The Age of Industrialisation — Class 10 MCQs with Answers

The Age of Industrialisation — 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

   What does 'proto-industrialisation' refer to?

   ALarge-scale industrial production for an international market not based on factoriesBThe early use of the steam engine in minesCThe phase of large-scale factory production using machinesDGovernment-controlled production in colonies
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   Answer: Large-scale industrial production for an international market not based on factories

   Explanation: Proto-industrialisation was the early phase of industrialisation when goods were produced for an international market on a large scale, but in the countryside and not in factories.

2. Q2 of 6Easy

   In 1760 Britain was importing 2.5 million pounds of raw cotton to feed its cotton industry. By 1787, this import had soared to:

   A5 million poundsB12 million poundsC50 million poundsD22 million pounds
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   Answer: 22 million pounds

   Explanation: Britain's import of raw cotton rose from 2.5 million pounds in 1760 to 22 million pounds by 1787. This increase was linked to a series of changes within the process of production.

3. Q3 of 6Medium

   Why did textile exports from India begin a long decline in the early nineteenth century?

   AIndian weavers refused to sell any cloth to the CompanyBBritain imposed import duties so Manchester goods faced no competitionCThe Company banned the export of fine cloth from BengalDIndian ports were closed to all European ships
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   Answer: Britain imposed import duties so Manchester goods faced no competition

   Explanation: As cotton industries developed in England, industrial groups pressurised the government to impose import duties on cotton textiles so that Manchester goods could sell in Britain without outside competition. Piece-goods fell from 33 per cent of India's exports in 1811-12 to no more than 3 per cent by 1850-51.

4. Q4 of 6Medium

   How did advertisements help create new markets and shape a 'new consumer' in the industrial age?

   ABy making products appear desirable and necessary, expanding markets and shaping a new consumer cultureBBy banning competing products from the marketCBy lowering the price of goods directlyDBy forcing the government to buy goods
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   Answer: By making products appear desirable and necessary, expanding markets and shaping a new consumer culture

   Explanation: Advertisements made products appear desirable and necessary; they expanded markets for goods and helped shape a new consumer culture by influencing people's minds and tastes.

5. Q5 of 6Hard

   Match the terms with their meanings as given in the chapter: (1) Stapler (2) Fuller (3) Carding (4) Fly shuttle (i) Process in which fibres are prepared prior to spinning (ii) Person who sorts wool according to its fibre (iii) Person who gathers cloth by pleating (iv) Mechanical device for weaving, moved by means of ropes and pulleys

   A1-iv, 2-i, 3-ii, 4-iiiB1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-ivC1-iii, 2-ii, 3-iv, 4-iD1-ii, 2-iii, 3-i, 4-iv
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   Answer: 1-ii, 2-iii, 3-i, 4-iv

   Explanation: A stapler 'staples' or sorts wool according to its fibre, a fuller gathers cloth by pleating, carding prepares fibres such as cotton or wool before spinning, and the fly shuttle is a mechanical weaving device moved by ropes and pulleys.

6. Q6 of 6Hard

   Assertion (A): In Victorian Britain, the upper classes – the aristocrats and the bourgeoisie – preferred things produced by hand. Reason (R): Handmade products came to symbolise refinement and class; they were better finished, individually produced and carefully designed.

   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: handmade goods stood for refinement and class and were better finished and carefully designed, while machine-made goods were for export to the colonies.

The Age of Industrialisation notes: key concepts (Class 10 History)

Traces industrialisation from proto-industrial production to the factory age in Britain—the Spinning Jenny, Arkwright's water frame and Watt's steam engine—then its uneven arrival in colonial India, where Manchester cloth ruined weavers while Bombay mills, gomasthas, jobbers and advertising reshaped the market for goods.

Proto-industrialisation

Large-scale production for international markets before factories, carried out in the countryside through the merchant putting-out system.

Putting-out System

Town merchants supplied money and raw material to peasant households who spun and wove at home while still farming; merchants controlled the sale.

Guilds

Associations of producers that trained craftspeople, controlled prices and competition, and restricted the entry of new people into a trade.

Spinning Jenny (1764)

Invented by James Hargreaves; let one worker turn many spindles at once. Hand-spinners who feared losing work attacked the new machines.

Water Frame / Cotton Mill

Richard Arkwright's water frame concentrated spinning under one roof, giving rise to the earliest cotton mills and the factory system.

Steam Engine

James Watt improved Newcomen's engine and patented it in 1781; Matthew Boulton manufactured it, but for years found no buyers; England had only 321 steam engines at the start of the 19th century.

First Factories

The earliest English factories appeared by the 1730s, but their number multiplied only from the late 18th century, above all in cotton.

Gomastha

Paid servants of the East India Company who supervised weavers, collected cloth and enforced low prices—often clashing with village weavers.

Decline of Indian Textiles

Britain imposed import duties on cotton textiles and Manchester machine cloth flooded India, so 19th-century Indian weavers lost both their export and home markets.

First Indian Mills

The first cotton mill opened in Bombay in 1854; India's early jute mills came up in Bengal—the first steps of Indian factory industry.

Dwarkanath Tagore

Bengali entrepreneur who invested in shipping, mining and banking; his firms collapsed in the 1840s business crises—an early Indian industrialist.

Jobber

An old, trusted worker employed by industrialists to recruit factory labour; he gained power and money and often demanded favours in return.

Trade Marks and Labels

Manchester makers put labels like 'MADE IN MANCHESTER' and images of Indian gods on cloth to signal quality and win familiarity with buyers.

Preference for Hand Labour

Victorian Britain often kept hand labour because machines were costly, work was seasonal, and the upper classes prized refined handmade goods.