Q 1 – Who was Captain Swing?
Ans. It was a mythic name used by the poor laborers of England to threaten the rich landlords who were replacing workers with machines.
Q 2 – Who were Swing Rioters. ?
Ans. The Swing Rioter Was the people who were against the use of threshing machines which had become a sign of bad times for the poor.
Q 3 – What was common land?
Ans. It was the land to which all the villagers had access. Here they pastured their cows and grazed their sheep, collected fuelwood for fire and berries and fruit for food. They fished in the river and ponds and hunted rabbits in common forests.
Q 4 – What was the basic cause of captain wind movement?
Ans. The introduction of machines that deprived the workers of their live hood was the basic cause of the captain swing movement.
Q 5 – “Planet more wheat, wheat will win the war? Who said these words and when?
Ans. These words were said by the USA president Wilson during the first world war.
Q 6 – Who became the president Of the USA in 1800?
Ans. Thomas Jefferson became the president of the USA in 1800.
Q 7 – What was the occupation of the native Americans in the 18th Century ?
Ans. The Native Americans Lived by Hunting, gathering, and fishing others cultivated corn beans, tobacco, and pumpkin.
Q 8 – Name any two princely States where opium was being produced under the British
Ans. (i) Central India (ii) Rajasthan
Q 9 – Name any two Indian states which were producing opium for the East Indian Company?
Ans. Bengal and Bihar Produced opium for the East Indian Company.
Q 10 – Why did the East India company Persuade the Indian Farmers to grow opium?
Ans. So that the Company can export opium to China.
Q 11 – How did mahatos tempt unwilling cultivators to grow opium.?
Ans. By Offering advance Money.
Q 12 – US President Wilson said ‘ Plant More Wheat will win the war’. What does it mean?
Ans. Wheat is a major food crop in the world. During the first world war, Russian supplies of wheat were cut off and the USA had to feed Europe. so under these circumstances to save Europe from hunger USA president urged the farmers to produce more wheat.
Q 13 – How were the unwilling cultivators made to produce opium.?
Ans. The unwilling cultivators were made to produce opium through a system of advances.
Q 14 – Analyze the importance of turnip and cloves for the England Farmers.?
Ans. (i) As these had the capacity to increase the nitrogen content of the soil, these helped in increasing the fertility of the soil.
(ii) Turnip was a good fodder crop.
(iii) These became the additional source of income for the farmers.
Q 15 – “For the poor the common land was essential for survival.’ Justify.
Ans. They pastured their cows and grazed their sheep, collected fuel wood for fire and berries and fruit for food. They fished in the rivers and pounds and hunted rabbits in common forests. It supplemented their meager income, Sustained their cattle, and helped them tide over bad times when crops failed.
Q 16 – When was the American war of Independence fought? Which country came into existence after this war.?
Ans. The American war of Independence was fought from 1775 to 1783. After this war, the United States of America came into existence.
Q 17 – For the poor farmers of the USA, new machines brought misery. Justify by giving two reasons.
Ans. Many of them bought these machines, imagining that wheat prices would remain high and profiles would flow in. If they had no money, the banks offered loans. Those who borrowed found it difficult to pay back their debts. Many of them deserted their farms and looked for jobs elsewhere.
Q 18 – What was Westward expansion. ?
Ans. After the American war of Independence from 1775 to 1783 and the formation of the USA, the White Americans began to move from east to west in search of the timer, cultivable fields, gold, and minerals. This movement of white settlers from east to west is termed as
Q 19 – What was the dust Bowl tragedy?
Ans. It was a period of server dust storms that began to blow over the southern plains of USA. The basic cause of these dust storms was the over-plugging of Prairies. When wheat cultivation expanded dramatically in the early nineteenth century, zealous farmers recklessly uprooted all vegetation, and tractors turned the soil over and broke the sod into dust. Due to all this, the whole region becomes a dust bowl.
Q 20 – What was the British agricultural revolution?
Ans. The British agricultural revolution was a process of agricultural developments in Britain between the 16th century and the mid-18th century which saw a massive increase in agricultural production and net output.
Q 21 – What encouraged the landowners of England to enclose large lands?
Ans. England was at war with France which restricted the import of food grains from Europe. This resulted in a rapid increase in the prices of food grains which encouraged the large landowners in England to enclose large lands.
Q 22 – Why did the price of food grains rise in the 18th century in England?
Ans. As the urban population in England grew, the market for food grains expanded, and when demand increased rapidly, food grains prices rose sharply
Q 23 – Which practice disappeared by 1800, drastically changing the lives of the labourers?
Ans. The practice that disappeared by 1800, drastically changing the lives of the laborers was that the laborers lived with landowners, ate with their masters, and helped them throughout the year doing various jobs.
