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DBQ Source Summaries: The Industrial Revolution in Britain and India

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WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 3.4 ACTIVITYDBQ SOURCE SUMMARIES: THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN BRITAIN AND INDIAUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “DBQ Source Summaries:The Industrial Revolution in Britain and India”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1Note to Teachers:Below are summaries of the sources in DBQ Sources:The Industrial Revolution in Britain and India. Theseare meant to provide you a quick understanding of the document types and content so you can decide which sources you want your students to use. You may choose to provide these summaries to your students as additional scaffolding.Source SummaryDocument 1 (Chart)Source: “Percentage Distribution of the World’s Manufacturing Production, 1870 and 1913” from League of Nations, Industrialization and World Trade (1945), reproduced by the Fordham University Modern History Sourcebook (Tables Illustrating the Spread of Industrialization), https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/indrevtabs1.asp.This chart shows the percentage distribution of the world’s manufacturing production between 1870 and 1913. One can clearly see the United States emerge as an economic powerhouse during this time, while nations such as India started to fall behind.Document 2 (Text)Source:Dadabhai Naoroji, “Memorandum No. 2 on the Moral Poverty in India and Native Thoughts on the Present British Indian Policy,” in Voices of Indian Freedom Movement: Voice of Nascent and Resurgent Nationalism, Volume 1, ed. J.C. Johari (New Delhi: Akashdeep Publishing, 1993), 100-102.Dadabhai Naoroji was a founding member of the Indian National Congress and also the first Indian Member of Parliament in the British House Of Commons. In this excerpt, Naoroji discusses the inequity in the economic relationship between India and Britain.Document 3 (Chart)Source: Gross domestic product per capita between 1500 and 1950 as measured in 1990 International Dollars considering purchasing power parity. This data is taken from economist Angus Maddison’s book, Contours of the World Economy, 1–2030 AD. Essays in Macro-Economic History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007) 382, Table A.7. See also this reproduction This chart shows the gross domestic product per capita between 1500 and 1950 as measured in 1990 International dollars considering purchasing power parity. One can clearly see Britain’s economic dominance over other nations.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 3.4 ACTIVITYDBQ SOURCE SUMMARIES: THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN BRITAIN AND INDIA2Source Summaryhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maddison_GDP_per_capita_1500-1950.svg.Document 4 (Text)Source: “Women Miners in the English Coal Pits,” United Kingdom, Parliamentary Papers, vol. XV (1842), 84 and vol. XVII (1842), 108. Reproduced by the Fordham University Modern History Sourcebook https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1842womenminers.asp.Betty Harris was a 37 year-old coal miner in England during the Industrial era. Her account of her life as a miner is grim as the coal she was employed to transport. Long days filled with hard work are punctuated by abuse at the hands of husbands and supervisors.This is a powerful account of the treacherous work of the mines that will drive home a certain point about industrialism.Document 5 (Text)Source: Andrew Ure, The Philosophy of the Manufacturers (London: Chas. Knight, 1835), reproduced in the Fordham University Modern History Sourcebook https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1835ure.asp.In this excerpt from Scottish economic theorist Andrew Ure, he extolls the virtues of the new factory systems that emerged during the Industrial era. In particular, he seems to suggest that children will be able to take on more responsibility in the workforce. Some of the vocabulary in this document may prove challenging for some students.Document 6 (Image)Source: Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru participate in a “charkha” demonstration in 1946. © Underwood Archives/Getty Images. This is a photograph of Mohandas Gandhi spinning yarn while addressing a crowd.This picture shows Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru participating in a “charkha” demonstration in 1946. The charkha, an Indian spinning wheel, was featured in some of Gandhi’s writings and symbolized self-sufficiency.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 3.4 ACTIVITYDBQ SOURCE SUMMARIES: THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN BRITAIN AND INDIA3Source SummaryDocument 7(Text)Source:Romesh C. Dutt, Open Letters to Lord Curzon on Famines and Land Assessment in India (London: Trübner, 1900), 17-18 and xiv.In this passage, London economic historian and Indian civil servant Romesh C. Dutt (1848-1909) discusses the severity of famine in India, and the effect land tax has on worsening famine conditions in India. He posits that by lowering land taxes, increasingirrigation, and reducing public debt, India can lessen the burden caused by these natural disasters.