Grade 10 – Print Culture and the Modern World - NOTES

Q.1 Give reason for the following:

a. Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.

b. Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.
c. The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an Index of prohibited books from the
mid-sixteenth century
d. Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for the liberty of speech, liberty of the press,
and freedom of association.

Solution: (a) Marco Polo, the Italian explorer, visited China and learnt the technology of woodblock
printing. When he returned to Italy in 1295, he brought this knowledge back with him. Gradually this
knowledge spread from Italy to other parts of Europe.
(b) In 1517, Martin Luther, the religious reformer, wrote ninety-five theses that criticised the corrupt
practices of the Catholic Church and pasted these on the church door in Wittenberg. Very soon,
thousands of copies of Luther’s theses were printed, spreading his ideas among people. Martin
Luther was deeply moved by realizing the power of printing, which brought about the reformation
movement and the eventual birth of Protestantism.
(c) Print and popular literature encouraged many distinctive interpretations of religious faiths and
ideas. In the 16th century, Manocchio, a roller in Italy, began to read books available readily in his
locality. He gave a new interpretation of the Bible and formulated a view of God and creation that
enraged the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, Manocchio was hauled up twice and ultimately
executed when the Roman Catholic Church began its inquisition.
(d) Mahatma Gandhi said these words in 1922 during the Non-cooperation Movement (1920-22).
According to him, without the liberty of speech, the liberty of the press and freedom of association,
no nation can even survive. If the country was to get free from foreign domination, then these
liberties were quite important.
Q.2 Write short notes on what you know about:

a. The Gutenberg Press

b. Erasmus’s idea of the printed book
c. The Vernacular Press Act

Solution: (a) The Gutenberg Press was the first printing press of Europe. It was invented by
Johannes Gutenberg of Strasbourg. He grew up in a large agricultural estate and had knowledge
and experience in operating olive and wine presses. He invented the printing press around the year
1448 with the Bible being the first book to be printed.
(b) Erasmus, the Latin scholar, was not happy with the printing of books because he was afraid that
this would lead to the circulation of books with rebellious ideas. He felt that although a few books
may give useful information, the majority of books may just be irrelevant or illogical through which
scandalous of irreligious ideas will spread, ultimately leading to incitement of rebellion.
(c) The Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878 by the British government in India. This act
provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the Vernacular
Press. If a Vernacular Paper published any seditious material, the paper was banned, and its
printing machinery was seized and destroyed.
Q.3 What did the spread of print culture in the nineteenth century India mean to:

a. Women
b. The poor
c. Reformers

Solution: (a) Women: Women became as important as readers and writers. Reading habits
improved among them. With an increase in literacy, women took great interest in reading and
writing. Many journals started emphasizing the importance of women’s education. Many magazines
and books were especially published for women. The print culture gave women some amount of
freedom to read and develop their own views on various issues, especially those related to women.
(b) The Poor: As the literacy rate improved in Europe as well as in India, printed material, especially
for entertainment, began to reach even the poor. In England ‘penny magazines’ were carried by
peddlers and sold for a penny, so that even poor people could buy them. Those who could not read
could listen to the stories and folklore. These stories and folklore could be read out to them by
others. Books could be hired on a nominal fee from some book owners. Even in India, very cheap
small books were brought to the market in 19th century Madras towns, which allowed poor people
to have access to print culture.
(c) Reformers: Reformers used newspapers, journals and books to highlight the social evils
prevailing in the society. Raja Ram Mohan Roy published the ‘Sambad Kaumudi’ to highlight the
plight of widows. From the 1860s, many Bengali women writers like Kailashbashini Debi wrote books
highlighting the experiences of women, about how women were imprisoned at home, kept in
ignorance, forced to do hard domestic labour and were treated unjustly by the menfolk they served.
Discuss
Q.1 Why did some people in the eighteenth century Europe think that culture would bring
enlightenment and end despotism?
Solution:

a. The spreading of new ideas after the coming of print culture, the ideas of scientists and
philosophers now became more accessible to the common people. Ancient and medieval
scientific texts were compiled and published.
b. Books as Medium of Progress By the eighteenth century, books became a medium of
spreading progress and enlightenment, which could change society and the world. It was
also believed that the books could liberate society from despotism and tyranny.
c. Writings of Scholars: The writings of thinkers such as Jean Jacques Rousseau, Thomas
Paine and Voltaire were also widely printed and could gain popularity. Thus their ideas about
science, rationality and reasoning found their way into popular literature.
d. Scientific Discoveries: Maps and more accurate scientific diagrams were widely printed when
scientists like Issac Newton began to publish their discoveries. They could influence a much
wider circle of scientifically-minded readers.

Q.2 Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one
example from Europe and one from India.
Solution: Some people, especially from the upper class fear the effect of easily available printed
books due to the spread of literacy among the common people. They feared that they might lose
their position or authorities. Some people thought that it might lead to the spread of rebellions and
irreligious thoughts.
Example:
(i) In Europe, the Roman Catholic Church tried to curb the printed books through the Index of
Prohibited Books.
(ii) In India, the Vernacular Press Act imposed restrictions on Indian press and various local
newspapers.
Q.3 What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in nineteenth-century
India?
Solution: Public libraries were set up from the early twentieth century, expanding access to books.
These libraries were located mostly in cities and towns and at times in prosperous villages. For rich
local patrons, setting up a library was a way of acquiring prestige.
From the late nineteenth century, issues of caste discrimination were written about in many printed
tracts and essays.
Jyotiba Phule, the Maratha pioneer of ‘low caste’ protest movements, wrote about the injustices of
the caste system in his Gulamgiri (1871). In the twentieth century, B.R. Ambedkar in Maharashtra
and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in Madras (better known as Periyar) wrote powerfully on caste, and
their writings were read by people all over India. Local protest movements and sects also created a
lot of popular journals and tracts, criticising ancient scriptures and envisioning a new and just future.
At the very least, it made pooer people aware of their rights and their place in society and Print
media showed the way in which they can improve their lot in life.
Q.4 Explain how the print culture assisted in the growth of nationalism in India.
Solution: Print culture assisted in the growth of nationalism in India in the following ways:

