The Rise of Nationalism in Europe Class 10

Notes Social Science History Chapter 1

Nation (State):
A large number of people of mainly common descent, language, history, inhabiting a
territory bounded by defined limits and forming a society under one government is
called a nation.

Frederic Sorrieu and his visualization:

In 1848, Frederic Sorrieu, a French artist, prepared a series of four prints, visualizing
his dream of a world made up of ‘democratic and social republics’, as he called them.

1. The first print shows the people of Europe and America marching in a long
train, and offering homage to the Statue of Liberty as they pass by it. A
female figure carries a torch of enlightenment in one hand and the Charter
of the Rights of Man, in the other hand.
2. On the earth lies the shattered remains of the symbols of absolutist
institutions.
3. In Sorrieu’s Utopian vision, the people of the world are grouped as distinct
nations, identified through their flags and national costumes.
4. Leading the procession are USA and Switzerland, followed by France and
Germany. Following Germany are Austria, Kingdom of the two Sicilies,
Lombardy, Poland, England, Ireland, Hungary and Russia.
5. From the heavens above, Christ, saints and angels gaze at the scene. The
artist symbolizes fraternity among the nations of the world.

The French Revolution and the idea of Nation:

1. Growth of nationalism in France.

2. Introduction of various measures and practices created sense of collective
identity among the people of France.
3. Change of monarchy and establishment of republic, creation of new
assembly.
4. Rise of Napoleon and his reforms. Revolutionaries help other people of
Europe to become nation.

The making of Nationalism in Europe:

 Germany, Italy and Switzerland were divided into Kingdom, duchies and
cantons these divisions were having their autonomous rulers.
 Uses of different languages.
 Rise of middle class.
 Industrialization in England, emergence of a working class and liberalism.
 New conservation after 1815 and preservation of traditional institution.
 After the defeat of Napoleon, the European government follows the spirit of
conservatism. Conservative regimes were autocratic Revolutionaries at
that time fought for liberty and freedom.
Example, Mazzini’s young Italy and Young Europe.
Unification of Italy:
Giuseppe Mazzini had played an important role in the unification of Italy. He formed a
secret society called ‘Young Italy’ in Marseilles, to spread his goals. He believed Italy
could not continue to be a patchwork of small states and had to be forged into a
single unified republic. During 1830’s, Mazzini sought to put together a coherent
programme for a unitary Italian Republic. As uprisings in 1831 and 1848 had failed,
the mantle now fell on Sardinia-Piedmont under its ruler Emmanuel II to unify Italy.

Under Chief Minister Cavour, Sardinia-Piedmont succeeded in destroying the Austrian

forces in 1859. Even Garibaldi joined the fray. In 1860, they marched into South Italy
and the kingdom of the two Sicilies and with the help of the local peasants, drove out
the Spanish rulers. In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed as King of United Italy.

Unification of Germany:
In the 18th century, Germany was divided into a number of states. Some of these
states ceased to exist during the Napoleonic wars. At the end of the war, there were
still 39 independent states in Germany. Prussia was most powerful, dominated by big
landlords known as Junkers.

 Nationalist feelings were widespread among middle class Germans who

had tried to unite the different regions of the German federation into a
nation-state governed by an elected Parliament.
 In May 1848, a large number of political associations came together to vote
for an all-German National Assembly. Their representatives met at
Frankfurt and the Frankfurt Assembly proposed the unification of Germany
as a constitutional monarchy under the King of Prussia as emperor
 The King of Prussia rejected the offer and the liberal initiative of nation
building was repressed by the combined forces of the monarchy, the
military and the ‘Junkers’.
 Then on, Prussia under its Chief Minister Otto Von Bismarck led the
movement for unification of Germany. Bismarck carried out this process
with the help of the Prussian army and the bureaucracy. He fought three
wars over seven years with Denmark, Austria and France. Prussia was
victorious in all these wars and the process of unification was completed as
a result of Prussia’s victory over France.
 Consequently, on 18th January 1871, an assembly comprising of princes of
German States, representatives of the army, important Prussian ministers
and Bismarck gathered in the Palace of Versailles and proclaimed the
Prussian King, Kaiser William, the new German Emperor.

