Monthly Archives: January 2022

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 11 PATHS TO MODERNISATION NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON PATHS TO MODERNISATION

Question 1.
Discuss the important part of Meiji reform of the economy.
Answer:
The important part of the Meiji reform was the modernisation of the economy. Following steps were taken for this:

• Japan’s first railway line, between Tokyo and the Port of Yokohama was built in 1870-72.
• Funds were raised by levying an agricultural tax.
• Textile machinery was imported from Europe and foreign technicians were also employed to train workers and also to teach in universities and schools. Japanese students were also sent to abroad.
• In 1872, modem banking institutions were also launched.
• Companies like Mitsubishi and Sumitomo were also helped through subsidies and tax benefits to become major shipbuilders so that Japanese trade was carried through Japanese ships.
• The number of industrial labourer in Japan was 700,000 in 1870 CE which reached upto four million in 1913. Most of the labourers worked in units having less than 5 people.
• By 1925, 21 per cent of the population lived in cities. By 1935, this figure had gone upto 32 per cent.

Question 2.
Japan’s transformation into a modem society can also be seen in the changes in everyday life. Comment.
Answer:.
Japan’s transformation into a modem society can also be seen as the changes in everyday life. Patriarchal system was in practice. The patriarchal household system comprised many generations living together under the control of the head of the house. More people became affluent. New ideas of the family spread. The new home (Homu as the Japanese say) was that of the nuclear family, where husband and wife lived as breadwinner and homemaker. This new concept of domesticity in turn generated demands for new types of domestic goods, new types of family entertainments, and new forms of housing. In the 1920’s, construction companies made cheap housing available for a down payment of200 yen and a monthly installment of 12 yen for ten years. It was at that time when the salary of a bank employee (a person with higher education) was 40 yen per month.

Question 3.
When was CCP founded? What was Russian influence in its formation? Discuss the role of Mao Zedong in it?
Answer:
The CCP was founded in 1921 scon after the Russian Revolution. The Russian success exercised a powerful influence around the world and leaders such as Lenin and Trotsky went on to establish the Comintern or the Third International in March 1918. It was done to bring about a world government that would end exploitation. The Comintern and the Soviet Union supported Communist parties around the world. They worked within the traditional Marxist understanding that revolution would be brought about by the working class in cities. Its initial appeal across national boundaries was immense. It soon became a tool for Soviet interests and was dissolved in 1943. Mao Zedong (1893-1976), emerged as a major CCP leader. He took a different path by basing his revolutionary programme on the peasantry. His success made the CCP, a powerful political force that ultimately won against the Guomindang.

Mao Zedong’s radical approach can be seen in Jiangxi, in the mountains, where they camped from 1928 to 1934, secure from Guomindang attacks. A strong Peasants Council (Soviet) was organised, united through confiscation and redistribution of land. Mao, unlike other leaders, stressed the need for an independent government and army. He was quite aware of women’s problems and supported the emergence of rural women’s associations. He also promulgated a new marriage law that forbade arranged marriage, stopped purchase or sale of marriage contracts and simplified divorce.

Question 4.
How did Japan re-emerge as an economic power of world after the defeat in Second World War?
Answer:
After its defeat in Second World War, the Japanese efforts of making a colonial empire ended. The nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It resulted in huge destruction of masses. Many people thought that it was done just to shorten the war. Japan was totally demilitarised during American occupation. The new constitution also came into being. Agricultural reforms were also done. Re-organisation of trade unions were also done. Political parties were also revived and the first post-war elections held in 1946 where women voted for the first time.

After the defeat of Japan in the Second World War, Japanese economy also revived. It grew at a fast pace. Constitution was also democratised. There was close relation between the government, bureaucracy and industry. American support to Japan strengthened its economy. Olympic Games were also held at Tokyo in 1964. It was the symbol of maturity of Japanese economy. Bullet trains were also started in 1964. It ran at the speed of200 miles per hour. The introduction of bullet train added a new feather in its cap. It also introduced better goods at cheaper rates in the market.

Question 5.
Discuss the achievements of Deng Xiaoping.
Answer:
After the death of Mao in China, the struggle for power broke out in which Deng Xiaoping emerged victorious. During the cultural revolution, he was dismissed from the office of the Secretary General of the party for having too liberal views. His achievements may be summed up in the following ways:

• All the changes made during the cultural revolution were reversed.
• The democratically elected parties took the place of revolutionary committees.
• Confiscated property was restored to the descendants of the actual owners.
• The people were granted religious freedom and intellectuals were free to express their views.
• In the economic sector, Deng and his follower Hu Yaobang took various steps to encourage investment by the western entrepreneurs for the modernization of industries, agriculture, science and technology in China.
• In 1980, China also became the member of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Many agricultural reforms were also introduced.
• The state owned collective forms were given more powers in the matters of administration and planning.
• The practice of giving bonus and dividend was encouraged.
• Taxes were reduced to encourage production. As a result of these reforms, there was a gradual increase in food production and the per capita income.

Question 6.
Discuss the features of the nationalist movement in China during the post-First World War.
Answer:
There were two governments in China after the end of the First World War. One of the government was controlled by Guomindang, at its headquarter in Canton. The president of this government was Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The other government was led by a military general. It had its headquarter at Beijing. Paris Peace Conference’s decision to hand over Shantung to Japan led to an anti-imperialist upsurge in 1919. A great demonstration was held in China on 4th May, 1919. It spread into various parts of China. It took the form of a movement. It’s main aim was to save China through modem science, democracy and nationalism. They wanted to remove inequality and reduce poverty. Their aim was also to bring economic development. The Russian Revolution had also a great impact on the nationalist movement of China. Communist Party was formed in 1921. Dr. Sun Yat-sen could not gamer the support of western countries. Therefore, he took the help of Soviet Union. The Guomindang and the Chinese Communist Party came together in 1924. Military academy was also set up with the help of Soviet military and political advisers. The Chinese national revolutionary army launched its operations against the warlords.

Question 7.
Discuss the causes of the failure of nationalists against the communists.
Answer:
Causes of the failure of nationalists:

• There was lack of unity among the members of Guomindang. They continued to quarrel among themselves and were corrupt too. On the contrary, the Communists were very disciplined.
• Chiang Kai-shek also failed to provide good leadership to the nationalists.
• The government set up by the nationalists failed to control the prices.
• Chiang Kai-shek followed the traditional method of rule. Therefore, his government could not gain popularity.
• Communists organised themselves into trained army. Therefore, they succeeded in defeating nationalists.

Question 8.
Discuss the causes of the decline of the Shoguns.
Answer:
Causes of the decline of the Shoguns were the following:

• Shoguns followed the policy of favoritism.
• Only the members of the Tokugawa family were appointed to the post which spread the feelings of ill-will among other feudal lords, who resolved to bring an end to the Shogun’s rule.
• Japan’s economy received a severe blow due to the wrong economic policies of the Shoguns.
• The condition of the peasant was very miserable during their rule. Taxes were collected forcibly.
• A new class of merchant came into prominence. Feudal fraternity grew jealous of them. To put an end to their humiliation, the merchants wanted to do away with Shogun rule.

Question 9.
What do you understand by the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution?
Answer:
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of 1965 was the result of the conflict between the Maoists and those who objected his ideology. Students and the army started a campaign against old culture and customs. Students and professionals were sent to distant areas to learn from the common people. It was more important to be a communist. With cultural revolution, there was a complete turmoil in the country. Economic and educational system were disrupted.

Question 10.
The rebuilding of the Japanese economy after its defeat was considered to be a post¬war ‘miracle’. Why?
Answer:
The rebuilding of the Japanese economy after its defeat was considered to be a post-war ‘miracle’ due to the following reasons:

• The Japanese had a historic tradition of popular struggles and intellectual engagement how to broaden political participation.
• The social cohesion of the previous years was strengthened. It allowed for a close working of the government, bureaucracy and industry.
• US support, as well as the demand created by the Korean and the Vietnamese wars also helped the Japanese economy.

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 10 DISPLACING INDEGINOUS PEOPLE NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON DISPLACING INDEGINOUS PEOPLE

Question 1.
Why would have the chief counted the river-water as the blood of his ancestors?
Answer:
Adaptation with the environment when tends to harness inner conscience, the vicissitudes of nature and man are missed up. They are merged within one, the same way as at the moment of concluded research, a scientist bursts into ecstasy. He forgets even the outer senses. Such someway happens much or less is the long cohesion with the land or a particular landscape. Ancestors are in their memory even at the home appliances, the buildings, cow-sheds, each field in which they worked, etc. As reminiscence increases heart-beats owing to much blood required for regression or reopen the store-kit; hence, the larger flow of blood immediately, locks the ten apertures of the body, eg. eye, nose, ear, etc. in order to prepare the ground for inner musings.

It exemplarily exhibits how much, the people in past America had burning love’ and affection for the earth. The same land of North America through its inhabitants is now playing the game on its other side. Eg. Europeans looted Americans by their emotional exploitation in transactions of goods and lands and now it is America, a shrewd oppressor in the world playing with business ties including loaning strategy.

Question 2.
What are the important points, you consider in the history of North America and Australia?
Answer:
These points are as under-

1. Europeans were equally dominated on both continents.
2. Europeans cheated the native people of North America and Australia and grabbed their lands and drove them to reservations.
3. Native peoples in both lands were simple, god fearing, lovers of nature, self-restrained and sociable.

Question 3.
Discuss the changes in landscapes of North America during the nineteenth century?
Answer:
The whole land of America was turned into estates and meadows. Being a variety of landforms here found people of European countries i.e. Germany, Sweden, Italy, etc., all suitable to their needs.

The people migrating to America were younger sons of the landlords there, who had no right to ancestral property, some others were those small farmers whose lands were merged with the big landlords under enclosure or consolidation of land and the citizens of Poland found grassland of Prairie similar to their characteristics of ‘ the Steppes grasslands. They cleared the forest land and started growing rice and cotton as commercial crops meant for export to Europe and fenced their farms with barbed wires.

Question 4.
What efforts did the natives of the northern states of the USA make to abolish slavery? Discuss.
Answer:
There were no plantations in the Northern States of America hence, evils of slavery were at their climax. The native people there. condemned slavery as an inhuman practice. It caused strong protest between the states favoring and condemning slavery during 1861-65. Finally, slavery was abolished but discrimination between whites and non-whites could be ended, by the extreme efforts of the African- Americans in the twentieth century.

Question 5.
What was the case of the Cherokee tribe in North America?
Answer:
This tribe was living in Georgia, a state in the USA. This tribe had made special efforts to learn English as also the American way of life but even so, the people of this tribe were not allowed the rights of citizens. In 1832, the landmark Judgment US chief justice, John Marshall sanctioned sovereignty of this tribe in its territory but US President, Andrew Jackson ordered the US Army to evict Cherokees from their land and drive them to the great American Desert. The people so driven out from their lands were succumbed, to several troubles.

Question 6.
What were the pleas of the European people justifying their usurp of natives’ land there?
Answer:
These usurpers raised the pleas that the tribes were lazy and did not exploit the maximum potentials of the land. They argued taking over land from the people not exploited it properly, is not an offense but a right step towards development. According to them, the native people had not used their craft skills to produce goods for the market, they did not take interest in learning English or dressing properly. Thus, the grassland of the Prairies was cleared for farmland and wild bison killed off. A Frenchman once visited there had truly stated-Primitive man will disappear with the primitive animal.”

