Name of Test Item setter: Ms.

Kanupriya Agnihotri Class: X

School: D.P.S.G.V Subject: History (ch-4 the making of Global
World)
Description of Test Item: Short Answer Type
(3 marks)

Sr. No. of Test Testing item

Item

Q:1 Discuss any 2 examples of global exchange which took place before 17th
century.
Ans:1 Before the 17th century, people like travellers, traders priests and 1.5+1.5=3
pilgrims, who were pioneers of global exchange carried with them
goods, many values, ideas and inventions which were beneficial to
these countries where they went.

These travellers, traders, priests and pilgrims who proved pioneers

of global exchange also carried with them germs and diseases
which proved very harmful for the local residents who died in
thousands because they had no immunity against these diseases that
came from Europe and America.

Q:2 With citing example one example each describe how global exchange
was beneficial and harmful

Ans:2 Same as Answer 1 1.5+1.5=3

Q:3 Define Silk route. Enumerate the importance of this route for cultural and
social exchange.
Ans:3 The name silk routes points to the importance of Westbound Chinese silk 1+2=3
cargoes along this route. Historians have identified several silk routes, over
land and by sea, knitting together vast regions of Asia, and linking Asia
with Europe and northern Africa.

Chinese pottery also travelled the same route, as did textiles and
spices from India and Southeast Asia. In return, precious metals
gold and silver flowed from Europe to Asia.

Trade and cultural exchange always went hand in hand. Early

Christian missionaries travelled this route to Asia, as did early
Muslim preachers a few centuries later.

Buddhism emerged from eastern India and spread in several

 directions through intersecting points on the silk routes.

Q:4 The pre modern world shrank greatly in 16th century. Why?

Ans:4 The pre-modern world shrank greatly in the sixteenth century after 3X1=3
European sailors found a sea route to Asia.

They also successfully crossed the western ocean to America. For

centuries before, the Indian Ocean had known a bustling trade, with
goods, people, knowledge, customs, etc. crisscrossing its waters.

The Indian subcontinent was central to these flows and a crucial

point in their networks.

Q: 5 Explain how the global transfer of diseases in the pre-modern world

helped the colonization of Americans?

Ans:5 The Portuguese and Spanish conquest and colonization of America 3X1=3
was decisively under way by the mid-sixteenth century. European
conquest was not just a result of superior firepower. In fact, the
most powerful weapon of the Spanish conquerors was not a
conventional military weapon at all.

It was the germs such as those of smallpox that they carried on their
person. Because of their long isolation, Americas original
inhabitants had no immunity against these diseases that came from
Europe.

Smallpox in particular proved a deadly killer. 7. Once introduced, it

spread deep into the continent, ahead even of any Europeans
reaching there. It killed and decimated whole communities, paving
the way for conquest

Q:6 Assess reasons why Europeans flee to Americans in 19th century.

Ans:6 Until the nineteenth century, poverty and hunger were common in 3X1=3
Europe.

Cities were crowded and deadly diseases were widespread.

Religious conflicts were common, and religious dissenters were

 persecuted. Thousands therefore fled Europe for America

Q:7 Enlist three types of flows which operate within international economic
exchange.

Ans:7 The first is the flow of trade which in the 19th century is referred 3X1=3
largely to trade in goods, cloth, wheat etc.

The second is the flow of labour.

The flow or movement of capital for short term or long term

movement over long distances.

Q:8 Explain the effects of the British government decision to abolish the corn
laws.

Ans:8 After the Corn Laws were scrapped, food could be imported into 3X1=3
Britain more cheaply than it could be produced within the country.

British agriculture was unable to compete with imports.

Vast areas of land were now left uncultivated, and thousands of

men and women were thrown out of work.

Q:9 Describe any three impact of technology on food availability.

Ans:9 Improvements in transport: faster railways, lighter wagons 3X1=3

and larger ships helped move food more cheaply and
quickly from faraway farms to final markets.

Refrigerated ships enabled the transport of perishable foods

over long distances. Now animals were slaughtered for
food at the starting point in America, Australia or New
Zealand and then transported to Europe as frozen meat.

This reduced shipping costs and lowered meat prices in

Europe.

