Write short notes to show what you know about:
a) The Gutenberg Press
b) Erasmus’s idea of the printed book
c) The Vernacular Press Act
(a) The Gutenberg Press: The first printing press was developed by Johan Gutenberg in 1430s. It was a developed form of the olive and wine presses. By 1448 Gutenberg perfected this system. The lead moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of alphabet. The first book he printed was Bible. He produced 180 copies of Bible in 3 years, which was much faster by standards of the time, at the time.
(b) Erasmus’s idea of printed book: Erasmus was the Latin scholar and a Catholic reformer. He criticized the printing of books. He thought that most of the books are stupid, ignorant, scandalous, raving, irreligious and seditious. According to him such books devaluate the valuable books.
(c) The Vernacular Press Act: Modelled on the Irish Press Laws, it was passed in 1878. This law gave the government tyrannical rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. If a seditious report was published and the newspaper did not heed to an initial warning, then the press was seized and the printing machinery confiscated. This was a complete violation of the freedom of expression.
Give reasons for the following:
a) Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.
b) Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.
c) The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an Index of Prohibited books from the mid-sixteenth century.
d) Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.
Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one example from Europe and one from India.
Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.
What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth century India mean to:
a) Women
b) The poor
c) Reformers
Why did some people in eighteenth century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism?
a) Guiseppe Mazzini
b) Count Camillo de Cavour
c) The Greek war of independence
d) Frankfurt parliament
e) The role of women in nationalist struggles
a) Why growth of nationalism in the colonies is linked to an anti-colonial movement.
b) How the First World War helped in the growth of the National Movement in India.
c) Why Indians were outraged by the Rowlatt Act.
d) Why Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Give two examples of different types of global exchanges which took place before the seventeenth century, choosing one example from Asia and one from the Americas.
Explain the following:
a) Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny.
b) In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.
c) The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century.
d) The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India.
What steps did the French revolutionaries take to create a sense of collective identity among the French people?
What is meant by the idea of satyagraha?
Explain how the global transfer of disease in the pre-modern world helped in the colonisation of the Americas.
Write True or False against each statement:
a) At the end of the nine- teenth century, 80 per cent of the total workforce in Europe was employed in the technologically advanced industrial sector.
b) The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the eighteenth century.
c) The American Civil War resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India.
d) The introduction of the fly shuttle enabled handloom workers to improve their productivity.
Who were Marianne and Germania? What was the importance of the way in which they were portrayed?
Write a newspaper report on:
a) The Jallianwala Bagh massacre
b) The Simon Commission
List all the different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921. Then choose any three and write about their hopes and struggles to show why they, joined the movement.
Imagine you are a woman participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Explain what the experience meant to your life.
What steps did the French revolutionaries take to create a sense of collective identity among the French people?
a) The British government’s decision to abolish the Corn Laws.
b) The coming of rinderpest to Africa.
c) The death of men of working-age in Europe because of the World War.
d) The Great Depression on the Indian economy.
e) The decision of MNCs to relocate production to Asian countries.
Choose three examples to show the contribution of culture to the growth of nationalism in Europe.
Explain what is meant by the 1848 revolution of the liberals. What were the political, social and economic ideas supported by the liberals?
Compare the images of Bharat Mata in this chapter with the image of Germania in Chapter 1.
How was the history of nationalism in Britain unlike the rest of Europe?
Who were Marianne and Germania? What was the importance of the way in which they were portrayed?
Briefly trace the process of German unification.