Print Culture and the Modern World — Class 10 MCQs with Answers

Print Culture and the Modern World — important questions & MCQs with answers (Class 10 History)

6 solved questions from this chapter's difficulty levels, each with its answer and explanation. Tap an option to check yourself.

0 of 6 answered

1. Q1 of 6Easy

   Which country developed the earliest kind of print technology, using hand printing from wood blocks?

   AIndiaBChinaCGermanyDEngland
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   Answer: China

   Explanation: China, Japan and Korea developed the earliest print technology, with China hand printing from wood blocks as early as the sixth century.

2. Q2 of 6Easy

   Who developed the first printing press in Europe at Strasbourg around the 1430s-1440s?

   AMartin LutherBErasmusCMarco PoloDJohann Gutenberg
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   Answer: Johann Gutenberg

   Explanation: Johann Gutenberg developed the first known printing press in Europe; his press was perfected by 1448 and the Bible was the first book he printed.

3. Q3 of 6Medium

   Why did the colonial government become anxious about the vernacular press after the Revolt of 1857?

   AThe vernacular press printed only English-language newsBAn assertive nationalist tone in vernacular newspapers worried the government, leading to demands for stricter controlCNewspapers had stopped circulating completelyDThe press supported British rule too strongly
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   Answer: An assertive nationalist tone in vernacular newspapers worried the government, leading to demands for stricter control

   Explanation: After 1857 the attitude to freedom of the press changed; as the vernacular press became assertive and nationalist, the government enacted controls like the Vernacular Press Act of 1878.

4. Q4 of 6Medium

   Why did some conservative families in nineteenth-century India oppose women learning to read?

   AThey believed print would spread only foreign religionsBWomen's schools in the towns charged very high feesCHindus feared a literate girl would be widowed; Muslims feared Urdu romancesDThe colonial government had banned women from reading newspapers
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   Answer: Hindus feared a literate girl would be widowed; Muslims feared Urdu romances

   Explanation: Not all families were liberal: conservative Hindus believed that a literate girl would be widowed, and Muslims feared that educated women would be corrupted by reading Urdu romances. Some women, like Rashsundari Debi, defied such prohibitions and learnt to read in secret.

5. Q5 of 6Hard

   Which statement about the spread of print from Asia to Europe is INCORRECT?

   APaper reached Europe through the silk route in the eleventh centuryBMarco Polo brought back the knowledge of woodblock printing from China to ItalyCWoodblock printing was unknown in Asia before it appeared in EuropeDBooks in Europe were copied by hand by scribes before the printing press
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   Answer: Woodblock printing was unknown in Asia before it appeared in Europe

   Explanation: Woodblock printing was developed in China long before it appeared in Europe; Marco Polo helped carry the knowledge back, so saying it was unknown in Asia is incorrect.

6. Q6 of 6Hard

   Assertion (A): Religious authorities and monarchs were among those anxious about the easier access to the printed word. Reason (R): It was feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read, rebellious and irreligious thoughts might spread.

   ABoth A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of ABBoth A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of ACA is true but R is falseDA is false but R is true
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   Answer: Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

   Explanation: Both statements are in the text, and R explains A: it was feared that without control over what was printed and read, rebellious and irreligious thoughts might spread and the authority of 'valuable' literature would be destroyed. This anxiety was expressed by religious authorities and monarchs, as well as many writers and artists.

Print Culture and the Modern World notes: key concepts (Class 10 History)

Follows print from woodblock printing in China and the Diamond Sutra (868 CE) to Gutenberg's press in Europe, showing how it fuelled the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. It then traces it in India—from the Portuguese in Goa and the Bengal Gazette (1780) to the Vernacular Press Act (1878) and reform.

Woodblock Printing

The earliest print technology, developed in China: text and images were carved onto wooden blocks, inked and hand-pressed onto paper.

Diamond Sutra (868 CE)

The oldest dated printed book in the world, a Buddhist text printed in China—evidence that print began in Asia long before Europe.

Gutenberg's Press (c.1440s)

Johann Gutenberg built Europe's first printing press at Strasbourg using metal movable type; the Bible was his first major printed book.

Ninety-Five Theses (1517)

Martin Luther's printed criticism of the Catholic Church sparked the Protestant Reformation and split Western Christianity.

Index of Prohibited Books

From 1558 the Roman Catholic Church maintained this list of banned books to control the reading of ideas it judged dangerous.

Reading Mania

The 17th–18th century surge in literacy and cheap print—chapbooks, almanacs, journals—that spread new ideas among ordinary Europeans.

Menocchio

A 16th-century Italian miller who reread the Bible and formed his own heretical views; the Roman Church tried and executed him.

Print and the French Revolution

Print spread Enlightenment ideas, opened debate and mocked royalty, creating conditions for the Revolution—though it did not directly cause it.

Print Comes to India

Portuguese missionaries brought the first printing press to Goa in the mid-16th century, printing Konkani tracts; the first Tamil book was printed at Cochin in 1579.

Bengal Gazette (1780)

A weekly magazine edited by James Augustus Hickey from 1780; its gossip about senior Company officials led Governor-General Warren Hastings to persecute him.

Vernacular Press Act (1878)

Modelled on an Irish law, it let the government censor and seize Indian-language newspapers deemed seditious after the Revolt of 1857.

Raja Rammohun Roy

Reformer who published the journal Sambad Kaumudi (1821) and used print to campaign against social evils such as sati.

Print and Women

Print carried debates on women's condition; women like Rashsundari Debi (Amar Jiban) and Tarabai Shinde wrote about their lives and rights.

Print for Reform

Jyotiba Phule's 'Gulamgiri' (1871) attacked caste; later Ambedkar and Periyar used print to fight caste injustice among the poor.