Q:10 Critically examine the effects of colonization.

Ans:10 The system of bringing the weaker country under the dominance of 3X1=3
the powerful countries by hook or crook is called colonization.

The harmful effects were:-

1. It spread racial discrimination.

2. It gave rise to continuous wars and conflicts.

3. It meant loss of freedom for many weaker countries of the world

especially those of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

4. To establish their strong hold, the imperialist powers followed

the policy of divide and rule.

(any 3)

Q:11 Assess the problems faced by the European settlers in Africa.

Ans:11 Europeans came to Africa hoping to establish plantations 3X1=3

and mines to produce crops and minerals for export to
Europe.
But there was an unexpected problem a shortage of
labour willing to work for wages
Dense forest and hot and humid climate of Africa.
Landscape and tribal ways of Africa was also a problem for
the Europeans.

Q:12 How did European settlers recruit and retain African labourers?

Ans:12 Employers used many methods to recruit and retain labour. 3X1=3

Heavy taxes were imposed which could be paid only by

working for wages on plantations and mines.

Inheritance laws were changed so that peasants were

displaced from land: only one member of a family was
allowed to inherit land, as a result of which the others were
pushed into the labour market.

Mineworkers were also confined in compounds and not

allowed

to move about freely.

Q:13 Enumerate the methods used by the European settlers to recruit and
retain African labourers.
Ans:13 Same as answer 12 3X1=3
Q:14 Mention any 3 factors responsible for indentured labour.

Ans:14 Decline of cottage industry in India. 3X1=3

Increase in land rents.

Loss of cattle due to Rinderpest in Africa

Q:15 What led to the rise of indentured labour from India and Africa?

Ans:15 Poverty and hunger in these place 3X1=3

Promise of better future by the Europeans
Decline of cottage industry
Loss of livelihood
Q:16 What do you know about rinderpest? When did it first arrive in
Africa? How did Affect the life of African people?

Ans:16 Rinderpest was carried by infected cattle imported from 0.5+0.5+2=3

British Asia to feed the Italian soldiers invading Eritrea in
East Africa in the 1880s.
It reached the Cape Town five years later and killed 90 per
cent of the cattle.
Rinderpest had a terrifying impact on peoples livelihoods and
local economy.
Historically, Africa had abundant land a relatively small
population. For centuries, land and livestock sustained African
livelihoods and people rarely worked for a wage,
Late 19th century Africa there were a few consumer goods
that wages could buy.
th
Q : 17 19 century indentured labour has been described as a new system
of slavery. Why?
Ans:17 It was a world of faster economic growth as well as great misery, 3X1=3
higher incomes for some and poverty for others, technological
advances in some areas and new forms of coercion in others.

In India, indentured labourers were hired under contracts

which promised return travel to India after they had worked five
years on their employers plantation.

Recruitment was done by agents engaged by employers and

paid

a small commission. Many migrants agreed to take up work hoping

to escape poverty or oppression in their home villages.

Agents also tempted the prospective migrants by providing

false information about final destinations, modes of travel, the
nature of the work, and living and working conditions. Often
migrants were not even told that they were to embark on a
long sea voyage.

Sometimes agents even forcibly abducted less willing

migrants.

Q : 18 Where did the Indian indentured labour came from? How were they
allured in this vicious slavery?

Ans:18 Most Indian indentured workers came from the present-day regions 1+2=3
of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, central India and the dry districts of
Tamil Nadu.

In India, indentured labourers were hired under contracts

which promised return travel to India after they had worked five
years on their employers plantation.

Recruitment was done by agents engaged by employers and

paid

a small commission. Many migrants agreed to take up work hoping

to escape poverty or oppression in their home villages.
 Agents also tempted the prospective migrants by providing
false information about final destinations, modes of travel, the
nature of the work, and living and working conditions. Often
migrants were not even told that they were to embark on a
long sea voyage.

Sometimes agents even forcibly abducted less willing

migrants.

(any 2)

Q:19 The indentured workers had discovered their own ways of surviving.
Explain.

Ans: 19 In Trinidad the annual Muharram procession was transformed 3X1=3

into a riotous carnival called Hosay (for Imam Hussain) in
which workers of all races and religions joined.

