and Central Asia.

3. From the sixteenth century, European trading companies began buying Indian textiles for sale in Europe. European traders first encountered fine cotton cloth from India carried by Arab merchants in Mosul in present-day Iraq. They began referring all finely woven textiles as “muslin”. The cotton textiles which Portuguese took back to Europe, along with the spices, came to be called “calico” which became the general name for all cotton textiles.

4. In 1730, English East India Company sent to its representatives in Calcutta to order a variety of cloth pieces in bulk. Amongst the pieces ordered in bulk were printed cotton cloths called chintz and bandanna. Chintz is derived from the Hindi word Chhint, a cloth with small and colourful flowery designs. The word bandanna term is derived from the word “bandhna” refers to any brightly coloured and printed scarf for the neck or head.

5. By the early eighteenth century, worried by the popularity of Indian textiles, wool and silk makers in England began protesting against the import of Indian cotton textiles. In 1720, the Calico Act was introduced in England which banned the use of printed cotton textiles – chintz.

6. Competition with Indian textiles led to a search for technological innovation in England. In 1764, the spinning jenny was invented by John Kaye which increased the productivity of the traditional spindles. In 1786, steam engine was invented by Richard Arkwright which revolutionized cotton textile weaving.

7. European trading companies – the Dutch, the French and the English – made large profits through textile trade with India. When the English East India Company gained political power in Bengal, they used revenues from peasants and zamindars in India to buy Indian textiles.

8. Weavers:- Weavers often belonged to communities that specialised in weaving. Their skills were passed on from one generation to the next. Some communities famous for weaving:
i. Tanti weavers of Bengal,
ii. The Julahas north India.
iii. Kaikollar and Devangs of south India.

9. The first stage of production was spinning done mostly by women in which charkha and the Takli were used. After weaving, spinning was done mostly by men. For coloured textiles, the thread was dyed by the dyer, known as Rangrez. For printed cloth the weavers needed the help of specialist block printers known as Chhipigars.

10. The development of cotton industries in Britain affected textile producers in India in several ways:
i. Indian textiles now had to compete with British textiles in the European and American markets.
ii. Exporting textiles to England also became increasingly difficult since very high duties were imposed on Indian textiles imported into Britain.

11. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, English-made cotton textiles successfully displaced Indian goods from their traditional markets in Africa, America and Europe.
By the 1830s, British cotton cloth flooded Indian markets.

12. Some types of cloths could not be supplied by machines thus handloom weaving did not completely die in India.

13. Later, during the national movement, Mahatma Gandhi urged people to boycott imported textiles and use hand-spun and hand-woven cloth. Khadi gradually became a symbol of nationalism.

14. Many weavers became agricultural labourers. Some migrated to cities in search of work, and others went out of the country to work in plantations in Africa and South America. Some handloom weavers also found work in the new cotton mills that were established in Bombay, Ahmadabad, Sholapur, Nagpur and Kanpur.

15. The first cotton mill in India was set up as a spinning mill in Bombay in 1854. By 1900, over 84 mills started operating in Bombay. The first mill in Ahmadabad was started in 1861. The textile factory industry in India faced many problems.
i. It found it difficult to compete with the cheap textiles imported from Britain.
ii. The colonial government in India usually refused to protect the local industries.

16. During the First World War, textile imports from Britain declined and Indian factories were called upon to produce cloth for military supplies which increased the development of cotton factory production in India.

17. Tipu Sultan who ruled Mysore till 1799 had sword made up of a special type of high carbon steel called Wootz which was produced all over south India. Wootz steel when made into swords produced a very sharp edge with a flowing water pattern. Wootz steel was produced in many hundreds of smelting furnaces in Mysore. Indian Wootz steel fascinated European scientists.

18. Michael Faraday, the legendary scientist and discoverer of electromagnetism, spent four years studying the properties of Indian Wootz (1818-22).

19. The Wootz steel making process, which was so widely known in south India, was completely lost by the mid-nineteenth century.

20. Iron smelting in India was extremely common till the end of the nineteenth century.
The furnaces were most often built of clay and sun-dried bricks. The smelting was done by men while women. By the late nineteenth century, however, the craft of iron smelting was in decline. This was because new forest laws enacted by the colonial government prevented people from entering the reserved forests, which reduced the supply of charcoal.

21. In the year 1904, Charles Weld and Dorabji Tata explored the hill pointed out by the Agarias people and found one of the finest iron ores in the world. Rajhara Hills had one of the finest ores in the world. A few years later a large area of forest was cleared on the banks of the River Subarnarekha to set up the factory and an industrial township-Jamshedpur.

22. The Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) that came up began producing steel in 1912. In 1914, when the First World War broke out imports of British steel into India declined dramatically and the Indian Railways turned to TISCO for supply of rails. By 1919 the colonial government was buying 90% of the steel manufactured by TISCO.
Over time TISCO became the biggest steel industry within the British Empire.

CLASS-8

WEAVERS, IRONSMELTORS AND FACTORY OWNERS 

Question. Mention the two industries which were crucial for the industrial revolution in England. 

Answer. The two industries which were crucial for the industrial revolution in England:- 

* Textiles and 

* Iron and Steel 

Question. What made Britain the foremost industrial nation in the 19th century? 

Answer. Merchandised production of cotton textiles made Britain the foremost industrial nation in the 19th century. 

Question. Why Britain was refers to as the workshop of the world? 

Answer. Britain was referred to as the workshop of the world as its iron & steel industries started growing from 1850s and later had success. So many started buying and selling iron from Britain in greater quantities and thus it was given the title of ‘work shop of world’. 

Question. What kinds of cloth had a large market in Europe? 

Answer. Chintz, silk textiles, Muslin, jamdani and calico. 

Question. What is Jamdani? 

