Grade VIII History

Ch.2 The Industrial Revolution and the Rise of Imperialism

(Texual questions Pg.28)
E. Questions in one or two words/sentences:
1. Explain the term 'domestic system'.
Ans. In medieval times in Europe, agriculture was the main occupation of people. The needs of
the villagers were simple and few. Whatever they needed was made by the artisans and crafts
people of the villages, with the help of their family members. The raw materials needed for the
goods were supplied by merchants who also sold the finished products. This system of
production was known as the domestic system.
2. Define the term 'Industrial Revolution'.
Ans. By the middle of the 18th century, a series of remarkable inventions led to an economic
revolution in Europe. This was known as the Industrial Revolution and it transformed the entire
economy and society of 18th-century England.
3. What is meant by colonialism?
Ans. The system or policy by which one nation acquires control over another country, partly or
wholly, is known as colonialism. The conquered country becomes the colony of the conquering
nation, which is called the colonizer or the colonial power.
4. Give one example of each of the following: (a) a colony (b) a colonial power
Ans. After Great Britain colonized India by the mid-18th century, India became Britain's colony,
while Britain was the colonial power.
5. What do you understand by imperialism?
Ans. Imperialism is the policy by which a country colonizes another country and exploits the
colonized country for its own gains by the systematic extraction of raw materials, development
of captive markets, the shifting of industrial development and control over financial institutions
of the colonized country.

F. Answer the following questions briefly:

1. In the context of the Industrial Revolution answer the following questions:
(a) Mention the three important features of the Industrial Revolution.
Ans.(a) Three important features of the Industrial Revolution were:
i. The domestic system of production was replaced by the factory system.
ii. Manual labour was replaced by machines.
iii.Small-scale production gave way to large-scale production.
( b) Give any four important reasons to explain why the Industrial Revolution started in
England.
Ans.The Industrial Revolution started in England because:
i. England had accumulated enormous wealth through its economic growth and overseas trade.
This accumulated wealth, or surplus capital, was used in the development of new industries and
setting up of new factories.
ii. England had a stable government that was helpful for its economic growth.
iii. The mechanization of agriculture and the Enclosure Movement led to large-scale
unemployment of farmers, many of who moved to the cities in search of jobs. This population
of unemployed farmers, looking for jobs in cities, provided an available pool of cheap labour for
new factories that were being set up during the Industrial Revolution.
iv. Coal and iron-the two essential resources for the growth of industries-were available in
abundance in northern England. Many industrial towns and cities were located in this region.
(c) Briefly discuss the spread of the Industrial Revolution.
Ans. The Industrial Revolution that began in England was not a single event, but a continuous
process, which went through different phases and spread to different countries at different
times. Mechanized industries were introduced in France, Germany, the USA and Japan.
Germany made rapid progress after its unification in 1870, and became one of the leading
industrial nations in Europe. Britain gradually lost its lead by the end of the 19th century.
2. In the context of the economic impact of the Industrial Revolution, answer the following
questions:
(a) What effect did the Industrial Revolution have on the domestic system of production?
Ans. The Industrial Revolution led to the destruction of the domestic system of production.
Workers went to work in factories, and machine-made goods were manufactured on a large
scale. In the factories, work was divided between people according to their capabilities.

(b) How did it create a wide gap between the rich and the poor?
Ans. The Industrial Revolution led to the concentration of wealth in the hands of the capitalists-
a few rich people who owned the means of production such as the factory or the money to
develop new factories and buy new machines. The vast majority of the workers were employed
by the capitalists in their factories, and worked under them for wages. The workers were often
exploited by the rich factory owners and lived in poverty and misery. Thus the Industrial
revolution created a wide gap between the rich and the poor. It created two classes—the haves
or the rich capitalists and the have-nots the poorer workers.

(c) What effects did it have on trade and commerce?