Visualizing the Nation:

Marianne and Germania were both female allegories used by artists in the 19th
century to represent the nation.

1. In France she was named Marianne, a popular Christian name, which

underlined the idea of a people’s nation. Her characteristics were drawn
from those of liberty and republic—the red cap, the tri-colour, the cockade.
Statues of Marianne were erected in public squares as a national symbol of
unity. Marianne images were marked on coins and stamps.
2. Instead of just having the idea of father land, they wanted to implant a
suitable image in the minds of the people. They invariably chose the
 mother figure symbolizing nations—Britannia, Germania and Marianne
reminding us of our concept of Matribhumi.
3. Germania became the allegory of the German nation. Germania wears a
crown of oak leaves as German oak stands for heroism. It was hung from
the ceiling of St. Paul’s Church, where Frankfurt Parliament was convened,
to symbolize the liberal revolution.

Napoleonic Code:

1. The first major change was doing away with all privileges based on birth,
establishing equality before law and securing the right to property.
2. Administrative divisions were simplified.
3. Feudal system was abolished and peasants were freed from serfdom and
manorial dues (abuse of manorial lords).
4. In towns, guild restrictions were removed.
5. Transport and communication systems were improved.
6. Peasants, artisans, workers and new businessmen enjoyed a new found
freedom.
7. Businessmen and small-scale producers of goods in particular began to
realize that uniform laws, standardized weights and measures and a
common national currency would facilitate the movement and exchange of
goods and capital from one region to another.

Nationalism and Imperialism:

Last quarter of the 19th century nationalism became a narrow creed with limited
ends, Intolerance Balkan became the sense of big power rivalry Nationalism, aligned
with imperialism cause of World War I. Idea of a Nationalism was now same
everywhere . But concept of National State was accepted universally.
Nationalism in India Class 10 Notes Social
Science History Chapter 3
Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of Satyagraha:
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in 1915 from South Africa. Gandhiji’s novel method
of mass agitation is known as ‘Satyagraha’. Satyagraha emphasized truth. Gandhiji
believed that if the cause is true, if the struggle is against injustice, then physical
force was not necessary to fight the oppressor. A satyagrahi can win the battle
through non-violence. People, including oppressors, had to be persuaded to see the
truth. Truth was bound to ultimately triumph.

In India the first was at Champaran in 1916 to inspire plantation workers to struggle
against oppressive plantation system. In 1917 Satyagraha at Kheda to support
peasants.

In 1918 Satyagraha at Ahmadabad:

Among the cotton mill workers.

‘Hind Swaraj’:
The famous book written by Mahatma Gandhi, which emphasized non-cooperation to
British rule in India.

New economic situation created in India by the First World War:

1. Manchester imports into India declined as the British mills were busy with
war production to meet the needs of the army paving the way for the
Indian mills to supply for the huge home market
2. As the war prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war
needs. As a result, new factories were set up, new workers were employed
and everyone was made to work longer hrs.
3. Cotton production collapsed and exports of cotton cloth from Britain fell
dramatically after the war, as it was unable to modernize and compete with
US, Germany, Japan. Hence within colonies like India, local industrialists
gradually consolidated their position capturing the home market.

The Rowlatt Act of 1919:

It gave the British government enormous power to repress political activities and
allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
Jallianwala Bagh incident:
On 13th April 1919, a crowd of villagers who had come to attend a Baisakhi fair,
gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwala Bagh. Being from outside the city,
many were not aware of the martial law that had been imposed as a repressive
measure. General Dyer with his British troops entered the park and closed the only
exit point without giving any warning to the assembled people and ordered the troops
to fire at the crowds, killing hundreds. This brutal act of General Dyer provoked
unparalleled indignation. As the news of Jallianwala Bagh spread, crowds took to the
streets in many North Indian towns. There were hartals, clashes and attacks on
government buildings.

Non-cooperation programme was adopted at Nagpur in Dec. 1920.

