What was the causes of expansion of cultivation in the colonial period?
Answers
In the colonial period, cultivation expanded for a variety of reasons. These are
(i) In Europe, food grains were needed to feed the growing urban population. The demand for wheat increased largely in the 19 th century.
(ii) The colonial rulers considered the expansion of cultivation as a sign of progress.
(iii) The British government directly encouraged the production of commercial crops, like jute, sugar, wheat and cotton to get more profit.
(iv) Europe needed raw materials for industrial production.
(v) In the early 19th century, the colonial state thought that forests were unproductive so forests had to be brought under cultivation and land could yield agricultural products and revenue. In this way the income of the state enhanced.
Thus, it can be concluded that expansion of cultivation is a sign of progress
1. the colonial government was greedy and start collecting land taxes from the people so the people started cultivating land to pay the revenue.
2. the forest are cut for the cultivation so the britishers easily get trees.