Similarly, the protest religion of Rastafarianism (made famous

by the Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley) is also said to reflect
social and cultural links with Indian migrants to the
Caribbean.

Chutney music, popular in Trinidad and Guyana, is another

creative contemporary expression of the post-indenture experience.

These forms of cultural fusion are part of the making of the

global world, where things from different places get mixed,

lose their original characteristics and become something entirely new.

(any 3)

Q:20 Evaluate the impact of industrialization in Britain on Indian

Economy.

Ans: 21 With industrialization, British cotton manufacture began to expand, 3X1=3

 and industrialists pressurized the government to restrict cotton
imports and protect local industries.

Tariffs were imposed on cloth imports into Britain.

Consequently, the inflow of fine Indian cotton began to
decline.

From the early nineteenth century, British manufacturers also

began to seek overseas markets for their cloth. Excluded from
the British market by tariff barriers, Indian textiles now faced
stiff competition in other international markets.

If we look at the figures of exports from India, we see a

steady decline of the share of cotton textiles: from some 30
per cent around 1800 to 15 per cent by 1815.

By the 1870s this proportion had dropped to below 3 percent

(any 3)
Q:21 Assess the causes that led to the decline of Indian textiles.

Ans:21 The first was the industrial revolution in England as a result 3X1=3
of which England stopped all imports of textiles from India.

Instead it flooded the Indian market with machine made cloth

which was cheaper and more attractive.

While heavy taxes were imposed on the export of Indian

textiles, the British textiles and their imports into India were
left duty free.

The East India Company brought almost all the cotton from
the Indian bazaars, and sent to England to feed the cotton
factories there.

Heavy taxes were imposed on the Indian manufacturing units.

Thus, the British Government choked the Indian textile

industry by their unjust and indiscriminate economic policy.

Q:22 Define Trade Surplus .Why did Britain had a trade surplus with
India?

Ans:22 It is a situation under which value of export is more than 1+2=3

 imports.

Britain had a trade surplus because India was exporting food

products to Britain which had less market value

It was importing finished goods which had higher market

value.

Q:23 Examine the importance of Indias trade for Britishers.

Ans:23 Britain had a trade surplus with India. 3X1=3

Britain used this surplus to balance its trade deficits with

other countries that is, with countries from which Britain
was importing more than it was selling to.

Britains trade surplus in India also helped pay the so called

home charges that included private remittances home by
British officials and traders, interest payments on Indias
external debt, and pensions of British officials in India.

Q:24 Briefly examine the main problems of post war recovery.

Ans:24 Post-war economic recovery proved difficult. 3X1=3

Britain, which was the worlds leading economy in the pre-

war period, in particular faced a prolonged crisis.

While Britain was preoccupied with war, industries had

developed in India and Japan.

After the war Britain found it difficult to recapture its earlier

position of dominance in the Indian market, and to compete
with Japan internationally.

Moreover, to finance war expenditures Britain had borrowed

liberally from the US.

This meant that at the end of the war Britain was burdened

with huge external debts.

Unemployment:- a. The war had led to an economic boom, that is, to

a

large increase in demand, production and employment.

 When the war boom ended, production contracted and

Unemployment increased.

Q: 25 Enumerate the causes of Great economic depression.

Ans:25 There was worldwide economic crisis in 1929 which in many 3X1=3
countries lasted till 1934. It started in the USA but soon engulfed
many countries of the world except Russia.

Some of its causes are:-

1. Agricultural overproduction remained a problem. This was made

worse by falling agricultural prices.

2. As prices slumped and agricultural incomes declined, farmers tried

to expand production and bring a larger volume of produce to the
market to maintain their overall income.

3. This worsened the glut in the market, pushing down prices even
further.

Q:26 Assess the impact of Great Economic depression on India.

Ans:26 The depression immediately affected Indian trade. Indias exports and 3X1=3
imports nearly halved between 1928 and 1934.

Peasants and farmers suffered more than urban dwellers.

Though agricultural prices fell sharply, the colonial

government refused to reduce revenue demands.

Peasants producing for the world market were the worst hit.
The jute producers of Bengal grew raw jute that was
processed in factories for export in the form of gunny bags.
But as gunny exports collapsed, the price of raw jute crashed
more than 60 per cent.