Effects of the Non-cooperation Movement on the economy of India:

Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops were picketed and foreign cloth was burnt. The import of
foreign cloth halved between 1921-1922. Its value dropped from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore. Many
merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. People began discarding
imported clothes and wearing Indian ones. The production of Indian textile mills and hand looms went up.
Use of khadi was popularized.
Non-cooperation Movement in the countryside:

 In Awadh, the peasants’ movement led by Baba Ramchandra was against

talukdars and landlords who demanded extremely high rents and a variety
of other ceases from the peasants. Peasants were forced to work in
landlords’ farms without any payment (beggar). Peasants had no security
of tenure, thus being regularly evicted so that they could acquire no right
over the leased land. The demands of the peasants were— reduction of
revenue, abolition of beggar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.
 In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh a militant guerrilla movement spread
in the early 1920s against the closure of forest areas by the colonial
government, preventing people from entering the forests to graze their
cattle, or to collect fuel wood and fruits. They felt that their traditional
rights were being denied.
 For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely in
and out of the confined space in which they were enclosed. It meant
retaining a link with the village from which they had come. Under the
Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation workers were not permitted to
leave tea gardens without permission. In fact, the permission was hardly
granted. When they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of
workers defied the authorities and left for their homes.

Slowing down of Non-cooperation Movement in cities:

 Khadi cloth was more expensive than mill cloth and poor people could not
afford to buy it. As a result, they could not boycott mill cloth for too long.
 Alternative Indian institutions were not there which could be used in place
of the British ones.
These were slow to come up.
  So, students and teachers began trickling back to government schools and
lawyers joined back work in government courts.

Khilafat movement:
Khilafat movement was started by Mahatma Gandhi and the Ali Brothers, Muhammad
Ali and Shaukat Ali in response to the harsh treatment given to the Caliph of Ottoman
empire and the dismemberment of the Ottoman empire by the British.

Chauri Chaura incident:

In February 1922, Gandhiji decided to launch a no tax movement. The police opened
fire at the people who were taking part in a demonstration, without any provocation.
The people turned violent in their anger and attacked the police station and set fire to
it. The incident took place at Chauri Chaura in Uttar Pradesh.

When the news reached Gandhiji, he decided to call off the Non-cooperation
movement as he felt that it was turning violent and that the satyagrahis were not
properly trained for mass struggle.

Swaraj Party was founded by C.R. Das and Moti Lai Nehru for return to council Politics.
Simon Commission 1928 and boycott. Lahore Congress session and demand for Puma
Swaraj in 1929. Dandi march and the beginning of civil Disobedience movement.
Features of Civil Disobedience Movement:

 People were now asked not only to refuse cooperation with the British but
also to break colonial laws.
 Foreign cloth was boycotted and people were asked to picket liquor shops.
 Peasants were asked not to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes.
 Students, lawyers and village officials were asked not to attend English
medium schools, colleges, courts and offices.

‘Salt March’:
On 31st January, 1930 Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven
demands, one of which was the demand to abolish Salt Tax. Salt was one of the most
essential food items consumed by the rich and poor alike and a tax on it was
considered an oppression on the people by the British Government. Mahatma
Gandhi’s letter was an ultimatum and if his demands were not fulfilled by March 11,
he had threatened to launch a civil disobedience campaign. So, Mahatma Gandhi
started his famous Salt March accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers. The
march was over 240 miles, from Gandhiji’s ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati
coastal town of Dandi. The volunteers walked for 24 days, about 10 miles a day.
Thousands came to hear Mahatma Gandhi wherever he stopped, and he told them
what he meant by Swaraj and urged them to peace-fully defy the British. On 6th April,
he reached Dandi, and ceremonially violated the law, manufacturing salt by boiling
sea water. This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Who participated in the movement?

Civil Disobedience Movement came into force in various parts of the country. Gandhiji
led the salt march from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi with his followers starting the Civil
Disobedience Movement. In the countryside, the rich Patidars of Gujarat and Jats of
Uttar Pradesh were active in the movement. As rich communities were very hard hit
by the trade depression and falling prices, they became enthusiastic supporters of the
Civil Disobedience Movement. Merchants and industrialists supported the movement
by giving financial assistance and also by refusing to buy and sell the imported goods.
The industrial working class of Nagpur region also participated in the Civil
Disobedience Movement. Railway workers, dock workers, mineral of Chhota Nagpur,
etc. participated in protest rallies and boycott campaigns.

Limits of the movement

less participation by untouchables—Ambedkar for separate electorate and Poona pact
of 1932, Luke warm response by some Muslim Political Organization.

