Ruling the Countryside Class 8 Revision Notes CBSE History Chapter 3

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Last Updated on March 23, 2024 by XAM CONTENT

Here you will find revision notes for CBSE Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 3 Ruling the Countryside. It is a part of Revision Notes for CBSE Class 8 Social Science Series.

Ruling the Countryside Class 8 Revision Notes CBSE History Chapter 3 (PDF Download)

Notes

  • The East India Company was appointed as the Diwan of Bengal on 12 August, 1765.
  • As Diwan, the Company became the chief financial administrator of the territory under its control. Now, the company could use the revenue in increasing trade and meeting its expenses.
  • With the urge to increase revenue, the Permanent Settlement was introduced in 1793.
  • By the terms of the settlement, the rajas and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars and were asked to collect rent from the peasants and pay revenue to the Company.
  • However, Permanent Settlement had its own problems and therefore, a new system was devised by Holt Mackenzie which came to be known as the Mahalwari System.
  • Similarly, Thomas Munro formulated another system which was practised in the southern part of India. It was called the Munro System.
  • The British also realised that the countryside could not only yield revenue, but it could also grow the crops that Europe required. Thus, in the late eighteenth century cultivation of opium and indigo was expanded.
  • As the demand of indigo grew, Britain lost her existing supplies from West Indies and America. Now, the Company turned to India to produce indigo.
  • From the last decades of the eighteenth century indigo cultivation in Bengal expanded rapidly and Bengal indigo came to dominate the world market.
  • There were two main systems of indigo cultivation – nij and ryoti.
  • Both the systems had their own share of problems. While nij system required a huge investment on land and labour, under the ryoti system, the ryots fell under the vicious cycle of a contract and loan.
  • In March 1859 thousands of ryots in Bengal refused to grow indigo and the ‘Blue Rebellion’ started.
  • The government set up the Indigo Commission to enquire into the system of indigo production which held the planters guilty and criticised them for the coercive methods they used with indigo cultivators.
  • After the revolt, indigo production collapsed in Bengal.

Important Keywords

  • Artisans (noun): Someone who is skilled at making things by hand. Origin: Middle French, from northern Italian dialect form of Tuscan artigiano.
  • Optimistic (noun): A positive feeling that something good will happen in the future. Origin: French optimisme.
  • Enterprising (adj.): Showing or having the ability to do new and difficult things in the future. Origin: unknown.
  • Ryoti: Cultivator
  • Indigo: A plant that produces rich blue colour.
  • Bigha: A unit of measurement of land
  • Satta: A contract or an agreement
  • Vat: A fermenting or storage vessel
  • Woad (noun): A yellow-flowered European plant of the cabbage family. It was formerly grown as a source of blue dye, which was extracted from the leaves after they had been dried, powdered, and fermented.

Important Dates

  • 12 August 1765 : The Mughal emperor appointed the East India Company as the Diwan of Bengal.
  • 1770 : A terrible famine killed ten million people in Bengal.
  • 1793 : The Company introduced the Permanent Settlement.
  • 1822 : Holt Mackenzie devised the Mahalwari system.
  • March 1859 : Thousands of ryots in Bengal refused to grow indigo.
  • 1917 : Mahatma Gandhi visited Champaran.

We hope the given revision notes for Ruling the Countryside Class 8 helps you in your learning.

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Social Science Revision Notes for all chapters

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