Q 24 – Why did the White settlers want to push away the Indian Americans from their lands?
Ans. The White settlers wanted to push away the Indian Americans from their lands because of the following reasons:
(a) The land possessed by the Indians could be turned into cultivated fields.
(b) Forest timber could be exported, animals hunted for skins, mountains mined for gold and minerals.
Q 25 – How were the Indian Americans pushed westward by the settlers?
Ans. The methods used by the settlers to oust the Indian Americans were:
(a) Numerous wars in which Indians were massacred and many villages burnt.
(b) After a defeat, the Indian Americans were forced to sign treaties to give up their lands and move westwards.
Q 26 – In 1831, Cyrus McCormick invented the first mechanical reaper. What was its most important advantage?
Ans. The most important advantage of the first mechanical reaper, invented by Cyrus Mc Cormick, was that it could harvest 500 acres of wheat in just two weeks.
Q 27 – Why were the new machines welcomed by the big farmers of the Great Plains?
Ans. The big farmers of the Great Plains welcomed the new machines because these machines allowed clearing large tracts of land, breaking soil, removing grass, and preparing land for cultivation quickly with ease.
Q 28 – Why were the Confucian rulers of China, the Manchus, suspicious of all foreign merchants?
Ans. The Manchus were suspicious of all foreign merchants because they feared that they would interfere in local politics and disrupt their authority.
Q 29 – Why did the British have a negative balance of payment with China?
Ans. The British traders had a negative balance of payment with China because while tea became popular in Britain, England in the late 18th century produced nothing which they could export to China i.e., persuade the Chinese to buy.
Q 30 – Why were Indian farmers pressurised to grow commercial crops?
Ans. Indian farmers were pressurized to grow commercial crops to feed the growing urban population of Europe and to meet the growing raw material needs of the mills of Lancashire and Manchester in England.
Q 31 – What conditions were imposed on the peasants who took advance?
Ans. Those who took advance were supposed to grow opium on a specified area and hand over the product to the British agents at the decided cost which was often very low.
Q 32 – Why was the government offer low prices of opium to the peasants?
Ans. The government offered low prices of opium to the peasants to keep the cost of production low and sell it at a high price to earn more and more profit.
Q 33 – Why were the poor farmers of England against the threshing machines? What was the Captain Swing Movement?
Ans. The poor farmers of England were against the threshing machines because they felt the threshing machines would replace people deprive them of their livelihood and render them jobless. Captain Swing Movement was a movement by rioters against the use of threshing machines. Captain Swing was a mythical name used in threatening letters warning the landlords to stop the use of threshing machines.
Q 34 – ‘Over the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the English countryside changed dramatically.’ Explain.
Ans. Earlier large parts of the English countryside were open with no private ownership of land. Every year at a public meeting the strips of land were distributed among the villagers so that each villager got
‘ a mix of good and bad land. Apart from this, all villagers had access to common lands where they ‘ could pasture their cattle, collect fuelwood and fruits.
It was only after the mid-eighteenth century that the Enclosure Movement began at a rapid pace. It changed the English landscape forever. It was the time when the population in England was rising.
Industrialization had also begun in Britain which attracted people to the urban areas. This increase in the urban population led to an increase in the demand and price for the foodgrains. The imports of foodgrains from Europe were disrupted as France was at war with England. This further increased the price of the foodgrains which encouraged English landowners to enclose land and raise production. Seeing the profits accumulated, landowners pressurized the parliament to pass enclosure acts. This gave an impetus to enclosing the countryside in England.
Q 35 – “In some parts of England, the economy of open fields and common lands started changing from about the sixteenth century”. Why?
Ans. It was during the sixteenth century that the price of wool in the world market increased. To earn more profits, rich farmers sought to expand wool production by improving sheep breeds and providing good feed. For this, a large block of land was required. This made them divide and enclose common land. Villagers having cottages were displaced and prevented from entering the enclosed fields. Later in the mid-eighteenth century, increased demand for food grains encouraged the farmers to expand cultivation. It led to the large-scale enclosing of the common lands.
Q 36 – Which innovations helped farmers to increase agricultural production in England?
Ans. First new lands were brought under cultivation. Landlords sliced up pasture lands, carved up open fields, cut up forests, took over marshes. The farmers started growing turnips and clover as they discovered that these crops improved the soil and made it more fertile. Turnip was also good fodder for the cattle. So they became part of the cropping system.
They also realised that nitrogen was important for crop growth. Turnip and clover restored the nitrogen and made the soil fertile again.
Q 37 –Why did the ordinary duststorm take the form of Black Blizzard in US Plains in the 1930s?
Ans. The ordinary duststorm took the form of Black Blizzard because the entire plowed landscape was stripped of all grass.