Provisions of Poona pact of 1932:

Signed between Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji. It gave depressed classes reserved seats
in central provincial councils but they were to be voted by the general electorate.

The sense of collective belonging:

Though nationalism spread through the experience of united struggle but a variety of
cultural processes captured the imagination of Indians and promoted a sense of
collective belonging:

1. Use of figures or images: The identity of India came to be visually

associated with the image of Bharat Mata. Devotion to the mother figure
came to be seen as evidence of one’s nationalism
2. Indian folklore: Nationalists started recording and using folklores and tales,
which they believed, gave a true picture of traditional culture that had
been corrupted and damaged by outside forces. So, preservation of these
became a way to discover one’s national identity and restore a sense of
price in one’s past.
3. Use of icons and symbols in the form of flags: Carrying the tricolour flag
and holding it aloft during marches became a symbol of defiance and
promoted a sense of collective belonging.
4. Reinterpretation of history: Indians began looking into the past to
rediscover the glorious developments in ancient times in the field of art,
science, mathematics, religion and culture, etc. This glorious time was
followed by a history of decline when India got colonized, as Indian history
was miserably written by the colonizers.
The Making of Global World Class 10 Notes
Social Science History Chapter 4
Trade:
The activity of buying selling or exchanging goods or services between people firms or
countries.

Global inter contentedness:

As early as 3000 BCE (Before the Christian Era), an active coastal trade linked the
Indus Valley civilization with present day West Asia. Thus, trade, migration of people,
movement of capital, goods, ideas, inventions and many more have helped in creating
a global world in ancient times.

Christopher Columbus:
Christopher Columbus was the explorer who discovered the vast continent of America.
He took the sea route to reach there.

First World War:

The war which broke out in 1914 engulfed almost the entire world. The war was
fought in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Because of the unprecedented extent of
its spread and its total nature, it is known as the First World War.

‘Chutney music’:
‘Chutney music’, popular in Trinidad and Guyana is a creative contemporary
expression of the post-indenture experience. It is an example of cultural fusion
between Caribbean islands and India.

Role of the ‘Silk route’:

The routes on which cargoes carried Chinese silk to the west were known as ‘Silk
routes. Historians have discovered several silk routes over land and by sea, covering
vast regions of Asia and connecting Asia with Europe and Northern Africa. Even
pottery from China, textile and spices from India and South Asia also travelled the
same route. In return, precious metals like gold and silver flowed from Europe to Asia.
Culturally, Buddhism emerged from Eastern India and spread in several directions
through the silk route.

Indentured labour is a bonded labourer under contract to work for an employer for a
specific amount of time, to pay for his passage to a new country or home.
Reasons why it can be described as new system of slavery:

 Many migrants agreed to take up work to escape poverty and oppression in

their home villages. They were cheated and were provided false
information by the agents regarding their destination, modes of travel, the
nature of work and working conditions.
  Often migrants were not even told that they were to go on long sea
journeys.
 The tasks allotted to them on plantations were extremely heavy and could
not be completed in a day. They were beaten or imprisoned.
 Deductions were made from wages if the work was considered
unsatisfactory.
 Living and working conditions were harsh and there were few legal rights
to protect them.

Com laws:
A Com Law was first introduced in Britain in 1804, when the landowners, who
dominated Parliament, sought to protect their profits by imposing a duty on imported
com. This led to an expansion of British wheat farming and to high bread prices.
Effects of Abolition of Corn Laws:
This allowed the merchants in England to import food grains from abroad at lower
costs —

 It led to widespread unemployment in the agricultural sector.

 It also resulted in the rise of a prosperous capitalist class in the urban
areas.
 Unemployment in the rural sector forced the movement of labour from
agricultural to industrial sector.

Europeans were attracted to Africa because:

Africa had vast resources of land and minerals. Europeans came to Africa hoping to
establish plantations and mines to produce crops ‘and minerals which they could
export to Europe. The loss of cattle disease destroyed African livelihoods. Planters,
mine owners and colonial governments now successfully monopolized what scare
cattle resources remained to force Africans into the labour market. African countries
were militarily weak and backward. So, they were in no position to resist military
aggression by European states.

