While the Bretton Woods system was dissolved in the 1970s, both the IMF and World Bank have remained strong pillars for the exchange of international currencies. (ii) Over the nineteenth century, food grain and raw material exports from India to Britain and the rest of the world increased. But the value of British exports to India was much higher than the value of British imports from India. Britain used this surplus to balance its trade deficits with other countries. By helping Britain balance its deficits, India played a crucial role in the late nineteenth century world economy.
(iv) The Bretton Woods system was based on fixed exchange rates. In this system, national currencies were pegged to the dollar at a fixed exchange rate. The dollar itself was anchored to gold at a fixed price of $35 per ounce of gold. (v) By establishing control over the scarce resources of cattle the European colonisers easily sub-dued Africa which they wanted from the day they came to this continent. Thus, rinderpest played an important role in making Africa a puppet in the hands of colonisers.
Maths NCERT Solutions
- The dollar itself was anchored to gold at a fixed price of $35 per ounce of gold.
- (b) (i) Rinderpest, a devastating cattle disease, arrived in Africa in the late 1880s.
- Other common foods such as potatoes, soya, groundnuts, etc. were only introduced in Europe and Asia after Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas.
- As prices fell and agricultural incomes declined, farmers tried to expand production and bring a larger volume of produce to the market to maintain their overall income.
(b) Rinderpest, a fast-spreading disease of cattle plague, was brought to Africa by Europeans in late 1880s. Entering Africa in the east, rinderpest moved west ‘like forest fire’ destroying almost 90 per cent of African cattle. It had a terrifying impact on people’s livelihoods and the local economy.
The IMF and World Bank
Planters, mine owners and colonial governments successfully monopolised what scarce cattle resources remained, to strengthen their power and to force Africans into the labour market. Very soon control over the African resources paved the way for European conquest. These institutions did nothing for the economic growth of former colonies and developing countries. They were still facing grim poverty and wanted to come out of it by strengthening their economic condition. (iii) The US attempt to protect its economy in the depression by doubling import duties also proved a severe blow to world trade. With the fall in prices and the prospect of depression, the US banks also slashed domestic lending and called back loans.
(c) The death of men of working-age in Europe because of the World War reduced the able-bodied workforce in Europe, thereby reducing household income. Due to this the women stepped in to undertake the jobs that earlier only men were expected to do. It increased the role of women that led to a demand for their equal status in the society.
In the 1960s, the dollar had struggled within the system set up under the Bretton Woods agreement. In 1971, President Nixon suspended its convertibility into gold. Today, currencies float against each other, rather than keeping at firm pegs. (iii) The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development popularly known as the World Bank was set up to finance post-war reconstruction. (ii) To fight the war, millions of soldiers had to be recruited from around the world and moved to the frontlines on large ships and trains. The scale of death and destruction was beyond imagination.
(c) Conditions created by the War were also responsible for the Great Depression, during expansion to fulfil the increasing demand for war-related goods. But after the war, the sharp decrease in demands for military and war products gave birth to economic depression. (e) From the late 1970s MNCs began to shift production operations to Asian countries because of the low wages.
The Making of Global World Class 10 Questions and Answers History Chapter 4
Imagine that you are an indentured Indian labourer in the Caribbean. Drawing from the details in this chapter, write a letter to your family describing your life and feelings. Give two examples from history to show the impact of technology on food availability.
The primary designers of the Bretton Woods what is meant by the bretton woods agreement class 10 system were the famous British economist John Maynard Keynes and chief international economist of the U.S. Keynes’ hope was to establish a powerful global central bank to be called the “Clearing Union” and issue a new international reserve currency called the bancor. White’s plan envisioned a more modest lending fund and a greater role for the U.S. dollar, rather than the creation of a new currency. In the end, the adopted plan took ideas from both, leaning more toward White’s plan.
In 1971, concerned that the U.S. gold supply was no longer adequate to cover the number of dollars in circulation, President Richard M. Nixon devalued the U.S. dollar relative to gold. After a run on gold reserve, he declared a temporary suspension of the dollar’s convertibility into gold. Countries were then free to choose any exchange arrangement for their currency, except pegging its value to the price of gold. The Bretton Woods agreement created two institutions, the IMF and the World Bank. Formally introduced in December 1945, both institutions have withstood the test of time, globally serving as important pillars for international capital financing and trade activities.
This worsened the glut (an excessive supply) in the market, pushing down prices even further. (iv) Though agricultural prices fell sharply, the colonial government refused to reduce revenue demands. Peasants producing for the world market were the worst hit. Give two examples of different types of global exchanges which took place before the seventeenth century, choosing one example from Asia and one from the Americas.
The exchange rate applied at the time set the price of gold at $35 an ounce. Under the Bretton Woods system, gold was the basis for the U.S. dollar, and other currencies were pegged to the U.S. dollar’s value. The Bretton Woods system effectively came to an end in the early 1970s when President Richard M. Nixon announced that the U.S. would no longer exchange gold for U.S. currency. (ii) The technique of cold storage and use of refrigerated ships boosted the export of perishable goods. Now animals were slaughtered for food at the starting point in America, Australia or New Zealand and then exported to Europe where meat was scarce. (iii) As international prices crashed, prices in India, also plugged.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science History Chapter 4 The Making of Global World
The withdrawal of the US loans affected much of the rest of the world. In Europe, it led to the failure of some major banks and the collapse of currencies such as the British pound sterling. In Latin America and elsewhere it intensified the fall in agricultural and raw material prices. As prices fell and agricultural incomes declined, farmers tried to expand production and bring a larger volume of produce to the market to maintain their overall income.
The Making of Global World NCERT Intext Questions and Answers
(ii) In the nineteenth century, colonial India had become an exporter of agricultural goods and importer of manufactures. These deaths and injuries reduced the able-bodied workforce in Europe, with fewer numbers within the family, household incomes declined after the war. (v) Higher incomes and decline in food prices led to the increase in food consumption and therefore more food imports. Countries like Russia, America and Australia began to export food grains to meet the British demand. (b) The coming of rinderpest (a disease of cattle plague), led to the loss of cattle on the continent; also the livelihood of the Africans leading them to join the labour market as slaves.
(iii) The loss of cattle on such a large scale destroyed African livelihoods. Planters, mine owners and colonial governments took advantage of this situation. (ii) As soon as rinderpest entered Africa in the east, it moved west fast and reached Africa’s Atlantic coast in 1892. It reached the Cape, Africa’s southern most tip, five years later.