Peasants who borrowed in the hope of better times or to

increase output in the hope of higher incomes faced ever
lower prices, and fell deeper and deeper into debt. Rural India
was thus seething with unrest when Mahatma Gandhi
launched the civil disobedience movement at the height of the
depression in 1931.

Q:27 Write the circumstances behind the formation of G-77.

Ans:27 Most developing countries did not benefit from the fast 3X1=3
growth of the Western economies experienced in the 1950s
and 1960s.
They organized themselves as a group popularly known as the
Group of 77 or G-77 and a New International Economic
Order (NIEO) was
demanded by them to get following facilities-
1. Actual control over their natural resources
2. More assistance in development
3. Fair prices for raw materials
4. Better market for their manufactured material
Q:28 Give two crucial factors which influenced the reconstruction post
war.

Ans:28 Two crucial influences shaped post war reconstruction. 1.5+1.5=3

The first was the USs emergence as the dominant economic,
political and military power in the Western World.
The second was the dominance of the Soviet Union. It has
made huge sacrifices to defeat Nazi Germany and transformed
itself from a backward agricultural country into a world power
during the very years when the capitalist world was trapped in
the General Depression.
Q:29 Analyze the two key lessons which economist and politician drew out
from inter-war economic expression.
Ans:29 Economists and politicians learnt two key lessons from inter-war 1.5+1.5=3
economic experiences.
An industrial society based on mass production cannot be
sustained without consumption. Thus stable incomes also
required steady, full employment. Government would have to
take steps to minimize fluctuations of price, output and
employment. Economic stability could be ensured only
through the intervention of the government.
The second lesson related to a countrys economic link with
the outside world. The goal of full employment could only be
achieved if governments had power to control flows of goods,
capital and labour.
Q:30 When was the Bretton woods conference convened? What was the
aim of this conference? Which two international organisations came
into existence due to this conference?
Ans:30 It was convened in 1944. 1+1+1=3
Post war reconstruction of war torn nations of Europe and
Japan
IMF and World Bank
Q:31 Enumerate the main features of Bretton Woods agreement.
Ans:31 The international monetary system is the system linking 3X1=3
national currencies and monetary system.

The Bretton Woods system was based on fixed exchange

rates. In this system, national currencies, for example the
Indian rupee

were pegged to the dollar at a fixed exchange rate.

The Bretton Woods system inaugurated an era of

unprecedented growth of trade and incomes for the Western
industrial nations and Japan.

There was also worldwide spread of technology.

Q:32 In what ways can G-77 be seen as a reaction to the activities of

Bretton Woods Twins?
Ans:32 G-77 countries were a group of 77 countries in the late 20th century 3X1=3
to demand a New International Economic Order.

As a result of the Bretton Woods Conference, two institutions

were established, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
the World Bank, which are sometimes called Bretton Woods
Twins.

As a result of these two institutions, the Western Industrial

nations along with Japan saw an unprecedented increase in
their trade and incomes between 1950 and 1970.

Most of the developing countries didnt benefit from the fast

growth witnessed by the Western economies. As a reactions
against their disparities and against the activities of the
Bretton Woods Twins (i.e. IMF and World Bank), the
developing countries organized themselves into a group
known as G-77. They demanded the establishment of a new
international economic order (NIEO) by which they could
achieve their aims and objectives in the economic field

Q: 33 What did the G-77 want to gain from the New Economic Order?

Ans:33 Real control over their natural resources. 3X1=3

More assistance in their development.

 Fair prices for raw materials.

Better access for their manufactured goods in developed

countries markets

Q:34 Give reasons for the emergence of globalization.

Ans:34 Globalization means integrating our economy with the world 3X1=3
economy.

1. Trade.

2. Migration of the people in search of work.

3. The movement of capital.

Q: 35 Enumerate the features of the globalization

Ans:35 Due to globalization, producers from outside can sell their 3X1=3
goods and services in India. We can do the same with our
goods and services.

Entrepreneurs from other countries can invest in India and

the Indian entrepreneurs can also do the same with our goods
and services.

Those who have the capital can start a business/industry

services related with infrastructure in India or export their
products or goods

Q: 36 How has globalization changed the face of economy of India?

