CBSE Class 10 Social Science The Age of Industrialization Important Questions Set 03

Question 1. Assertion: The first symbol of the new era was cotton.
Reason: In Victorian Britain, industrialists did not want to introduce machines that got rid of human labour and required large capital investment.
(a) Both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true but reason is false.
(d) Assertion is false but reason is true.
Answer:
(b) Both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
Cotton was indeed the symbol of early industrialisation, so the assertion is true.
Victorian industrialists' preference for hand labour in certain trades was also a real pattern, but this reason does not actually explain why cotton specifically was the era's symbol.

Teacher's Note:
a) Both statements can be true facts from the chapter without one explaining the other — a common AR pattern to watch for.

Question 2. Assertion: The consolidation of East India Company power after the 1760s did not initially lead to a decline in textile exports from India.
Reason: British cotton industries had not yet expanded, and Indian fine textiles were in great demand in Europe.
(a) Both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true but reason is false.
(d) Assertion is false but reason is true.
Answer:
(a) Both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
Both statements are true, and the reason directly explains the assertion: since Britain's own cotton industry hadn't developed yet, the Company had every incentive to keep expanding, not reducing, Indian textile exports.

Teacher's Note:
a) This changed dramatically once Britain's own cotton industry grew — the turning point covered later in the chapter.

Question 3. Assertion: The cotton weavers of India flourished with the Manchester imports.
Reason: With the American Civil War, cotton supplies from the US to Britain decreased.
(a) Both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true but reason is false.
(d) Assertion is false but reason is true.
Answer:
(d) Assertion is false but reason is true.
The assertion is false: Indian weavers suffered badly, not flourished, once cheap machine-made Manchester cloth flooded Indian markets.
The reason is true: the American Civil War did cut off US cotton supply to Britain, pushing Britain to rely more on Indian raw cotton exports instead.

Teacher's Note:
a) Be careful: a true historical event (the reason) doesn't make a false claim about its effect (the assertion) correct.

Question 4. Assertion: In most industrial regions, workers came from the districts around.
Reason: Peasants and artisans who found no work in their villages went to industrial centres in search of work.
(a) Both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true but reason is false.
(d) Assertion is false but reason is true.
Answer:
(a) Both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
Both statements are true, and the reason directly explains the assertion: rural unemployment is exactly why nearby peasants and artisans migrated to industrial towns for work.

Teacher's Note:
a) Ratnagiri's workers migrating to Bombay's mills is the chapter's clearest real example of this pattern.

Question 5. Assertion: From 1906, the export of Indian yarn to China declined.
Reason: After the First World War, Manchester could never recapture its old position in the Indian market.
(a) Both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) Both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) Assertion is true but reason is false.
(d) Assertion is false but reason is true.
Answer:
(b) Both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
Both statements are factually true on their own.
But they describe two separate developments at different times (1906 yarn exports to China; post-WWI Manchester's decline in India) — the reason does not explain the assertion.

Teacher's Note:
a) Watch for AR pairs that combine two true but unconnected historical facts from different points in the chapter's timeline.

Question 6. Who set up the first jute mill in Kolkata: (a) J.N. Tata (b) Seth Hukumchand (c) Dwarkanath Tagore (d) Dinshaw Petit?
Answer:
(b) Seth Hukumchand — a Marwari businessman, who set up the first Indian jute mill in Kolkata in 1917.

Teacher's Note:
a) Seth Hukumchand set up the first Indian-owned jute mill, in 1917.
b) This marked a key step in Indian entrepreneurs entering large-scale industry.

Question 7. What was the role of the gomastha under the East India Company?
Answer:
The gomastha's role was to supervise the weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth.

Teacher's Note:
a) Gomasthas supervised weavers on the Company's behalf.
b) They collected cloth supplies and checked quality before dispatch.

Question 8. How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
Answer:
The East India Company tried to eliminate the existing traders and appointed 'gomasthas' as supervisors to control production directly.
The system of advances was introduced to gain direct control over the weavers.
Impact: weavers had to devote their entire time to weaving, were forced to accept the prices fixed by the Company, and there were frequent reports of clashes between weavers and gomasthas.

Teacher's Note:
a) The Company replaced independent traders with its own gomasthas and an advance-payment system.
b) This gave it direct control over weavers, but led to exploitation and frequent conflict.

Question 9. How did a series of inventions in the 18th century increase the efficiency of each step of the production process in the cotton textile industry?
Answer:
Inventions like the Spinning Jenny and Flying Shuttle increased efficiency at each step of textile production.
Processes like carding, twisting, spinning and rolling were improved, enhancing output per worker and enabling stronger yarn to be produced.
Richard Arkwright created the cotton mill, which allowed new machines to be set up with all processes brought together under one roof.
Workers were trained as stapler or fuller — a stapler sorted wool by fibre, and a fuller gathered cloth by pleating it with newly invented machines.

Teacher's Note:
a) Inventions like the Spinning Jenny boosted efficiency at each textile production step.
b) Arkwright's cotton mill brought all these improved processes together under one roof.

Question 10. “A series of changes affected the pattern of industrialization in India by the early twentieth century.” Analyse the statement.
Answer:
As the Swadeshi Movement gathered momentum in India, nationalists mobilised people to boycott foreign cloth and goods; industrial groups organised themselves to protect their collective interests, pressuring the government for tariff protection and other concessions.
From 1906, the export of Indian yarn to China declined, so Indian industrialists shifted their interest from yarn to cloth production, leading to considerable growth in cotton piece-goods production.
The beginning of the First World War created a new situation: since British mills were busy producing war materials for their own needs, exports of goods to India declined, giving Indian industries a vast home market to supply.
As the war continued, Indian factories were called on to supply war needs such as jute bags, cloth for army uniforms, tents, leather boots, and horse and mule saddles; new factories were set up and old factories ran double shifts.

Teacher's Note:
a) The Swadeshi Movement, declining yarn exports to China, and the First World War together reshaped Indian industry.
b) Wartime demand in particular gave Indian industrialists a home market previously dominated by British imports.

Question 11. The Spinning Jenny was devised by: (a) T.E. Nicholson (b) James Hargreaves (c) William Bell Scott (d) Will Thorne?
Answer:
(b) James Hargreaves — who devised the Spinning Jenny.

Teacher's Note:
a) James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny.
b) It greatly sped up the spinning of yarn, though it alarmed hand-spinners who feared job losses.

Question 12. Which of the following is associated with 'Gomasthas': (a) Traders (b) Landlords (c) Unpaid servants (d) Paid supervisors?
Answer:
(d) Paid supervisors — gomasthas were paid servants of the East India Company, supervising weavers and collecting cloth.

Teacher's Note:
a) Gomasthas were paid Company supervisors, not traders or landlords.
b) They controlled weavers directly on the Company's behalf.

Question 13. Who improved the steam engine produced by Newcomen: (a) Matthew Boulton (b) James Watt (c) Henry Ford (d) Graham Bell?
Answer:
(b) James Watt — who improved the Newcomen steam engine, with Matthew Boulton manufacturing the new model.

Teacher's Note:
a) James Watt improved on Newcomen's earlier steam engine design.
b) Matthew Boulton then manufactured Watt's improved engine commercially.