‘Food offers many examples of long-distance cultural exchange’:

 Traders and travellers introduced food crops to the lands they travelled.
Many of our common foods, such as potatoes, maize, soya, groundnuts,
tomatoes, chilies and sweet potatoes came from America.
 It is believed that noodles travelled West from China to become ‘Spaghetti’
or perhaps Arab traders took pasta to fifth century Sicily (an island in Italy).
Indian ‘Rotis’ have become ‘tortillas’ in Mexico, America and western
countries.
 Europe’s poor people began to eat better and live longer with the
introduction of potato.

Economic effect of the First World War on Britain:’

1. To finance war expenditure, Britain had borrowed liberally from US. This
meant that at the end of the war, Britain was burdened with huge external
debts,
2. The war had disturbed Britain’s position of dominance in the Indian market.
In India, the nationalist movement had gathered strength and anti-British
 feeling had become stronger among common people. Promotion of Indian
industries had become one of the objectives of the nationalist leaders,
which adversely affected industries in Britain.
3. There was widespread increase in unemployment coupled with decrease in
agricultural and industrial production. Cotton production collapsed and
export of cotton from Britain fell dramatically.
4. Unable to modernize, Britain was finding it difficult to compete with U.S.,
Germany and Japan internationally.

Rinderpest (cattle plague).

An infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo, etc.

Opium trade, the traffic that developed in the 18th and 19th centuries in which
Great Britain, exported opium grown in India to China.

The Great Depression.

An economic situation in which most parts of the world experienced catastrophic
declines in production, employment, incomes and trade. Began around 1929 and
lasted till the mid-1930s.

Great Depression in the US between 1929-30:

1. Agricultural Overproduction. Falling of agricultural prices had made it even

worse. As the prices fell, the agricultural income declined. To meet this
situation, farmers brought larger volume of produce to the market to
maintain their small income. The excessive supply couldn’t be sold due to
lack of buyers and farm produce rotted.
2. US Loan Crisis. In the mid-1920s, many countries financed their
investments through loans from the US. The overseas lenders panicked at
the first sign of trouble. Countries that depended crucially on US loans
faced an acute crisis due to the withdrawal of US loans. It led to the failure
of major banks and collapse of currencies.

NIEO:
Although there was unprecedented economic growth in the West and Japan, nothing
was done about the poverty and lack of development in countries which were earlier
colonies. Thus, there arose a need for the developing nations to organised themselves
into the G-77 group to demand a New International Economic Order (NIEO). NIEO
meant a system that would give them control over their own natural resources, more
development assistance, fairer prices for raw materials and
and better access for their manufactured goods in developed markets.

Bretton Woods Agreement:

Tire main aim of the post-war international economic system was to preserve
economic stability and full employment in the industrial world. A framework of the
scheme was prepared. The famous economist John Maynard Keynes directed the
preparation of the frame-work and it was agreed upon at the United Nations Monetary
and Financial Conference held in July 1944 at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire in
USA. According to the Bretton Woods Conference, the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the World Bank were set up. IMF was set up to deal with external surpluses
and deficits of its member nations and the World Bank was to finance post-war
reconstruction. These two are referred to as Bretton Woods institutions or, sometimes,
‘Bretton Woods twins. Decision making in these institutions was controlled by the
Western industrial powers and the US even had Veto over their key decisions. The
post-war economic system is often described as the Bretton Wood system.

The Age of Industrialisation Class 10 Notes

Social Science History Chapter 5
Key Concepts:

 An association of craftsmen or merchants following same craft to protect

the members interest and supervise the standard of the work.
 Tanning. Convert raw hide into leather by soaking in liquid containing
tannic acid.
 Food processing. Technique of chopping and mixing food for making jam,
juices, etc.
 Victorian Britain. Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria.
 Brewery. A place where beer etc. is brewed commercially. Brewing is a
process of infusion, boiling and fermentation.
 Vagrant. A person without a settled home or regular work.
 Bourgeois. The upper middle class.
 Gomastha. An Indian word meaning an agent, a middle man between the
merchant and weavers.
 Stapler. A person who staples or sorts wool according to its fibre.

Industrialisation:
Production of goods with the help of machines in factories. The first industrialized
Nation-Britain.
Features:
Handmade goods to machine made goods in factories, cottage to factory, large scale
production, started in England in later parts of 18th Century. In course of time, it
affected all systems of production.

