Knowledge Check-Industrialisation and Modern World
Knowledge Check: Our Universe
Q1: Which of the following best describes the Silk Routes in the pre-modern world?
A) A single straight road from China to Europe
B) A network of land and sea routes linking Asia, Europe and Africa
C) A sea route only between India and Arabia
D) A military route used only by armies
Q2: In the pre-modern world, which Indian ports were important links in long-distance trade networks?
A) Mumbai and Chennai
B) Tamralipta and Sopara
C) Goa and Kochi
D) Visakhapatnam and Paradeep
Q3: Which combination correctly matches region and its typical export in the pre-modern Afro-Asian trade?
A) Europe – silk, China – gold
B) Africa – slaves and gold, India – textiles and spices
C) India – furs, Africa – tea
D) China – coffee, India – wheat
Q4: Which statement about movement in the pre-modern world is TRUE?
A) Movement of ideas started only after the invention of the internet
B) Only goods moved, not people
C) Traders, pilgrims and soldiers carried ideas and technologies across regions
D) There was no religious travel before the 18th century
Q5: Why is Asia said to have dominated world trade before 1750?
A) Europe had no ships
B) Asian goods like textiles and spices were in high demand and Asian producers controlled supply
C) Africa refused to trade with Europe
D) There was no trade with Europe at all
Q6: Which transport system mainly powered long-distance trade before modern technology?
A) Motor cars and trains
B) Aeroplanes and trucks
C) Caravans with camels and horses, and sailing ships using wind
D) Metro rail and highways
Q7: Which of the following cities was a major Indian trading centre in the pre-modern period?
A) New Delhi
B) Calicut
C) Bengaluru
D) Chandigarh
Q8: Which non-material element spread along the Silk Routes?
A) Only weapons
B) Only gold coins
C) Religions like Buddhism and ideas like paper-making
D) Only agricultural seeds
Q9: The main link between Mediterranean Sea trade and Indian Ocean trade in the pre-modern period was through:
A) Baltic Sea
B) Red Sea and Persian Gulf
C) Black Sea only
D) Pacific Ocean
Q10: Which statement correctly contrasts pre-modern and modern trade?
A) Both depend equally on wind and animal power
B) Pre-modern trade was faster than modern trade
C) Pre-modern trade was slower and seasonal, modern trade is faster and year-round
D) Pre-modern trade used only trains
Q11: The 19th century world economy took shape mainly after which event?
A) Discovery of America
B) The Industrial Revolution and Napoleonic Wars
C) World War II
D) Cold War
Q12: In the 19th century, colonies like India mainly served as:
A) Centres of advanced technology
B) Sources of raw materials and markets for industrial goods
C) Independent industrial powers
D) Centres for nuclear research
Q13: Which technology combination most strongly increased the speed and scale of 19th century global trade?
A) Bicycles and bullock carts
B) Steamships, railways and telegraph
C) Internet and airplanes
D) Canals and hand carts only
Q14: When was the first railway line started in India under British rule?
A) 1757, Plassey–Murshidabad
B) 1853, Bombay–Thane
C) 1905, Delhi–Agra
D) 1947, Delhi–Kolkata
Q15: “Scramble for Africa” refers to:
A) African countries dividing Europe
B) European powers rapidly colonising African territories in the late 19th century
C) Only trade competition among African kingdoms
D) African independence movements after 1945
Q16: Which is an example of a raw material exported from colonies to European industries?
A) Textile machinery
B) Rubber from Africa and Southeast Asia
C) Rail engines
D) Telegraph wires
Q17: Which policy helped integrate 19th century world markets under British leadership?
A) Closed door policy
B) Protectionist tariffs
C) Free trade policy
D) Policy of autarky (self-sufficiency)
Q18: What was a major consequence of 19th century colonialism for colonies like India?
A) Balanced industrial development
B) Decline of traditional handicrafts and industries
C) Equal political partnership
D) End of global trade
Q19: Which statement correctly explains the unequal nature of 19th century world economy?
A) All countries got equal benefits
B) Colonies mainly supplied raw materials and bought costly finished goods
C) Colonies and Europe had exactly same roles
D) Only colonies decided world prices
Q20: Why was India called a “raw material appendage” of Britain in the 19th century?
A) India exported only finished goods
B) India supplied cheap raw materials and consumed British industrial goods
C) Britain supplied raw cotton to India
D) India had no role in British trade
Q21: The cattle disease “Rinderpest” that hit Africa in the 1890s is also known as:
A) Foot-and-mouth disease
B) Cattle plague
C) Bird flu
D) Swine fever
Q22: What was the immediate economic effect of Rinderpest on African societies?