Question 7.
Discuss the different images that Europeans and native Americans had of each other and the different ways in which they saw the natives.
Answer:
(A) Europeans’ perspective to native Americans

1. They took native Americans an uncivilized and barbarous as also not amenable,
2. According to them, the native people were unorganized and foolish.
3. Europeans took them lazy, anti-development, and unwilling to won the nature hence, they took certain steps for reclamation and expansion in agriculture.
4. Europeans wanted to exterminate and displace them.

(B) Native Americans perspective to the Europeans

1. Native people surprised Europeans as they had cleared the forests, get the fields dugs and turn into large states with buildings and other structures constructed thereupon.
2. They wanted to share their land with Europeans but they were insisting on selling the same.
3. They thought that Europeans were committing wrong in dividing the land into smaller pieces under ownership.
4. They took Europeans as friends. They introduced them to invisible tracks of forests and provided them things in the gift.

Different views on nature-

1. Native people took nature as their mother, made certain rules maintaining the balance in the environment but Europeans relentlessly cut the trees, destroyed the natural beauty of the landscape, constructed a number of structures and super-structures, developed farms and plantations.
2. The natives grew crops not for sale and profit but only to survive while everything was commodity worth value hence, selling and profiteering was Europeans’exclusive aim.
3. Native people were extreme lovers of nature while Europeans took it only resource inert and lifeless. According to them, every resource is to be exploited for earning more and more profit from the products obtained by the application of labor and skill.

Question 8.
Comment on these two sets of population data-

	USA: 1820	Spanish America, 1800
Natives	0.6 million	7.5 million
Whites	9.0 million	3.3 million
Mixed Europeans	0.1 million	5.3 million
Blacks	1.9 million	0.8 million
Total	11.6 million	16.9 million

Answer:
The above population’s data reveal the that-Sharp decline of 6.9 million (7.5-0.6) population of natives took place in a period of two decades i.e. from 1800 to 1820. However, when we observe the data pertaining to population change in whites, there had been a whopping increase from 3.3 million to 9.0 million during the period in question. It was an increase of 5.7 million in the whites population within a Spain of two decades.

Cause-

1. The natives were first cheated in transactions of fur and meat, then forced or induced to sign treaties as of selling their lands. They were driven to alien and virgin lands inaccessible to man. These places they called reservations.
2. They were enslaved and badly treated while working.

So far as Blacks or non-whites population trend is concerned, we see it increased from 0.8 million of 1800 to 1.9 million i.e. an increase of 1.1 million in two decades under question. The population of mixed Europeans was decreased from 5.3 million in 1800 to 0.1 million in 1820.

Question 9.
Comment on the following statement by the American historian, Howard Spodek: “For the indigenous (people) the effects of the American Revolutions were exactly opposite to those of the settlers-expansion became contraction, democracy became tyranny, prosperity became poverty, and liberty became confinement.”
Answer:
1. Expansion became contraction-It denotes and points out the event of Europeans’ (Germany, Sweden, Italy, and Poland nationals) arrival in North America and the estates they developed there but the movement of natives to reservations i.e. uninhabitable and inaccessible places, virgin lands.

Thus, they could get contractions through the hands of the people not of their motherland by the reason of their extra-faith on humanism and nature in its unmanipulated colors. Initially, all of them were troubled (convicts, a merger of land under enclosure policy of Government and expelled persons) hence, so trained were their minds in wrench and twist, whim-whams, betraying, defrauding, etc. devices.

2. Democracy became tyranny-In the state of democracy, it cannot be stated that natives were enjoying all political and other fundamental rights under democracy. They suffered ab-initio the cruel order of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the USA, and likewise other inhuman treatment. Even after the state became democratic, the discrimination between native tribes and Europeans seated coiled for aggravating the situation more bitter. Teaching institutions, religious places, public meetings alike places always neglected the native people. In view of no change in the condition of natives under democracy to some extent, can be said a tyranny under the arcade of democracy.

3. Prosperity became poverty-As the essence of this theme “Displacing Indigenous people” exhibits, prior to the arrival of Europeans, there was poverty shrouded land however, not so in the perspective of natives themselves because of their self-contented nature. They were simple people with limited needs for survival. The dense forests, the rivers, and the seas were their friends-like which they could not imagine were inert and natural resources made for relentless exploitations as the Europeans did. The so-called prosperity in a material sense came as poverty because for their no-fault, they were deported to lonely and virgin inhabitation places which the Europeans named as reservations.

4. Liberty became Confinement-It was confinement like to natives because a number of announcements were made, several laws passed all for detriment to their causes. For instance, the government announcement of 1969 exhibited refusal or denial of aborigine rights. Thus, liberty also became confinement to the native people.

Question 10.
In 1911, it was announced that New Delhi and Canberra would be built as the capital cities of British India and of the Commonwealth of Australia. Compare and contrast the political situations of the native people in these countries at that time.
Answer:
Political Situations in India in the year of 1911-Morley Minto reforms or Indian Councils Act, 1861 received a protest from the moderate and radicals both in India. It was against democracy for India. Thus, the post-Morley-Minto Reform period (1909), witnessed several developments that resulted in a remarkable Hindu Muslim unity and friendship between the Moderates and the Radicals.

Muslim League had earlier appreciated these reforms but the British attitude towards Turkey in the Balkan war of 1912-1913 aroused discontentment among the Indian Muslims. Hence, Lucknow Pact, 1916 was signed between Congress and Muslim Leagues. As the Britishers had abled to create a cleft between Congress and Muslim League, they were all right in thinking that they would make Delhi the capital of British India. They had shifted their capital from Calcutta (Kolkata at present) to Delhi on 15th December 1911, with King George-V laid the foundation stone of New Delhi.

Political situations in Australia in the year 1911

1. 90 percent of the total population of native people succumbed to exposure to germs while working in the forests.
2. Daruk people of Sydney thought that cutting trees is a dangerous business hence, they ran from their lands towards the dense forest in order to save themselves from committing that sinful deed.
3. They had to fight strong protest against Europeans.
4. When the native people left the work undone, the Britishers allowed Chinese migrants to come and provide cheap labor.
5. There were vast sheep farms and mining stations established in the year of 1911.

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 9 THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Question 1.
Discuss the developments in Britain and in other parts of the world in the eighteenth century that encouraged British industrialization.
Answer:
Developments in Britain

1. Area and population in towns were increasing rapidly.
2. London was the largest town in Britain. It had become the center of global trade. It became the nucleus of international trade with Africa and the West Indies.
3. The companies trading in America and Asia opened their offices in London.
4. Banking facilities developed.
5. New machines for the cotton textile industry, silk industry, iron industry, and coal industry were invented.
6. The raw material was imported from the countries outside England and finished cloth was exported.
7. Railway lines were laid and the steam engine was invented.
8. More than 4,000 miles of canal were built during the eighteenth century.
9. The big farmers made large estates by fencing around the meadows and pasture land as also bought the lands of smaller farmers nearby their property. They installed -factory on their estates and became rich.
10. Landless laborers left their villages and settled in urban slums in order to work in factories there.
11. The exploitation of men, women, and children in factories started.

Developments in other parts of the world

1. Slaves were bought from Africa to get the work done in factories by them. British colonialism started in Africa.
2. The raw material was imported from Asia, Africa, and America VViexeby closure of local industries there. It dwindled the economy of the countries on these continents.
3. Goods manufactured in England on a large scale and by using machines were cheaper; more attractive and well finished than the goods produced manually in other parts of the world. It ensured the bumper sale of foreign goods and thus, money moved to England.

Question 2.
Iron bridge George is today a major heritage site. Can you suggest why?
Answer:
It is near Coalbrookdale and made up of cast iron. It’s being the first bridge built or fabricated by third Darby in 1779, it was considered today a major heritage site.

Question 3.
Discuss the effects of early industrialization on British towns and villages and compare these with similar situations in India.
Answer:
Effects of early industrialization on British’s towns and villages vis-a-vis India:

Towns-

1. The population doubled between 1750 and 1800 in 11 towns of Britain.
2. Population growth unexpectedly had burdened the public conveniences, health services, habitation, supply of water, light, food grains, and shelter. Urban slums or conglomerates were increased resulting in the spread of epidemics like Cholera, Typhoid, Tuberculosis, etc.
3. People from villages run the mad race to migrate into towns in search of a job there.
4. The increasing number of factories, industries, installation of heavy machines caused air and water pollution.
5. The number of cities in England with a population of over 50,000 grew from two in 1750 to 29 in 1850.
6. The life span of workers in cities was lower than that of any other social group in cities.

Villages-

1. The big landlords bought the lands from small farmers and made their large estates. This process was called an enclosure.
2. The peasants became landless and compelled to shelter in towns as factory workers there.
3. A number of villages were acquired by rich nobles and businessmen, all the members of Parliament, and installed their factories.
4. Cottage industries in villages suffered a set-back due to the installation of new machines. Their labor was too slow to compete with machines.

Comparative Situation in India-

Towns-

1. The number of million-plus cities in India has increased from 21 in 1991 to 35 in 2001. It shows the rapid growth of the population in towns.
2. Slum agglomeration is an ex-facie in India’s towns. These are colonies unauthorized and deprived of electricity, sanitation, and drinking water.
3. Town people have developed unauthorized structures there causing road accidents, fire eruptions, and a number of other inconveniences.
4. Disputes, duels, and under tensions increased day today.
5. Thanks to the decision of the Supreme Court on the removal, of industries away from the residential areas. However, its implementation is still lingering.
6. Anti-social elements are at rising in towns owing to the over-burdened population inhabited in them. Kidnapping, assault, eve-teasing, rape, etc. crimes added to the common affairs.

Villages-
1. Neglected, manipulating policies and public funds for several development projects is misappropriated. It is done by collusion of bureaucrats and representatives at the level of local self-government. One and all types of corruption are first experimented there and only then manifest at the upper hierarchy. Ignorance, credulity, prejudices, stereo-type vices in spite of formal degrees acquired by youth, saddled in misdirected minds of country people or rural folks.

2. Lured by eye-catching exposed luxuries and comforts as also to earn their bread, the rural folks have started migrating to metros, towns, cities in bulk in the last three decades. Villages are gradually on the verge of extinction and a few still sustained are losing their identity as villages. Urbanization like England during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is gathering momentum here. For instance, the census of 2001 exhibits Delhi and Chandigarh as the most populated cities.

3. Villages are not developing equally because of discrimination and avarice in mind and resilience and absenteeism at hand (i.e. work) had maddened the bureaucrats, like British feudatories during Indian’s being “nigger” in their eyes. A few villages are enjoying the status of a town while some others are sobbing under rags of a century ago. viz. remote areas in mills, tribal areas.

4. Rural people in India have now destined to line in cities working with one or another firm or factory. They are being exploited the same way as in England during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Question 4.
Argue the case for and against government regulation of condition of work in industries.
Answer:
Conditions of workers in Industries
1. As Edward Carpenter describes the conditions of habitation for workers in his poem-“And I saw the huge-refuse heaps writhing with children picking them over” and further Charles Dickens writes in his novel “Hard Times”. It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill-smelling dye and vast piles of building full of windows where there were a rattling and a trembling all day long, and where the piston of the steam-engine works monotonously up and down, like the head’ of an elephant in a store of melancholy madness”-the scenes of factories and the condition of workers and their children writhing with picking refusal of the factory are prime- fade.

