History Ch-4 (Term I)

(The Making of the Global World)

Textbook Exercise Questions Solved
&
Assignment reference solutions
*Note:- For reference only
Q1: Give two examples of different types of global exchanges which took place before the seventeenth
century, choosing one example from Asia and one from the Americas.
Answer: Examples of the different types of global exchanges which took place before the seventeenth
century:
1) Textiles, spices and Chinese pottery were exchanged by China, India and Southeast Asia in return for
gold and silver from Europe.
2) Gold and foods such as potatoes, soya, groundnuts, tomatoes and chillies were first exported from the
Americas to Europe.
Q2: Explain how the global transfer of disease in the pre-modern world helped in the colonisation of the
Americas.
Answer: The global transfer of disease in the pre-modern world helped in the colonisation of the
Americas because the native American Indians were not immune to the diseases that the settlers and
colonisers brought with them. The Europeans were more or less immune to small pox, but the native
Americans, having been cut off from the rest of the world for millions of years, had no defence against it.
These germs killed and wiped out whole communities, paving the way for foreign domination. Weapons
and soldiers could be destroyed or captured, but diseases could not be fought against.
Answer3: (a) The British governments decision to abolish the Corn Laws resulted in losses for the
agricultural sector, but progress in the industrial sector. Food began to be imported more cheaply into
Britain, and thousands of workers involved in cultivation became unemployed. However, consumption
increased and the industrial sector grew, with more workers being available in cities than in rural areas.
(b) The coming of rinderpest to Africa caused a loss of livelihood for countless Africans. Using this
situation to their advantage, colonising nations conquered and subdued Africa by monopolising scarce
cattle resources to force Africans into the labour market.
(c) The death of men of working age in Europe because of the World War reduced the able-bodied
workforce in Europe, leading to a steady decline in household incomes and a consequent struggle to meet
the living expenditure by families whose men were handicapped or killed.

(d) The Great Depression had a major impact on the Indian economy. Between 1928 and 1934, it reduced
Indian imports and exports by nearly half. Wheat prices too fell by 50% during this time. More than the
urban areas, the agricultural sector (which dominated livelihoods in rural lands) was badly hit by the
Great Depression.
(e) The decision of MNCs to relocate production to Asian countries led to a stimulation of world trade and
capital flows. This relocation was on account of low-cost structure and lower wages in Asian countries. It
also benefitted the Asian nations because employment increased, and this resulted in quick economic
transformation as well.
Answer4: The impact of technology on food availability was manifold in the late nineteenth century.
Faster railways, lighter wagons and larger ships helped transport food more cheaply and quickly from
production units to even faraway markets. Also, refrigerated ships helped transport perishable foods such
as meat, butter and eggs over long distances.
Answer5: The Bretton Woods Agreement was finalised in July 1944 at Bretton Woods in New
Hampshire, USA. It established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to preserve global
economic stability and full employment in the industrial world. These institutions also dealt with external
surpluses and deficits of member nations, and financed post-war reconstructions.
Answer6: (Page 87 & 88, Topic 2.4, second paragraph, 3rd line onward)Answer given in class
(Make 5 points)
(a) In India, indentured labourers ..on their employers plantation by the British.
(b) Most Indian indentured of Tamil Nadu.
(c) (Next Page) The main destination..plantation in Assam.
(d) ( Next paragraph) Agent also tempted.and working conditions.
(e) ()Next Paragraph) Nineteenth century indentured..of slavery. (Page 89, Source-A
Second Paragraph 8th line onwards) Deductions were also made.the work
was..their full wages and were punished.in great trouble.
Answer7: The three types of movements or flows within the international economic exchange are trade
flows, human capital flows and capital flows or investments. These can be explained asthe trade in
agricultural products, migration of labour, and financial loans to and from other nations.
India was a hub of trade in the pre-modern world, and it exported textiles and spices in return for gold and
silver from Europe. Many different foods such as potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies
and sweet potatoes came to India from the Americas after Columbus discovered it.
In the field of labour, indentured labour was provided for mines, plantations and factories abroad, in huge
numbers, in the nineteenth century. This was an instrument of colonial domination by the British.
Lastly, Britain took generous loans from USA to finance the World War. Since India was an English
colony, the impact of these loan debts was felt in India too. The British government increased taxes,

