NCERT Solutions For Class 9 History Chapter 4

History is a  broad  subject; it is not only specified to a single nation but the whole world. Students generally find this subject a little tricky as there is so much to read about. Class 9 Social Science Chapter 4 History- Forest Society and Colonialism discusses the expansion of industry and urban centres, the use of ships and railroads, and the  growing need for timber and other forest products. New regulations of forest usage, new means of organising the forest, colonial control, how forest regions were mapped , trees were classified , and plantations were developed  will  be covered.  This chapter will also cover the history of similar developments in India and Indonesia. 

NCERT Class 9 History Chapter 4 will assist students in studying this  chapter  in a thorough and concise manner. With the help of Extramarks Class 9 History Chapter 4 Notes and Question Answers, students can study all of the topics  in the chapter. In addition to the NCERT Solutions, students can use the Extramarks website to access a number of other study materials. NCERT books, CBSE revision notes, CBSE sample papers, CBSE past year question papers, and other references  are available on Extramarks website. Students can register on our website and get access to these study resources.

Key Topics Covered In NCERT Solutions For Class 9 History Chapter 4

The following key topics are covered in NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 4- Forest Society and Colonialism:

Why Deforestation?
The Rise of Commercial Forestry
Rebellion in the Forest
Forest Transformations in Java

Extramarks provides in-depth information on each subtopic in NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 4- Forest Society and Colonialism.

Why Deforestation?

Extramarks NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 3 explains to students the concept of  deforestation in detail. Deforestation refers to the loss of forests and is not a new problem. . It began several centuries ago, but it became more systematic and widespread during colonial rule. .

Land to be Improved

Peasants began clearing forests and breaking new land as the population grew and the demand for food increased over time. Commercial crops such as sugar, jute, wheat, and cotton were encouraged  by the British. The demand for these crops grew throughout the nineteenth century to feed the growing urban population. In the early  nineteenth century, the colonial state believed that woods were unproductive. Cultivated lands and an increase in agriculture showed signs of improvement between 1880 and 1920 by 6.7 million hectares.

Sleepers on the Tracks

Oakwoods were vanishing in England by the early nineteenth century. To investigate the forest resources in India, search groups were sent. Railways began to develop in the 1850s. Railways were necessary for colonial trade and imperial army transportation. The railway network began to expand significantly in the 1860s. As railway tracks extended across India, a large number of trees were felled. . Individuals were given contracts by the government to deliver the requisite quantities. . The forests that surrounded the railway tracks began to vanish.

Plantations

To accommodate Europe’s expanding need for these commodities, large tracts of natural forests were cleared  to make way for coffee, tea, and rubber plantations. The colonial administration took over the forests and sold these areas  to European planters  at cheap rates  to cultivate tea or coffee.

The Rise of Commercial Forestry

The British were concerned about traders’ carelessly using trees and  use  of woods by local people would result in forest destruction. Dietrich Brandis, a German specialist and India’s first Inspector General of Woods, saw the necessity for a comprehensive system to manage the forests and for personnel to be taught in conservation science. However, it required legal backing. The Indian Forest Service was established in Dehradun in 1864. Natural forests with many different varieties of trees were taken down in ‘scientific forestry’ and replaced by trees planted in straight rows called a plantation . The Forest Act was passed in, 1865 and it was revised two times, once in 1878 and again in 1927. Forests were put into three different categories by the Act of 1878: reserved, protected, and village forests.

Extramarks provides NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 4 that give students  topic wise explanations of the chapter in detail. Browse through  these handy notes by Extramarks.

How were the lives of people affected?

Villagers wanted woods with a variety of species to meet their requirements for firewood, fodder, and leaves. The forest service, on the other side, was looking for trees like teak and sal that were  ideal for building  ships or railways. Many forest products were made from roots, leaves, fruits, and tubers. Almost everything was accessible in the forest, including plants, yokes, ploughs, bamboo, and so on. Oil was collected from the mahua tree’s fruit for  cooking and to light lamps. Bark of the semur is used to grate vegetables.Villagers  suffered greatly as a result of the Forest Act. People were compelled to steal  wood from the trees because they couldn’t afford it otherwise. If they were caught by  the forest guards, they would take  bribes from them. People were harassed by police constables and forest guards who wanted free meals from them.

How did Forest Rules Affect Cultivation?

During European colonisation or swidden agriculture, the practice of shifting cultivation or swidden farming was introduced. In many countries of Africa, Asia, and South America, it is a traditional agricultural technique. Seeds were sowed in the ashes after the first monsoon rains, and the crop is harvested in October-November. Such plots are planted for a few years before being left fallow  for 12 to 18 years for the forest to grow back. This approach, according to European foresters, was damaging for the forests. This sort of farming also made tax calculation difficult  for the government. As a result, the government decided to ban  shifting cultivation.

Who Could Hunt?

People who lived in woodlands hunted deer, partridges, and other small animals to subsist. The activity was outlawed under forest rules, and individuals found hunting were prosecuted as poachers. Tigers and other animal hunting have been a part of Indian royal and aristocratic tradition for many generations. It was under colonial authority that the scale of hunting expanded to the point that many species died extinct. Killing wild creatures earned you a reward. Hunting was permitted in some sections of the forest.

New Trades, New Employments and New Services

In trade, new opportunities emerged. Forest commerce in India dates back to the mediaeval period when Adivasi groups employed nomadic communities like the Banjaras to sell elephants and other items such as skins, horns, silk cocoons, ivory, bamboo, spices, fibres, grasses, gums, and resins. However, commerce was heavily regulated by the government, which granted several big European trading enterprises exclusive rights to trade in certain forest products. People’s well-being did not improve as a result of new job opportunities.