2. Long unbroken hours of work, no variety or change amid that more than three fourth chunk of the day and night, strict vigil, and sharp punishment even for pretty and even ridiculous gimmicks in minds of workers.

3. Women under the same working conditions were also occupied in silk, lace-making, and knitting industries.

4. Children too were employed for operations on machines like Spinning Jenny. They were used to stand between the apertures of a tightly packed machine and operate it therefrom in coal mines, they were used to reach deep coal faces or cross the narrow approach path. Children employed were in the age group of 10-14 years. They were used as trappers to shut and open the doors of coal wagons. As a result of so pains inflicted upon workers, they came out with demands-

1. Minimum wages to be fixed by the government.
2. Give employment to the workers snatched of work by machine installation.
3. Child and woman labor to be checked.
4. Give the right to form trade unions in order to legally present these demands.

Response from Government-

1. Passed two Combination Acts which had snatched their freedom of speech. To incite anyway either by speech or in writing to the people against the King shall be tantamounted as an illegal or illicit act punishable under laws of the land.
2. The legal minimum wage was the demand of workers but it met to deaf ears in Parliament hence, refused.
3. Aggrieved of non-hearing from the government, the workers went on strike but dispersed by police. They became aggressive and their sleuth had destroyed machines at Lancashire, Yorkshire, Derby shire and Leeds, etc. The Government crushed mercilessly this rioter turned factory workers. Some were hanged and others were deported to Australia as convicts.
4. A huge gathering of workers around 18,19,80,000 workers was succumbed to massacre (popularly known as Peterloo Massacre) ordered by the government and the Parliament passed six Acts and thus, added more strict laws to Combination Acts of 1795.

Percussions-

1. The Act of 1833 fixed the work for children in the age group under I year confined to silk factories.
2. Fixed the hours of work for the children falling in the age group of 9-14 years.
3. Factory inspectors were appointed to ensure the implementation of the Act.
4. Ten Flours Bill was passed in 1847 limiting the hours of work for women and children and securing a 10 hour day for male workers.
5. Industrialization was associated with a growing investment of the country’s wealth in capital formation, or building infrastructure and installing new machinery and raising the levels of efficient use of these facilities, and raising productivity.

Question 6.
Explain why British growth may have been faster after 1815 than before?
Answer:
1. Britain tried to do two things simultaneously from 1760 to 1815 i.e.

• to industrialize and
• to fight wars in Europe, North, America, and India. It diverted her attention therefore, slack and slow progress was seen during this period. The capital borrowed was spent on wars.

2. Factory workers and farm laborers were recruited in Army and thus, factories suffered set-back and food grain production plummeted.

3. Money inflation took place and prices of eatables rose beyond access to poor sections of society.

4. Per capita savings were slashed rapidly and the use of consumer goods reduced to a minimum. It resulted in a decline in demand and the closure of the factories.

5. Trading routes were closed because of Napoleon’s policies.

Question 7.
How can you state that pro-use of the term Industrial before the next term “revolution” is very limited?
Answer:
We can state so because the transformation was extended beyond the economic or industrial sphere and because of the major change in society as a whole. This transformation gave two classes in town and the countryside. This were-the bourgeoisie (Middle Class) and Proletariate (i.e. laborers in mills and factories)

Question 8.
Do you think the growth in cotton or iron industries or in foreign trade remained revolutionary during 1780-1820?
Answer:
No, it was not revolutionary during the period in question. The virtual growth as witnessed was based on raw-materials brought from South Asian countries and the sale of finished products in their markets by twist and wrench made in-laws. Imports and Exports from Britain increased from 1780 because of the resumption of trade with North America which was earlier blocked due to the war of American independence.

Question 9.
What reforms through laws were made since 1819?
Answer:

1. Laws of 1819 prohibited the employment of children under the age of nine in factories and working hours reduced to 12 hours a day for the children between the group of 9-16 years.
2. Act of 1833 permitted children under nine only in silk factories, limited working hours for children above sixteen years, and provided a number of factory inspectors to ensure proper implementation of the Act.
3. Ten Hours’ Bill was passed in 1847. As per this Bill, working hours of Women and children were reduced further and secured a 10 hour day for male workers.
4. The Mines and Collieries Act of 1842 banned children under ten and women from working underground.
5. Fielder’s Factory Act, 1847 prohibited the employment of children under eighteen in the mills and fixed 10 hours a day for women workers.

Question 10.
What has been written by D.H. Lawrence, an essayist and novelist in Britain about the change in villages nearby the mines?
Answer:
He states that a village namely East Wood was a small place of the cottage and a dilapidated row of buildings for miners’ dwellings. Those all were colliers during the early nineteenth century but with the installation of new machinery for coal digging, the dwelling places were pulled downs and little shops and new buildings were built for minors’ dwelling on the downslope. These were surrounded by roads.

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 8 CONFRONTATIONS OF CULTURES NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON CONFRONTATIONS OF CULTURES

Question 1.
Discuss in detail the arguments that were placed in favour of the continuation of slavery.
Answer:
King of Spain, Philip II, publicly banned forced labour. A law was enacted in 1609 CE., under which the local people, Christians and non-Christians were given full liberty. The European settlers were enraged over this law. After the completion of two years, they forced the king to scrap this law and to permit enslavement once again.

New economic activities began. Lands covered with forests were cleared. Cattle-rearing was started. After the discovery of gold in 1700 CE, mining work began in full swing. But for this work, there was the need of cheap labour. Abolishment of slavery was the matter of debate in 1780s. Some were of the opinion that even before the entry of Europeans in this trade, slave existed in Africa. After 15th century, slaves formed the bulk of the labour force in the states of Africa. Some Africans helped the Europeans to capture youngsters so that they could be sold as slaves. For this, they were given crops by the European traders.

The only alternative was to bring slaves from Africa to meet this problem. More than 36 lac African slaves were brought into Brazil between 1554 and 1885 CE. In 1750 CE., some people were there who owned thousands of slaves. There were some debates from the 1780s on abolishing slavery. Some people argued that slavery existed in Africa even before the entry of Europeans in this trade. It is right that after the fifteenth century, in the states formed in Africa, slaves formed the bulk of the labour force. They also argued that few Africans even helped the Europeans to capture young men and women so that they could be sold as slaves. In return, European traders gave them crops imported from South America.

Question 2.
“Cortes without any explanation placed the emperor under house arrest and attempted to rule his name.” Explain how it happened?
Answer:

• Mexico was conquered by Cortes and his soldiers. In 1519, Cortes sailed from Cuba to Mexico, where he made friends with the Totonacs. It was a group who wanted to secede from Aztecs rule. The Aztecs king, Montezuma, sent an official to meet him. He was terrified at the aggressiveness of the Spanish, their gunpowder and their horses. Montezuma himself was convinced that Cortes was reincarnation of an exiled God who had returned to avenge himself.
• The invading Spaniards were dumbstruck at the sight of Tenochtitlan. It was five times larger than Madrid and had about 1 lac inhabitants. It was twice the population of Seville, the largest city of Spain.
• Cortes was cordially received by Montezuma. The Aztecs took the Spaniards into the heart of the city, where the emperor showered them with gifts. His people were apprehensive, having heard of the massacre of the Tlaxcalans.
• The fears of the Aztecs proved to be well founded. Without any explanation, Cortes put the emperor under house arrest and attempted to rule in his name. Cortes also installed Christian images in the Aztec temple. Montezuma suggested a compromise and placed both Aztec and Christian images in the temple.
• The high-handedness of the Spanish occupation and their incessant demands for gold provoked a general uprising. Alvarado ordered a massacre during the Aztecs spring festival of Huizilpochtli. When Cortes returned on 25 June, 1520, he had on his hands a full-blown crisis. The Spaniards faced acute shortage of food and drinking water.
• The Aztecs continued to fight the Spaniards. Around 600 conquistadors and more of their Tlaxcalan allies were killed in what is known as the ‘night of tears’. Cortes was forced to retreat to Tlaxcala to plan his strategy, against the newly elected king, Cuatemoc. With just 180 soldiers and 30 horses, Cortes moved into Tenochtitlan as the Aztecs prepared for their final stand. The Aztecs thought they could see omens foretelling that their end was near, and because of this the emperor chose to give up his life.

Question 3.
Discuss the following with regard to the people of the native Mayan civilization:
(a) Society
(b) Religion
(c) Science
Answer:
The Mayan civilization occupied a distinct place in the native American civilization.

• Society: Priest was the chief of the Mayan society. They were highly respected. They had full control on government. So far state was concerned, they had the full authority but at local level, there was a provision of self-government.Agriculture was the backbone of the Mayan society. Com was the main crop of the Mayans. Some people were engaged in weaving and dying of clothes while coin, beans, potato, papaya, etc. were major food items of people.
• Religion: Gods and goddesses were worshiped by Mayan people. These included the gods of forest, rain, fertility, fire and corn. For more rains people pleased gods. Human sacrifice was also in practice.
• Science:
  1. The Mayans made tremendous progress in the field of science. They invented a calendar. This calendar symbolized their progress in astronomy. According to this calendar, there were 365 days and 18 months in a year. Each month had 20 days.
  2. The Mayans imparted the knowledge of zero in mathematics.
  3. Hieroglyphic script was their other achievements. It can be said that the Mayan civilization did not lag behind the other American civilizations on any aspect.

Question 4.
Why were Spanish and Portuguese rulers in particular so respective to the idea of funding a maritime quest?
Answer:
European economy went through the phase of a decline from the mid-fourteenth to mid-fifteenth centuries. Due to plague and wars, a lot of people died in various parts of Europe. Trade became slack. There was a shortage of gold and silver, used for making European coins. In the late fourteenth century, long-distance trade declined, and then became difficult after the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453. Italians established their business with Turks. They were now required to pay higher taxes on trade.

The possibility that more people could be brought into the fold of Christianity made devout Christian Europeans ready to face adventure. After this, ‘the Crusades’ against the Turks began as a religious war. They increased Europe’s trade with Asia and created a taste for the products of Asia, especially spices. Its trade could be followed by political control, with European countries establishing colonies in regions.

Gold and spices were found in new regions. Portugal was a small country which got independence from Spain since 1139 which had developed fishing and ailing skills, took the lead. Prince Henry of Portugal attacked Ceuta in 1415. After that, more expeditions were organised and the Portuguese established a trading station in Cape Bojador in Africa.
In Spain, economic reasons encouraged individuals to become knights of the ocean. The memory of the Crusades and the success of the Reconquista fanned private ambitions and gave rise to contracts known as Capitulacion.es. Under these contracts, the Spanish ruler claimed rights of sovereignty over newly conquered territories and gave rewards to leaders of expeditions in the form of titles and the right to govern the conquered lands.

Question 5.
What do you know about the Arawakian Lucayos? Discuss the way of life the Arawakian Lucayos led.
Answer:
The Arawakian Lucayos inhabited a cluster of small islands in the Caribbean sea and the Greater Antilles. They had been expelled by the Caribs from the Lesser Antilles.

