(i) The colonial state pursued a policy of commercialisation of agriculture.
(ii) Commercial crops like cotton, jute, groundnuts, oilseeds, sugarcane, tobacco, etc., depending on the market demands fetched better prices than food grains.
(iii) In order to clear the debt the peasants began to raise crops for the markets, instead for home consumption.

(i) The Ryotwari system was a different revenue system introduced in South India.
(ii) Under this system, the peasant was the proprietor and paid tax on the land.
(iii) The government dealt with him directly.
(iv) He was entitled to remain in possession of land acquired by him so long as he paid the land revenue.
(v) In case of default, apart from eviction and attachment of livestock, even household property or personal belongings could be attached.

(i) Mercantilism refers to a number of prevailing economic theories applied by the state in its effort to attain wealth and power.
(ii) European countries pursued mercantilism as a kind of national economic policy designed to maximize their trade, especially to maximise the accumulation of gold and silver.

(i) The Boers suffered greatly in the war.
(ii) Their farms and crops were destroyed and Boer women and children were confined to internment camps.
(iii) The shortage of food, beds, medical and sanitary facilities caused the death of 26,000 people.
(iv) Boer states were given full responsible government in 1907.

(i) Some political philosophers defended colonialism and imperialism arguing that their action was a civilizing mission.
(ii) The rationale was that a temporary period of political dependence or tutelage was necessary for uncivilized societies to advance to the point.
(iii) This is captured by the phrase 'The whiteman's Burden' in a poem by Rudyard Kipling.

(i) The Indentured Labour System was a form of debt bondage.
(ii) By this system 3.5 million Indians were transported to various British colonies to provide labour for the plantations (mainly sugar).
(iii) It started from 1843, the year of abolition of slavery in India and continued until 1920.
(iv) This resulted in the development of a large Indian diaspora, which spread from the Indian Ocean (Reunion and Mauritius) to Pacific Ocean (Fiji), as well as contributing to the growth of Indo-Caribbean and Indo-African population.
(v) The Indenture system was a penal contract system.
(vi) The contract made punishable the refusal of an indentured labourer to work or his abstention from work, or his defiance of the orders of his master or absconding.

(i) The policy of free trade and the forcible collection of land revenue resulted in the out break of famines.
(ii) The Odisha famine of 1866-67 was a severe and terrible event.
(iii) The famines of 1876-78 known as the Great famine of 1876-78 caused a large migration of agricultural labourers and artisans from Southern India to British colonies.
(iv) Here they worked as indentured labourers on plantations.
(v) In the Madras Presidency, the famine of 1876- 78 was preceded by droughts.
(vi) The situation was made worse because of the colonial government's policy of laissez faire in the trade of food grains.
(vii) Two of the worst famine-afflicted areas in the Madras Presidency were the district of Ganjam and Vizagapatnam. They continued to export grains throughout the famine.
(viii)These famines were typically followed by various infectious diseases.
(ix) The memory of this famine is still preserved in various folk songs and ballads.
(x) The Bengal famine of 1770 as well as 1943 of British India took a heavy toll of human lives.