CBSE Class 10 Social Science Print Culture and the Modern World Notes Set 06

The first printed books

Print began in East Asia. China had hand-printing with woodblocks from about the sixth century, mainly for textbooks used in the civil service examinations. Japan printed the Buddhist Diamond Sutra in 868. In Europe, Marco Polo brought knowledge of woodblock printing from China in 1295, and by the early fifteenth century woodblocks were used for textiles, playing cards and religious pictures. Handwritten manuscripts were costly, fragile and slow to copy, and could not meet the growing demand for books.

Gutenberg and the print revolution

Johann Gutenberg of Strasbourg perfected the printing press by 1448. He adapted the olive press for printing and used moulds for casting metal type. The first book he printed was the Bible: about 180 copies were made in three years, which was fast for the time. Printing now spread rapidly. Between 1450 and 1550, printing presses were set up in most European countries. Books became cheaper, readers more numerous and knowledge reached ordinary people. Printed books also shaped a new reading public. Oral culture entered print through ballads and folk tales, and printed material was read aloud in taverns and village gatherings.

Religious debates and fear of print

Print brought new ideas, but also fears. Not everyone welcomed it. Erasmus feared that printed books would flood the market with worthless writing. The Roman Catholic Church was alarmed by the questioning of authority and, from 1558, kept an Index of Prohibited Books. Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses (1517), which criticised Church practices, were printed in large numbers and led to the Protestant Reformation, so Luther praised printing as a gift of God. An Italian miller, Menocchio, reread the Bible in his own way and was executed.

Print and the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution

Writings of thinkers such as Voltaire and Rousseau were widely read. They attacked tradition, superstition and despotism and called for the rule of reason. Print created a culture of dialogue and debate. Many historians argue that print created conditions for the French Revolution: it spread new ideas, a culture of questioning grew, and literature of the 1780s mocked royalty and the social order.

Print in the nineteenth century

Literacy rose and new groups of readers appeared, including children, women and workers. Penny chapbooks were sold by travelling pedlars called chapmen in England; in France cheap books were bound in blue covers (bibliothèque bleue). Technology improved: the power-driven cylindrical press printed thousands of sheets an hour, offset printing and the electric-powered press arrived in the twentieth century, and periodicals combined news with entertainment. Women's magazines and novels grew, and women became readers and writers.

Print comes to India

India had a rich tradition of handwritten manuscripts on palm leaf and handmade paper, often beautifully illustrated, but they were costly and fragile. The printing press came with Portuguese missionaries in the mid-sixteenth century. Konkani was the first language printed in, followed by Kannada, and the first Tamil book appeared in 1579 and the first Malayalam book in 1713. English printing began with the Bengal Gazette of James Augustus Hickey from 1780. Gangadhar Bhattacharya later published a Bengal Gazette.

Print played a key role in social and religious reform. Rammohun Roy published Sambad Kaumudi (1821). Reformers and the orthodox debated sati, monotheism, priesthood and idolatry in print, using spoken language. In the 1870s Jyotiba Phule wrote Gulamgiri on caste injustice, and later Ambedkar and Periyar wrote on caste. Women's writing grew: Rashsundari Debi wrote her autobiography, Amar Jiban, in 1876. Cheap books were sold at crossroads, and public libraries opened after the early twentieth century. A new visual culture also grew, with artists such as Raja Ravi Varma producing images for mass circulation, and cartoons in journals from the 1870s.

Control over the press was exercised by the colonial government. The Calcutta Supreme Court passed regulations in the 1820s; Governor-General Bentinck revised them in 1835 and Thomas Macaulay formulated new press laws. After 1857 the attitude changed, and the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, modelled on the Irish Press Laws, allowed the government to censor reports and seize newspapers. Nationalist papers grew in response, and the Indian press became a platform for the freedom struggle.

Worked examples

Example 1. Why did Martin Luther support print?
Answer: Printing carried his criticism of the Roman Catholic Church to many people. He called it God's greatest gift.

Example 2. What was the Vernacular Press Act?
Answer: Passed in 1878, it gave the government the power to censor reports and editorials in Indian-language newspapers. Papers that ignored warnings could have their press seized.

Example 3. How did print help women in nineteenth-century India?
Answer: Women's lives and education were discussed in books and journals, and women began to read and write. Some wrote autobiographies and their own magazines.

Quick Check Questions