MCQ Questions for Class 9 History: Peasants and Farmers
1. The continuous movement of the pastoral communities helps in
(a) recovery of the pastures
(b) prevention of their overuse
(c) reduction in the demand of houses
(d) both A and B
► (d) both A and B
2. Which practice disappeared by 1800, drastically changing the lives of the labourers?
(a) Till 1800, the labourers lived with landowners, ate with their masters and helped them throughout the year doing various jobs
(b) Now they were paid wages and employed only during harvest times
(c) To increase their profits the landlords cut the amount they had to spend on their workers
(d) All the above
► (d) All the above
3. There was a frantic effort to enclose lands in Britain because :
(a) From the mid-eighteenth century the English population multiplied four times from 7 million in 1750 to 30 millon in 1900.
(b) Britain was industrialising, more people began to live in urban areas, men from rural areas migrated to towns in search of jobs
(c) As population grew, more foodgrains were needed, so land was enclosed
(d) All the above
► (d) All the above
4. Why did the white settlers want to push away the Indian Americans from their lands?
(a) The land possessed by the Indians could be turned into cultivated fields
(b) Forest timber could be exported, animals hunted for skins, mountains mined for gold and minerals
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) It was a committed policy of the US Government
► (c) Both (a) and (b)
5. Before the late 18th and early 19th century common ground was in the English country-side
(a) Open and not partitioned into enclosed lands privately owned by landlords
(b) At the beginning of the year each villager was allocated a number of strips to cultivate; beyond these strips lay the common land
(c) Here the villagers pastured their cows, grazed sheep, collected firewood and fruit for food. They fished in ponds, hunted rabbits in common forests
(d) All the above
► (d) All the above
6. The methods used to oust the Indian Americans were :
(a) numerous wars in which Indians were massacred and many villages burnt
(b) after defeat, the Indian Americans were forced to sign treaties to give up their lands and move westwards
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) peaceful negotiations
► (c) both (a) and (b)
7. White American settlements were confined to a small narrow strip of coastal land in the east till the
(a) 1750s
(b) 1780s
(c) 1800s
(d) 1850s
► (b) 1780s
8. When did the westward movement of White Americans take place?
(a) During the 1610s
(b) the 1650s
(c) After American War of Independence
(d) the 1800s
► (c) After American War of Independence
9. Who was Captain Swing?
(a) A farmer
(b) A labourer
(c) A mythical name
(d) A landlord
► (c) A mythical name
10. What did the settlers of the Great Plains realise after the 1930s?
(a) Using older methods of cultivation were better than modern machines
(b) Competition with other countries was not healthy
(c) They had to respect the ecological conditions of each region
(d) None of the above
► (c) They had to respect the ecological conditions of each region
11. What did the settlers of the Great Plains realise after the 1930s?
(a) Using older methods of cultivation were better than modern machines
(b) Competition with other countries was not healthy
(c) They had to respect the ecological conditions of each region
(d) None of the above
► (c) They had to respect the ecological conditions of each region
12. Which of these reasons led to a radical transformation of the landscape by the early 20th century?
(a) White Americans had moved westward
(b) Local tribes were displaced
(c) Entire landscape was carved into different agricultural belts in the USA
(d) All the above
► (d) All the above
13. In the late 18th century, which of the following goods was bought by the English East India Company from China?
(a) tea and silk
(b) sugar
(c) cotton
(d) jute
► (a) tea and silk
14. Name the US President who said “Plant more wheat, wheat will win the war.”
(a) President Roosevelt
(b) President Clinton
(c) President Bush
(d) President Wilson
► (d) President Wilson
15. Why were the Confucian rulers of China, the Manchus, suspicious of all foreign merchants?
(a) The British were buying tea at very low rates
(b) They feared that the British would interfere in local politics and disrupt their authority
(c) China was self-sufficient and did not want to trade with any country
(d) All the above
► (b) They feared that the British would interfere in local politics and disrupt their authority