The Arawakian Lucayos always preferred negotiations. They ignored conflict. They were boat-builders and used to sail the open sea in canoes made from hollow tree trunks. They lived on hunting, fishing and agriculture. Com, sweet potatoes, tubers and cassava were major agricultural produce. The Arawakian people produced food collectively and fed everyone in the community.

The Arawakian Culture: The Arawakian people were organised under the elders of the clan. The tradition of polygamy was common. They were animists. In many other societies, shamans played an important role as healers and intermediaries between this world and that of the supernatural.

Relations with Europeans: The Arawakian people wore the ornaments made of gold. They did not give as much value to the gold as the Europeans did. Gold was exchanged from glass beads. The Arawakian Lucayos people were quite happy with this. These beads looked more beautiful. They were highly skilled in the art of weaving. It was much developed. The
hammock was one of their specialties.
The Arawakian people were very generous. They always collaborated with the Spanish in their search of gold. When the Spanish policy became brutal, they resisted. Its results were quite disastrous.

Question 6.
What do you understand by geographical discoveries? What were the main reasons behind these discoveries?
Answer:
During this period, a number of geographical discoveries happened. The period from 1490 to 1523 is known as the golden period of geographical discoveries. South and North America were discovered during this period. They were named as the New World. European ships started sailing in the Indian ocean and the Chinese sea. Geographical Discoveries: European people were too much interested in Asia particularly about the Indian goods. Merchants carried their goods to Mediterranean and Black sea through surface route. These goods were sent through sea route from that place. The Turks occupied Turkey and its nearby places by the middle of 15th century. Later on, Asian trade with Europe came to an end. Europeans were not interested in breaking the relations of trade. That is why they made an attempt to explore new routes.
Copernicus and Marco Polo sailed across Asia. In their travelogues, they wrote a lot of strange stories. A lot of scientific inventions were done. Copernicus asserted that the earth is round. This improvement in geographical knowledge gave an impetus to travel and explorations. The invention of magnetic compass helped in identifying the cardinal points.

Question 7.
The Incas empire was highly centralized with the king representing the highest source of authority. Elaborate.
Answer:

• The Incas empire was centralized. The king was the highest authority. Quechu was the language of the court. Each people spoke Quechu language. A council of elders ruled each tribe independently. The tribe owed its allegiance to the ruler. Regarding population, there is no exact figure. But there were more than a million people in the empire who owed their allegiance to the ruler.
• The Incas were magnificent builders like the Aztecs. They built roads through mountains from Ecuador to Chile. Their forts were built of stone slabs. They used labour-intensive technology to carve and move stones from nearby rock falls. Many stones weighed more than 100 metric tons, but they did not have any wheeled vehicles.
• Agriculture was the main occupation of the people. They terraced hillsides and developed systems of drainage and irrigation to overcome the problem of infertility of soil. Cultivation in Andean highlands was much greater than what it is today. The Incas grew maize and potatoes.
• They were mainly interested in weaving and pottery. They were of high quality. There was an accounting system in place-the Quipu, or cords upon which knots were made to indicate specific mathematical units. It was the opinion of some scholars that the Incas wove a sort of code into these threads.
• The organisation of the Inca empire had pyramid-like structure. If the Inca chief was captured, the chain of command could quickly come apart. This was precisely what happened when the Spaniards decided to invade their country.

Question 8.
Who was Pizarro? Discuss his achievements in the Inca region.
Answer:
Pizarro was a poor and illiterate Spaniard. After joining the army he visited the Caribbean Islands in 1502 CE. Inca kingdom was the land of silver and gold. He made numerous attempts to reach this kingdom from the Pacific. Once, when he came back home, he met the Spanish king. He showed the king beautifully designed gold jars made by Inca workmen. He promised Pizarro if he conquered the Inca lands, he would be made the governor of those lands. Pizarro made a plan to adopt Cortes’s method. Achievements: Atahualpa secured the throne of the Inca empire after a civil war in 1532 A.D. After that Pizarro arrived. He took the king under his possession. The king offered reserves of gold as their ransom for his release. But Pizarro did not deter from his word. He assassinated the king and his soldiers plundered freely. After this, Pizarro occupied the Inca state. The cruelty of the conquerors provoked an uprising in 1534. It continued for two years. In this uprising, thousands of people died in war. In another five years, the Spanish had found vast reserves of silver in Patosi (modem Bolivia).

Question 9.
Discuss the various reasons behind discoveries of New routes and New lands.
Answer:

• Missionary Zeal: The Christian Missionaries were inspired to discover New lands to spread their religion.
• Renaissance: The curiosity to achieve difficult targets made the men voyage loving and adventurous.
• Invention of Mariner’s Compass: It made the sailors confident that they would not lose the way in bad weather and prompted them to explore new lands.
• Craze for Trade: When Turkey captured Constantinople and the old trade route, the enthusiastic traders did not lose hope. They set out to discover new routes.

Question 10.
There was huge growth of commerce and trade in Europe. What were its results?
Answer:
The results of growth of commerce and trade may be summed up in the following ways:

• In the discovered lands, the Europeans set up their colonies. Later on they were used as markets.
• Large companies were established for trade. Ruling class were also its members.
• The growth of commerce and trade increased the number of members of European middle class. They played an important role in the politics of the continent.
• As a result of the growth of trade and commerce, Europeans prospered a lot.

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 7 CHANGING CULTURAL TRADITIONS NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON CHANGING CULTURAL TRADITIONS

Question 1.
Will you say the renaissance confined to Europe during the period from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century?
Answer:
No, we cannot describe it as a period of renaissance only confined to Europe because Asia and Africa almost in full were connected with Europe during the period in question. A number of sea and terrestrial routes were till then discovered and maritime trade was in its youth. It is true that Europe could attain cultural changes by the classical civilization of Rome and Greece but technologies and skills in Asia had moved ahead of what the Greeks and Romans had known. Thus, we can state that the Europeans have not learned just from the Greeks and Romans, but from India, Arabia, Iran, Central Asia, and China also. It is a universal fact that papyrus was first invented in China and then paper making technique had spread to European cities.

On the above basis, we would like to state that renaissance in; Europe is owed to renaissance much before sprouted but not described in pages of history due to Europe-centred view-point of historians in ‘ Asia and Africa. Apart from the expansion of maritime trade, the expansion of Islam and the Mongol conquests gave Europeans the opportunity to see ‘ and they learned the technologies discovered earlier in Asia.

Question 2.
What do you understand by Private and Public spheres of Life? Explain.
Answer:
The private sphere of life is consisting of the family and personal religion while the public sphere meant the area of government and of formal religion. These two spheres became separate during the period between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. An individual was not simply a member of one of the three orders but he was also a person in his own right. He was not just a member of the guild but he was known for himself. It subsequently became a basis for the principle that all individuals had equal political rights.

Question 3.
Do you agree with Albrecht Durer’s statement that Art is embedded in nature, he who can extract it, has it? Justify your answer with illustrations?
Answer:
Yes, Albrecht Durer is nil correct in stating art’s dwelling in nature. Nature in its physical sense, we observe; embeds in it, beautiful landscapes, landforms, vegetation with changing seasons, water bodies including ponds, fountains, springs, rivers, rivulets, and oceans of different size and shape, the flora and fauna, varied altitudes of mountains and hillocks, isle, island, etc. In its metaphysical sense, it embeds resipiscence, power of imagination, gregarious spirit, dedication and devotion, loyalty, dutifulness, etc. a number of virtues.

It depends, however, on the individual, how he can glorify his actions by positive views of his own nature with that of nature in its physical forms. In case, the artist applies his physical, mental and emotional, powers duly balanced and motivated by inner conscience, the imagination will excel and proposed art gets acclamation from the masses.

Question 4.
Whether Jacob Burckhardt, Professor at the University of Basle in Switzerland is correct in saying that history is as much concerned with culture as with politics? Explain.
Answer:
Culture during the period of 14th to 17th century in Europe was considered as humanities as used by a Roman lawyer and essayist Cicero. It was derived from the Latin wood humanities. Grammar, law, rhetoric, poetry, history, and moral philosophy were the subjects of humanity. Discussion and debates were stated necessary to develop knowledge in these subjects. Here we see that all these subjects are made for society and rules for ideal living, these all contain in themselves. Politics itself tells the processes of social organization and leadership which is possible only when culture is studied and a smooth link between both is established.

In brief, we can conclude that History itself is both the story of culture and politics. Culture determines which type of governance is possible at the material time and the ruler skilled in culture can only lead the mass. History tells about the education, manners, standard of living, customs, and traditions all incorporated in culture. It simultaneously enables us to know about the government, organization of society during a specific period of time.

Question 5.
Imagine that why would eligibility for membership to Council under the institution of the commonwealth has confirmed to gentlemen of the City, State in Italy?
Answer:
A cursory perusal of the commonwealth and government of Venice composed by Cardinal Gas Paro Contarini reveals that only gentlemen who had attained the age of 25 years, were made eligible to the Council and common people were denied membership. Here common people were understood as those ignobly born, poor, and the people very rude and anti-social. It means cruel, unsober, insolvent, misconduct, loose-character people were deemed as common people.

Their instincts and nature are always unchangeable and nothing else but only disruption in Council, they would have made. Hence, they were denied membership. I would like to describe this criterion of selection of members to Council, the major cause of renaissance which developed from the city-states of Italy. Modem democracy is owed to the city-states however, only seeming or virtual appearance has corrupted this system to the extent, here has emerged criminalization of politics in India. Thus, we see citizenship approach had sprouted in Italy. ^

Question 6.
‘Multilingual translation of the works of Greek writers on one hand and that of Arabic and Persian on other European languages had helped in the transmission of science and technology:- Do you agree to this statement?’
Answer:
Yes, we agree with the above statement because there were books on subjects like administration, mathematics, moral philosophy, grammar, and poetry but beyond the reach of common people. The Church was not willing to propagate its actual contents in order to maintain its supremacy. However, in the fourteenth century, they get translated by Arab people in the Arabic language which could be easily understood by the masses. Some Europeans, just after perusal of these books in the Arabic language, retranslated them in the local languages of Europe.

Muslim writers were Ibn Sina, Al-Razi, and Ibn Rushd. An Arab philosopher Ibn Rushd had tried to resolve the tension between philosophical knowledge and religious beliefs. His methods were adopted by Christian thinkers. Thus, the translation of books in several languages helped in the promotion of science and technologies not only in Italy but in all other parts of Europe also.

Question 7.
Give a brief account of the new concept of human beings.
Answer:

1. It was against the control of religion over human life.,
2. Acquisition of material wealth, power, and glory is a usual instinct of human beings and cannot be tantamounted to vice.
3. The study of history leads a man to strive for a life of perfection hence, Christian injunction against pleasure is untenable.
4. A person of culture should learn good manners including politeness and simplicity.
5. Individuals irrespective of poor and weak are capable of shaping through other means.
6. Self-interest is the most powerful motive hence, a cordial and congenial environment for the proliferation of self-interest should be provided to the people.

Question 8.
Give a brief account of woman status in Europe during 14th to 17th century.
Answer:

1. Women were given no political rights.
2. Families were dominated by husbands.
3. Money obtained in dowry was invested in the family businesses but women had no say in how that business should run.
4. If the father could not arrange to suffice dowry, his daughter would go to the convent to live the life of a nun.
5. They were keepers of the households without any public role given to them.

