Why is the system of indentured labour called a 'new system of slavery'?

Because, although workers signed contracts, they were recruited by deceptive means, were bound for years, faced very harsh conditions and had little freedom — conditions that resembled slavery.

What caused the Great Depression?

A mix of factors: agricultural overproduction and falling prices, the withdrawal of US loans from Europe, and the world economy's dangerous dependence on a few major lenders all combined to cause it.

What were the Bretton Woods institutions?

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, set up in 1944 to finance post-war reconstruction and to maintain stability in the global economy.

How is globalisation an old process?

Trade, the movement of people, money, crops and even diseases have connected distant regions for centuries — from the Silk Routes to the global spread of foods like the potato.

CBSE Class 10 History · Chapter 3

The Making of a Global World

How trade, migration and money slowly stitched the world together

Summary

This chapter explains that globalisation is not new: for centuries trade, migration, the movement of capital and the spread of disease and crops have linked distant parts of the world. It begins with early connections such as the Silk Routes, the global journey of foods like potatoes and chillies, and the devastating effect of European germs like smallpox on the Americas.

It then studies the nineteenth-century world economy through three flows — of trade in goods, of labour (migrants), and of capital — and uses examples such as the British Corn Laws, the global trade in wheat and cotton, the role of indentured Indian labour, and the building of railways and canals like the Suez Canal.

Finally, it covers the upheavals of the twentieth century: the disruption of the First World War, the Great Depression (which began around 1929), and the rebuilding of the post-war economy through the Bretton Woods system (1944), which set up the IMF and the World Bank to manage trade and finance.

Key points to remember

The Silk Routes linked Asia with Europe and North Africa, carrying goods, ideas and religions.
Foods such as potatoes, maize, chillies and tomatoes reached the rest of the world from the Americas.
European diseases, especially smallpox, devastated native populations of the Americas.
The Corn Laws in Britain restricted grain imports; their abolition expanded global wheat trade.
Indentured labour from India was sent to plantations in the Caribbean, Mauritius, Fiji and elsewhere — described as a 'new system of slavery'.
The First World War (1914-18) was the first modern industrial war and disrupted the world economy.
The Great Depression began around 1929, causing a collapse in prices, production, trade and employment.
The Bretton Woods Conference (1944) established the IMF and the World Bank to ensure post-war economic stability.

Important questions (board pattern)

5 marksWhat was the system of indentured labour? Why is it called a 'new system of slavery'?
How to answer: Explain bonded contracts, recruitment of Indian labourers for plantations abroad, harsh living and working conditions, and limited freedom.
3 marksExplain any three causes of the Great Depression.
How to answer: Cover agricultural overproduction and falling prices, withdrawal of US loans, and the fragility of dependence on a small number of lenders.
5 marksDescribe the Bretton Woods system and the institutions it created.
How to answer: Explain the 1944 conference, the aim of post-war stability, fixed exchange rates, and the roles of the IMF and the World Bank.
1 markWhat were the Corn Laws?
How to answer: British laws restricting the import of corn (grain) to protect domestic producers.
3 marksHow did food travel and transform societies across the world?
How to answer: Use examples like the potato in Europe (and the Irish famine), and the spread of crops introduced from the Americas.

Common exam traps

Don't place the Great Depression in the wrong decade — it began around 1929, in the inter-war period.
The Bretton Woods Conference was in 1944, near the end of the Second World War — not after the First World War.
Indentured labour is not the same as slavery, though it was harsh — note it was based on contracts ('new system of slavery').
The IMF and World Bank were both set up by Bretton Woods — don't attribute them to the League of Nations or the UN General Assembly.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the system of indentured labour called a 'new system of slavery'?: Because, although workers signed contracts, they were recruited by deceptive means, were bound for years, faced very harsh conditions and had little freedom — conditions that resembled slavery.
What caused the Great Depression?: A mix of factors: agricultural overproduction and falling prices, the withdrawal of US loans from Europe, and the world economy's dangerous dependence on a few major lenders all combined to cause it.
What were the Bretton Woods institutions?: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, set up in 1944 to finance post-war reconstruction and to maintain stability in the global economy.
How is globalisation an old process?: Trade, the movement of people, money, crops and even diseases have connected distant regions for centuries — from the Silk Routes to the global spread of foods like the potato.