The Impact of Technological Inventions During the Industrial Revolution
How did the d...
Question
How did the development of cotton industries in Britain affect textile producers in India?
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Solution
Till the end of the eighteenth century the world trade was dominated by Indian textiles.
Worried by the popularity of Indian textiles, silk and wool makers in England began protesting against the import of Indian cotton textiles by the early eighteenth century.
In England, textile industries had just started to develop during this time.
By preventing the entry of Indian textiles, English producers wanted a secure market within England, as they were unable to compete with Indian textiles.
British Government imposed a ban on chintz (printed cotton textiles) in 1720, by enacting legislation. This legislation was known as the Calico Act.
With technological innovations and Government support, the British textile industry started competing with Indian textile producers.
In several ways, the development of cotton industries in Britain impacted the textile producers of India.
In the European and American markets, British textiles provided competition to Indian textiles.
Due to the imposition of very high duties on textiles imported into Britain, India found it very difficult to export textiles to England.
Cotton textiles made in England successfully defeated the competition from Indian textile goods in American, European, and African markets by the beginning of the nineteenth century.
In India, thousands of weavers became unemployed, and the worst-hit place was Bengal.
To secure supplies, agents no longer gave advances to weavers as the European and English companies stopped purchasing goods from India.
In addition, Indian markets were flooded with British cotton clothes by the 1830s.
Two-thirds of all the cotton clothes worn by the Indians by the 1880s were produced in Britain.
Many weavers had to search for alternative employment and became agricultural laborers.
Some people migrated to work in plantations in other countries located in South America and Africa, some people migrated internally to work in cities.