interest rates, and lowered the prices of products it bought from the colony. Indirectly, but strongly, this
affected the Indian economy and people.
Answer8: The Great Depression was a result of many different factors. The post-war global economy
was weak. Also, agricultural over-production proved to be a nuisance, which was made worse by falling
food grain prices. To counter this, farmers began to increase production and bring even more produce to
the markets to maintain their annual incomes. This led to such a glut of food grains that prices plummeted
further and farm produce was left to rot. Most countries took loans from the US, but American overseas
lenders were wary about the same. When they decreased the amount of loans, the countries economically
dependent on US loans faced an acute crisis. In Europe, this led to the failure of major banks and
currencies such as the British pound sterling. In a bid to protect the American economy, USA doubled
import duties. This worsened the world trade scenario. All these factors contributed to the Great
Depression. It affected USA the worst on account of its being a global loan provider and the biggest
industrial nation.
Answer9: G-77 countries is an abbreviation for the group of 77 countries that demanded a new
international economic order (NIEO); a system that would give them real control over their natural
resources, without being victims of neo-colonialism, that is, a new form of colonialism in trade practised
by the former colonial powers.
The G-77 can be seen as a reaction to the activities of the Bretton Woods twins (the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank) because these two institutions were designed to meet the financial
needs of industrial and developed countries, and did nothing for the economic growth of former colonies
and developing nations.

Assignment Solutions:
Class X
SA 1

1.

History

Session: 2016-17

Assignment 2 (Chapter-4)

Name the foods which were introduced in Europe and Asia after
Christopher Columbus discovered America?

2.

What happened when disease destroyed the potato crop in the mid1840s in Europe?

3.

What was the main cause of the Portuguese and Spanish conquest and
colonisation of America?

4.

Food items symbolises cultural exchange of pre-modern world. Explain.

5.

What were Corn Laws? Why were they scrapped ?

6.

What happened in Britain after the Corn Laws were scrapped?

7.

Explain the role of technology in shaping trade.

8.

Why do you see some countries borders run straight ,as if they were
drawn using a ruler in Africa?

9.

Write the two crucial influence that shaped post war reconstruction.

10.

What were the two lessons drawn by the Economist & Politicians from
inter war economic experiences?

11.

How did relocation of industries to low wage countries stimulate world

trade & capital flow?

Answer1: The foods which were introduced in Europe and Asia after Christopher Columbus discovered
America were potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies, sweet potatoes, etc.
Answer2: Sometimes the new crops could make the difference between life and death. Europes poor
began to eat better and live longer with the introduction of the humble potato. Irelands poorest peasants
became so dependent on potatoes that when disease destroyed the potato crop in the mid-1840s, hundreds
of thousands died of starvation.
Answer3: (Page 79, Topic 1.3, last paragraph, 1st line onward)The Portuguese and Spanish conquest
and colonisation of America . whole communities, paving the way for conquest.
Answer4: (Page 78, Topic 1.2, first paragraph, 1st line onward)
Food offers many examples of long-distance cultural exchange.
(a) Traders and travellers .. travelled. For example spaghetti and noodles.
(b) It is believed that noodles .island now in Italy.
(c) Similar foods were .may never be known.
(Second Paragraph)
(d) Many of our common ..until about five centuries ago.
(e) These foods were only ..become known as the Americas.
Answer5: (1) Population growth from the late eighteenth century had increased the demand for food
grains in Britain. So, in nineteenth-century British Parliament, under pressure from landed groups,
restricted and controlled the import of corn. These laws were called as Corn Laws.
(2) Reasons for the scrapping of corn laws:
(a) Population growth from the late eighteenth century had increased the demand for food grains in
Britain. As urban centres expanded and industry grew, the demand for agricultural products went
up, pushing up food grain prices.
(b) Under pressure from landed groups, the government also restricted the import of corn. Unhappy
with high food prices, industrialists and urban dwellers forced the abolition of the Corn Laws.
Answer6: (a) After the Corn Laws were scrapped, food could be imported into Britain more cheaply than
it could be produced within the country.

