Page 87 - Understanding NCERT Histroy 09th

Goyal Brothers Prakashan
4 Forest Society and

Colonialism

INTRODUCTION
l If we look around, we find so many things that come from the forest — paper, tables,
desks, doors, windows, dyes, spices, toffee wrapper, tendu leaves in bidis, gum, honey,
rubber, coffee, tea, tannin, herbs and roots for medicinal purposes.
l Between 1700–1995, during the period of industrialisation, 13.9 million sq km of forest
or 9.3 per cent of world’s total area was cleared of forests.

1. WHY DEFORESTATION?
l The process of deforestation started many centuries ago. It became systematic, extensive
and regular during the British Colonial rule (1757–1947).

1.1 Land to be Improved

l During the pre-colonial period, increase in population and consequent extension of
cultivation, cleaning of forests led to deforestation. During the Colonial period there
were specific reasons.
l Huge extension in production of commercial crops like cotton, wheat, sugarcane, jute
on account of their growing demand in Europe to feed people and industries with raw
materials.
l The Colonial government considered forests to be unproductive and these had to be
cleared to extend cultivation to grow food grains, cash crops and enhance revenue.
Between 1880–1920, cultivated area rose by 6.7 million hectares.

Source A (Page no. 79)
The idea that uncultivated land had to be taken over and improved was popular with colonisers
everywhere in the world. It was an argument that justified conquest. In 1896 the American writer,
Richard Harding, wrote on the Honduras in Central America: ‘There is no more interesting
question of the present day than that of what is to be done with the world’s land which is
lying unimproved; whether it shall go to the great power that is willing to turn it to account,
or remain with its original owner, who fails to understand its value. The Central Americans are
like a gang of semi-barbarians in a beautifully furnished house, of which they can understand
neither its possibilities of comfort nor its use.’ Three years later the American-owned United
Fruit Company was founded, and grew bananas on an industrial scale in Central America. The
company acquired such power over the governments of these countries that they came to be
known as Banana Republics.
Quoted in David Spurr, The Rhetoric of Empire, (1993).

H-78 History Class IX