A) Increase in cattle prices and prosperity
B) Destruction of nearly 90% of cattle and deep economic crisis
C) Rapid industrialisation
D) Growth of plantation agriculture only
Q23: How did the cattle plague indirectly help European colonial expansion in Africa?
A) It increased African military strength
B) It united African chiefs against Europe
C) It weakened African societies, making them more vulnerable to colonial control
D) It stopped all European trade with Africa
Q24: Which sector of African life was most directly hit by Rinderpest?
A) Software industry
B) Pastoral and cattle-based economy
C) Space research
D) Shipping industry
Q25: Which statement about Rinderpest is correct?
A) It was a human plague in European cities
B) It was a cattle disease that led to famine in parts of Africa
C) It affected only birds
D) It was a plant disease in Asia only
Q26: Rinderpest spread in Africa mainly along:
A) Railway lines only
B) Trade and military routes carrying infected cattle
C) Air routes
D) Internet connections
Q27: What social consequence followed the destruction of cattle in many African communities?
A) Increase in village festivals
B) Strengthening of traditional chiefs
C) Social breakdown and dependence on colonial powers for relief
D) Immediate industrial boom
Q28: Rinderpest is important in world history because it shows how:
A) A disease in animals can influence political control
B) Only technology changes history
C) Wars never affect economies
D) Epidemics affect humans only, not politics
Q29: Which of the following is NOT related to the impact of Rinderpest?
A) Famine in some regions
B) Decline of pastoral economy
C) Rise of African control over Europe
D) Greater vulnerability to colonial expansion
Q30: The cattle plague episode helps us understand that in colonial history:
A) Only guns shaped empires
B) Environmental and disease factors also shaped colonial outcomes
C) Animals had no role in history
D) Colonial expansion was unaffected by local crises
Q31: The term “inter-war period” in economic history refers to the years between:
A) 1815 and 1850
B) 1919 and 1939 (between World War I and World War II)
C) 1939 and 1945
D) 1900 and 1914
Q32: Which was a major economic problem faced by many countries in the inter-war years?
A) Complete absence of debt
B) War debts, inflation and unemployment
C) Unlimited prosperity for all
D) Only agricultural surplus without any crisis
Q33: The Great Depression is usually dated from the stock market crash of 1929 in:
A) London, UK
B) New York, USA
C) Tokyo, Japan
D) Berlin, Germany
Q34: During the Great Depression, Indian farmers mainly suffered because:
A) Crop prices rose sharply
B) Crop prices fell but land revenue demand remained high
C) There was no export at all before 1929
D) The British government cancelled all taxes
Q35: Which export items from India were badly hit during the Great Depression?
A) Jute and cotton textiles
B) Software services
C) Heavy machinery
D) Nuclear reactors
Q36: Which group in India also suffered due to factory closures and reduced production in the Great Depression?
A) Software engineers
B) Industrial workers in mills and factories
C) Space scientists
D) Bankers only
Q37: Which global trend correctly describes trade during the Great Depression?
A) Sharp rise in global trade
B) Sharp fall in global trade and prices
C) No change in trade patterns
D) Only Asian trade collapsed, others grew
Q38: Which of the following is a correct pair?
A) Inter-war period – complete stability
B) Great Depression – 1929 onwards crisis
C) Great Depression – 1815–1820 only
D) Inter-war economy – free from unemployment
Q39: In villages of India during the Great Depression, many peasants:
A) Became software exporters
B) Had to sell land or cattle to pay revenue and debts
C) Received full compensation from the colonial state
D) Stopped cultivating food crops altogether for no reason
Q40: Which statement best summarises the impact of the inter-war economic crisis on India?
A) India was completely isolated and unaffected
B) Both farmers and industrial workers faced serious hardships
C) Only urban elites suffered
D) Only foreign companies were affected, not Indian producers
Q41: Which international institutions were created after World War II to stabilise the world economy?
A) IMF and World Bank
B) WHO and UNICEF only
C) OPEC and SAARC
D) ASEAN and EU
Q42: The Marshall Plan (1947) was mainly aimed at:
A) Rebuilding war-torn Europe through US financial aid
B) Helping only Asian colonies
C) Funding space research
D) Ending all world trade
Q43: Which organisation was created to promote peace and cooperation after World War II?
A) League of Nations
B) United Nations Organisation (UNO)
C) Non-Aligned Movement
D) NATO only
Q44: The main role of the IMF in the post-war economic system is to:
A) Build roads
B) Provide short-term financial assistance to countries facing balance of payments problems
C) Organise Olympic Games
D) Run schools directly in villages
Q45: In which year did India become independent in the context of post-war world economic rebuilding?
