Question

explain the three problems faced by the Indian cotton weavers by the turn of the nineteenth century

Answer 1

The three problems faced by weavers by the turn of the 19th century were :

(i) Decline in export market : By 1860s insufficient supply of raw cotton of good quality
affected the Indian weavers. Due to the American civil war, the supply of raw cotton from
USA had stopped. Britain turned to India for new cotton export. This resulted in price rise
and the Indian weavers suffered. In the beginning of the 19th century, there was a sharp
decline in Indian export of cotton piece exports. In 1811-12, 33% of exports were made
in price goods. In 1850-51, it was no more than 3%.

(ii) The British started dumping mill-made and machine-made British goods in India. British
exports to India for textile goods increased from 31% to over 50% in the 1870s. The local
markets collapsed as they were glutted with Manchester imports. Machine-made goods
were sold at lower prices and Indian weavers could not compete with them.

(iii) Another problem cropped up for weavers. At the end of the 19th century, India started
producing cotton textiles in factories and punished and the weavers for delays in supply,
often beating and flogging them. The weavers lost the power to bargain for prices and sell
to different buyers. The Company paid them a miserably low price. The loans tied them
to the Company. It led to deserted villages and migration to other cities.

Answer 2

Answer:

The problem faced by Indian cotton weavers continued. They were as follows:

i. Their export market collapsed due to increase in import duties on them in England .

ii. Their local market shrank as they were flooded with cheap Manchester imports .

iii. They could not get sufficient supply of raw cotton of goods quality. When the American civil war broke out and cotton supplies from the U.S. were cut off, Britain turned to India. Indian weavers were forced to buy cotton at a very high price.

Explanation: