Grade IX History ppt

1. Forest Society and
Colonialism

2. Introduction
• Why deforestation
• The Rise of Commercial Forestry
• Rebellion in the Forest
• Forest Transformations in Java

3. WHY DEFORESTATION?
• Dependency on Forests
• 1. Land to be improved
• 2. Sleepers on the Tracks
• 3. Plantations

4. WHY DEFORESTATION?
• Land to be improved:
a) Population explosion demands food to feed
b) To cultivate food peasants extended the boundaries
of cultivation, clearing forests and breaking new land
c) Colonial period
British encouraged
production of
commercial crops
In early 19th cent the colonial
state thought that forests were
unproductive

5. SLEEPERS ON TRACKS
Sleepers on Tracks (Wooden planks laid across railway
tracks; they hold the tracks in position)
1) In early 19th cent Oak forests in England supplied
timber to British Royal Navy
2) Search parties were sent to explore the forest
resources of India
3) The spread of railways from 1850 for colonial trade and
for the movement of troops.
4) Rapid spread of railways tracks swallowed trees

6. PLANTATIONS
1. Large areas of natural forests were also cleared to
make way for Tea, Coffee & Rubber Plantations to
meet Europe’s growing need for these commodities.
2. Colonial Govt took over the forests and gave vast
areas to European planters at cheap rates.