Sst ch- 1

Where, when and how

1.) Name the two archaeological sources to study colonial period in India?
An- these comprise monuments, artifacts, coins and pots. Some examples of the
monuments in Delhi built during the British period are India gate, the secretariat
complex, the parliament house, and the teen murti bhavan.
2.) Name two newspapers from the colonial period.
An- the Bengal gazette started by James Augustus hickey, in January
1780.bombay hurdled established in 1789. Later the name was changed to
Bombay gazette. The first session of the Indian national congress (1885) was
covered by this paper.
3.) What are archives?
An- a collection of historical documents or records providing information about
a place, institution or a group of people.
4.) What do you understand by the term colonial period?
An- it refers to the period in which India was the colony of the British. This
period lasted from 1858-1947.
5.) List the items of trade India exported to other countries?
Gold, silver, precious stones, cotton textile, saltpeter, tobacco, indigo, silk,
peppercorns, cloves and nutmeg.
6.) Explain the periodization of Indian history.
An- dividing history in periods is important to capture the characteristics and
features of a particular time period. James mill, a Scottish historian in his book,
a history of British India (1817), divided the history of India into Hindu, Muslim
and British periods- in the order. However, this would prove to be incorrect as
different cultures and religions have coexisted in India. He suggested that
British colonization is necessary in order to make India more civilized and
lawful. Therefore, later historians have divided Indian history into ancient,
medieval and modern periods. However, this classification was taken from the
west where modern period was defined as growth in all senses like science,
reason, liberty, democracy and equality, while medieval period was lacking all
these different aspects.
Q-7) defines the term colonization?
An- it is defined as, to control one country by another ruling country socially,
economically, culturally and politically.

Q-8) lists the difficulties in using primary sources.

An- primary sources were the sources that were recorded in the period that we
are researching about (firsthand information), firsthand experience. Example-
personal interviews, surveys, observations. The major change is to locate them
such as eye witness accounts may be close to the subject, lacking a critical
distance.

Q-9) how did the British policy of imperialism affect industrialization India?

An- India had many skilled weavers and dyers, who produced beautiful designs.
The demand for the Indian textiles increased at a fast pace, and a number of
unique patterns and designs made their way to England from India.
Unfortunately, the imperial policy of the British industry to provide cheaper
machine- made goods slowly led to the decline in the popularity of Indian
handicrafts.

Q-10) explain how British official records, surveys and census helped historians
learn about history?

An- different kinds of surveys were conducted to provide the government with
information regarding certain matters like population, topography, archeology
and forests. The British began conducting surveys, so the territories could be
earmarked for fixing land revenue. This provides valuable information.

Q-11) what is topography?

An- physical characteristics of land, position of mountains, rivers etc.

Q-12) what are the difficulties historians face while using original records?
An- one cannot take primary sources at their face value. Historians evaluate
these sources based on when and where. They were created, who created them
and why. This is called interpretation. Historians then compare this
interpretation with secondary sources of information. Examples of secondary
sources are bibliographies, reference books, commentaries and treaties.

Q-13) why did Britain colonies India?

An- Europeans colonized India for quality of reasons. They came to India as
textiles and spices were very important commodities. This economic motion
was to gain access to Indian wealth, its spices, textiles, opium, dye, tea, cotton
etc. Political motion was to establish European control over a statically
important region. The British would export the raw material from India at cheap
prices and make materials from cheap raw materials and sell at higher prices.

Q-14) what is industrial revolution?

An- in modern history the process of from agrarian and handicraft economy to
one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. The technological
changes introduced novel ways of working and fundamentally transforming the
society and leading to industrial revolution.