Thus, on the above points, we can state that the patriarchal system was strictly followed in Europe in whom, women were treated as mere instruments in the hands of their husbands without any right in property and role in public life.

Question 9.
Do you think all women in Europe during the period 14th to 17th century were equally neglected? If not, describe the social and family status of other women?
Answer:
We would like to state here that the position of women in families of merchants and bankers was somewhat different than those of common women in the society. In these families, women used to work as partners to the firm or business and made responsible to look after the businesses when the male members were away at work.

A few women in European society were intellectually more creative and sensitive about the importance of humanist education. One among these women, Cassandra Fedele wished to see all women duly educated in humanism. She had stated-“Even though the study of letters promises but offers no reward for women and no dignity”. That lady was proficient in Greek and Latin and was invited to give orations at the University of Padua in Italy.

She criticized the constitution of republics in which women’s freedom was hanged on the desires of men. Another woman was the Marchesa of Mantua, Isabella d’Este who ruled the state while her husband was absent and the small state of Mantua proliferated under her skilled administration. These women writers wished economic power, property, and education to women so that they could make their respected place in men dominated society of Europe.

Question 10.
What were the percussions of a new culture of humanism all over the world from Italy? Discuss.
Answer:
The new culture of humanism spread all over the world because of trade and travel, military conquests and diplomatic contacts of each two countries as routes of them pass through Italian towns and courts. The different response it could bag from diversified institutions which we can mention as under:-
(a) Churches-In north Europe, the members of the Church summoned Christians to practice religion in the way laid down in the ancient texts of their religion discarding undue rituals. They told them additions made to the simple religion.

The philosophers there declared that Almighty has allowed man to live with complete freedom in the pursuit of happiness. Humanists like Thomas More and Erasmus of England and Holland respectively assumed Church’s role as extortionist simple and common people. Clergy would say the devotee, fill my bag and attain to indulgences against whatever crime/offense you have committed. Such practice was not allowed in religion in its original and simple form.

(b) Rebels and movements-Taxes imposed by Church were protested by peasants. Church’s interference with state matters, restricted the princes. Emperor would issue the document pertaining to the donation of Constantine under his own discretion-was the demand of resented Christians.

Martin Luther, a monk-led the Protestant Reformation movement against the Catholic Church voicing no need for priests in divine matters and it is faith that guides the course of life and to salvation. Luther’s ideas were popularised by Ulrich Zwingli and Jean Calvin.

Radicals protested under the stimulus of Salvation, a state where oppression is ceased in full.

A scholar like William Tyndale in course of Bible translation, stated frankly that it was a trick of clergyman not to make available, the scriptures translated in local languages to the mass with malicious intention to keep them in dark and fill their head and heart with rules, laws, canons fabricated by Clerics for their advantage.

Result-

1. Catholic Church allowed protestants to worship as they choose.
2. The illiterate section of society was driven with the same whip.
3. King or Queen became the head of the Church. Pope’s supremacy ended.
4. Society of Jesus set-up in an attempt to face Protestants by Ignatius Loyola in Spain.

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 6 THE THREE ORDERS NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON THE THREE ORDERS

Question 1.
Discuss the following:
(i) Serf
(ii) Monk
(iii) Cathedrals
Answer:

• Serf: Serf occupied a distinct place in medieval Europe. They did a lot for the development of agriculture. They cultivated plots of land which belonged to the lord. A large portion of its product had to be given to the lord. They were not allowed to leave the estate without the prior permission of their lords. The lord could only decide about the marriage of their serfs.
• Monk: A group of deeply religious people chose to lead the life of isolation. They lived in religious communities called abbeys or monasteries. Monks took vows to remain in the monasteries for the rest of their lives. They spent most of their time in prayer, meditations and studies. Men or women could also lead such sort of life. Men became monks and women became nuns. There were separate monasteries for men and women. Monks and nuns did not marry.
• Cathedrals: Large churches were called cathedrals. They were built in France. Different groups of people contributed a lot to their monasteries, particularly the rich merchants. Cathedrals were built of stone. They were designed in such a way so that the priest’s voice could be heard within the hall v/here a large number of people gathered. Stained glass windows narrated the stories in the Bible through pictures. Illiterate people could also read it.

Question 2.
Why do you think the people of new towns were considered of fourth order? Explain.
Answer:
The people of new towns were considered of fourth order because of the following:

• These newly flourished towns were developed with the fair and small market centers, as a result of expansion of trade.
• The social and the political conditions of the people were totally different from the people who belonged to the former three orders.
• There were banks and lawyers in these towns. There was a distinct economic organisation in the form of guild. Each trade and craft industry was organised into a guild.
• Craftsmen found it easier to settle in the towns as goods could be produced and traded for food.
• The rich traders and merchants developed better than the nobility. They were generous to the people and engaged in trade related activities.
• Later on cathedral towns began to develop, which belonged to monastery and rich merchants.

Question 3.
Which causes were responsible for the rise of middle class?
Answer:
The causes responsible for the rise of the middle class were :

• In the crusade, a lot of feudal lords had been killed.
• The growth of commerce and trade made the trading class quite rich and prosperous. They, in turn, sought the favor of king and helped him, whenever needed.
• The wealthy merchants and rich traders got many towns and cities freed from the clutches of feudal control.
• The new cities soon grew into centers of trade, commerce and education and consequently gave rise to the new classes.
• New classes of the rich merchants patronized art, science, literature and education.

Question 4.
How did technological changes affect agriculture during 11th century?
Answer:
Technological changes affected agriculture in many ways:

• Wooden ploughs were replaced with heavy iron-tipped ploughs.
• The method of harnessing animals to the plough improved which enabled animals to exert greater power. Horses were now better shod with iron horseshoes. It prevented foot decay.
• The increased use of wind and water energy for agriculture enhanced agricultural production.
• The most innovative change was the switch from a two-field to a three field system. Now, peasants could use a field two years out of three if they planted it with one crop in autumn and a different crop in spring a year and a half later.
• Now the farmers could plant one with wheat or rye, the second in spring to raise peas, beans and lentils and the other
• part was left fallow.

As a result, there was an immediate increase in the amount of food produced from each unit of land. Food production almost doubled. There were better opportunities for cultivators. They could now produce more food for less land. The average size of peasants’ farm shrank from about 100 acres to 20 to 30 acres. As a result of holding, smaller lands could be more efficiently cultivated. It also reduced the amount of labour. The new technological changes cost a lot of money.

Question 5.
Discuss the achievements of the nation-states.
Answer:
The nation-states are known for achievements. Some of them were:

• The rise of nation-states crushed the power of the lords and this made people free from their excesses.
• They paved way for setting up peace.
• They taught the people to give support to their kings.
• They infused the spirit of nationalism among the people of different classes.
• They took remarkable steps for the consolidation of the economy of states.
• They contributed a lot in the development of language, literature and architecture.

Question 6.
What were the causes that led to the decline of feudalism in Europe?
Answer:
From the eighth to twelfth century CE, feudalism prospered in Europe. There was a steep decline of feudalism in Europe. The following causes led to its downfall:

• Rise of the powerful monarchies: Powerful monarchies paved the way for the decline of feudalism. It rose in France, Spain and England.
• Rise of nationalism: Education spread in the nation. The spread of education aroused the spirit of nationalism among the educated middle class. But the feudal lords were quite opposed to nationalism. That was why the educated people turned against feudalism. They could not tolerate its existence. They were to the side of their ruler and not with the lords. The result was that rulers became more and more powerful.
• Rise of the middle class: New inventions encouraged trade and industry. The result was the emergence of the middle class in towns and cities. The middle class desired peace for the promotion of commerce, industry and crafts. They wanted to get rid of the nobles who were always engaged in constant wars.

Question 7.
Discuss in detail about the emergence of cathedrals.
Answer:
From 12th century, large churches were built in France. They were known as cathedrals. These belonged to monasteries. Various groups of people contributed a lot to their construction in the form of labor, material and money. Along with it, the rich merchants also spent money by making donations to churches. Cathedrals took many years in their completion. After their completion, they became the centers of pilgrimage. Small towns also grew a lot. The specialty of the design of cathedrals was that the voice of priest could be clearly heard within the hall where a number of people gathered. Their voice could be heard even from a far off distance.

For windows stained glass was used. During the day, the sunlight would make them radiant for people inside the cathedral, and after sunset the light candles would make them visible to people outside. The stained glass windows narrated the stories in the Bible through pictures, which even the illiterate people could read

Question 8.
Discuss the political changes which occurred during 15th and 16th centuries in Europe.
Answer:
The political changes that occurred during 15th and 16th centuries were as follows:

• European kings strengthened their military as well as financial power during 15th and 16th centuries. They created powerful new states. These were much significant for Europe. Economic changes were also occurring. Historians have, therefore, called these kings “the new monarchs”.
• Louis XI in France, Maximilian in Austria, Henry VII in England and Isabelle and Ferdinand in Spain were absolutist rulers. They initiated the process of organizing standing armies, permanent bureaucracy and national taxation. In Spain and Portugal, they began to play a role in European expansion overseas.
• Rulers dispensed with the system of feudal levies for their armies and introduced professionally trained infantry equipped with guns and siege artillery directly under their control.
• The social changes started to take place in the 12th and 13th centuries after the triumph of monarchies. The dissolution of the feudal system of lordship vassalage, and the slow rate of economic growth had given the first opportunity to kings to increase their control over their powerful and not so powerful subjects.
• With the increase in taxes, the treasury of monarchs filled. They had enough revenues to support larger armies. They also defended and expanded their frontiers and ruthlessly destroyed the internal bickerings. Without resistance from the aristocracy, centralization could not be done. In England, the rebellions occurred in 1497, 1536, 1547, 1549, and 1553 simultaneously.
• In France, Louis XI (1461-83) waged a long struggle against dukes and princes. In the 16th century, the religious wars in France were a contrast between royal privileges and regional liberties.
• The king was now the center of an elaborate courtier society and a network of patron-client relationships.
• All monarchies, whether weak or powerful, needed the cooperation of those who could command authority. It did not matter whether they were weak or strong. Patronage became the means of ensuring cooperation. It could also be obtained by means of money.
• For ensuring survival, the nobility managed a tactical shift. They quickly transformed themselves into loyalists. Loyal absolutism has been called a modified form of feudalism. The lords were given permanent position in the administrative service. Now they started dominating the political scene.

Question 9.
“Why did Europe’s economic progress slow down by the early 14th century”? Give
reasons?
Answer:
Europe’s economic progress slowed down due to the following reasons:

• The warm summers of the last 300 years had given way to bitterly cold summers in Northern Europe by the end of 13th century. It became quite difficult to grow crops on higher ground. Storms and flood destroyed the entire crops, which resulted into less income in taxes for government.
• Before thirteenth century, the climatic conditions had led to the large scale reclamation of the land of forests and pastures for agriculture. Intensive ploughing had exhausted the fertility of soil. The shortage of pastures reduced the number of cattle. Europe was hit by severe famines between 1315 and 1317. By 1320s, there occurred massive cattle
• deaths.
• Trade was hit by a severe shortage of metal money because of the shortfall in silver mines in Austria and Serbia. It forced the governments to reduce the silver content of the currency , and to mix it with cheaper metals.
• With the expansion of trade in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, ships carrying goods from distant countries had started arriving in European ports. Along with the ships came rats with deadly bubonic plague infection (the Black Death). Western Europe was isolated in earlier centuries, but was hit by the epidemic between 1347 and 1350.
• As a result, the trade centers and cities were hit. In enclosed communities like monasteries and covents, when one individual contracted the plague, a lot of people got affected to it. The plague took its worst toll among infants, the young and elderly.

