NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 3 The Making of a Global World
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 3 covers Pre-modern World, Silk Routes, Food Travels, Conquest & Diseases, 19th Century Global Economy, Indentured Labour Migration, Great Depression, and Rebuilding Post-war Economy (Bretton Woods System).
Overview of Topics & Subtopics (Click to Jump)
1. The Pre-modern World & Silk Routes
Short Note:
• Silk Routes: Vibrant pre-modern trade and cultural links connecting Asia with Europe and Northern Africa.
• Food Travel: Noodles travelled west from China to become spaghetti. Potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, and tomatoes reached Europe and Asia after Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas.
• Conquest and Smallpox: European conquerors (Spanish/Portuguese) used deadly smallpox germs to colonize America, as native Americans lacked immunity against European diseases.
2. The Nineteenth Century World Economy (1815–1914)
Short Note:
• Corn Laws: British laws restricting food imports. Their abolition allowed cheaper imported food into Britain, leading to agricultural distress and urban migration.
• Indentured Labour Migration: A system of bonded labor under unfair contracts (often termed 'a new system of slavery') where thousands of Indians and Chinese were transported to plantations and mines in the Caribbean, Mauritius, and Fiji.
• Rinderpest (Cattle Plague): A devastating cattle disease introduced in Africa in the late 1880s that killed 90% of local cattle, forcing Africans into the wage-labor market under European colonizers.
3. The Inter-war Economy & Great Depression
Short Note:
• WWI Economic Transformation: Shifted global economic power from Britain to the USA, turning the US from an international debtor to an international creditor.
• Mass Production: Pioneered by Henry Ford using the assembly line method to produce the T-Model Ford car cheaply and quickly.
• The Great Depression (1929): Triggered by agricultural overproduction and Wall Street Crash. Led to massive unemployment, bank collapses, falling prices, and worldwide economic distress.
• Impact on India: Indian exports and imports halved; agricultural prices crashed by 50%, devastating farmers while fixed-income urban dwellers suffered less.
4. Rebuilding a World Economy: Post-war Era
Short Note:
• Bretton Woods Conference (1944): Established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (IBRD) to preserve post-war economic stability and full employment.
• Decolonisation & G-77: Newly independent developing nations formed the Group of 77 (G-77) to demand a New International Economic Order (NIEO) for fairer trade and real control over natural resources.
Intext & Conceptual Questions
2. Spanish conquerors carried Smallpox germs to the Americas.
3. Smallpox proved to be a deadly killer, wiping out entire communities and paving the way for easy conquest without conventional military superiority.
2. British agriculture was unable to compete with cheap imports, leading to vast uncultivated lands and rural unemployment.
3. Thousands of displaced farm laborers migrated to cities or emigrated overseas to countries like the USA and Australia.
Textbook Chapter End Exercise Questions
1. Refrigerated Ships: Before the 1870s, live animals were shipped from America to Europe, which took up space, died in transit, or fell ill. The invention of refrigerated ships enabled meat to be slaughtered at the starting point and transported across long distances cheaply, making meat accessible to poor European workers.
2. Faster Railways & Larger Ships: Allowed agricultural produce like wheat, sugar, and cotton to be transported rapidly from interior farms in America, Russia, and Australia to global consumers at lower costs.
1. The Bretton Woods Agreement was signed in July 1944 at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, USA, to establish global economic stability and full employment in the industrial world after WWII.
2. It established two main international institutions: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with external surpluses and deficits, and the World Bank to finance post-war reconstruction.
3. It established a system of fixed exchange rates where currencies were pegged to the US Dollar, which was anchored to gold at $35 per ounce.
1. Agricultural Overproduction: Prices collapsed due to surplus crops. Farmers tried to expand production to maintain income, which flooded markets further and drove prices lower.
2. Withdrawal of US Loans: US overseas loans dried up during the late 1920s. Countries depending on US finance faced severe credit crunches.
3. Bank Failures & Stock Market Collapse: The collapse of Wall Street in 1929 triggered bank runs across the US and Europe, causing thousands of banks to go bankrupt and businesses to shut down.
Read More & Chapter Resources
These short notes are designed for quick revision. Read the main points once, then use the related material below to practise the same chapter. Revising a concept and checking it with questions can make your preparation more focused.