16. How much land did the wheat barons possess at this time in the USA?
(a) 1000-2000 acres of land
(b) 2000-3000 acres of land
(c) 3000-4000 acres of land
(d) 4000-5000 acres of land
► (b) 2000-3000 acres of land
17. Name the US President who said “Plant more wheat, wheat will win the war.”
(a) President Roosevelt
(b) President Clinton
(c) President Bush
(d) President Wilson
► (d) President Wilson
18. When did the White Americans move into the Mississippi Valley?
(a) 1800-1820
(b) 1820-1850
(c) 1850-1860
(d) 1860-1870
► (b) 120-1850
19. In 1831, Cyrus McCormick invented the first mechanical reaper. What was its most important advantage?
(a) In could harvest 50 acres of wheat
(b) 500 acres of wheat could be harvested in two weeks
(c) It could cut grass on large areas
(d) It could prepare the ground for cultivation
► (b) 500 acres of wheat could be harvested in two weeks
20. Which one of these is not the correct option for the cause of the Great Agrarian Depression in the USA?
(a) Production had declined rapidly
(b) Storehouses overflowed with grain
(c) Vast amount of corn and wheat were turned into animal feed
(b) Wheat prices fell and export markets collapsed
► (a) Production had declined rapidly
21. Which agricultural implement was used to mow grass before the mid-nineteenth century?
(a) iron sickle
(b) axes
(c) scythe
(d) seed drill
► (b) axes
22. How did the machines bring misery to the poor?
(a) They had bought machines thinking that the profits would remain high
(b) Those who had taken loans found it difficult to pay back their debts
(c) Many of them deserted their farms and looked for jobs elsewhere
(d) All the above
► (d) All the above
23. What did the settlers of the Great Plains realise after the 1930s?
(a) Using older methods of cultivation were better than modern machines
(b) Competition with other countries was not healthy
(c) They had to respect the ecological conditions of each region
(d) None of the above
► (c) They had to respect the ecological conditions of each region
24. Which of the following problems were created by the expansion of wheat in the Great Plains in the 1930s?
(a) Black blizzards
(b) Floods
(c) Wars
(d) Earthquakes
► (a) Black blizzards
25. What was Chinese Emperor’s order about the use of opium in China?
(a) The British were allowed to sell opium in China
(b) The Chinese Emperor told his people to cultivate more and more opium
(c) The Emperor had forbidden its production and sale except for medicinal purposes
(d) None of the above
► (c) The Emperor had forbidden its production and sale except for medicinal purposes
26. How did Britain react when Lin Ze-xu announced that Canton was closed to foreign trade?
(a) Britain stopped the sale of opium immediately
(b) Britain arrived at an agreement to sell only limited quantity
(c) Britain declared war
(d) None of the above
► (c) Britain declared war
27. When was the large part of England quite open?
(a) Before 16th century
(b) Before 17th century
(c) Before 18th century
(d) Before 19th century
► (c) Before 18th century
28. By the early 1820s, how much opium was being smuggled every year into China?
(a) 10,000 crates
(b) 20,000 crates
(c) 30,000 crates
(d) 40,000 crates
► (a) 10,000 crates
29. What was the result of the ‘Opium War’ (1837-42)?
(a) China was forced to accept the humiliating terms of the subsequent treaties signed
(b) It had to legalise the opium trade
(c) It had to open up China to foreign merchants
(d) All the above
► (d) All the above
30. What did the enclosure imply?
(a) It meant greenfields
(b) Piece of land enclosed from all sides
(c) It meant open fields
(d) Vast area of marshy land
► (b) Piece of land enclosed from all sides
31. The Great Agrarian Depression of the 1930s was caused by:
(a) overproduction of wheat
(b) fall of wheat production
(c) rise in the price of wheat
(d) overproduction of rice
► (a) overproduction of wheat
32. The Manchus were:
(a) Chinese rulers
(b) Roman rulers
(c) Indian rulers
(d) Portuguese rulers
► (a) Chinese rulers
33. The growing of which of the following crops improves soil fertility?
(a) Potatoes and tomatoes
(b) Wheat and rice
(c) Turnip and cloves
(d) None of the above
► (c) Turnip and cloves
34. Who was the American President under whom maximum expansion of wheat cultivation took place?
(a) President Wilson
(b) President Roosevelt
(c) George Washington
(d) Abraham Lincoln
► (a) President Wilson
35. Opium was exported from India to:
(a) China
(b) Rome
(c) U.K.
(d) Portugal
► (a) China
36. In 1831 mechanical reaper was invented by:
(a) Cyrus McCormic
(b) Dietrich Brandis
(c) Alexander Hogue
(d) None of the above
► (a) Cyrus McCormic
37. From China the English East India Company imported:
(a) Silk and coffee
(b) Silk and tea
(c) Coffee and tea
(d) Paper and tea
► (b) Silk and tea
38. Farmers in England began buying the new threshing machines because they:
(a) feared shortage of labour
(b) wanted to show superiority by buying these machines
(c) had enough money which they wanted to invest
(d) none of these
► (a) feared shortage of labour
39. The Manchus were:
(a) Chinese rulers
(b) Roman rulers
(c) Indian rulers
(d) Portuguese rulers
► (a) Chinese rulers
40. Under which mythical name were threatening letters written to the rich farmers in England?
(a) Captain Swing
(b) Captain John
(c) Captain Swaine
(d) Captain Mark
► (a) Captain Swing
41. Who introduced opium in China?
(a) The Dutch
(b) The French
(c) The American
(d) The Portuguese
► (d) The Portuguese
42. In 1831 mechanical reaper was invented by:
(a) Cyrus McCormic
(b) Dietrich Brandis
(c) Alexander Hogue
(d) None of the above
► (a) Cyrus McCormic
43. Which of the following became the Bread Basket of the world during 20th century?
(a) Japan
(b) France
(c) Russia
(d) America
► (d) America
44. Why peasants protested against the threshing machines?
(a) They were dangerous
(b) Difficult to operate
(c) Deprived the workers of their livelihood
(d) Too costly to buy
► (c) Deprived the workers of their livelihood
45. In the early 19th century which were the two major commercial crops grown in India?
(a) Sugarcane and cotton
(b) Jute and cotton
(c) Indigo and opium
(d) Wheat and indigo
► (c) Indigo and opium
46. Which of the following systems was adopted by the British to convince the unwilling Indian cultivators to produce opium?
(a) Cheap loans
(b) Advances
(c) Collective farming
(d) Scientific farming methods
► (b) Advances
47. What was the normal height of terrifying duststorms during the 1930s in USA?
(a) 5000 to 6000 feet
(b) 100 to 200 feet
(c) 7000 to 8000 feet
(d) 700 to 800 feet
► (c) 7000 to 8000 feet
48. Why did the ordinary dust storm took the form of Black Blizzard in US plains in the 1930s?
(a) The whole plain was an arid zone
(b) The entire ploughed landscape was stripped of all grass
(c) The area faced heavy flooding
(d) There was no rainfall in the region
► (b) The entire ploughed landscape was stripped of all grass