Chapter 3: The Making of a Global World Short Questions | history Class 10 CBSE

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Chapter 3: The Making of a Global World Short Questions | history Class 10 CBSE | ByteNotes.in

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Question 1

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What were the Silk Routes and why are they significant in world history?

The Silk Routes were a network of overland and sea trade paths linking vast regions of Asia, Europe, and northern Africa, named after the importance of West-bound Chinese silk cargoes.
They existed since before the Christian Era and thrived till the fifteenth century, facilitating exchange of goods like Chinese pottery, Indian textiles, spices, and European precious metals.
They also served as conduits for cultural and religious exchange — early Christian missionaries, Muslim preachers, and Buddhist teachings all spread along these routes.

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Question 2

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How did the potato transform European society after it was introduced from the Americas?

The potato, introduced to Europe after Columbus reached the Americas, allowed the European poor to eat better and live longer as it was a highly nutritious and productive crop.
It significantly improved nutrition and extended the life expectancy of poor populations who had previously survived on meagre diets.
However, excessive dependence on the potato proved dangerous — when potato blight struck Ireland in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands died of starvation and double that number emigrated.

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Question 3

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What role did smallpox play in the European conquest of the Americas?

Smallpox, carried by European conquerors, was more effective than military weapons in defeating the indigenous peoples of the Americas who had no immunity to it.
Because of their long isolation from the rest of the world, America's original inhabitants had never been exposed to smallpox and therefore had no natural resistance to the disease.
The disease spread rapidly through indigenous communities, killing entire populations and clearing the way for European military and colonial conquest.

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Question 4

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What were the Corn Laws in Britain and what happened when they were abolished?

The Corn Laws were British laws that restricted the import of corn (grain), introduced under pressure from landed groups to keep food grain prices high and protect domestic agriculture.
Industrialists and urban dwellers, unhappy with high food prices, forced the abolition of the Corn Laws, after which food could be imported more cheaply than it could be grown in Britain.
This devastated British agriculture, left vast areas uncultivated, threw thousands out of work, and triggered large-scale migration to cities and overseas.

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Question 5

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What are the three types of flows in international economic exchange identified by economists?

The first flow is the flow of trade, which in the nineteenth century referred largely to trade in goods such as cloth or wheat between countries.
The second flow is the flow of labour, meaning the migration of people across borders and oceans in search of employment and better livelihoods.
The third flow is the movement of capital for short-term or long-term investments over long distances, such as capital flowing from London to fund infrastructure projects worldwide.

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Question 6

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How did refrigerated ships transform the meat trade and improve living conditions in Europe?

Until the development of refrigerated ships, animals were shipped live from America to Europe and slaughtered on arrival — a costly process in which many animals died or lost weight during the voyage.
Refrigerated ships allowed animals to be slaughtered at the starting point in America, Australia, or New Zealand and transported as frozen meat, greatly reducing shipping costs.
This lowered meat prices in Europe, enabling the poor — who previously could only afford bread and potatoes — to include meat, butter, and eggs in their diets, improving their health and living standards.

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Question 7

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How did Rinderpest help European colonisers establish control over African labour?

Rinderpest, a fast-spreading cattle plague, arrived in Africa in the late 1880s and killed about 90 per cent of the continent's cattle, devastating African livelihoods that depended on livestock.
The loss of cattle removed the main source of sustenance for African communities, leaving them economically vulnerable and desperate.
European planters, mine owners, and colonial governments monopolised the scarce surviving cattle resources, using control over this critical asset to force Africans into wage labour on mines and plantations.

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Question 8

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What methods did employers use to recruit and retain indentured labourers from India?

Agents engaged by employers were paid a small commission to recruit workers, and they often provided false information about destinations, travel conditions, the nature of work, and living standards to tempt migrants.
Heavy taxes that could only be paid through wage work on plantations and mines were imposed on communities, effectively compelling people to accept indenture contracts.
Some agents forcibly abducted less willing migrants, and workers who tried to escape faced severe punishment under the legal terms of their contracts.

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Question 9

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Why was indenture described as a 'new system of slavery' in the nineteenth century?

Workers arrived at plantations to find conditions entirely different from what they had been promised — living and working conditions were harsh, with long hours, physical punishment, and very few legal protections.
Like enslaved people, indentured workers were often confined, not free to move about, and had to follow rules set entirely by employers, with little recourse if these rules were violated.
Workers were photographed and treated as numbers rather than individuals by employers, stripping them of personal identity and subjecting them to a dehumanising labour regime similar to slavery.

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Question 10

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What role did the Shikaripuri Shroffs and Nattukottai Chettiars play in the global economy?

They were among many Indian banking and trading groups who financed export agriculture in Central and Southeast Asia, using their own funds or capital borrowed from European banks.
They had a sophisticated system to transfer money over large distances, effectively functioning as an early international financial network that supported colonial trade flows.
They also developed indigenous forms of corporate organisation, demonstrating that Indian entrepreneurs were active and inventive participants in the global economy, not merely passive subjects of colonialism.

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Chapter sections

Chapter 3: The Making of a Global World | Short Questions

What were the Silk Routes and why are they significant in world history?

How did the potato transform European society after it was introduced from the Americas?

What role did smallpox play in the European conquest of the Americas?

What were the Corn Laws in Britain and what happened when they were abolished?

What are the three types of flows in international economic exchange identified by economists?

How did refrigerated ships transform the meat trade and improve living conditions in Europe?

How did Rinderpest help European colonisers establish control over African labour?

What methods did employers use to recruit and retain indentured labourers from India?

Why was indenture described as a 'new system of slavery' in the nineteenth century?

What role did the Shikaripuri Shroffs and Nattukottai Chettiars play in the global economy?

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