Constructed-Response Practice Set 1

Document A: "There is, sir, no manufacture which we could carry on, no produce which we could raise for which the British market would not afford us a vent. The opening of new markets for our manufactures should be one of the principal objects of our foreign policy." British politician, 1881

Document B: "The Indian weaver, who in 1750 produced cloth that clothed people from Edinburgh to Egypt to Bengal, by 1850 found himself unable to sell his cloth. The looms fell silent. The British cotton mills had captured the world market, including India itself, where their cheaper machine-made cloth flooded the bazaars." Description of effects of British industrialization on India

Question 1: Based on Document A, identify one economic motive for British imperialism.

Strong sample answer: "Document A shows that Britain sought new markets abroad to sell its manufactured goods, making the opening of new markets a principal aim of foreign policy."

Question 2: Based on Document B, explain one effect of British industrialization on India.

Strong sample answer: "British industrial cotton textiles destroyed the Indian textile industry. Indian weavers who had previously supplied cloth throughout the world were unable to compete with cheap machine-made British cloth, which captured even the Indian market itself."

Question 3: Using both documents and your knowledge of social studies, explain the relationship between British industrialization and British imperialism in India.

Strong sample answer: "British industrial production required markets that the relatively small British home market could not absorb, motivating efforts to open foreign markets to British goods, as Document A describes. Indian markets, once closed to British finished goods by Mughal trade restrictions, became under British rule a captive market for British textiles. The result, shown in Document B, was the destruction of the Indian textile industry as British factories supplied cloth that Indians had previously produced themselves. Imperial political control allowed Britain to ensure that India absorbed British exports and supplied raw cotton in return, integrating India into the industrial economy on terms that benefited Britain and impoverished Indian artisans."