Question 10.
Discuss the major drawbacks of feudalism which prevailed in medieval Europe.
Answer:
The major drawbacks of feudalism which prevailed in medieval Europe were as follows:

• It divided the country into small fiefs held by the feudal lords. They were selfish. They cared more for themselves and ignored the interests of the country as a whole. Hence, feudalism gave a blow to national unity.
• The central government became very weak. The feudal lords became more powerful and supreme. The vassals ignored the order of the king. The king was entirely dependent on feudal lords both for military and money. Sometimes they asserted their independence and king could not control them.
• Feudalism encouraged rebellions and wars. The power of the lords was increasing day by day and the kings were becoming more and more weak. This encouraged rebellious tendency among the nobles. The nobles were also eager to get new lands. So there was constant warfare among them. It destroyed peace and security and created chaos and confusion in the society.
• Feudalism was responsible for the defective military organization. Every lord organised his army in his own way. Their weapons and methods of lighting also differed as a result of national crisis.
• Feudalism led to maladministration of justice. Every lord had his own court and laws. He decided the cases and punished the people for the same crime that varied from estate to estate.

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 5 NOMADIC EMPIRES NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON NOMADIC EMPIRES

Question 1.
What do you understand by the term years? Explain.
Answer:
It was actually Yasaq when this code of law was promulgated by Genghis Khan at the Quriltan of 1206. Yasaq means law, decree, or order in its literary meaning. The detail on the organization of the hunt, the army, and the postal system, the David Ayalon, a researcher found as ingredients of that code of Law. By the middle of the thirteenth century, the Mongols named it as Yasa in a more general sense to mean the legal code of Genghis Khan. It was a compilation of the customary traditions of the Mongol tribes but in referring to it as Genghis Khan’s Code Of Law, the Mongols people also laid a claim to a law-giver like Soloman, whose authoritative Code could be imposed on their subjects,

Question 2.
Do you understand why Genghis Khan did have an identity as a conqueror and brutal murderer of the people in spite of his being the greatest leader of all time?
Answer:
Generally, the predominant virtue or vice imprints the image of the ruler in the head and heart of the common populace. Genghis Khan had ordered massacres in cities like Nishapur, Herat, Baghdad, and smaller towns like Baihaq and Tun (Kurdistan). This predominant vice has dusted on his virtues like the greatest leader of all time, convener of scattered tribal society Lo unite, ruler of a grand transcontinental empire, and keeper of trade routes well restored. Actually, the contrasting images are not simply a case of dissimilar perspectives, they should make us pause and reflect on how one perspective can completely erase all others.

Question 3.
What had ensured creating so vast an empire of the Mongols? Discuss?
Answer:
The only thing that remained a powerful force was the inspiration of the nomadic empire i.e. Genghis Khan. Apart from that driving force, we can not understand the inspiration that led to the confederation of fragmented groups of people in the pursuit of an ambition to create an empire merely on going over the nature of documentation on the Mongols and any other nomadic regime. Presently, Mongolia is enjoying freedom from Soviet control and it has revered Genghis Khan as a great natural hero and his achievements are recognized with pride. Thus, Genghis Khan has once again appeared as an iconic figure for the Mongol people among the populace there.

Question 4.
Discuss the implication of the term barbarian.
Answer:
This term has been derived from the greek Barbaros i.e. non-Greek, It was the name of the person on the basis of his language sounded i.e. Barbar. Analogous to children unable to speak or reason properly, cowardly, effeminate, luxurious, cruel, slothful, greedy, and politically unable to govern themselves; were depicted as barbarians in Greek texts. This word was used in the sense of stereotype by Romans for the German tribes, the Gauls, and the Huns. Steppe barbarians were addressed with different terms but none of them carried a positive meaning.

Question 5.
Reproduce the warning that was given by Monglke, the grandson of Genghis Khan to the French ruler Louis IX and enunciate the hidden intention thereupon.
Answer:
We can reproduce said warning as under-“In heaven, there is only the Eternal sky, on Earth, there is only one lord, Genghis Khan, the son of Heaven when by the power of the eternal Heaven, the whole world from the rising of the sun to its setting shall be at one in joy and peace, then it will be made clear what we are going to do if when you have understood that the degree of the Eternal Heaven, you are unwilling to pay attention and believe it, saying, “Our country is far away, our mountains are mighty, our sea is vast,” and in this confidence, you bring an army against us, we know what we can do. He who made easy what was difficult and near, what was far off, the Eternal Heaven Knows.”

Review on the essential components of warning:

1. Genghis Khan’s empire had covered and going to cover the limit of rising and setting sun throughout the world.
2. It has been stated that Genghis Khan’s rule over the earth is predetermined by the Eternal Heaven.
3. It reveals a strong determination to bring peace and joy to the entire world and its inhabitants.
4. It threatens Louis IX that it is worth no use considering that the distance and inaccessible territories would defend France.
5. The last line lays emphasis on an assumption that nowhere is far or near and easy or difficult under the grace of the Eternal Heaven.

Conclusion-The above five important points have been aptly soaked in the creation of psychological terror, a eulogy of the Mongol power and demonstration through speech a strong determination and invincible courage’. His strong faith in the Almighty has also been reflected through this warning.

Question 6.
Discuss the rise of new political trends in Mongols after Genghis Khan?
Answer:
In the period after Genghis Khan and particularly after the 1260s, the original impetus of campaigns could not be sustained in the west. Western Europe and Egypt were within the grasp of Mongol forces yet their retreat from the Hungarian Steppes and defect at the hands of the Egyptian forces exhibited a major change in their attitude. In the first two generations, descendants of Jochi and Ogodei jointly controlled the office of Genghis Khan.

They were marginalized by the Toluyid branch of Genghis Khanid descendants. The later rulers took more interest in the conquest of China. Hence, westward expansion was ceased. Jochen and Toluyid descendants began to develop rivalry along the Russian-Iranian frontier. It also had diverted the Jochids away from further European Campaigns.

Question 7.
What was the political set-up in the nomadic empire? Discuss.
Answer:

1. There were all group members, recruited in the military consisting of the largest unit of soldiers (Turman) i.e. 10,000 soldiers. It integrated different tribes and clans with a new identity.
2. A new form of the military had to serve under Genghis Khan’s four sons and captains of army units (Royan).
3. Genghis Khan’s true friends were given representation in statecraft addressed as Anda.
4. A rank of Naukar was given to fourth-grade employees.
5. Four uluses were divided under the rule of Genghis Khan’s four sons.
6. Genghis Khan envisaged that his sons would rule the empire collectively like a federation.
7. Military contingents (Tama) of the individual princes were
   placed in each ulus.
8. Quriltan was conferred with power to decide dominion share of the family members, campaigns, distribution of booty, pasture land, and succession.

Question 8.
Why was there a conflict of interest between pastoralists and peasants? Would Genghis Khan express sentiments of this nature in a speech to his nomad commanders?
Answer:
Pastoralists were used to graze the fields of peasants and occupy the area they owned. Their interest was different because peasants had turned into traders while the pastoralists had an only games, furs of animals, etc. to exchange with them. In order to gain more share of profit in trade, they sometimes looted them of foodgrains and iron utensils. During the decade of 1230, the Mongols waged their successful war against the chin dynasty in north China and committed a massacre of the peasantry and their fields were converted into pasture lands.

However, this contradiction was eased’ in the decade of 1290 when Ghazan Khan, a descendant of Genghis Khan’s youngest son Toluy warned family members and other generals to avoid pillaging the peasantry. No, Genghis Khan would have not expressed the sentiments as these were expressed by Ghazan Khan in the decade of 1290.

Question 9.
How can you say Yasa, an extremely empowering ideology?
Answer:
It is because of the following significance added to it-

1. It addressed the Mongol’s ruling over urban societies with their respective histories, cultures, and laws.
2. Mongols could protect their identity and distinctiveness through their ancestral Yasa.
3. It was although a compilation of the traditions of the Mongol tribes yet referred to a GenghisKhan’s Code of Law.
4. Yasa sewed Mongol people around a body of shared beliefs and acknowledged their affirming to Genghis Khan and his descendants.
5. It gave them, the confidence to return their ethnic identity and impose their law upon their defeated subjects.

Question 10.
Did the meaning of Yasa alter over the four centuries separating Genghis Khan from Abdullah Khan? Why did Hafiz-i – Tanish make a reference to Genghis Khan’s as in connection with Abdullah Khan’s prayer at the Muslim festival ground?
Answer:
No, instead of any alteration separating Genghis Khan from Abdullah Khan; it became more coherent and interwoven over the four centuries. Hafiz-i-Tanish, the chronicler had referred to Genghis Khans “as” in order to exhibit how even the tricky and extorting act of him i.e. warning rich Muslim residents at the festival ground in Bukhara to confess that they were a sinner and he would compensate for their sins by parting with their hidden wealth-had been remembered as if any noble-deed was performed at that ground. He says that Genghis Khan’s distant descendant Abdullah Khan had offered his holiday prayers that place.

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 4 THE CENTRAL ISLAMIC LANDS NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON THE CENTRAL ISLAMIC LANDS

Question 1.
What are the five pillars of Islam?
Answer:
The five pillars of Islam are:

1. There is only one God, i.e. Allah.
2. Namaj should be offered five in a day.
3. Zakat should be given to the needy.
4. Fasts should be kept in the month of Ramzan.
5. All Muslims should take the pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in their lives.

Question 2.
Describe the main teachings of Islam.
Answer:
Main teachings of Islam are given below:

• Allah should be worshiped.
• No Muslim should practice idol worship. It is a sin.
• Muslims should believe that all Muslims are equal. They should regard themselves as brothers.
• All Muslims should follow the same rules regarding marriage and divorce.
• All Muslims should lead a simple life.

Question 3.
Describe in brief how Prophet Muhammad’s religion was a factor in the growth of Arab unity.
Answer:
Prophet Muhammad’s religion was a responsible factor in the growth of Arab unity as;

• The religion started by Him was denoted by a term Islam implied to complete submission.
• He told that there is only one God, i.e. Allah.
• He emphasised on the principles of equality and unity, for those who accepted Allah and the Prophet.

Question 4.
What do you know about Arab tribe? Write in short.
Answer:
The entire Arab society was divided into tribes known as Qabila, headed by a chief. The chief of Qabila (Tribe) was elected on the basis of his family, wisdom and courage. Besides these, his personality also played a crucial role. Each tribe had its own religious beliefs. They worshiped their own gods and goddesses in mosques.

The tribes were nomadic, and kept on moving from one region to another in search of food and fodder for their camels. Some of them settled and practiced trade or agriculture. Muhammad’s own tribe was Qurayash who had reigned its supremacy in Mecca. It established its control over Kaba, a cublic like structure in which idols were placed. Even the tribes outside Mecca considered the Kaba installed their own idols at this shrine, making annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to the shrine.