Ans:36 Free interaction among economies of the world in the field of 3X1==3

trade, finance, production, technologies and investment is termed

as globalization of the economy. It encourages foreign trade and

institutional investment.

Following measures are adopted for it:-

Devaluation of rupee by 20% in July 1990. Full convertibility

was in 1993-94 to encourage export earnings. Long period
trade to remove restrictions.

Encouragement to open competition.

 Modification of custom and tariff

Q:37 Give reasons for the relocation of industries in China.

Ans:37 China became attractive destinations for investment by 3X1=3
foreign MNCs because of the lower wages in China.
Because of the low cost structure of the Chinese economy,
most importantly its low wages , we noticed that most of the
TVs, mobile phones and toys we see in the shops seem to be
made in China.
Relaxation in communist government in economic sector.
Q: 38 How has the international system changed after mid 1970s?
Ans:38 From the mid-1970s the international financial system changed in 3X1=3
important ways.
Earlier developing countries could turn to international
institutions for loans and development assistance.
But now they were forced to borrow from Western
Commercial banks and private lending institutions.
This led to periodic debt crises in the developing world , and
lower incomes and increased poverty especially in Africa and
Latin America.
Q:39 Why did Bretton woods institutions began to shift their attention
towards developing countries?
Ans:39 The International Monetary Fund and the World Banks were created 3X1=3
to meet the financial needs of the industrial countries.
When Japan and Europe rapidly rebuilt their economies, they
became less dependent on the IMF and the World Bank.
Thus from the late 1950s the Bretton Woods institutions , WB
and IMF, began to turn their attention towards newly
developing countries.
The newly independent countries facing problems of poverty
came under the guidance of international agencies dominated
by the former colonial powers.
Q: 40 Write short note on Multinational companies.
Ans:40 Multinational corporations (MNCs) are large companies that 3X1=3
operate in several countries at the same time. The first MNCs
were established in the 1920s.
Many more came up in the 1950s and 1960s as US businesses
expanded worldwide and Western Europe and Japan also
recovered to become powerful industrial economies. The
worldwide spread of MNCs was a notable feature of the
1950s and 1960s.
This was partly because high import tariffs imposed by
different governments forced MNCs to locate their
manufacturing operations and become domestic producers in
 as many countries as possible.
Q:41 What do you understand by the biological warfare? How did prove
beneficial for the European settlers in South America?
Ans:41 Biological warfare as germ warfare is the use of biological 1+2=3
toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and
fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or
plants as an act of war
The Portuguese and Spanish conquest and colonize America
decisively. European conquest was not just a result of superior
firepower, the most powerful weaponof the Spanish
conquerors was the germs such as those of smallpox that they
carried on their person. Because of their long isolation,
Americas original inhabitants had no immunity against these
diseases that came from Europe.
Small pox proved a deadly killer, it killed and decimated
whole communities, paving the way for conquest of
European. Guns could be bought or captured and turned
against the invaders, but not disease such as smallpox to
which the conquerors were mostly immune.
Q:42 Throw some light to the life of African people before the coming of
Europeans.
Ans:42 Africa had abundant land and a relatively small population. 1+2=3
For centuries, land and livestock sustained African livelihoods
and people rarely worked for a wage.
In late nineteenth-century Africa there were few consumer
goods that wages could buy.
If you had been an African possessing land and livestock
and there was plenty of both you too would have seen little
reason to work for a wage.
Q:43 Explain what do we mean that world shrank in 1500s

Ans:43 Till the 15th Century , silk routes were the principal route to 3X1=3
travel between Asia and the Europe of Asia and Africa,
America had not been discovered.
Goods and people had to travel long distances for any type of
exchanges. Two major events of history in this period of time
were as follows :-
a. European sailors found a seas route to Asia.
b. European sailors also successfully crossed the western ocean to
America.
Because of these two developments, movement of goods and
people between different continents became shorter and faster.
In other words , pre-modern world shrank greatly in the 16th
century.
Q:44 Enumerate the dark side of trade expansion in the late 19th century.
Ans:44 Trade flourished and markets expanded in the late 19th 3X1=3
century, but there was a darker side to this process.
In many parts of the world , these developments meant loss of
freedoms and livelihoods.
Late 19th century Europeans conquest brought about many
destructive economic , social and ecological changes in the
colonies.
In Africa , in the 1890s, a fast spreading disease of cattle
plague or rinderpest had a terrifying impact on peoples
livelihoods and the local economy.