Before Industrial Revolution

Proto-Industrialisation:
  Production in 17th century, artisans worked for merchants to produce
goods, artisans took raw material from merchants for production. Their
cottages functioned as a factory.
 Association of producers, trained craft-people maintained control over
production, restricted entry of new traders. This period saw the coming of
factories.

Coming up of factories:

 Early factories in England came up by the 1730s.

 First symbol of new era-cotton mill
 Many factories sprang up in England
 A series of inventions took place in the form of carding, twisting, spinning
and rolling.

The pace of Industrial change:

 Cotton and iron and steel industries were the most dynamic industries.
 New industries could not displace traditional ones.
 Technological changes occurred slowly.
 Steam engine invented by James Watt had no buyers for years.
 New technologies were slow to be accepted.

Hand labour and stream power:

 In Victorian Britain there was no shortage of human labour.

 In many industries the demand for labour was seasonal.
 Range of products could be produced only with hand labour.
 There was a demand for intricate designs.
 Upper classes preferred things produced by hand.

Life of the worker:

 Abundance of labour affected the life of workers badly.

 Labour was seasonal.
 Fear of unemployment made workers hostile to new technology.
 Women labours protested against the introduction of the Spinning Jenny.
 Introduction of railways opened greater opportunities.

Industrialisation in the colonies:

 Textile industry was the centre of industrialization in India.

Age of Indian textiles

 Finer varieties of cotton from India were exported.

 A vibrant sea trade operated through pre-colonial ports.

What happened to weavers?

 East India Company appointed “gomasthas” to collect supply from

weavers.
  Weavers lost bargaining power and lost lands for settling loans.

Gomasthas:
The Gomasthas were paid servants whose job was to supervise weavers, collect
supplies and examine the quality of cloth.

 The aim of the East India Company behind appointing gomasthas was to
work out a system of management and control that would eliminate
competition, control costs and ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk.
 Soon there were clashes between the weavers and the gomasthas who
began ill-treating the weavers.
 They did not allow the company weavers to sell their produce to other
buyers. Once an order
was placed, the weavers were given loans to purchase the raw material.
Weavers who had accepted loans from the company had to hand over the
cloth they produced to the gomasthas only.
 The weavers were forced to sell their goods to company’s officials.
When the American Civil War broke out and cotton supplies from the US
were cut off, Britain’s demand for raw cotton from India increased.

Manchester comes to India:

 By 1950s, India began to import Manchester cotton from Britain.

 With the rise in Manchester imports, Indian export and local market
declined.
 Supply of raw cotton in India decreased.
 Weavers were forced to buy cotton at high prices.

Factories come up:

 Industries were set up in different regions.

 First cotton mill came in Bombay in 1854.
 The first jute mill came up in Bengal in 1855.
 1830s-1840s—Dwarakanath Tagore setup six-joint stock companies in
Bengal.
 Capital was accumulated through other trade networks.
 Till the First World War European managing agencies in fact controlled
large sectors of Indian industries.

Where did the workers come from?

 Most of the workers came from Indian villages.

Peculiarities of industrial growth:

 Early Indian cotton mills made coarse cotton yam.

 During the First World War Manchester imports to India declined.
 Indian factories supplied goods for war needs.
Small scale industries predominated:

 Most of the Industries were located in Bengal and Bombay.

 A small portion of total industrial labour worked in factories.
 Use of fly shuttle increased handicraft.

Market for goods:

Advertisements helps in creating new consumers.

 When Manchester industrialists began selling cloth in India, they put labels
on the cloth bundles, to make the place of manufacture and the name of
the company familiar to the buyer. When buyers saw ‘Made in Manchester’,
written in bold on the label, they felt confident to buy the cloth.
 The labels carried images and were beautifully illustrated with images of
Indian gods and goddesses. The printed image of Krishna or Saraswati was
also intended to make the manufacture from a foreign land, appear familiar
to Indians.
 Manufacturers also printed calendars to popularize their products.
 When Indian manufacturers advertised, the nationalist message was clear
and loud. If you care for the nation, then buy only ‘Indian’ products.
Advertisements became a vehicle of the nationalist message of Swadeshi.