Question 5.
What were Crusades? Describe its two impact on the Christian Muslim relations.
Answer:
Crusades meant the military expeditions. It was organized in western Christendom to recover the holy places of Palestine from Muslim occupation. The four Crusades were fought, as given below.

1. First Crusade – 1095 to 1099 CE
2. Second Crusade – 1147 to 1148 CE
3. Third Crusade – 1189 to 1192 CE
4. Fourth Crusade – 1202 to 1204 CE

Impact on Christian-Muslim relations

• Ever since the Crusade, the people of western Christendom developed a stereotypical and distorted Islamic image.
• These wars resulted in harsher attitude of the Muslim state towards its Christian subjects.

Question 6.
Describe the major beliefs and practices that characterized Sufism.
Answer:
Sufi’s were a group of religious minded people turned to asceticism and mysticism.
Their major beliefs and practices are given below:

• The Sufi’s laid emphasis on seeking of salvation through devotion of God.
• They laid emphasis on celibacy and ignored the rituals and observed extreme form of asceticism.
• They considered every one equal in the eyes of God. God is one and almighty. Everyone in the universe is his creation.
• They interpreted the Quran on the basis of their own experiences.
• They maintained a distance from worldly power.
• They used to go for Ziyarat. They remembered God by reciting the divine names or evoking his presence through Sama.
• They regarded Prophet Muhammad as a perfect human being and preached to follow his teachings.
• Sufi’s were in favor of Sama, singing and dance.

Question 7.
What do you know about the main teachings of Islam?
Answer:
Main teachings of Islam:

• Idol-worship is a curse, according to Islam.
• God, i.e. Allah is almighty. He is all wise and merciful.
• Islam believes in life after death, in hell or in heaven. The sinner will go to the hell and face many hardships. The religious and honest people will go to the heaven. They will be served by beautiful damsels.
• The Quran is the divine book of Islam. The sayings of Prophet Muhammad are regarded as God.
• All are equal. No one is superior or inferior. Islam preached the principle of equality and brotherhood.
• There is no restriction on keeping slaves in Islam, but Muhammad asked his followers to treat them kindly.

Question 8.
Write your argument to justify the following statement:
“Prophet Muhammad laid down the foundation of a new political structure.”
Answer:
Prophet Muhammad laid down the foundation of a new political structure as:

• He replaced the tribal organisation with a state. The state was encompassed with a number of tribes.
• Umma constituted the armed forces.
• He was a religious leader as well as a law-giver.
• His followers (The Umma) were converted into a wide community to include polytheists and Jews of Madina.
• The conquest of Mecca established him both as a religious as well as political leader.
• He maintained the independence of the state by fixing the booty to l/15th (which directly went to him).
• Tax like ‘Zakat’ was imposed on tribes who had accepted Muhammad’s leadership. All Muslim tribes had to pay it.
• With his efforts and influence, he was able to convert many Bedouins into Islam. In a short span of time, he was able to unite a large part of peninsula.

Question 9.
“Throughout the history of human beings their interest in religion often went hand in hand”. Justify the statement by giving examples.
Answer:

• From the very beginning, evidence has been traced out that Indian traders traveled to the different countries of South East Asia for trade in gold, tin, spices, etc. While travelling and trading to these nations they also took with them the ideas and practices of the religion. The ideology of Buddhism and Hinduism became the part and parcel of their culture. These two religions were adopted by the people of Jawa, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, etc.
• The Arab traders in the medieval period established their trade relations with India and many other countries of Europe and Asia. They carried with them the ideas of newly founded religion, i.e. Islam. Due to its simplicity in principle, Islam was adopted by many Indians and in the same way it spread into Spain, Syria, Iran and Iraq.
• The traders of the western countries, i.e. the traders of England, Holland, France, etc. spread their trading relations in many countries. They brought with them the ideas of Christianity. While trading, they also spread Christianity into different countries. Today this religion is adopted by the people of different countries of Asia and Africa.Keeping the above examples in mind, we can conclude that throughout the history human being’s interest in religion went hand in hand.

Question 10.
Discuss the main sources of income of the state in detail.
Or
What do you know about agriculture of the Central Islamic lands?
Answer:
Agricultural was the main occupation of the settled population, since long. It also remained a major occupation in newly acquired territories. The bulk of income of the state was derived from the agricultural land.

Land was owned by the small and big farmers and in some cases by the state. After Islamic conquests, big estates were abandoned and acquired by the state. Later on these states were handed over to Muslim elites. The chief among them were the members of Khalifa’s (Caliph’s) army.

The land conquered by the Arabs, which remained in the hands of the owners were subjected to a tax, called Kharaj, varied from 1/2 to 1/5th of the produce. While the land cultivated by the Muslims were levied 1/10th of tax, known as ushr as land
revenue. When non-Muslims started converting to Islam, the land revenue income fell dramatically. To meet the shortfall, the Caliphs decided to discourage the conversions and later adopted a uniform land revenue policy.

After 10th century, the state authorised its officials to claim salaries from the agricultural territories called Iqtas (The person who held the Iqtas came to be known as Iqtadars). Agricultural prosperity and political stability went hand-in-hand. To ensure agricultural prosperity it took several measures such as canals were constructed, dams were built, the digging of wells, etc. were done. Tax concessions were granted to those people who brought land under cultivation. By the initiatives of peasants and state support the agriculture began to increase. Many new crops such as cotton, oranges, bananas, watermelon, spinach and brinjal began to grow and even exported to Europe.

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 3 AN EMPIRE ACROSS THREE CONTINENT NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON AN EMPIRE ACROSS THREE CONTINENT

Question 1.
The text has referred to three writers whose work is used to say something about how the Romans had treated their workers. Can you identify them? Record the section for yourself and describe any two methods the Romans used to control labor.
Answer:
Yes, those three writers were-Tacitus, Columella, and Pliny the Elder.

Tacitus writes on labor controlling networks. He states the slaves were misbehaved and tortured to the extent, they sometimes committed the murder of their owners. He has written that a City Perfect (as of today’s Mayor or Chief Councillor) was murdered by one of his slaves which ultimately, resulted in riots, so uncontrolled as the slaves besieged the senate-house. However, the convict was executed. It shows the senators did not take notice of so grave a situation. No laws reducing punishment were passed particularly, made for the slaves.

The slaves were sometimes grouped into gangs or smaller teams and sternly supervised. As per Columella, another historian of that period, most groups were made in each group of ten slaves. The Natural History writer, Pliny who was also Elder (councilor) to administration, states that slaves were chained together by their feet so that they could save the expenditure incurred on supervision and a permanent measure to keep them busy with the work so assigned to them. He further states, a seal was put upon the workmen’s apparel and they had to wear a mark or a net with a close mesh on their heads.

Agricultural labor was also in a pathetic state and the same conditions prevailed when we talk of workers in factories and workshops. A law was passed in 398 C.E. allowing branding upon the body of laborers/ workmen so that they would be recognized if and when they run away and try to hide. Private employers began doing contracts in term of debts when they would provide the laborers/workers at the time of joining for a period of 25 years ahead and thus, debt bondage oppressed their instincts to the extent, they tolerated every draconian treatment and had surrounded them in servitude although they were free.

Question 2.
It is told that some specific events and circumstances add new words to the vocabulary. Can you state the event that added the term Draconian? Please, explain.
Answer:
Yes, “Draconian” a specific term got popularity owing to Draco, the Greek lawmaker in the Roman empire. He, during the early sixth century B.C.E., had recommended a law in 398 C.E., which referred to workers being branded so they could be recognized if and when they run away and try to hide.

It was gross inhuman treatment with the laborers i.e. the main active and sensitive part of the project/ work. Hence, the pains inflicted upon laborers by branding so severe and harsh to mankind would have accumulated and said law, we see added to the dictionary since then for all kinds of rules, regulations, decrees, orders, implications, and ordinances equally implied.

Question 3.
What were Frankincense and its origin?
Answer:
It was an aromatic resin used in perfumes. It was extracted by the process of piercing the bark of Boswellia trees. The Arabian peninsula was suitable for the natural growth of those trees in forest areas there.

Question 4.
Describe the living standard of Aristocrat’s (nobles) during the Roman empire.
Answer:
These were those rich people called members to the senate in government like councilors of modem period. They owned a medium city like big area with all affluent and appurtenance facilities and ease. Hippodromes, fora, temples, fountains, and different kinds of baths were essential components to their possession.

Every councilor had an income of 4,000 pounds of gold per annum from their properties not including grain, rice, and other produce which, if sold, would have exchanged for at least 1500 pounds. The second class people came into being when Gallienus imposed a prohibition on the recruitment of senators into the army in order to prevent control of the empire from falling into their hands. Their income was one thousand or fifteen hundred pounds of gold per year. It has been mentioned by Olympiodorus, the historian of that period.

Question 5.
What period, you would say or the contemporary historian had stated as “Late Antiquity”, why would have this phrase used for, explain.
Answer:
It was the period around the fourth to seventh centuries. The term “antiquity” is archaeological and denotes the period around the modern and the past i.e. medieval period. Several natural and economic changes were witnessed by this period about that of three centuries. Constantine and Diocletian were the emperors of that period. It was Diocletian who inserted division of power in army and civilians including senators. He curtailed the territories less productive and minimal importance in view of defense i.e. strategy.

Constantine on his part had reinforced the division of power made by his predecessor viz. Diocletian and is remembered for circulation of gold coin solidus weighing 4.5 grams. This measure brought economic stability. the empire as there was no dearth of supply from North Africa. He established his second capital at Byzantium (Istambul in Turkey at present) and named I Constantinople (i.e. the palace of the emperor Constantine). Cotta industries got patronage of these two rulers and factories mainly h of oil presses and glass factories, was established.

Question 6.
Who was Nero and why is he famous even today?
Answer:
Nero was a Roman citizen known to the Greek language and one of the extremists among the slaves/workers/workmen coerced and tortured badly by their factory owners, land-owners, and senators. He led the motion violently when a slave convicted as the murderer of Lucius Pedanius Secundus was being taken to execute under the order of the senate. He rebuked the population for watching deafly; the injustice, so severe practiced on the slaves. The crowd was ready to attack senators and the jailor got blows of stones and was tortured in their hands. This was the first mass agitation led by Nero.

Question 7.
Who were plebs Sordida? Do you see they resemble modem film stars and sportsmen? How?
Answer:
In context to the Roman empire, plebs Sordida were the unkempt lower class people but addicted to circus and theatre display including slaves. Their activities were confined to observe the moods of their owners mostly senators and keep them at mirth. There were no laws preventing their execution on the displeasure of their owners. Thus, that section of society was of the least value and even today, these activities are called pastimes i.e. merely for recreation at leisure and these people are like soothsayers in Shakespearean plays.

The theatrical quality, however, has preferred by the public to the extent, one may see one or more lessons on text-books recommended by NCERT by virtue of their keen observation of society and its instincts soaked into the ocean of western culture and cunning manners. Travesty of words and dialogues, the electronic media has technically sorted and pseudo trends are being implanted into human minds.

The logic for such are invincible in globalization and trying to create a universal soul that would make humanity universal. We are thus, soon, going to be universal-men once described by our culture as-“Ayam Nijah Paroveti Ganana Laghuchetsam, Udara Caritanamatu Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.” No doubt, it is a renaissance but just reverses the cycle of the renaissance that had begun since thirteenth century C.E. from Italy.

