What did the cotton boom of the 1860s mean for the large majority of cotton producers in the Bombay Deccan?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Heavier debt as cotton expansion spread
Option (1) Lasting prosperity from high cotton prices — Incorrect. Only some rich peasants did gain. The boom years did not bring prosperity to all cotton producers, and the high prices did not last beyond the American crisis.
Option (2) Freedom from their dependence on the sahukars — Incorrect. The boom tied ryots more closely to the sahukars. Sahukars gave easy advances and long-term loans, so ryots came to depend on them even more.
Option (3) Heavier debt as cotton expansion spread — Correct. Easy credit pushed ryots to grow more cotton on borrowed money. So for the large majority, cotton expansion meant heavier debt, while only a few rich peasants gained.
Option (4) A lower revenue demand on their fields — Incorrect. The revenue demand did not fall. In the new settlement that came soon after, the demand was raised sharply, which made the ryots' burden worse.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.4 Then came the cotton boom … “While the American crisis continued, cotton production in the Bombay Deccan expanded.” “Between 1860 and 1864 cotton acreage doubled. By 1862 over 90 per cent of cotton imports into Britain were coming from India.” “But these boom years did not bring prosperity to all cotton producers. Some rich peasants did gain, but for the large majority, cotton expansion meant heavier debt.” |