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Colonial Cities
”The colonial cities offered new opportunities to women during the 19th century. ” Support the Statement with facts.
The new opportunities that the colonial cities offered to women during the 19th century:
(i) Middle-class women sought to express themselves through the medium of journals, autobiographies and books.
(ii) Over time, women became more visible in public.
(iii) They entered new professions in the city as domestic and factory workers, teachers, and theatre and film actresses.
(iv) Even reformers who supported women’s education saw women primarily as mothers and wives, and wanted them to remain within the enclosed spaces of the household.
(v) But for a long time women who moved out of the household into public spaces remained the objects of social censure.
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How did prominent Indian merchants establish themselves in the colonial city?
Examine how concerns of defence and health gave shape to Calcutta.
What are the different colonial architectural styles which can be seen in Bombay city?
How were urban centres transformed during the eighteenth century?
What were the new kinds of public places that emerged in the colonial city? What functions did they serve?
What were the concerns that influenced town planning in the nineteenth century?
To what extent were social relations transformed in the new cities?
On an outline map of India, trace the major rivers and hill ranges. Plot ten cities mentioned in the chapter, including Bombay. Calcutta and Madras, and prepare a brief note on why the importance of any two cities that you have marked (one colonial and one precolonial) changed in the nineteenth century.
You have been reading about big colonial cities. Choose any small town with a long history. It could be a temple town, market town, administrative centre, a pilgrimage centre or a combination of these. Find out how the town was established, when it developed, and how its history changed during modern times.
Choose five different types of buildings in your town or village. For each of these, find out when it was built, how it was planned, how resources were obtained for its construction, and how long it took to built it. What do the architectural features of the buildings express?
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