Print Culture and Modern World Class 10

Notes Social Science History Chapter 7
Printing in the early days:
Invention of Printing Press had a very lasting effect on the social and cultural life of
man. Print initially developed in East Asia and later developed through Europe and
India. Before the era of print or invention of Printing Press, writing of books was purely
manual affair. Books were handwritten and even illustrated. Calligraphy developed as
an art during that era. Calligraphy means the art of beautiful and stylish writing.

Printed matter Chinese tradition.

Chinese were the first to have a system of recruitment of civil service personal
through open examination. Printing remained confined to examination materials till
around the 16th century. Trade information was circulated among the traders through
printed materials. By 19th century mechanical printing press made its appearance in
China.

The First Printing Press was invented in 1430s by Johann Gutenberg. Johann
Gutenberg’s Bible was the most beautiful books ever printed. Germany took the lead
in revolutionizing printing all over Europe.

Features of handwritten manuscripts:

 They were copied on palm leaves or on handmade papers. Pages were

beautifully illustrated.
  They were pressed between wooden covers or sewn together to ensure
preservation.
 Manuscripts were available in vernacular languages. They were highly
expensive and fragile. They could not be read easily as script was written
in different styles. They were not widely used in everyday life.

Woodblock method became popular in Europe:

Production of handwritten manuscripts could not meet the ever increasing demand for
books. Copying was an expensive, laborious and time consuming business. The
manuscripts were fragile, awkward to handle and could not be carried around or read
easily. By the early 15th century, woodblocks started being widely used in Europe to
print textiles, playing cards and religious pictures with simple, brief texts.

Visual culture:
In the end of 19th century a new visual culture had started. With the increasing
number of printing presses visual images could be easily reproduced in multiple
copies. Painters like Raja Ravi Verma produced images for mass circulation. Cheap
prints and calendars were brought even by the poor to decorate the walls of their
houses.

Print popularized the ideas of the idea of the enlightenment thinkers:

 Collectively the writings of thinkers provided a critical commentary on

tradition, superstition and despotism.
 Scholars and thinkers argued for the rule of reason rather than custom and
demanded that everything to be judged through the application of reason
and rationality.
 They attacked the sacred authority of the church and the despotic power of
the state thus eroding the legitimacy of a social order based on tradition.
 The writing of Voltaire and Rousseau were read widely and those who read
these books saw the world through new eyes, eyes that were questioning
critical and rational

Development of reading mania in Europe:

A new forms of popular literature appeared to target new readers. There were ritual
calendars along with ballads and folk tales. In England penny chapbooks were carried
by petty peddlers known as chapmen and sold for a penny. In France these low priced
books were called Bibliotheque Bleue as they were bound in cheap blue covers.
Periodical presses developed to combine information on current affairs with
entertainment. The idea of scientists and scholars had now become more accessible
to the common people.

Impact of print on Indian women:

Writers started writing about the lives of women and this increased the number of
women readers. Women writers began to write their own autobiographies. They
highlighted the condition of women, their ignorance and how they were forced to do
hard domestic labor. A large section of Hindu writing was devoted to the education of
women. In the early 20th century the journals written by women became very popular
in which women’s education, widowhood, widow remarriage were discussed.

Print culture created the conditions within which the French Revolution:
The print popularized the ideas of the enlightened thinkers who attacked the authority
of the church and the despotic power of the state. The print created a new culture of
dialogue and debate and the public become aware of reasoning. They recognized the
need to question the existing ideas and beliefs. The literature of 1780s mocked the
royalty and criticized their morality and the existing social order.

India and Print Culture:

Print culture came to India with the coming of Portuguese missionaries. Konkani was
the first Indian language in which books were printed. The first Tamil book printed was
printed in 1579 and Malayalam book in 1713. English printing in India commenced
with the publication of Bengal Gazette in 1780. Printed tracts played a very significant
role in the spread of social reform movement in India.

The Vernacular Press Act:

 In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed by the British Government to
impose restrictions on vernacular press, which was responsible for
spreading nationalist ideas.
 The government started to keep a regular track of the vernacular
newspapers and had extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the
vernacular press.
 When a report was judged as seditious, the newspaper was warned, and if
the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized and the printing
machinery confiscated.