a. By the end of the 19th century, a large number of newspapers in Indian vernacular
languages were published, making it easier to circumvent the language barriers among the
various ethnic groups of Indians.
b. These newspapers published articles written by national leaders. Their ideas were
communicated to the masses through these newspapers.
c. The people of different communities and places were thus connected by print media.
Newspapers conveyed news from one place to another, creating a pan-Indian identity.
d. The nationalist newspapers exposed the colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist
activities. As these were written in spoken languages of various regions, the common man
could easily understand the content.
e. For example, when Punjab revolutionaries were deported in 1907, Balagangadhar Tilak
wrote articles sympathising with them. He was arrested which provoked protest among the
masses.

Thus it is clear that print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.

EXTRA QUESTIONS:

How did the Buddhist missionaries from China introduce printing technology into Japan
around AD 768-770?
Answer:
The development of print in Japan took place as mentioned below :
 1. Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology in Japan
around AD 768-770.
2. The oldest Japanese book printed in AD 868 was the Buddhist Diamond Sutra. It
contained six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations.
3. Pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards and paper money,
4. In medieval Japan, the poets and prose writers regularly published their works.
5. Printing of visual material led to interesting publishing practices. For example, in
the late eighteenth century, at Edo (modern Tokyo) illustrated collections of
paintings depicted an elegant urban culture, involving artists, courtesans, and
teahouse gatherings.
6. Libraries and bookstores were full with hand-printed material of various types such
as books on women, cooking, famous places, musical instruments, calculations,
tea ceremony and flower arrangements.

How was the increase in demand for books met in Europe in the fourteenth century ?
Answer:
The expanded demand for books in Europe was met in the following ways :

1. Booksellers all over Europe began exporting books to many different countries.
2. Book fairs were held at different places.
3. Production of handwritten manuscripts also continued to meet the expanded
demand. Skilled handwriters were employed by booksellers. Sometimes more
than 50 scribes were employed by one bookseller.
4. Woodblock printing was widely used to meet the demand, i But in spite of the
above efforts, there was still a great need for even quicker and cheaper
reproduction of texts which was fulfilled by the development of the printing press
by Johann
Gutenberg in the 1430s.

How did Gutenberg get the idea of a printing press and perfected it ? Which was his first
printed book ?
Answer:
(1)

1. Gutenberg was the son of a merchant and grew up on a large agricultural estate.
From his childhood, he had seen wine and olive presses.
2. Subsequently, he learnt the art of polishing stones, became a master goldsmith,
and also acquired the expertise to create lead moulds used for making trinkets.
3. Drawing on this knowledge, Gutenberg adapted existing technology to design his
innovation.
4. The olive press provided the model for the printing press.
5. Moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the alphabet.
 6. By 1448, Gutenberg perfected the system.

(2) The first book he printed was the Bible. About 180 copies were printed and it took
three years to produce them. By the standards of the time this was the fast production.

How did the print revolution create a new reading public and new culture of reading ?
Answer:
(1) The print revolution created a new reading public as mentioned below :

1. A new reading public emerged because printing reduced the cost of books,
2. Books could be produced at a faster rate and were available in the market in large
numbers.
3. The books flooded the market, reaching out to an over-growing readership.

(2) Print revolution created a new culture of reading as mentioned below :

1. Earlier books were read by the elites. Common people were illiterate and lived in a
world of oral culture. They heard sacred texts read out, ballads recited and folk
tales narrated.
2. Knowledge was transferred orally. People collectively heard a story or saw a
performance.
3. Before the age of print, books were not only expensive but they could not be
produced in sufficient numbers. Now books could reach out to wider sections of
people. If earlier there was a hearing public, now a reading public came into being.

How did print introduce a new world of debate and discussion ? What were its
implications in the sphere of religion ?
Answer:
(1) Print introduced a new world of debate and discussion as mentioned below :

1. Print created the possibility of wide circulation of ideas.

2. Even those who disagreed with established authorities, could now print and
circulate
their ideas. .
3. Through the printed message, people could be persuaded to think differently, and
move to action. This had significance in different spheres of life.

(2) Debates and discussions had effects on religion as mentioned below :

 1. Martin Luther’s Ninety Five These criticism many practices and rituals of the
Roman Catholic Church led to a division within the Church and to the beginning of
the Protestant Reformation.
2. Several scholars think that print brought about a new intellectual atmosphere and
helped spread the new ideas that led to the reformation.
3. Print revolution led to distinctive interpretations of faith even among little-educated
working people. For example, Manocchio, a miller in Italy, reinterpreted the Bible
in his own way that enraged the Roman Catholic Church which imposed severe
controls over publishers and booksellers and began to maintain an Index of
Prohibited Books from 1558.

Why was there fear of print among some people in Europe ? Explain.
Answer:

1. The printed book was not welcomed by all. Even those who did it also had some
fears about it.
2. On the other hand, many were apprehensive of the effects that the easier access
to the printed word and the wider circulation of books, could have on people’s
minds.
3. It was feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read then
rebellious and irreligious thoughts might spread. If that happened the authority of
‘valuable’ literature would be destroyed. This fear or anxiety was the main basis of
criticism of the new printed literature.