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Colonial Cities

Question

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Give any two features of colonial cities after 1850 in India.

Solution

Features of colonial cities in India: The process of urbanisation in colonial India, explore the distinguishing characteristics of colonial cities and track social changes within them. We will look closely at developments in three big cities–Madras (Chennai), Calcutta (Kolkata) and Bombay (Mumbai) were developed during British Raj.

(i) All three were originally fishing and weaving villages. They become important centres of trade due to the economic activities of the English East India Company. Company agents settled in Madras in 1639 and in Calcutta in 1690. Bombay was given to the Company in 1661 by the English king, who had got it as part of his wife’s dowry from the king of Portugal.

The Company established trading and administrative offices in each of these settlements. By the middle of the nineteenth century these settlements had become big cities from where the new rulers controlled the country.

(ii) Colonial cities reflected the merchantile culture of the new rulers. Political power and patronage shifted from Indian rulers to the merchants of the East India Company.

Some More Questions From Colonial Cities Chapter

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?

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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