Explain the impact of American Civil War of 1861 on Indian peasants.

Solution

The impact of American Civil War of 1861 on Indian peasants:

(i) When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, a wave of panic spread through cotton circles in Britain.

(ii) As cotton prices soared, export merchants in Bombay were keen to secure as much cotton as possible to meet the British demand. So they gave advances to urban sahukars who in turn extended credit to those rural moneylenders who promised to secure the produce. When there is a boom in the market, credit flows easily for those who give out loans feel secure about recovering their money.

(iii) The ryots in the Deccan villages suddenly found access to seemingly limitless credit.

(iv) They were being given Rs 100 as advance for every acre they planted with cotton. Sahukars were more than willing to extend long-term loans.

(v) While the American crisis continued, cotton production in the Bombay Deccan expanded. Some rich peasants did gain, but for the large majority, cotton expansion meant heavier debt.

Some More Questions From Peasants, Zamindars And The State Chapter

On an outline map of the world, mark the areas which had economic links with the Mughal Empire, and trace out possible routes of communication.

Visit a neighbouring village. Find out how many people live there, which crops are grown, which animals are raised, which artisanal groups reside
there, whether women own land, how the local panchayat functions. Compare this information with what you have learnt about the sixteenth-
seventeenth centuries, noting similarities and differences. Explain both the changes and the continuities that you find.

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Peasants, Zamindars And The State

Explain the impact of American Civil War of 1861 on Indian peasants.

Some More Questions From Peasants, Zamindars And The State Chapter

Examine the evidence that suggests that land revenue was important for the Mughal fiscal system.

To what extent do you think caste was a factor in influencing social and economic relations in agrarian society?

How were the lives of forest dwellers transformed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?

Examine the role played by zamindars in Mughal India.

Discuss the ways in which panchayats and village headmen regulated rural society.

On an outline map of the world, mark the areas which had economic links with the Mughal Empire, and trace out possible routes of communication.

How were the village artisans compensated by the villagers for their services? Write about any one.

How did the zamindars derive their power during the Mughal period? Mention any two ways.

What was Jati Panchayat? State any two of its functions.

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