Ans. The Industrial Revolution led to an expansion of trade and commerce. The large-scale
production of goods resulted in the creation of surplus, or extra goods that could be sold to
other countries. The increasing profit from this made the industrialized nations rich and
prosperous. New inventions such as the steam engine led to the development of steamships,
which were superior to the earlier ships. The use of these steamships also helped in the
expansion of trade. However, the Industrial Revolution and increased trade and commerce also
led to the industrialized nations looking for new markets to sell their finished products. This led
to competition among the European nations to acquire colonies in distant lands. The colonies
would be used both as a ready market for manufactured goods as well as a constant supplier of
raw materials for the industries of the industrialized colonial countires.
 3. With reference to the following points explain the social effects of the Industrial
Revolution:
(a) Social inequality
Ans. (a) The economic disparity between the rich capitalists and the poor workers led to gross
social inequalities too. There was a wide gulf between the social status of the capitalists and the
workers and the lives they led.

(b) Harsh living conditions of workers.

Ans. Most of the factory workers, who helped the factories run, came from villages to the
industrial towns and cities, in search of jobs. While many of them found work at the factories,
there were no well-planned and proper places for them to stay in the towns and cities. On the
other hand, the cities grew rapidly, without any proper planning, and as the population grew,
the cities became overcrowded. Many slums sprang up. None of the dwellings in these squalid
surroundings had proper infrastructure or sanitation facilities and they were often
overcrowded. However, these were the only places most of the workers could afford to live in.
In the absence of proper infrastructure and basic amenities, the health of workers broke down.
Disease and epidemics took a heavy toll of human lives

(c) Exploitation of workers.

Ans.The capitalists amassed enormous wealth at the expense of their workers and severely
exploited them. The workers had no job security and could be dismissed any time. They worked
on very low wages and under extremely harsh conditions. The capitalists exploited the workers
by forcing them to work for almost 16 hours a day, without a break. They were not allowed to
express their protests or go on strikes. Women and small children were employed in large
numbers in deep and dangerous coal mines. They were forced to work from dawn to dusk on
extremely low wages. No compensation was paid to workers for injury or death if they met with
an accident in the mines and Factories.

4. With reference to the Industrial Revolution explain the following:

(a) The basic features of socialism
Ans.Socialism was a reaction to the evils of capitalism, which became prominent after the
Industrial Revolution. Socialism is a system under which capital, or wealth and goods that are
used to produce more goods, is not owned by any one individual in society. Rather, the means
of production, or the capital, is owned by the society as a whole. Under this system, everybody
works equally and shares the profit of their work equally. Under socialism, people are not
divided into rich and poor classes. Socialism calls for the creation of a classless society, where
people are not exploited and there is social and economic equality amongst all.
(b) The growth of trade unions
Ans. The ruthless exploitation of the workers by the capitalists led to protests by the workers.
Gradually, they united and organized themselves into trade unions to fight for their rights and
better working conditions. The trade unions faced strong resistance from the employers. In
many countries, the clashes between the trade unions and the capitalists led to bloodshed. The
struggle of the trade unions to ensure that all workers had certain rights was long and arduous.
However, their determination eventually bore fruit. The government passed several factory
laws to improve the conditions of workers and grant them certain rights.

(c) The rise of imperialism

Ans.The creation of surplus, or extra goods, churned out by the factory system under the
Industrial Revolution, led to the necessity of finding captive markets in other parts of the world.
This led to a scramble for overseas possessions and a wave of colonial expansion in the 19th
century. There was a movement to acquire more colonies and expand empires. Imperialism
implies the policy of acquiring colonies with a view to facilitate the systematic extraction of raw
materials, development of captive markets, the shifting of industrial development and taking
control of the financial institutions of the colonies. The conquest of India by the British by the
mid-18th century was a result of their imperialist ventures, stimulated by the Industrial
Revolution.

G. Picture Study:
This is a picture of a machine invented during the Industrial Revolution.
(a) Identify the machine in the picture.
Ans. The machine in the picture is a spinning jenny.

(b) Who invented it?

Ans. The spinning jenny was invented by James Hargreaves.

c) Which industry did it revolutionize?

Ans. The spinning jenny revolutionized the cotton mills of England.

(d) Mention any four impacts of the Industrial Revolution?

Ans. Four impacts of the Industrial Revolution were:
i.Urbanization
ii. Rise of the factory system
iii. Expansion of trade and commerce
iv. Rise of capitalists

*****************