Why was the colonial government keen on mapping? Mention any two reasons.
(i) The colonial government felt that good map is necessary to understand the land sketch.
(ii) It also consider very helpful to know the topography. This knowledge was consider to allow the colonial government to have better control over the region.
(iii) When towns began to grow maps were prepared not only to plan the development of towns but also to develop commerce and consolidate power.
Read the following excerpts carefully and answer the questions that follow:
“For the regulation of nuisances of every description”By the early nineteenth century the British felt that permanent and public rules had to be formulated for regulating all aspects of social life. Even the construction of private buildings and public roads ought to conform to standardised rules that were clearly codified. In his Minute on Calcutta (1803) Wellesley wrote:
It is a primary duty of Government to provide for the health, safety and convenience of the inhabitants of this great town, by establishing a comprehensive system for the improvement of roads, streets, public drains, and water courses, and by fixing permanent rules for the construction and distribution of the houses and public edifices, and for the regulation of nuisances of every description.
(a) How does Wellesley define the duty of the government?
(b) What was the work done by the Lottery Committee?
(c) How did the threat of epidemics give an impetus to town planning in Calcutta?
Choose five different types of buildings in your town or village. For each of these, find out when it was built, how it was planned, how resources were obtained for its construction, and how long it took to built it. What do the architectural features of the buildings express ?
Why were the figures of mortality and disease difficult to collect? Give two reasons.
Why did paupens from rural areas flock to the cities? Mention any two reasons.
