What Happened to Weavers?

The East India Company’s consolidation after the 1760s did not initially lead to a decline in textile exports from India, as British cotton industries had not yet expanded and Indian fine textiles were in great demand in Europe. Before establishing political power in Bengal and Carnatic, the Company had found it difficult to ensure a regular supply of goods for export due to competition from French, Dutch, Portuguese, and local traders. Company officials complained of difficulties of supply and high prices in their letters back to London.

Once the East India Company established political power, it developed a system of management and control to eliminate competition, control costs, and ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk goods. This was done through a series of steps, including eliminating existing traders and brokers connected with the cloth trade, establishing a more direct control over weavers, and preventing Company weavers from dealing with other buyers through advances.

As loans flowed in, weavers eagerly took advances, hoping to earn more. However, as the demand for fine textiles expanded, many weavers deserted villages and migrated, setting up looms in other villages where they had family relations. In some places, weavers and village traders revolted against the Company and its officials, leading to many refusing loans, closing workshops, and taking to agricultural labor. By the turn of the nineteenth century, cotton weavers faced a new set of problems.

What Happened to Weavers – Class 10 Social Science Chapter 4 The Age of Industrialization discusses that the Age of Industrialization was a period of social and economic change that transformed a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. The decline of the weaving industry had a devastating impact on weavers. Many were forced to give up their traditional livelihood and find work in other industries. Others migrated to other parts of the country in search of work. The decline of the weaving industry also hurt the Indian economy.

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