(b) British agriculture was unable to compete with imports. As a result, the agricultural class thrown
out of work.
(c) Vast areas of land were now left uncultivated, and thousands of men and women were thrown out
of work.
(d) They flocked to the cities or migrated overseas, especially to America and Australia.
Answer7: The railways, steamships, the telegraph, for example, were important inventions without which
we cannot imagine the transformed nineteenth-century world.
(a) Linking the markets: (Page 83, Topic 2.2, first paragraph, 5th line onward) Colonisation
stimulated faraway farms to final markets.
(b) Trade in meat: (Page 84, Topic 2.2, first paragraph, 1st line onward) The trade in meat
.slaughtered when they arrived there. (leave one line)Many also died in voyage,
reach of the European poor. The development of a new technology..foods over long
distances. This reduced shipping costs and lowered meat prices in Europe.
(c) To the earlier monotony of bread and potatoes many, though not all, could now add meat (and
butter and eggs) to their diet.
Answer 8: (a) In Africa the borders run straight, as if they were drawn using a ruler. This is because the
rival European powers in Africa drew up the borders demarcating their respective territories.
(Page 85, first paragraph, 7th line onward) (make 4 points)(b,c,d)
(b) In 1885 the big European powerssome colonies earlier held by Spain.
Answer 9: Answer20: Page 98 Topic 4 (Fourth Paragraph)
Two crucial influences shaped post-war reconstruction were:
(a) The first was the USs .power in the Western world.
(b) The second was the dominance . capitalist world was trapped in the Great
Depression.
Answer10: Page 98 Topic 4.1 From 1st line
Economists and politicians drew two key lessons from inter-war economic experiences were:
(a) First, an industrial society based.. intervention of the government.
(b) The second lesson related to a countrys .of goods, capital and labour.
Answer11: Relocation of industries to low wage countries had stimulated the world trade & capital flow.
Wages were relatively low in countries like China. Thus they became attractive destinations for
investment by foreign MNCs competing to capture world markets. Thus most of the TVs, mobile phones,
and toys in the shops and made in China were cheap in price. This is because of the low-cost structure of
the Chinese economy, most importantly its low wages.

Class X

History

Session: 2016-17

FA 1

Assignment 1 (Chapter-4)

Answer the following questions in one sentence:

1.

Since the Buddhism emerged from eastern India and spread in several
directions through

2. In which year the big european powers met in Berlin to complete the
carving up of Africa between them ?
3. In 1890s which disease had a terrifying impact on peoples livelihood of
Africa?
4. Which problem was faced by European to establish plantation & mines in
Africa ?
5. When did the Rinder pest arrived in Africa?
6. Which was the main destination of Indian Indentured labour ?
7. The annual Muharram procession was transformed into a riotous
carnival in Trinidad called as
8. Chutney music is popular in ..
9. In which year the Indentured labour migration abolished ?
10. Which was the first mass produced car?
11.

Which disease helped the Portuguese & Spanish to colonise the

America ?
12.

When did the US become a colonial power ?

13. In which year The Great Depression began?

14. Name the crop on which the British government put restriction on import
?
15. Britain grew opium in India and exported to .
16. During the war industries were restructured to produce .
17. From where After the war Britain borrowed large sums of money? 18.
When Britain was pre-occupied with war , industries developed in .
19. The US economy resumed its strong growth in the early
20. The dollar was anchored to gold at a fixed price of
(Short answers to be attempted by students after consulting NCERT book)