Work, Life and Leisure
(Questions and Answers)
Q1: Give two reasons why the population of London expanded from the middle of the eighteenth century.
Answer:
- The city of London was a magnet for the migrant populations because of the job opportunities given by its dockyards and industries. By 1750, one out of every nine people of England and Wales lived in London. So, the population of London kept expanding through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
- During the first world war, London began manufacturing motor cars and electrical goods. This increased the number of large factories, which in turn increased the number of people coming to the city in search of work.
Q2: Explain any three problems faced by people who migrated to Bombay in the mid-nineteenth century.
Answer:
The problems faced by migrated people in Bombay in the mid nineteenth century were as follows:
Housing: They were forced to live in cheap and unsafe multistoreyed structures called chawls. More than 70 per cent migrants lived in these thickly-populated chawls. They were overcrowded with no toilets and privacy.
Shortage of water and other basic amenities: Water was scarce, which led to daily quarrels at the tap. People had to use streets and neighbourhood for cooking, washing and sleeping.
Caste discrimination: Depressed classes faced difficulties in finding house. They were kept out of chawls and had to live in shelters made of sheets, leaves or bamboo poles.
Fear of spread of diseases: Being overcrowded and unplanned development, there was a constant danger of spread of epidemic diseases like plague and other communicable diseases in chawls.
Q3: What is meant by tenement?
Answer: A tenement is run-down and often over crowded apartment house especially in a poor section of large city.A full two-third of the New York city population was living in the tenement in 1900.
Q4: What were the changes in the kind of work available to women in London between the nineteenth and the twentieth century? Explain the factors which led to this change.
Answer: Changes in the kind of work available to women in London between the nineteenth and the
twentieth century were basically founding on industrial and technological advancements and innovations. As a result, women had to work in households for a living. It led to an increase in the number of domestic servants. Some women also began to earn by lodging out rooms, tailoring, washing or making matchboxes. With the commencement of the First World War though, women once again joined the industrial sector.
Q5: Why was the land reclamation in Bombay necessary? Mention any two land reclamation projects taken up in Bombay.
Answer: Bombay was a multi-functional presidency city of British India. It witnessed a large increase in migration. To accommodate a large number of people, the expansion of the city was required. It posed a problem because of the scarcity of land. The only way to solve this problem was land reclamation. Two land reclamation projects taken up in Bombay in the late 18th century were as follows:
- Reclamation of the western foreshore from the tip of Malabar Hill to the end of Colaba by Back Bay Reclamation Company in 1864.
- Development of dry dock between 1914 and 1918 by Bombay Port Trust, where the excavated earth was used to create Ballard Estate.
Q6: Who were philanthropists? Name any two steps that were taken to control crime in London during 1870s.
Answer:
(i) The group of the people who work for social upliftment and charity, donating time and money for the purpose are called philanthropists.
(ii) Steps taken to control crime were :
- The authorities imposed high penalties for crime.
- They offered work to the deserving poor.
- Counting of criminal population, keeping a watch on their activities and investigating their way of life.
Q7: Examine the condition of people living in chawls of Bombay (Mumbai).
Answer:
- The people living in chawls were living in pitiful condition.
- Many people lived together in single tenements.
- Due to closeness of gutters and animal shelters, people had to keep their windows shut even in humid weather.
- There were no private toilets or water connections, which often led to quarrels among residents.
Q8: How does the existence of a large urban population affect each of the following? Illustrate with historical examples.
(a) A private landlord
(b) A Police Superintendent in charge of law and order
(c) A leader of a political party
Answer:
(a) A private landlord benefits by increasing the rent and he has more command over the
rental cost. The rising population would lead to increasing demand for space, e.g. leasing and renting of buildings at higher rates were common in London and Bombay.
(b) Anyone involved with law and order would find it troublesome with increasing population
in urban areas. He would have to work hard to maintain law and order as crime rates
are usually high in populated cities. For example, London people hired policemen to curb the
rising crimes during night.
(c) Political leaders would have more people voting and hence more responsibilities. In
cities, masses of people could be drawn to the political causes as it happened in the Bloody
Sunday of November, 1887 in London. The metropolitan character of cities would compel
him/her to be more secular and liberal on the one hand. On the other hand, extremism or
conservatism might also win them votes as a reactionary phenomenon, e.g. rise of Nazis in
Germany or Liberal Democrats in France.
Q9: Explain how the underground railway was able to solve transport problems as well as
housing crisis in London in the nineteenth century?
Answer: The problem of transport and housing crises was solved by underground railway in the following ways:
Q9: Explain how the underground railway was able to solve transport problems as well as
housing crisis in London in the nineteenth century?
Answer: The problem of transport and housing crises was solved by underground railway in the following ways:
- The London underground railway partially solved the housing crises by carrying large masses of people to and from the city.
- Better-planned suburbs and a good railway network enabled a large number of people to live outside London and travel to work. A large number of houses were built for the working class, most of them were single-family cottages.
- By 1880, the expanded train service was carrying 40 million passengers a year
Q10: Name the presidencies of British India.
Answer: Bombay, Bengal and Madras.
Q11: Why a number of Bombay films were about the lives of migrants?
Answer: Bombay became an attractive destination for people seeking jobs after the British administration replaced Surat with Bombay as its principal western port. The consequent increase in trade and industries led to a great influx of people. Thus, migrants were (and still are) an important facet of Bombay. Most of the people in the film industry were migrants themselves, and wanted to portray the plight of this class of people through films. Thus, a number of Bombay films were about the lives of migrants.
Q12: Why was the underground rail criticized in London? Explain the reasons.
Answer: The underground railway in London was constructed to solve the housing problem. It was
criticized initially because of the following reasons:
- A newspaper reported the danger to health and asphyxiation (lack of air) and heat in the train compartments.
- It was referred to as iron monsters, which added to the mess of the city. Charles Dickens and Son described its destructive process of construction.
- About 900 houses were destroyed to make two miles of railways.
- It led to a large-scale displacement of the poor.
- The underground railway created huge ecological and environmental problem. The process of construction led to large-scale destruction of forests and other natural features.
Q13: Explain the social changes in London which led to the need for the Underground railway.
Answer: The development of suburbs as a part of the drive to decongest London led to the extension of the city beyond the range where people could walk to work. Though these suburbs had been built, the people could not be persuaded to leave the city and stay far away from their places of work in the absence of some form of public transport. The Underground railway was constructed to solve this housing problem.
Q14: Describe five sources of entertainment that came up in London in 19th century to provide leisure activities.
Answer:
(i) For the wealthy Londoners, there was the annual ‘London Season’ where elite groups could
enjoy several cultural events such as the opera and theatre.
(ii) Working classes too had their own means of entertainment. They used to meet in pubs and
enjoy a drink, exchange news and discuss political events.
(iii) The establishment of libraries, museums and art galleries provided entertainment to common
people.
(iv) Music halls and later cinema houses became a source of mass entertainment.
(v) Industrial workers spent holidays by the sea shore and enjoyed both sun and the wind which were a great source of entertainment.