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Rebellion in the Forest

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 4 by Extramarks provides students with notes on rebellion in the Forest. Forest communities fought back against the changes that were being forced upon them. The Santhal Parganas’ Siddhu and Kanu, Chhotanagpur’s Birsa Munda, and Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitarama Raju  were some of the leaders of the  movements against the British..

The People of Bastar

Bastar lies in Chhattisgarh’s southernmost region, bordering Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and Maharashtra. The central plateau of Bastar is bordered on the north by the Chhattisgarh plain and on the south by the Godavari plain. Bastar is home to a variety of groups, including the Maria and Muria Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras, and Halbas. The inhabitants of Bastar believed that the Earth gave each hamlet its land, and in exchange, they looked after it by making offerings at each agricultural festival. Local villagers are responsible for all-natural resources within their boundary.  If individuals wish to take some  wood from another village  forest, they must pay a nominal charge known as devsari, dand, or man.

The Fears of the People

In the year 1905, the colonial authorities suggested reserving two-thirds of the forest and prohibiting hunting, shifting agriculture, and collection of forest produce. Villagers have long been harmed by rising land rents and frequent demands for free labour and commodity demands by colonial officials. Also, famines in 1899-1900 & in 1907 to 1908. Reservations proved to be the last straw.  People began to address these topics during village council meetings, festivals, and bazaars. The Kanger forest’s Dhurwas took the lead in the first reserve. Bazaars were plundered, officials’ and traders’ homes were burned and robbed, schools and police stations were robbed, and food was redistributed. Every village contributed to the rebellion, there was no single leader though. To put down the revolt, British troops were dispatched.

Browse Extramarks website for various resources, including NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 4. We will keep you updated with the latest  CBSE syllabus, important questions, CBSE past years’ sample papers, CBSE extra questions, etc.

Forest Transformations in Java

In Indonesia, Java is   famous as a  rice-producing island. However, there was a period when it was mostly covered with woods. The Dutch began forest management in Java. In addition to villages in the  fertile plains, several groups lived in the highlands and practised shifting cultivation . The experts at  Extramarks have curated  NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 4, which provides students with well-explained notes.

The Woodcutters of Java

The Javanese Kalangs were expert forest cutters and roving cultivators. They were excellent at harvesting teak and supplying it to the monarchs for the construction of their palaces. In the eighteenth century, as the Dutch began to acquire control of the woodlands, they attempted to enslave the Kalangs. The Kalangs fought back in 1770 by storming a Dutch fort at Joana, but the revolt was suppressed..

Dutch Scientific Forestry

The Dutch came up with forest laws  in Java in the nineteenth century, limiting locals’ access to woods. Villagers were fined for hauling wood without permission, grazing cattle, and using horse carts or animals on forest routes. The Dutch first levied rents on forest property that was being cultivated, then freed some settlements from these charges provided they worked together to offer free labour and buffaloes for cutting and transporting  timber.  This system was known as  blandongdiensten. 

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Samin’s Challenge

Surontiko Samin of Randublatung village, a community of teak forest, questioned the state’s ownership of the forest, claiming that because the wind, water, soil, and wood were not produced by the state, it could not be owned. A widespread movement arose soon after. When the Dutch arrived to survey their land, some Saminists protested by lying down on their land, while others refused to pay taxes, penalties, or perform labour. .

War and Deforestation

First as well as the Second World Wars had a significant impact on woodlands. The Dutch used a “scorched earth”  policy in Java, demolishing sawmills and burning massive heaps of teak wood. It was very difficult for the Indonesian forest service to claim back this territory after the conflict.

New Developments in Forestry

Forest conservation has become a more significant and upcoming priority. Dense forests have survived  in many areas across India, from Mizoram to Kerala,  only  because villages safeguarded them in holy groves such as sarnas, devarakudu, kan, rai, and etc.

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 3 will help students prepare the complete systematic and vast  information for chapter 4. 

NCERT Solutions For Class 9 History Chapter 4 Forest Society and Colonialism NCERT Solutions Article Links

Click on the  links below  to view NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 4: 

Class 12 History Chapter 4: Very Short Answer Type Questions

Class 12 History Chapter 4: Short Answer Type Questions

Class 12 History Chapter 4: Long Answer Type Questions

Students may access NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 4 as well as other chapters by clicking here. In addition, students can also explore NCERT Solutions for other classes from the links given below.

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By getting access to Extramarks NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 4, students can easily understand Forest Society and Colonialism.

Key Features of NCERT Solutions For Class 9 History Chapter 4

In order to do well in their exams, students need to  cover all of the concepts thoroughly. Hence, NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 4 gives comprehensive solutions to all of the questions. Some of the reasons why one should register with Extramarks are as follows:

  • All the solutions have been created by subject experts at Extramarks.
  • All the solutions have been curated in such an easy form that it becomes easy for students to comprehend and score well in their exams.
  • All the solutions have been curated, keeping in mind the guidelines laid by CBSE. So students can confidently rely on Extramarks solutions to learn and grasp with better understanding. 
  • These solutions provide detailed and accurate answers to all the questions given in the NCERT books.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

A wealthy or powerful nation’s strategy or practice of retaining or extending control over other countries, particularly in terms of creating colonies or exploiting resources.

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