Important Questions For Class 11 History Chapter 6 Displacing Indigenous Peoples
Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 6 Displacing Indigenous Peoples
Displacing Indigenous Peoples is Chapter 6 of the Class 11 History book Themes in World History, published by NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training). The chapter studies what happened to the native peoples of North America and Australia when European settlers arrived. It explains the loss of native lands, reservations, the idea of terra nullius, and the later steps taken by the governments of the USA, Canada and Australia to recognise native rights.
These Class 11 History Chapter 6 important questions and answers are all 5-mark long answer questions, each with the picture, map or painting used in the chapter. They help students revise for exams, help parents check preparation at home, and give teachers ready material for class practice. A free printable PDF of the complete set is also available for download.
Important Questions For Class 11 History Chapter 6 Displacing Indigenous Peoples
Displacing Indigenous Peoples
Easy
Displacing Indigenous Peoples
Medium
Displacing Indigenous Peoples
Medium
Displacing Indigenous Peoples
Medium
Displacing Indigenous Peoples
Difficult
Question 1. From the late 20th century, an issue made Australian Whites feel guilty about their behaviour towards the Aborigines. What was the issue? What steps were taken by the Australian government to improve the conditions of the Aborigines?
Answer: 1. The term 'Human Rights' was frequently heard in the UN and other international meetings. This made Australians aware of their past actions.
2. Australians felt guilty for:
– Considering the land 'Terra Nullius' (belonging to nobody).
– Not formalising occupation of the natives' land.
– Capturing and separating the children of the natives.
Steps taken by the government:
1974 – The 'White Australia' policy ended and entry of Asians was allowed.
1992 – The policy of Terra Nullius was made legally invalid.
1995 – A National Inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families was initiated.
26 May 1999 – Declared 'National Sorry Day' as an apology for children 'lost' from the 1820s till the 1970s.
Question 2. In Australia, the Aborigines and their culture were neglected by the white settlers, till an event changed the whites' outlook towards the Aborigines. What was that event? Throw some light on the events that followed it.
Answer: W.E.H. Stanner, an anthropologist, brought the Aborigines into the light.
In 1968, he gave a lecture – 'The Great Australian Silence'.
In this, he highlighted the silence of historians about the Aborigines.
Consequently, from the 1970s, an eagerness to understand the Aboriginal natives developed.
They were studied as communities with distinct cultures, unique ways of understanding nature and climate, and a sense of community with vast bodies of stories, textile, painting and carving skills.
These were to be understood, recorded and respected.
Question 3. The authorities of Australia did not consider the Torres Strait Islanders as Aborigines. They were denied the special rights that were given to the Aborigines. Can you explain the reason why they were discriminated from the Aborigines?
Answer: The Torres Strait Islanders inhabit the islands located to the north of the Australian mainland.
The term 'Aborigines' is not applicable to them.
This is because it is believed that they had migrated from a different place (the region around Papua New Guinea).
They are hence believed to be of a different race.
Question 4. In the 1950s and 1960s, the governments of both Canada and the US tried to remove the special rights given to the natives, which was opposed by the latter. Explain the reasons for this opposition and how the matter was resolved.
Answer: In the 1950s and 1960s, the US and Canadian governments tried to end special provisions for the natives.
They thought that the natives would adopt European culture, which would enable them to join the mainstream. However, the natives protested against this.
The natives prepared a 'Declaration of Indian Rights' in 1954. The Declaration laid out the following terms:
– Natives would accept US citizenship.
– Natives' reservations would not be taken away.
– The traditions of the natives would not be interfered with.
In 1969, the Canadian government decided not to recognise the rights of the aboriginals. This was followed by a series of debates and demonstrations.
Finally, the government passed the Constitution Act in 1982. It recognised the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the natives.
Question 5. Although Native Americans were given separate reservation territories, their problem could not be resolved immediately. How was the problem of the American natives finally resolved?
Answer: As the natives were pushed westwards, they were finally confined to small areas called 'reservations'.
Under this, many tribes were forced to live on lands once occupied by only one tribe. Hence, these tribes fought among themselves.
They also frequently rebelled, but were crushed by the US army. Finally, they gave up.
From the 1920s onwards, things began improving for the natives of the USA and Canada.
In 1928, 'The Problem of Indian Administration', a survey by the social scientist Lewis Meriam, was published. It painted a grim picture of the terribly poor health and education facilities for natives in the reservations.
White Americans sympathised with the natives, who were discouraged from fully practising their own cultures and were also denied the benefits of citizenship.
Finally, the Indian Reorganisation Act (1934) gave natives in reservations the right to buy land and take loans.
Question 6. With the coming up of White settlements, the natives were forced to move from their original places to the westward regions. Explain the outcome of this trend in the context of the Native Americans.
Answer: Europeans who arrived on the eastern coast of America settled on the coast.
