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Class Ten Economics Chapter 4 NCERT Solutions
Chapter 4: The Making of A Global World
TEXTBOOK EXERCISES
1. Give two examples of different types of global exchanges which took place before the seventeenth century, choosing one example from Asia and one from the Americas.
Ans. Asia- Caravans carried items such as precious stones and metals, gold, ivory, and glass to China until around the fifth century C.E. From China, the Parthians and other merchants carried silk, furs, ceramics, jade, bronze objects, lacquer and iron. Silk was mostly demanded in Rome. America- In the sixteenth century, precious metals like silver from the mines of Peru and Mexico were taken to Europe. This in turn financed European trade with Asia.
2. Explain how the global transfer of disease in the pre-modern world helped in the colonisation of the Americas.
Ans. Germs such as those of smallpox, which were brought from Europe to America, decimated much of the native communities around the mid-sixteenth century. The original inhabitants had no immunity against such diseases and they were unable to resist the coloniser’s superior weapons.
3. (a) Explain the effects of the British government’s decision to abolish the Corn Laws?
(b) Explain the effects of the coming of Rinderpest to Africa.
(c) Explain the effects of the death of men of working-age in Europe because of the World War.
(d) Explain the effects of the Great Depression on the Indian economy.
(e) Explain the effects of MNCs to relocate production to Asian countries.
Ans. (a) The immediate effect of the British government’s decision to abolish the Corn Laws was the inflow of cheaper agricultural crops from America and Australia. Many English farmers left their profession and migrated to towns and cities. Some went overseas. This indirectly led to global agriculture and rapid urbanisation, a prerequisite of industrial growth.
(b) Rinderpest was a cattle epidemic that came to Africa with the infected meat imported from British Asia to feed the Italian soldiers invading Eritrea in East Africa. It killed more than 90 per cent of the livestock in Africa, making them dependent on Europeans for food and turned them subservient.
(c) Most of the victims of world war belonged to young generations of working men. As a result, it reduced the workforce in Europe, thereby reducing household income. The role of women increased and led to a demand for more equality of status. It made the feminist movement stronger. Women started working alongside men in every field. Women and youngsters became more independent and free with long-term effects.
(d) The impact of the Great Depression in India was felt especially in the agricultural sector. It was evident that the Indian economy was closely becoming integrated into the global economy. India was a British colony and exported agricultural goods and imported manufactured goods. The fall in agricultural price led to reduction of farmers’ income and agricultural export. The government did not decrease their tax and so, many farmers and landlords became more indebted to moneylenders and corrupt officials. It led to great rural unrest in India.
(e) US business expanded worldwide through the MNCs. In recent years, they have tried to relocate production to Asian countries. The relocation of industry to low-wage countries stimulated world trade and capital flows.
(i) They become domestic producers to avoid high tariff rates imposed by different countries.
(ii) It is also because Asian countries are attractive destinations for investment, trying to capture world markets with its large population and globalisation.
(iii) The economic transformation of countries like India, China and Brazil also stimulated world trade and capital flows.
(iv) Due to low wages in Asian countries, the cost of production is low.
4. Give two examples from history to show the impact of technology on food availability.
Ans. The nineteenth-century witnessed a high rate of growth in industrial and agricultural products.
(i) Technological development was accelerated by industrial growth and increasing world trade. Colonies also provided the resources and markets which sustained the industrial growth. Thus, railways were needed to link agricultural regions to the ports from where the goods were transported, thereby increasing food availability to more destinations.
(ii) Shipbuilding also became an important industry and countries competed to control trade routes on seas. Technology helped in the larger social, political and economic factors. For example, steamships and railways helped in carrying a large volume of trading materials between long and inaccessible distance.
5. What is meant by the Bretton Woods Agreement?
Ans. The Bretton Woods Conference (held in July 1944 at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, USA) established the IMF to deal with internal surpluses and deficits of its member nations. The World Bank was set up to finance post-war reconstruction. The IMF and the World Bank are referred to as the Bretton Woods institutions or twins and the post-war international economic system is also often described as the Bretton Woods system. Decision-making in these institutions is controlled by western industrial powers. The US has an effective right of veto over key IMF and World Bank decisions. This system was based on fixed exchange rates. National currencies were pegged to the dollar at a fixed exchange rate. The dollar itself was anchored to gold at a fixed price of $35 per ounce of gold.
6. Imagine that you are an indentured Indian labourer in the Caribbean. Drawing from details in this Chapter, write a letter to your family describing your life and feelings.
Ans. Students to answer themselves.