1. (i) The Portuguese had introduced opium into China where it was used for medical Purposes in very small quantity. (ii) The Chinese were aware of the danger of opium addiction and the Emperor had forbidden its production and sale except for medicinal purposes. (iii) But the English began an illegal tRead more

    (i) The Portuguese had introduced opium into China where it was used for
    medical Purposes in very small quantity.
    (ii) The Chinese were aware of the danger of opium addiction and the
    Emperor had forbidden its production and sale except for medicinal
    purposes.
    (iii) But the English began an illegal trade in opium.
    (iv) It was unloaded in a number of seaports of south-eastern China and
    carried by local agents to the interiors.
    (v) While the English cultivated a taste for Chinese tea, the Chinese became
    addicted to opium.
    (vi) People of all classes took to the drug-shopkeepers and peddlers,
    officials and army men, aristocrats and also the poor.
    As China became a country of opium addicts, British trade in tea
    flourished.

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  2. (i) British rule was gradually established in India after the Battle of Plassey (1757). (ii) During the period of colonial rule, the rural landscape was transformed. (iii) The British found land revenue as a major source of government income. (iv) Efforts were made to impose a regular system of landRead more

    (i) British rule was gradually established in India after the Battle of Plassey
    (1757).
    (ii) During the period of colonial rule, the rural landscape was transformed.
    (iii) The British found land revenue as a major source of government
    income.
    (iv) Efforts were made to impose a regular system of land revenue, increase
    revenue rates and expand the area under cultivation’

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  3. (i) They occurred because of the persistent droughts in that area. (ii) The rains failed year after year and temperatures soared. The wind blew with ferocious speed. (iii) But ordinary duststorms became black blizzards only because the entire landscape had been ploughed over and the grass was ruinedRead more

    (i) They occurred because of the persistent droughts in that area.
    (ii) The rains failed year after year and temperatures soared. The wind blew
    with ferocious speed.
    (iii) But ordinary duststorms became black blizzards only because the entire
    landscape had been ploughed over and the grass was ruined which
    could hold soil.
    (iv) When wheat cultivation had expanded dramatically in the early 19th
    century, zealous farmers had recklessly uprooted all vegetation, and
    tractors had turned the soil over and broken the sod into dust. The
    whole region had become a Dust Bowl.

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  4. (i) For the poorer farmers, machines brought misery. (ii) They got loans from banks to buy these machines. (iii) Those who borrowed found it difficult to repay their debts' (iv) Many of them deserted their farms and looked for jobs elsewhere. (v) But jobs were difficult to find as mechanisation hadRead more

    (i) For the poorer farmers, machines brought misery.
    (ii) They got loans from banks to buy these machines.
    (iii) Those who borrowed found it difficult to repay their debts’
    (iv) Many of them deserted their farms and looked for jobs elsewhere.
    (v) But jobs were difficult to find as mechanisation had reduced the need
    for labour.
    (vi) Production had expanded so rapidly during the war and post-war. Years
    that there was surplus.
    (vii) Wheat prices fell due to overproduction and export markets collapsed.
    This created the ground for the Great Agrarian Depression of the 1930s
    that ruined wheat farmers everywhere.

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  5. (i) The urban population in the US was growing and the export market was becoming even bigger. (ii) As the demand increased, wheat prices rose encouraging farmers to produce wheat. (iii) The spread of the railways made it easy to transport the grain from the wheat growing regions to the eastern coasRead more

    (i) The urban population in the US was growing and the export market was
    becoming even bigger.
    (ii) As the demand increased, wheat prices rose encouraging farmers to
    produce wheat.
    (iii) The spread of the railways made it easy to transport the grain from the
    wheat growing regions to the eastern coast for export’
    (iv) During the World War, the world market boomed. Russians wheat
    supply was cut-off and US had to feed Europe’
    (v) US President rightly said, “Plant more wheat, wheat will win the war.”

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