Their immigration resulted in expansion and the eventual displacement of the natives towards the west.
Eventually, the natives were locked up in small territories called 'reservations'.
They had no connection with these lands.
Question 7. The natives failed to know the real character of the Europeans, which cost them too much. The natives appeared to be very friendly with the Europeans, who reciprocated in an unacceptable way. Explain the attitude of the early American natives and European traders towards each other.
Answer: The native tribes of North America treated the Europeans as friends.
They gifted them articles, which the latter sold for profit in Europe.
The Europeans sold goods as per their value, and prices varied annually.
The Europeans also gradually gained control over the natives by making them addicted to alcohol.
The Europeans considered the natives lazy.
They forcibly occupied the natives' lands and pushed them into the interiors.
Question 8. The French started participating in local gatherings of American natives in the 17th century. Can you make out the reasons for these gatherings and how the French benefited by participating in them?
Answer: The French attended native gatherings held along the Mississippi River.
They found that natives in these gatherings exchanged handicrafts and items of food which were not available in other regions.
By participating in these gatherings, the French procured a variety of goods from different regions.
Native goods, handicrafts, fur and fish were in great demand in Europe.
Question 9. European settlers began large-scale deforestation in America to make fields. Native Americans too cultivated land but they never cleared forests. Can you suggest the reasons for this?
Answer: American natives did not practise extensive agriculture.
Despite some territorial disputes, control over land was largely a non-issue.
They did not wish to own land, but were rather 'content' with the food and shelter of the land.
Native Americans also believed in making formal alliances, friendships and giving gifts.
Goods were obtained not by purchasing, but as gifts.
Question 10. The 'white settlers' in Australia ruthlessly massacred the native people, a policy they had never followed in any other part of the world. They even justified their act. What was the justification given by the British settlers?
Answer: In 1770, Captain Cook, a Briton, was the first to reach Australia among the 'white settlers'. He and his crew were welcomed by the Aborigines.
Colonisers had stated in their works about the friendly treatment shown by the natives.
But Captain Cook was killed by a native – not in Australia, but in Hawaii.
Taking the single incident of the murder of Captain Cook, the 'white colonisers' ruthlessly suppressed the Aborigines.
90% of the Aborigines perished in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The natives were exposed to the germs and other infections of the 'white colonisers', and their lands were snatched away.
Question 11. For the colonisers, the history of Australia initially began with Captain Cook's discovery of Australia. What policy was practised towards the Aborigines by the government based on this interpretation?
Answer: According to the colonisers, the history of Australia begins with the discovery by Captain Cook.
Based on this interpretation, the Aborigines were not recognised as natives of Australia.
Native culture and achievements were ignored.
Their lands were forcibly occupied and declared terra nullius.
It was considered that the Aborigines did not have any past, as the distinction between past and present was blurred.
Question 12. The 'White' settlers were apprehensive about employing natives, therefore they brought African slaves to work in the plantations of North America. Can you tell us the real cause behind this suspicion of the white settlers about the Native Americans?
Answer: Plantations developed in the southern states of the USA.
Natives employed in South America had perished.
European colonisers realised that hot conditions were not suitable for the natives for outdoor work.
This reason made the settlers apprehensive about using North American natives as a labour force.
So, they brought Africans as slaves to work.
Question 13. The white settlers in America had destroyed wildlife nearly to extinction, and it was saved only due to one invention made by humans in 1873. Why did the whites destroy the wildlife? What was that invention?
Answer: Fields of rice, maize and cotton were developed.
The settlers worried about the security of their fields and houses.
So, they killed wolves and mountain lions in huge numbers to ensure safety.
But the invention of barbed wire in 1873 solved this safety issue.
Thus, many wild animals were spared and saved from extinction.
Question 14. The British used their political control over India to dictate their terms of trade. Did they use the same tactics in North America?
Answer: Colonisers in America did not use force to control the native population, but engaged them in a trick of exchanging their forest produce for European manufactured goods.
The following goods were exchanged prominently:
Natives gave: handicrafts, fish, furs and other forest produce.
Europeans gave: blankets, iron vessels, guns and alcohol.
Another method used by the Europeans to enslave the natives was to make them addicted to alcohol.
This enabled the Europeans to dictate the terms of trade and control their territory.
Question 15. Native Americans were considered 'content people'. Their lifestyle was very simple. This character of the natives was misunderstood by the European settlers, who branded them 'lazy people'. Can you give the reasons for this belief of the Europeans?
Answer: Native Americans lived in bands along river valleys.
They ate fish and meat, cultivated maize and vegetables, and hunted bison.
They hunted as per their daily need for survival.
They practised subsistence agriculture and thus were 'content people'.
They exchanged goods as gifts to satisfy different needs.
Europeans, used to market economies and surplus production, misread this simple lifestyle as laziness.
Related Study Material on Extramarks
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 1
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 2
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 3
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 4
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 5
- Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 7