short notes on history class 10 chapter 3

Revision Notes: The Making of a Global World

1. The Pre-Modern World

• Globalisation’s Long History: Trade, migration, movement of capital, and cultural exchanges have connected human societies for centuries.
• Trade and Interaction:
  • 3000 BCE: Indus Valley linked with West Asia.
  • Cowries (Shells used as currency) traded between Maldives, China, and East Africa.
  • Diseases like the plague spread through interconnected trade routes.

• Silk Routes:
  • Network of land and sea trade routes linking Asia, Europe, and Africa since before the Christian Era.
  • Goods: Chinese silk, Indian spices, textiles, and pottery.
  • Precious metals (gold, silver) flowed from Europe to Asia.
• Cultural Exchange:
  • Buddhism spread from India via these routes.
  • Christian missionaries and Muslim preachers used these routes to spread their religion.

• Cultural Exchange in Food:
  • Crops like potatoes, maize, tomatoes, chillies introduced to Europe and Asia after the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus.
  • Spaghettin and nooddles possibly originated in China or were spread by Arab traders.
  • Impact of Potatoes: Improved nutrition in Europe but led to the Irish Potato Famine (1840s) due to crop failure.

1.3 Conquest, Disease, and Trade

• 16th Century Expansion:
  • European sailors discovered sea routes to Asia and America.
  • Indian Ocean trade network redirected towards Europe.
• European Conquests in America:
  • Precious metals (e.g., silver from Peru and Mexico) boosted European wealth and trade with Asia.
  • Germs like smallpox decimated Native American populations, aiding European conquest.
• Slavery and Plantation Economy
  • African slaves worked on American plantations producing sugar and cotton for Europe.
• Shift in World Trade:
  • 15th Century: China’s isolation reduced its role in trade.
  • 18th Century; Europe became the global hub, overtaking China and India.

2.1 A World Economy Takes Shape

• Three Flows of Economy: Trade (goods), labour (migration), capital (investments).
• Corn Laws in Britain: Restricted cheap grain imports, repealed to lower food prices.
• Agricultural Expansion: Lands in Eastern Europe, Russia, America, and Australia cleared for British food demand.
• Infrastructure Development: Railways, harbors built; funded by London’s financial centres.
• Global Migration: ~50 million emigrated from Europe; total ~150 million worldwide.
• Colonial Impact: Punjab’s irrigation canals created Canal Colonies for export crops.

2.2 Role of Technology

• Key Inventions: Railways, steamships, telegraph.
• Refrigerated Ships: Revolutionised meat trade, reducing costs and improving diets in Europe.

2.3 Late Nineteenth-Century Colonialism

• European Conquests: Africa divided in 1885 (Berlin Conference); Britain, France, Belgium, Germany expanded colonies.
• Colonial Exploitation: Borders drawn arbitrarily, causing social and ecological disruptions.

2.4 Rinderpest (Cattle Plague)

• Spread: Infected cattle from British Asia brought to East Africa.
• Impact: killed 90% of cattle, destroying African livelihoods.
• Forced Labour: Africans were pushed into plantations and mines due to scarcity of resources.

2.5 Indentured Labour Migration from India

• Origins: Workers from UP, Bihar, Tamil Nadu migrated to plantations in the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, etc.
• Conditions: Contracts often misleading; harsh working environments.
• Cultural Fusion: Traditions like Hosay, chutney music, and Rastafarianism emerged.
• Abolition: Indentured labour system ended in 1921.

2.6 Indian Entrepreneurs Abroad

• Shroffs and Chettiars: Financed export agriculture in Asia.
• Sindhi Traders: Set up global emporia for tourists, especially after safe passenger vessels were introduced.

2.7 Indian Trade and the Global System

• Decline of Indian Textiles: British tariffs and competition reduced India’s textile exports.
• Rise of Raw Material Exports: Cotton, indigo, opium became major exports.
• Trade Surplus: Britain used India’s trade surplus to offset deficits elsewhere ad pay home charges (e.g. pensions, remittances).

Economic Changes:

• Three flows in the global economic: Trade (goods like wheat, cloth), labour migration, and capital movement.
• Interconnected global economy shaped by migration, trade, and investments.