Answer. Jamdani is a fine Muslin on which decorative motifs are women on the loom, typically in grey and white. Often a mixture of cotton and gold thread was  sed. 

Question. What is bandanna? 

Answer. The word bandanna now refers to any brightly colored printed scarf for the neck or head. Originally, the term derived from the word “bandana” (Hindi for tying), and referred to a variety of brightly colored cloth produced through a method of tying and dying. 

Question. Who are Agaria?

Answer. The group of men and women carrying basket loads of irons ore. These groups were the Agarias. 

Question. Write a short note on Calico Act.
Answer : 

* When the Portuguese first came to India in search of spices they landed in Calicut on the Kerala coast in south – west India.

* The cotton textiles which they took back to Europe, along with the spices, came to be called “calico” (derived from Calicut), and subsequently calico became the general name for all cotton textiles.

* By the early eighteenth century, worried by the popularity of Indian textiles, wool and silk makers in England began protesting against the import of Indian cotton textiles.

* In 1720, the British government enacted a legislation banning the use of printed cotton textiles –chintz – in England. This Act was known as the Calico Act.

Question. Mention the two technological innovations which revolutionized cotton productions.

Answer : Competition with Indian textiles also led to a search for technological innovation in England:-

* In 1764, the spinning jenny was invented by John Kaye which increased the productivity of the traditional spindles.

* The invention of the steam engine by Richard Ark Wright in 1786 revolutions cotton textile weaving.

Question. How did European companies traded with India?

* European trading companies – the Dutch, the French and the English made enormous profits out of this flourishing trade.

* These companies purchased cotton and silk textiles in India by importing silver.

* When the English East India Company gained political power in Bengal, it no longer had to import precious metal to buy Indian goods. They collected revenues from peasants and zamindars in India, and used this revenue to buy Indian textiles.

Question. Why did the wool and silk producers protest against the import of Indian textiles in the early 18th century?

Answer :  By the early eighteen century, worried by the popularity of Indian textiles, wool and silk makers in England began protesting against the import of Indian cotton textiles as they were not able to sell their products.

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

Answer : The development of cotton industries in Britain affected textile producers in India in several ways.

1. Indian textiles now had to complee with British textiles in the European and American markets. Exporting textiles to England also became increasingly difficult since very high duties were imposed on Indian textiles imported into Britain.

2. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, English made cotton textiles successfully outsets Indian goods from their traditional markets in Africa, America and Europe.

3. Thousands of weavers in India were now thrown out of employment.

4. Bengal weavers were the worst hit. English and European companies stopped buying Indian goods and their agents no longer gave out advances to weavers to secure supplies. Distressed weavers wrote petitions to the government to help them.

5. The textile factory industry in India faced many problems. It found it difficult to compete with the cheap textiles imported from Britain.

6. In most countries, governments supported industrialization by imposing heavy duties on imports. This eliminated competition and protected infant industries.

IRON SMELTERS

Question. Why was the sword of Tipu Sultan very popular?
Answer : 

1. Tipu Sultan ruled Mysore till 1799, fought four wars with the British and died fighting with his swords in his hand.

2. The swords had an incredibly hard and sharp edge that could easily rip through the opponent’s arm our.

3. This quality of swords came from a special type of high carbon steel called wootz which was produced all over South India.Wootz steel when made into swords produces a very sharp edge with a flowering water pattern.

Question. Why did the iron smelting decline in the later years?
Answer : 

* The iron smelting decline in the later years because the swords and amours making industry died with the conquest of India by the British and imports of iron and steel from England displaced the iron and steel produced by craft persons in India.

* Production of wootz steel required a highly specialized technique of refining iron. But iron smelting in India was extremely common till the end of the nineteenth century.

* In most villages, furnaces fell into disuse and the amount of iron produced came down.

* One reason was the new forest laws when the colonial government prevented people from entering the reserved forests, the iron smelters could not find wood for charcoal. They could not get iron ore.

* Defying forest laws, they often entered the forests secretly and collected wood, but they could not sustain their occupation on this basis for long.

* Many gave up their craft and looked for other means of livelihood.

* In some areas the government did grant access to the forest. But the iron smelter had to pay a very high tax to the forest department for every furnace they based. This reduced their income by the late 19th century iron and steel was being imported from Britain. Ironsmiths in India began using the imported iron to manufacture utensils and implements. This inevitably lowered the demand for iron produced by local smelters.

Question. What is the full form of TISCO and when was it setup?

Answer :  The full form of TISCO is Tata Iron and steel Company and it was setup in year 1912.

Question. What helped TISCO expand steel production during the First World War?
Answer : 

* By the time TISCO was set up the situation was changing.

* In 1914 the First Would War broke out.

* Steel produced in Britain now had to meet the demands of war in Europe.

* So imports of British steel into India declined dramatically and the Indian Railways turned to TISCO for supply of rails.

* As the war dragged on for several years, the war.

* By 1919 the colonial government was buying 90 per cent of the steel manufactured by TISCO.

* Over time TISCO became the biggest steel industry within the British Empire.

Question. How do the names of different textiles tell us about –their histories?
Answer : 

* European traders first encountered five cotton cloths from Indian carried by Arab merchants in Mosul in present day Iraq. So they began referring to all finally woven textiles as muslin” – a word acquired wide currency.

* When Portuguese first came to India in search of spices they landed in calient on the Kerala coast in South West India. The cotton textiles which they took back to Europe, along with the spices, came to called “Caloco” (derived from Calicnt) and subsequently calico became the general name for all cotton textiles.

* Chintz is derived from the Hindi word chhint, a cloth with small and colourful flowery designs.

* Bandanna now refers to any brightly coloured and printed scarf for the neck or head. Originally the term derived from the word “bandhna” (Hindi for tying).

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