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Peasants and Farmers:

 The coming of Mordern Agriculture in England: On June 1 1830 many farmers of England found their barn and haystack burning by a fire. There were many cases which reported of burning of barn or at times the entire farm house. On 28 August 1830 a threasing machine was destroyed by the labours. Over that time 387 threasing machines were destroyed. Landlords received threatening letters demanding to stop the use of these machines which deprived workmen of their livelihood. These entire letters were signed in the name of Captain Swing.  New Demands of Grain: From the mid-18th century the population of England expanded rapidly. The population of England was 4 times what it used to be. And as the population increased the demands of grain also increased. By the end of the 18th century France was in war with England. Due to this there was a disturbance in the trade and food grain prices for England were very high. This encouraged the landowners to enclose lands for grain cultivation.  The Age of Enclosures: Even though the population increased in England, England still produced 80% of the food it consumed rest was imported from outside. This was only possible because farmers started converting waste lands into cultivated land, by growing turnip and clover in their fields. Turnip and clover increases the nitrogen component in the soil.  What happened to the poor? Enclosures filled the pocket of the landlords, but it made the poor a lot poorer. Due to the enclosures the poor people couldnt collect wood, hunt or graze their animals. Everything belonged to the landlords and everything had a price which they could not afford. The rights of the poor people was disappearing and they were forced to leave their homes in search for jobs for their survival.

 The introduction of threasing machines: During the Napoleonic wars prices of food grains were high and farmers expanded their production. Due to the shortage of labour farmers started buying threasing

machines. They complained about the labourers how difficult it was to handle them. When the war ended and millions of soldiers returned home, they found themselves replaced by the threasing machines. They needed jobs to survive. At this time food grain was imported from Europe to England and prices declined. This was the time when the Captain Swing riots started taking place.  Conclusion: The coming of modern technology in England meant many changes like open fields disappeared, many right of peasants were undermined. The richer became powerful and the labourer became unstable, their jobs insecure and livelihood miserable.  The wheat Farmers: The urban population of USA was growing and the export market was becoming even bigger. As demands increased the prices also increased. The spread of railway made it easy to transport. By the first World War the Russian supplies of wheat was cut off and USA had to feed Europe.  The coming of new technology: In 1831 Cyrus McCormick invented the first mechanical reaper which could harvest 500 acres worth of wheat in just two weeks. The price of wheat was high and was on the demands, the new machines allowed the farmers to cultivate their lands much faster and easier.  What happened to the poor? The machines brought misery to the farmers many of the farmers bought these machines thinking that the wheat prices would remain high. Some farmers tool loans from the banks but found it very hard to pay back. Some farmers deserted their farms and looked for jobs elsewhere.  Dust Bowl: The expansion of Wheat agriculture created problems in the 1930 the dust storms began to blow and the black blizzards started flowing in into USA day after day year after year. After this the people of USA found out that they had to respect the ecology of the nature and not to push it to its limits.

 A Taste for Tea: The Trade with China Opium production in India was linked to the story of the Chinese and British trade. In the late 18th century the East India Company was buying tea and silk from china to sell it in England. As tea became popular in England, large amount of tea was imported from china and the East India Company depended on this trade of tea. But in exchange the Chinese didnt accept any goods they wanted silver coins. But if the merchants gave them coins then that meant that Englands treasure will deplete. So the traders found another way. Opium is introduced in china by the Portuguese but it was soon banned by the emperor due to its addiction. The traders of England started exchanging the tea goods for the opium. In just a few years about 4 million Chinese people were addicted to smoking opium. Due to this the demand for opium increased and therefore created a balance in the trade.  Where did the Opium come from? Opium was produced by the Indian peasants. When the British conquered Bengal they started forcing the farmers to grow opium in there lands. But to grow opium it required good maintained lands. So the Britishers took over the lands of the farmers. Growing of opium also required good care, so the Britishers forced the Indian peasants to grow opium. Unwillingly the peasants had to grow opium. And at last the wage paid to the peasants was very low and it was unprofitable for the cultivators.  How were the Unwilling Cultivators made to produce Opium? The British government made production possible because they went in the rural areas of Bengal and Bihar were a large number of farmers did have any land and also didnt have the money to work on other lands. The British government offered them loans through the landlords. The peasants looked at it as a way to get rid of their suffering. But it was actually a trap by accepting the loan they were now slaves of the British government. They were forced to produce opium in their fields and sell it to the agents for a lower price. Soon the peasants grew tired of this and they started selling the opium to pykras for a higher price. Soon the British government banned all opium trading illegal and after some time there were many opium producers who produced and sold the opium at a higher price. To the Britishers it was illegal so they had all their agents confiscate and destroy all the opium crops.