A World Economy Takes Shape

• Food Production:
  • Population growth increased demand for food grains in Britain.
  • Corn Laws (restricted imports) abolished, leading to cheaper food imports, unemployment in agriculture, and migration.
• Global Agriculture Economy:
  • Lands cleared in Eastern Europe, Russia, America, and Australia for Britain food demand.
  • Infrastructure (railways, harbours) developed for trade.
  • ~50 million Europeans migrated globally for labour.
• Role of Technology
  • Technological advances (railways, steamships, telegraphs) reduced costs and improved efficiency.
  • Refrigerated Ships: Enabled meat transport, lowering costs and diversifying diets in Europe.
• Late Nineteenth-Century Coloinalism
  • colonisation disrupted economies and livelihoods
  • African Example:
    • Berlin Conference (1885): European powers divided Africa.
    • Rinderpest (cattle plague): Destroyed African livelihoods, forced wage labour for colonial economies.
• Indentured Labour Migration from India
  • Migration Causes: Decline of cottage industries, high land rents, and debt.
  • Destinations: Caribbean, Mauritius, Fiji, Ceylon, Malaya, Assam.
  • Harsh working conditions; cultural blending (e.g. Chutney music, Hosay).
  • Nationalist opposition ended indentured labour in 1921.
• Indian Entrepreneurs Abroad
  • Indian Traders and Bankers:
    • Financed export agriculture in Asia and Africa.
    • Notable groups; Shikaripuri Shroffs, Nattukottai Chettiars.
• Indian Trade and Colonialism
  • Decline in Indian manufactured exports (cotton) due to British tariffs and competition.
  • Increase in raw material exports (cotton, indigo, opium)
  • Britain’s trade surplus with India financed its global trade deficits and home charges.

Wartime Transformations (1914-1918)

• Power Blocs: Allies (Britain, France, Russia later USA) vs. Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman turkey)
• First Modern Industrial War: Use of machine guns, tanks, aircraft, chemical weapons; massive destruction (9 million dead, 20 million injured).
• Economic Impact: Workforce reduced, incomes declined; industries shifted to war propuction.
• US as a Creditor: Britain borrowed heavily from the US, making the US a leading creditor.

Post-War Recovery

• Britain’s Crisis: Lost dominance in Indian and international markets; burdened with huge debts.
• Economic Boom and Bust: War boom ended, leading to production cuts, unemployment, and reduced expenditures.
• Agriculture Crisis: Wheat glut after the war led to falling prices, declining rural incomes, and rising farmer debts.

Rise of Mass Production and Consumption

• Mass Production: Henry Ford’s assembly line increased output and lowered costs e.g. T-Model Ford).
• High Wages: Workers earned more ($5/day), boosting purchasing power.
• Consumer Boom: Increased demand for cars appliances, and housing financed by credit systems.
• Global Recovery: US investments and exports supported European recovery and global trade.

The Greate Depression (1929-1935)

• Global Decline: Production, employment, and trade collapsed worldwide.
• Cause:
  • Agricultural overproduction and falling prices.
  • Reduced US loans and trade barriers worsened the crisis.
  • Bank and business failures in the US.
• Impact: Mass unemployment, loss of homes and assets, and a collapse of consumer prosperity.

India and the Great Depression

• Trade Decline: Indian exports and imports halved; wheat prices fell by 50%.
• Agricultural Crisis:Peasants suffered from falling prices and unchanged revenue-demands; increased debts and land mortgaging.
• Jute Crisis: Jute prices crashed by 60%,pushing Bengal farmers into deeper debt.
• Gold Exports: India became a major gold exporter, aiding Britain’s recovery but not Indian peasants.
• Urban Relief: Falling prices benefited salaried employees and landowners; industrial investments grew under tariff protection.

The Second World War (1939-1945)

• Fought between Axis (Nazi Germany, Japan, Italy) and Allies (Britain, France, Soviet Union, US)
• Over 60 million deaths (3% of the 1939 population).
• Massive civilian casualties, widespread destruction in Europe and Asia.
• Economic devastation and social disruption; long and difficult reconstruction.

Post-war Settlement and Bretton Woods Institutions

• Lessons from inter-war years:
  • Mass production requires mass consumption.
  • Full employmen needs governmen intervention.
  • Governments must control goods, capital, and labour flows.
• Bretton Woods Conference (1944):
  • Established IMF (external surpluses/deficits) and World Bank (post-war reconstruction).
  • System based on fixed exchange rates (currencies pegged to USD; USD pegged to gold at $35/ounce).
  • US dominated decision-making in these institutions.
• Early Post-war Year
  • Era of rapid economic growth (1950-1970):
    • World trade grew by 8% annually, income by 5%
    • Low unemployment (<5%) industrial nations.
  • Spread of technology and industrial investments in developing nations
• Decolonisation and Independence
  • Most Asian and African colonies gained independence (1940s-60s).
  • Challenges: Poverty, lack of resources, colonial exploitation.
  • IMF and World Bank shifted focus to developing countries in the late 1950s.
  • Formation of Group of 77 (G-77)
    • Demanded a New International Economic Order (NIEO)
      • Control over natural resources.
      • Fair prices for raw materials.
      • Better access for manufactured goods in global markets.
• End of Bretton Woods and Globalisation
  • Collapse of fixed exchange rate system in the 1970s.
  • Developing countries borrowed from private institutions, leading to debt crises.
  • Industrial nations faced unemployment (1970s-1990s).
  • MNCs shifted production to low-wage countries like China.
  • China’s economic policies and Soviet collapse integrated more countries into the global economy.
  • Rapid economic growth in countries like India, China, and Brazil.

• Quick Revision of Social Science Class 10
• Class 10 History Chapter 1 The Rise of Nationalism in Europe
• Class 10 History Chapter 2 Nationalism in India