Class 10 History Chapter 3 notes, The Making of a Global world
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Class 10 History Chapter 3 Notes: The Making of a Global World – Overview
History is very much shaped by connections, trade, and interactions between nations. The Making of a Global World (Chapter 3 of Class 10 History) discusses how the world became interconnected through trade, migration, colonization, and economic systems.
In this blog post, we break down the key concepts of this chapter, covering topics such as the Silk Route’s impact, the rise of global economies, the role of colonization, and the modern era of globalization. You will also be able to have deep insights in the Inter-war Economy and facts about Rebuilding a World Economy in the Post-war Era. You’ll find easy-to-understand notes, summaries, and explanations of crucial events that shaped today’s global world.
Whether you’re preparing for your class 10 exams or just looking to understand how history shaped our present, this guide will help you grasp the essential points of the chapter efficiently. Let’s dive in!
Photo Credit : NCERT
THE Pre-modern World
Introductory Leads to the making of a global world
- When we talk of globalisation, we often refer to an economic system that has emerged since the last 50 years or so. But the making of world has a long history.
- From ancient times travelers, traders, priests, and pilgrims travelled vast distances for knowledge, opportunity, spiritual fulfilment or to escape persecution. They carried with them goods, money, values, skills, ideas, inventions and even germs and diseases.
- As early as 3000 B.C.E. an active coastal trade linked the Indus Valley Civilisation with the present day West Asia.
- For more than a millennia cowries from Maldives were found to be used in China and East Africa.
- The long distances spread of disease carrying germs may be traced as far back as the 7th century.
- From 9th century, images of ships appear regularly in memorial stones found in the western coast indicating oceanic trade.
Silk Routes Link the World
Q.1. What were Silk Routes ? Discuss the geographic spread of Silk Routes. Also discuss how did they affect the trade and cultural exchange process in ancient times?
Or, Q. Give an example of vibrant pre-modern trade and cultural links between distant parts of the world during ancient times ?
Ans. The silk routes are a good example of vibrant pre-modern trade and cultural links between distant parts of the world.
The name silk routes point to the importance of west bound Chinese silk cargoes along this route.
Historians have identified several silk routes over land and by sea, knitting together vast region of Asia and linking Asia with Europe and N. Africa.
The silk routes are known to have existed since before the Christian era and thrived almost till the 15th century.
Apart from silk cargoes, chinese pottery, textiles and spices also travelled through the silk routes. In return, precious metals like gold and silver flowed from Europe to Asia.
Cultural exchanges also took place in a big way through these silk routes. Christian missionaries almost certainly travelled through this route to Asia.
A few centuries later, early Muslim preachers also entered Asia using this route.
Much before the Christian missionaries and the early Muslim preachers, Buddhism emerged from eastern India and spread in several directions through interesting points on the silk routes.
Important: 8th century Chinese cave painting depicting silk route trades has been found at : Mogao, Grottes, Gansu.
Food Travels : Spaghetti and Potato
Important: Food offers many examples of long distance cultural exchange even during pre-modern world. For example, noodles travelled to West from China to become Spaghetti. Similarly perhaps Arab traders took Pasta to 5th century Sicily.
Important : Traders and travelers introduced new crops to the lands they travelled. In India, many of our food crops such as – potatoes, Soya, Groundnut , Maize, Tomatoes, Chilies, Sweet potatoes etc. were not known to our ancestors until about 5 centuries ago.
These foods were only introduced in Europe and Asia after Christopher Columbus accidently discovered the vast continent of Americas. In fact many of our common foods came from America’s original inhabitants – the American Indians.
Important: Europe’s poor began to eat better and live longer with introduction of the humble potato.
Important: Ireland poorest peasants became so dependent on potatoes that when disease destroyed the potato crop in the mid 1840s, hundreds of thousands died of starvation.
Conquest, Disease and Trade
Q.2. Why did the pre-modern world shrink greatly during 16th century ?
Ans. During 16th century, European sailors found sea routes to Asia and Americas (N. America, S. America and Caribbean). As a result, the pre-modern world shrank greatly.
Before its discovery, America had been cut off from regular contact with the rest of the world for millions of years.
Q.3. How did the resources of newly discovered lands of Americas transform the world trade and finance the Europe’s trade and colonisation of Asia ?
During 16th century, European sailors found sea routes to Asia and Americas (N. America, S. America and Caribbean). As a result, the pre-modern world shrank greatly.
Before its discovery, America had been cut off from regular contact with the rest of the world for millions of years. But from the 16th century, America’s vast land and resources began to transform the trade and lives in other parts of globe. Precious metals particularly Silver from Peru and Mexico, enhanced Europe’s wealth and financed its trade with Asia.
Legends spread in 17th century Europe about South America’s wealth. Many expeditions set off in search of El-Dorado, the fabled city of Gold.
Q.4. How did the European conquest and colonisation of Americas become possible ?
Ans. The Portuguese and Spanish conquest and colonisation of America was decisively underway by the mid-16th century.
European conquest was not just a result of superior fire power. This conquest became possible due to spread of disease particularly Smallpox, by the germs carried by Europeans to these new lands of Americas, whose original inhabitants were not immune to such diseases because of their age long isolation from rest of the world.
While the conquerors were immune to Smallpox, the aboriginals of Americas were killed and decimated in large numbers by this disease.
This paved the way for European conquest of Americas during mid-16th century.
[Note : Since the germs were not deliberately used as biological weapon against inhabitants of Americas, it can not be said to be a biological warfare in true sense. However the spread of disease acted like weapon for conquerors.]
Q.6. What does it mean Biological Warfare ?
Ans. In biological warfare disease causing biological agents (bacteria, virus etc.) are used to kill humans, animals and plants.
Q.7. How did Europe emerge as the centre of world trade during 18th century ?
Ans. From 15th century, China is said to have restricted overseas contacts and retreated into isolation.
China’s reduced role and the rising importance of newly discovered Americas, gradually moved the centre of world trade west ward. Europe, now emerged as the centre of world trade.
Important : Until 19h century, poverty and hunger were common in Europe.
Important: Until 19th century, cities were crowded and deadly diseases were widespread in Europe.
Important : Until 19th century, religious conflicts were common in Europe and religious dissenters were persecuted. Thousands, therefore, fled Europe for Americas.
Important : By 18th century, in America, slaves captured from Africa grew cotton and did plantation farming.
Important : During Great Irish Potato Famine(1845-49), ten lakhs people died of starvation and double this number emigrated in search of work.
(To be Continued soon.)
