NCERT Solutions CBSE Class 10 History The Age of Industrialisation | 2026-27

Step 1 — Context: In 19th century Britain, unemployment was extremely high. At times, the proportion of unemployed workers went up to 35–75 per cent in certain industries.

Step 2 — The Threat: When the Spinning Jenny was introduced in the woollen industry, it allowed one worker to set multiple spindles in motion with a single wheel, spinning several threads simultaneously.

Step 3 — Impact on Women: Women who depended entirely on hand spinning for their income suddenly found their jobs at risk. The machine reduced labour demand drastically.

Step 4 — Reaction: Fearing unemployment and loss of livelihood, women workers attacked the Spinning Jenny machines. This conflict between workers and new technology continued for a long time.

Reason 1 — Increased Demand: Expansion of world trade and acquisition of colonies led to a significant rise in demand for goods. Merchants needed more production capacity.

Reason 2 — Guild Restrictions in Towns: Urban crafts and trade guilds were powerful. They controlled production, regulated prices, and restricted entry of new merchants. Rulers granted guilds monopoly rights, making it difficult to set up new businesses in towns.

Reason 3 — Favourable Countryside Conditions: In the countryside, enclosure of common lands had left many peasants without enough work. Peasants with tiny plots eagerly accepted work from merchants because it allowed them to stay in their villages and supplement their income.

Reason 4 — Family Labour: The putting-out system allowed peasant families to use all members — including women and children — for productive work.

Background: Before the age of machine industries, Surat on the Gujarat coast was a major trading port connecting India to the Gulf and Red Sea ports. Indian merchants controlled a vibrant sea trade through this port.

Reason 1 — European Trade Dominance: By the 1750s, European companies — especially the East India Company — gradually gained power, secured concessions from local courts, and obtained monopoly rights to trade.

Reason 2 — Shift in Trade Routes: Trade shifted to new ports like Bombay (Mumbai) and Calcutta (Kolkata), which were controlled by European companies. Surat and Hooghly decayed as the old trading network collapsed.

Evidence: In the late 17th century, the gross value of trade through Surat was ₹16 million. By the 1740s, this had fallen to just ₹3 million.

Reason 1 — Monopoly Goal: After establishing political power in India, the East India Company wanted to assert a monopoly right over trade in cotton and silk goods.

Reason 2 — Eliminating Middlemen: The Company needed to eliminate existing traders and brokers connected with the cloth trade to establish direct control over weavers and reduce costs.

Reason 3 — Quality and Supply Control: The gomastha supervised weavers, collected supplies, and examined the quality of cloth to ensure regular, reliable supplies for export.

Reason 4 — Advance System: Weavers who received loans (advances) from the Company to buy raw materials were required to hand over their finished cloth only to the gomastha — they could not sell to any other trader.

Definition: Proto-industrialisation refers to the phase of large-scale industrial production for international markets that existed even before factories were established.

Key Features: This system was not based on factories. Production was part of a network of commercial exchanges. Merchants were based in towns, but the actual work was carried out mostly in the countryside by peasants and artisans working from home.

Why It Happened: Merchants moved work to the countryside to avoid guild restrictions in towns and to take advantage of cheap rural labour. Peasants took up this work to supplement their income from small plots of land.

Historical Significance: Proto-industrialisation laid the foundation for the factory system by creating networks of production, trade, and capital accumulation that later powered the Industrial Revolution.

Reason 1 — High Cost of Machines: New technologies and machines were expensive to purchase. Producers and industrialists were cautious about investing large amounts in machinery.

Reason 2 — Costly Repairs: Machines broke down frequently and repairs were expensive, adding to the overall cost of production.

Reason 3 — Less Effective Than Claimed: Early machines were often not as effective as their inventors claimed, making industrialists hesitant to rely on them entirely.

Reason 4 — Cheap Labour Supply: Poor peasants and migrants moved to cities in large numbers, creating an oversupply of workers. Labour was available at very low wages, making human workers more economical than machines.

Reason 5 — Need for Intricate Designs: Machines produced only standardised, uniform goods. But markets often demanded products with intricate designs and specific shapes — work that required skilled human hands. For example, in mid-19th century Britain, 500 varieties of hammers and 15 kinds of axes were produced, requiring human skill.

Step 1 — Asserting Monopoly: Once the East India Company established political power in India, it asserted a monopoly right to trade, eliminating competition from other buyers.

Step 2 — New System of Control: The Company developed a system of management to eliminate competition, control costs, and ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk goods.

Step 3 — Appointing Gomasthas: The Company appointed paid servants called gomasthas to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth. This replaced the traditional brokers and traders.

Step 4 — System of Advances: The Company introduced a system of loans (advances) to weavers. Weavers received money to buy raw materials, but in return they had to hand over finished cloth only to the gomastha — they could not sell to any other trader.

Step 5 — Use of Force: Where weavers refused to cooperate, the Company used its police. Weavers were often beaten and flogged for delays in supplying cloth.

Model Answer:

Cotton has been central to Britain’s industrial history. Before the Industrial Revolution, cotton cloth was produced through the proto-industrial putting-out system, where merchants supplied raw cotton to rural spinners and weavers who worked from home.

The 18th century saw transformative inventions. The Spinning Jenny (James Hargreaves) allowed one worker to spin multiple threads simultaneously. The fly shuttle sped up weaving. These innovations shifted production from homes to factories, making Britain the world’s leading cotton manufacturer.

Britain sourced raw cotton from its colonies, including India and America. When the American Civil War disrupted cotton supplies, India became a major supplier. However, this caused a raw cotton shortage for Indian weavers who depended on it locally.

Britain exported cotton textiles to India and other colonies, destroying traditional weaving industries. Indian handloom weavers could not compete with cheap, machine-made British cloth. By the mid-19th century, India had shifted from being a textile exporter to a raw material supplier and market for British goods.

After World War I, Britain’s cotton industry declined rapidly. Unable to modernise and compete with the US, Germany, and Japan, cotton exports from Britain fell dramatically, allowing Indian mills to capture the home market.

Reason 1 — Decline of Manchester Imports: British mills were busy producing goods for the army during the war. As a result, Manchester imports into India declined sharply.

Reason 2 — Vast Home Market: With imports falling, Indian mills suddenly had a large home market to supply. Demand for Indian-made goods surged.

Reason 3 — War Supplies: Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs — jute bags, cloth for army uniforms, tents, leather boots, horse and mule saddles, and other military items.

Reason 4 — New Factories and Longer Hours: New factories were set up, and existing ones ran multiple shifts. More workers were employed and everyone worked longer hours.

Long-term Impact: After the war, Manchester could never recapture its position in the Indian market. Britain’s economy crumbled, and local Indian industrialists consolidated their position by substituting foreign goods and capturing the home market.