A) 1939
B) 1945
C) 1947
D) 1950
Q46: The World Bank, in its early years, focused mainly on:
A) Short-term currency loans only
B) Long-term loans for reconstruction and development
C) Military alliances
D) Sports funding
Q47: Which statement best describes the aim of the post-World War II economic system?
A) To repeat the conditions of the Great Depression
B) To create rules and institutions to prevent severe global crises
C) To stop all international trade
D) To promote only colonial expansion
Q48: Which region received major assistance under the Marshall Plan?
A) Latin America
B) Western Europe
C) East Asia only
D) Antarctica
Q49: In the post-war world economy, many newly independent countries like India aimed to:
A) Remain purely raw material exporters
B) Build self-reliant economies with planned development
C) Stop all industrialisation
D) Return to pre-modern trade patterns
Q50: Which of the following is correctly matched with its post-war role?
A) IMF – world health
B) World Bank – reconstruction and development loans
C) UNO – only trade dispute settlement
D) Marshall Plan – Asian agriculture only
Q51: Before the Industrial Revolution, most production was carried out in:
A) Large urban factories
B) Cottage industries and small workshops
C) Automated plants
D) Computerised units
Q52: The Industrial Revolution first began in:
A) France
B) Germany
C) Britain
D) India
Q53: Which invention is closely linked with the early Industrial Revolution?
A) Jet engine
B) Steam engine
C) Computer
D) Mobile phone
Q54: A major change in the Age of Industrialisation was:
A) Shift from machine to manual labour
B) Shift from home-based work to factory system
C) End of all urbanisation
D) Complete stopping of trade
Q55: Which Indian products were world famous before British industrial policies affected them?
A) Dacca muslin and Surat silk
B) Synthetic fibres
C) Plastic goods
D) Steel rails
Q56: Which policy combination led to the decline of Indian handloom industry in the 19th century?
A) Protection of Indian weavers
B) Heavy import duties on British cloth
C) Free entry of British machine-made textiles and export of cheap Indian raw cotton
D) Complete ban on foreign textiles entering India
Q57: Urbanisation in the Age of Industrialisation mainly meant:
A) Villagers moving to new factory towns
B) Cities turning into villages
C) Ending of all towns
D) Only rural agriculture expanding
Q58: In India, the Swadeshi movement encouraged people to:
A) Buy only imported textiles
B) Boycott foreign cloth and use Indian-made goods
C) Stop using clothes
D) Export only British goods
Q59: Which statement about the pace of industrial change is correct?
A) All industries mechanised overnight
B) Some sectors mechanised quickly, others remained with hand production for long
C) Hand production ended immediately in all countries
D) There was no change at all
Q60: Before the Industrial Revolution, the typical production system in India was:
A) Large machine factories
B) Family-based cottage production using hand tools
C) Fully automated production lines
D) Only state-owned enterprises
Q61: Who is credited with developing the first movable-type printing press in Europe?
A) Isaac Newton
B) Johannes Gutenberg
C) James Watt
D) Alexander Graham Bell
Q62: Which of the following is NOT a direct outcome of the spread of print culture?
A) Faster spread of ideas
B) Growth of newspapers and pamphlets
C) Wider literacy and political awareness
D) Total end of public opinion formation
Q63: The first printing press in India was established in 1556 in:
A) Calcutta
B) Goa
C) Bombay
D) Madras
Q64: The first newspaper printed in India, started in 1780, was called:
A) The Hindu
B) Kesari
C) Bengal Gazette
D) Amrita Bazar Patrika
Q65: How did print culture support the Indian freedom struggle?
A) By stopping all political discussion
B) By spreading nationalist ideas through newspapers, journals and pamphlets
C) By banning all Indian languages
D) By closing down all presses
Q66: Which pair of newspapers is correctly associated with Indian nationalism?
A) Kesari and Amrita Bazar Patrika
B) Wall Street Journal and Times of London
C) Reader’s Digest and Vogue
D) Forbes and National Geographic
Q67: Which statement about print and social reform in India is correct?
A) Social reformers avoided using print
B) Reformers used books and journals to question social evils
C) Only oral speeches were allowed
D) Print was used only for advertisements, not for reform
Q68: Which of the following best captures the impact of print on public opinion?
A) It had no role in public opinion
B) It allowed a few rulers to read secret reports
C) It widened access to information and enabled debate among readers
D) It was used only for religious texts, never for politics
Q69: Which of the following is a correct statement about access to print?
A) Everyone had equal access from the beginning
B) Only kings could read
C) Access varied by class, gender and region
D) Print automatically removed all inequalities
Q70: Why is print culture considered important for modern democracies?
A) It hides all information
B) It supports informed citizens by providing news, opinions and debate
C) It stops all criticism
D) It is used only for entertainment, not for public life