Forest Society and Colonialism


 Land to be Improved: In 1600 one sixth of the Indias landmass was under cultivation. As the population increased and demand for food went up the peasants extended the boundary for cultivation. In this age cultivation increased for many reason some of them are   The Britishers encouraged the production of crops like sugar, wheat and cotton. The colonial state thought that forest was unproductive and they considred that the wilderness should be brought down. So about 6.7 million hectare was cultivated.

 Main Causes for the decline in the Forest: (i) (ii) (iii) Royal navy needed timber for the construction of their ships. They needed wood for fuel, railway tracks and sleepers. Large area of forest was cleared for the plantation of tea, coffe and rubber.

 The rise of Commercial Forestry: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Dietric Brand was the first Inspector General of Forests. Felling of trees and grazing of animals was restricted to preserve forest for timber production. The 1878 act divided the forest into three parts reserved, protected and village forest. Villager could not take anything from the forest even for their own use.

 How were the lives of the people affected? (i) It was difficult for the villagers because everything they depended on came from the forest like roots, leaves, fruits, animals and vegetables. (ii) Taking wood from the forest for building houses, grazing cattles collecting fruits, hunting and fishing were illegal. (iii) It was also common that the forest guards harassed the bastar people.

 How did forest civilization affect cultivation?

(i)

(ii) (iii)

European foresters regarded shifting cultivation practice as harmful for the forest. They thought that the land which was used few years for cultivation could not grow trees for timber. Shifting cultivation also made it hard for the government to calculate taxes. So the government decided to ban shifting cultivation.

 The People of Bastar: (i) Bastar is a part of Chhattisgarh and on the borders of Orissa. (ii) The people of bastar think that forest a gift given to them and to take care of the earth by giving offerings, they also show respect to the spirits of rivers and forest. (iii) If the people of Bastar want to go out of their boundary they have to pay a small fee (devsari)  The fears of people: (i) The villagers had been suffering from increased land rents and frequent demands of free labour by the colonial officers. (ii) The initiative was taken by the Dhurwas of kanger forest. In 1910, messages inviting the villagers to rebel against the British started circulating between villages. (iii) William War, was a missionary who noticed the rebels.  Forest Transformation in Java: (i) The colonial power in these land were the Dutch. (ii) The Dutch colonised this land for the same purpose that they wanted twood for the construction of their ships.  The woodcutters of Java: (i) Kalangas of Java were a community of skilled forest cutters and shifting cultivation. (ii) The kalangas were a important figure in the lives of the Java people.  Dutch Science Forestry: (i) The Dutch first imposed rents on land being cultivated in the forest and then exempted some villagers from these rents if they worked collectively to provide free labour and buffaloes for cutting and transporting of timber. This was knows as blandongdiensten system. (ii) Right to cultivate forest land was restricted.

 Samins challenge: (i) Suronkito Samin began questioning the ownership of the forest. He said that the state has not created wind water and earth so they could not own it. Some people who helped Samin were his son-in-laws. (ii) Some of the Samins protested by lying on the grounds when the Dutch came to survey their lands. (iii) Some of them refused to pay taxes.

History and Sport: The Story of Cricket


 The Historical development of cricket as a Game in England: (i) Length of the pitch is 22 yards but the length of the ground in not specified. (ii) The written laws of cricket were drawn up in 1744. (iii) Stumps must be 22 inches high and the bail across them six inches. (iv) The ball must weight 5-6 ounces. (v) The worlds first club was formed in Hambledon in 1970 and the Marylebone Cricket Club was founded in 1787. (vi) In 1788 the MCC published its first revision of laws of cricket. (vii) The changes that the MCC brought to the game of cricket are: - Ball should be pitched overhand not underhand. - The weight of the ball was limited. - The width of the bat was four inches. - The leg before the wicket was published. (LPW)  Cricket and Victorian England: (i) In cricket the rich people who could afford to play cricket were called amateurs and the poor who played it for a living were called the professionals. (ii) The rich were called amateurs for two reasons: - They considered this sport as a kind and leisure sport. - There was not enough money in the game of cricket for the rich to be interested. (iii) Amateurs were the batsmen and the professionals were the bowler. (iv) The captain of the team of cricket was always a batsman.

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