Q:45 Why were Europeans attracted towards the African continent ?

Ans:45 In the late 19th century, Europeans were attracted to Africa 3X1=3
due to its vast resources of land and minerals.
Europeans came to Africa hoping to establish plantations and
mines to produce crops and minerals for export to Europe.
But in Africa- a shortage of labour willing to work for wages.
.
Q:46 What do you understand by term Indentued Labour? Who were
employed as indentured labourers in 19th century? How were they
convinced to work as indentured labourers?
Ans:46 Bonded Labour 1+1+1=3
Indian and Chinese were employed as indentured labourers.
They were convinced by
Q:47 How did the indentured labourers maintained their cultural indentity
in other part of the world?
Ans:47 Workers discovered their own ways of surviving. 3X1=3
They developed new forms of individual and collective self-
expression, blending different cultural forms, old and new.
In Trinidad the annual Muharram procession was transformed
into a riotous carnival called Hosay (For Imam Hussain) in
which workers of all races and religion joined.
Similarly, the protest religion of Rastafarianism (made
famous by the Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley) is also said
to reflect social and cultural links with Indian migrants to the
Caribbean.
Chutney music , popular in Trinidad and Guyana is a
another creative contemporary expression of the post-
indentured experience.
Q:48 Name the two Indian groups of bankers and traders who financed
export of agriculture. Give some information about their working
style.
Ans:48 Shikaripuri shroffs and Nattukottai Chettiars. 1+2=3
They were amongst the many groups of bankers and traders
 who financed export agriculture in Central and Southeast
Asia,
Using either their own funds or those borrowed from
European banks. They had a sophisticated system to transfer
money over large distances, and even developed indigenous
forms of corporate organization.
Q:49 Which were the power blocs who fought first world war? Why this
was termed as first modern industrial war?
Ans:49 The First World War, as you know, was fought between two 1+2=3
power blocs. On the one side were the Allies Britain, France
and Russia (later joined by the US); and on the opposite side
were the Central Powers Germany, Austria-Hungary and
Ottoman Turkey.
The fighting involved the worlds leading industrial nations
which now harnessed the vast powers of modern industry to
inflict the greatest possible destruction on their enemies. This
war was thus the first modern industrial war.
It saw the use of machine guns, tanks, aircraft, chemical
weapons, etc. on a massive scale. These were all increasingly
products of modern large scale industry
Q:50 Assess the impact of First world war on European societies.
Ans:50 Most of the killed and maimed were men of working age. 3X1=3
These deaths and injuries reduced the able-bodied workforce
in Europe.
With fewer numbers within the family, household incomes
declined after the war.
During the war, industries were restructured to produce war-
related goods. Entire societies were also reorganized for war
as men went to battle, women stepped in to undertake jobs
that earlier only men were expected to do.

Q:51 Who was Henry Ford? Which system was adapted by him? How did
it improve the quality and quantity of work?
Ans:51 Henry Ford was the car manufacturerA well-known pioneer of 0.5+0.5+2=3
mass production was the car manufacturer Henry Ford.
He adapted the assembly line of a Chicago slaughterhouse (in
which slaughtered animals were picked apart by butchers as
they came down a conveyor belt) to his new car plant in
Detroit.
He realized that the assembly line method would allow a
faster and cheaper way of producing vehicles. The assembly
line forced workers to repeat a single task mechanically and
continuously such as fitting a particular part to the car at
pace dictated by the conveyor belt.
This was a way of increasing the output per worker by
 speeding up the pace of work.
Q:52 When the period of great depression did began? Who were the worst
affected by this depression?

Ans:52 The Great Depression began around 1929 and lasted till the 1+2=3
mid-1930s.
This period most parts of the world experienced catastrophic
declines in production, employment, incomes and trade.
The exact timing and impact of the depression varied across
countries. But in general, agricultural regions and
communities were the worst affected. This was because the
fall in agricultural prices was greater and more prolonged than
that in the prices of industrial goods.