Question 8.
What had resulted when debt-bondage did the attack on the labor instincts?
Answer:
The workmen/laborers/coolies/workers/servants etc. suffered when draconian tricks were practiced on them severely. It gradually hammered nails in their head and heart of them, it gave birth to rebellion in Judaea against Roman domination e.g. great Jewish revolt of 66 C.E.’The revolutionaries destroyed the money lenders’ bonds to won popular support.

Question 9.
Who was the exception of labor coercion?
Answer:
Despite labor coercion to a severe degree by virtue of draconian laws, the emperor Anastasius of the late fifth century offered high wages in course of the frontier city of Dara constructed by him. It is pertinent to mention that-that the entire city was built by workers in less than three weeks’ time. We also came to know through Papyri that widespread wage-labor had become inputs of the Mediterranean by the sixth century especially, in the east.

Question 10.
Describe some less-advanced states under the Roman empire.
Answer:
Numidia (modem Algeria) witnessed transhumance during the Roman empire. There were pastoral and semi-nomadic communities. Transhumance was the regular animal movement of the herdsmen between the higher mountain regions and low lying ground in search of pasture for sheep and other flocks. They had oven-shaped huts (Papalia) with them, all portable. In Spain, the villages called Costella was inhabited by the Celtic speaking peasantry. However, with the expansion of Roman estates in North Africa, the pastures of these communities were drastically reduced and their movements more tightly regulated.

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 2 WRITING AND THE CITY LIFE NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 HISTORY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON WRITING AND THE CITY LIFE

Question 1.
What do you know about Uruk?
Answer:
Situated on the bank of the river Euphrates, about 2500 kilometers south-east of modern capital city of Baghdad, Uruk is an ancient Mesopotamian city. It came into existence around 3000 BCE, and was reckoned to be the most extensive town in the contemporary world. Uruk spread over an area of 250 hectares. It was twice in size when compared to Indus valley civilization. The city expanded around 2800 BCE. This area increased to about 400 hectares. Nearly 50,000 to 80,000 people resided here at that time.

Sumerian king Ermerkar was the founder of this town. He also constructed here the temple of a well-known goddess Inanna. Another famous ruler of this town was Gilgamesh. He declared Uruk as the capital city of his empire. To safeguard ground from any invasion he constructed a massive town around it. Here in Uruk the war prisoner had to do compulsory labour either for the ruler or for construction of temple. They were paid in grains in return. The common people were engaged in the extraction of stones, making mud-bricks, etc. as per the order of their ruler.

Uruk had also made unprecedented progress in the field of technology. The invention of potter’s wheel led to a revolutionary change in the field of technology and also helped in utensil making on a large scale.

Question 2.
Describe the main features of the city of Babylon.
Answer:
The city of Babylon had played an outstanding role in the ancient history of Mesopotamia. It was Akkad ruler, Sargon, who ruled from 2370 to 2315 BCE. Being situated on the north-west bank of river Tigris it made tremendous progress under Humurabiera. Babylon witnessed the emergence of glorious era of its history under Keldian ruler Nabopolassor. At that time, it covered an area of more than 850 hectares. Some magnificent features of Babylon were as follows:

• A triple wall was constructed all-around the city to safeguard it from any foreign threat.
• A massivq Ziggurat was the main center of attraction in Babylon.
• It was also a famous commercial center.
• The city had also made tremendous progress in the field of language, literature, science, medicine, etc.

Question 3.
Describe the nature of early urban society under Mesopotamia.
Or
“There was a great disparity among the different sections of the Mesopotamian society”. Explain.
Answer:
The early urban society was divided into three classes. The first class or group of the people coming from elites and consisted of the king (Monarch), the priest, the officials, rich merchants and businessmen, high military officials, etc. They led a luxurious life and lived in magnificent buildings and palaces. They wore expensive clothes and used to eat sumptuous foods. The people of this class were served by several men and women slaves. The people belonging to second class consisted of the people such as small scale merchants, artisans, state officials, intellectuals, etc. Like upper or 1st class they also led a life of luxury. The third estate or class people constituted the lowest strata of the society. Their life was very miserable. The dead bodies of the upper class people were buried along with precious items such as gold vessels, oyster shell, lapis lazuli, etc. On the other hand, the dead bodies of common people were buried along with ordinary pots, etc. It clearly indicates that there was great disparity among the different sections of society.

Question 4.
Illustrate the construction of temple and gradual increasing of activities of temples in Mesopotamia.
Answer:
Mesopotamian temples have played a significant role in the history of Mesopotamia. They constructed temples and dedicated them to their different gods and goddesses. Their temples were dedicated to Nanna, Anu, Enki and Inanna. Besides these four deities, each town had its own deity who was considered to be the protector of the respective town.

Temples of early Mesopotamia were comparatively smaller in size. They were also made of unbaked bricks. With the passage of time, the temple began to take new shape. Their importance as well as size began to increase. They used to build their temples on the hill tops because they believed that God (deities) dwell on the hill-top. These temples were made of baked bricks.

One of the peculiar features of these temples was that their outer walls had inward and outward bend at regular intervals. The temple had a courtyard and there were several rooms around it. The image of the deity was placed in the main room. Some rooms served as dwelling places for priests and other rooms were meant to stay for the pilgrims.

Increasing Activities of the Temples:

• Temples served as center of imparting education, where the priests used to serve as teachers.
• Land attached to temples was also used for industrial purposes.
• Temples were also engaged in sales and purchases of goods and also used to provide advance loans to the traders and charge interest thereon.
• The people offered grains, curd, dates, etc. to serve their deities. They also sacrificed ox, sheep, goat, etc. to offer their blessings.
• Temples also served as the centers for entertainment and provided a common platform for the people to meet each other and get a new boost.

Question 5.
What do you know about Gilgamesh? Explain in detail.
Answer:
The Gilgamesh epic occupies a special place not only in Sumerian literature, but also in world history. It was written by Uruk ruler Gilgamesh, who ruled there about 2700 BCE. It was written on 12 tablets. This epic is about the achievements of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was a famous ruler of Uruk. He was a great ruler and laid the foundation of a vast empire. To secure the Uruk against any threat of the foreign ruler he constructed a well around it with a view to end his tyrannical rule. People prayed to deity, Anu. As a result of this, God Anu ordered the goddess Arur to create such a God who could surpass Gilgamesh. The goddess created Enkidu who fought with Gilgamesh. He was impressed by his bravery and became a fast friend.

“They both performed several commendable works and decided to kill a demon of Elam known as Humbaba. After a terrible war, Gilgamesh finally killed Humbaba. Impressed by the bravery of Gilgamesh, Ishtar fell in love with her.

Gilgamesh’s friend Enkidu fell in love with a beautiful dancing girl. This enraged the deities. So they decided to end the life of Enkidu. Soon after he fell ill and died. The death of Enkidu deeply hurt Gilgamesh. He began to think one day that he will also die. Thus he began his search to attain immortality, but no one could ever become immortal. At the time of creation of a human being God gave him (the man) death and kept life with them. Despite this he did his best to become immortal.

Finally, he thought about Utnapishtim. Being impressed by his efforts Utnapishtim revealed the secret of immortality through the pant lying at the button of an ocean (sea). Gilgamesh accepted this challenge and jumped into the sea to bring the said plant. On his return he was very tired and fell asleep. Meanwhile a snake came here and took away that plant. When he woke up he saw the desired plant was missing. Finally, he understood the fact that the man can never become immortal. He came back to his native city. After many years he became emotional on seeing his city. He realised the fact that hi. sons will continue to enjoy the vast empire built by him after his death.

Question 6.
State the points of similarities and differences between Indus valley and Mesopotamia a n civilization.
Answer:
Similarities:

• Both are river valley civilizations. Indus valley civilization flourished along the bank of river Indus, while Mesopotamian civilization flourished along the banks of Tigris and Euphrates.
• Both are known for their excellent town planning.
• Baked bricks were used for construction.

Differences	Mesopotamian Civilization	Indus valley Civilization
Regarding town planning	• Lack of town planning	• Excellent town planning
	• Streets were narrow	• Streets were wider and straight.
	• No uniformity was followed while constructing houses.	• Uniformity was followed in the construction of houses. City was divided into a number of blocks.
Regarding drainage system	Drainage system was not efficient. Drains were not covered and water flowed from it through clay pipes.	Drainage systemwas very efficient. It was far excellent when compared toother contemporary civilizations.

Question 7.
What do you know about the palace at Mari of King Zimrilim?
Answer:
The Great Palace of Mari was the residence of royal family. This palace was the hub of administration and a centre of production of beautiful ornaments. It was a famous palace of his time. Many minor kings from north Syria came to see it, carrying with him a letter of introduction from royal friends of the king of Mari. The king met all of them and shared food with them. The palace had only an entrance from the north and had a large courtyard such as 131 were beautifully paved. The king also met foreign delegates in 132 rooms, which were decorated with wall paintings and illustrations. This sprawling structure was spread over an area of 2.4 hectares having 260 rooms.

Question 8.
Why were there often clashes between the animal herders and farmers of Mari?
Answer:
There were a number of factors responsible for their conflicts. Some of them are given below:

• The shepherds of Mari used to take their herds through the standing crops on their way when going out in search of water. It caused immense damage to the crops of the farmer.
• The shepherds (animal herders) used to invade the inhabitants of the villages by farming communities and indulged into lost and plunder.
• Sometimes the farmers used to their (animal herder’s) way, which hampered their access to sources of water. It also led to clashes between them.
• Some groups of the herders used to serve as agricultural laborers or helpers in assisting in harvest. With the passage of time their income increased and they became prosperous. Then they began to live a settled life, which was not acceptable to farmers. It also led to the emergence of struggle or clashes between them.

Question 9.
How did the amalgamation of different castes and communities give birth to a new civilization?
Answer:
Mari was an important city of ancient Mesopotamia. The city regained its ancient splendor in 2000 BCE, when Amorite dynasty declared her its capital. It was again destroyed during Hammurabi’s invasion in 1759 BCE.

The people living here were agriculturists and pastoralists. They belonged to various communities such as Akkadi, Amorite, Asyran and Armenian. The king belonged to Amorite community. The entire Amorite community had different dress-codes as compared to other communities. The King of Mari built a magnificent temple at Mari dedicated to the deity known as Dagans. Thus amalgamation of different castes and communities gave birth to new civilization at Mari. As people belonging to different communities resided at Mari, the king had always to remain vigilant.

Question 10.
“The script of Mesopotamia helped the historians to throw light on this ancient civilization”. Justify the statement.
Answer:
The earliest language known to the Mesopotamians was Sumerian. It was replaced by Akkadi around 2400 BCE. Gradually, the Aramaic came into prominence by 1400 BCE. The use of Aramaic became widespread by 1000 BCE. Irrespective of the fact that there had originated a script in Mesopotamia, still the rate of literacy was very low. The logic behind low literacy rate was that there were more than 2000 symbols used to decipher. Besides this, the language was itself very complicated. But truly speaking, the languages of the Mesopotamian have given a very long way in helping the historians, who after carefully examining and analyzing it throws a floodlight on this ancient civilization.