Q:53 Write any 3 advantage of invention of refrigerated ships.

Ans:53 Now animals were slaughtered for food at the starting point 3X1=3
in America, Australia or New Zealand and then transported
to Europe as frozen meat.
This reduced shipping costs and lowered meat prices in
Europe. The poor in Europe could now consume a more
varied diet.
To the earlier monotony of bread and potatoes many, though
not all, could now add meat (and butter and eggs) to their diet.
Better living conditions promoted social peace within the
country and support for imperialism abroad
Q:54 Discuss the effects of British governments decision to abolish corn
laws.
Ans:54 After the Corn Laws were scrapped, food could be imported 3X1=3
into Britain more cheaply than it could be produced within the
country.
British agriculture was unable to compete with imports. Vast
areas of land were now left uncultivated.
Thousands of men and women were thrown out of work. They
flocked to the cities or migrated overseas.
Q:55 How did trade with India help the British economy?
Ans:55 British manufactures flooded the Indian market. Food grain
and raw material exports from India to Britain and the rest of
the world increased. But the value of British exports to India
was much higher than the value of British imports from India.
Thus Britain had a trade surplus with India.
Britain used this surplus to balance its trade deficits with other
countries that is, with countries from which Britain was
importing more than it was selling to. This is how a
multilateral settlement system works it allows one countrys
deficit with another country to be settled by its surplus with a
 third country.
By helping Britain balance its deficits, India played a crucial
role in the late-nineteenth-century world economy.
Q:56 Explain the working of Bretton woods.
Ans:56 The Bretton Woods system was based on fixed exchange
rates. In this system , national currencies, e.g the Indian rupee,
were to be exchanged to the dollar at a fixed exchange rate.
The dollar itself was placed in relation to gold at a fixed price
of $35 per ounce of the gold.
The Bretton Woods system inaugurated an era of
unprecedented growth of trade and incomes for the Western
industrial nations and Japan. World trade grew annually at
over 8 per cent between 1950-1970.
Incomes of people in western countries grew at 5 percent .
The growth was stable, without fluctuations. The
unemployment rate averaged less than 5 per cent in most
industrial countries.

Q:57 The new crops could make difference between life and death.
Explain the above statement in context of Irish potato famine.
Ans:57 Sometimes the new crops could make the difference between life 1.5+1.5=3
and death.
Europes poor began to eat better and live longer with the
introduction of the humble potato.
Irelands poorest peasants became so dependent on potatoes
that when disease destroyed the potato crop in the mid-1840s,
hundreds of thousands died of starvation.
Q:58 Describe the consequences of the second world war.
Ans:58 Once again death and destruction was enormous. At least 60 3X1=3
million people, or about 3 per cent of the worlds 1939
population, are believed to have been killed, directly or
indirectly, as a result of the war.
Millions more were injured. Unlike in earlier wars, most of
these deaths took place outside the battlefields. Many more
civilians than soldiers died from war-related causes.
Vast parts of Europe and Asia were devastated, and several
cities were destroyed by aerial bombardment or relentless
artillery attacks.
The war caused an immense amount of economic devastation
and social disruption. Reconstruction promised to be long and
difficult.

Q:59 Food offers many examples of long distance cultural exchange.

Justify this statement.
Ans:59 Traders and travelers introduced new crops to the lands they
 traveled. 3X1=3
It is believed that noodles traveled west from China to
become spaghetti.
Arabs traders took pasta to 5th century Sicily, an island now
in Italy.
Many of our common foods such as potatoes, soya,
groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies, sweet potatoes and so
on were not known to our ancestors.
These foods were only introduced in Europe and Asia after
Christopher Columbus accidently discovered America
Q:60 Describe the conditions of Europe until the 19th century.
Ans:60 Until the nineteenth century, poverty and hunger
were common in Europe.
Cities were crowded and deadly diseases were
widespread. Religious conflicts were common, and
religious dissenters were persecuted.
Thousands therefore fled Europe for America. Here,
by the eighteenth century, plantations worked by
slaves captured in Africa were growing cotton and
sugar for European markets.