The document discusses the history and impact of print culture from its origins in ancient civilizations through to the modern world, emphasizing the transformative role of the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. It highlights how the spread of printed materials fostered literacy, facilitated the dissemination of ideas, and instigated major social and religious changes, including the Protestant Reformation and the French Revolution. Additionally, it examines the evolution of print in India, the emergence of new literature forms, and the influence of print on societal dynamics, including women's roles and nationalist movements.

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Revision Notes for Class 10 Social Science
History Chapter 5 – Print Culture and the Modern World
More than 5,500 years ago, people started writing. However, it took time and effort to
write manually or inscribe on materials like stone, leather, etc. So for a long time, ideas
and knowledge were spread orally among the masses.
It was only after the invention of printing that ideas started to travel faster. Books,
newspapers, historical documents, autobiographies, scientific documents, etc., contributed
tremendously to the world's progress.
Printing In China:
• Although the Sumerian civilizations used some primary forms of printing, China is
considered the birthplace of printing. Woodblock printing first originated in this
country.
• In China, woodblock printing started from 594 AD onwards. And when the Tang
Dynasty came to power in 618 AD, the emperors immensely helped in the progress of
woodblock printing.
Printing In Japan:
• In Japan, the Chinese missionaries propagated the art of printing to spread Buddhism.
This is how hand printing technology came to Japan from 768 AD onwards.
• Diamond Sutra is regarded as the earliest known printed Japanese book. This book is
regarded as the world’s oldest printed book. It was dated May 11, 868 AD.
Printing In Europe:
• As you have read previously, China supplied Silk materials to Europe. The route
through which the traders of China met buyers of the West and vice versa is known as
the Silk Route.
• It is through this same route the Chinese paper travelled to Europe. Before this, in
Europe, Vellum or animal skin was used to write on. But it was expensive and catered
only to the aristocrats.

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• In 1925, painting was brought back to Italy by Marco Polo's knowledge but the cost
of painting decreased as woodblock printing spread in Italy.
Gutenberg:
The invention of woodblock could only help printing in a limited way. As the demand
increased, the woodblock printing proved incapable of handling too much load. This is
where Johannes Gutenberg came into the scene in the 15th century.
Gutenberg, who grew up on an agricultural estate, saw how the grapes and olives were
pressed to extract the liquids. He became a goldsmith and used to create lead moulds to
produce trinkets of his desired shape.
Gutenberg drew inspiration from the above two works and made the world’s first
printing press. He -
• Used moulds to make metals resembling the alphabet.
• Used a press similar to an olive press to press the paper against the inked metal types.
There are reasons why Gutenberg’s printing press is known as a revolutionary
invention:
• The woodblocks were not moveable, and hence printing with them was inefficient.
• It took too much time to make the wooden block itself. Thirdly, the wooden blocks
were not so durable. Gutenberg used metal as opposed to wooden blocks. These
metal-made alphabets were moveable, so one can use the same set of alphabets to
print various sentences.
• Gutenberg’s printing press brought about the printing revolution. Later in the 16th
century, 200 million copies of printed books were in circulation.
The Print Revolution:
There was no internet, smartphones, or laptops in the 16th century. Books became the
medium for spreading ideas and knowledge.
• More books came into the market when the cost of the books was reduced.
• A new reading public emerged who had to rely on oral methods earlier to get new
ideas and knowledge.

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• To make the books popular even to illiterate people, the printers heavily relied on
illustrations that would attract these people. Then these books were read aloud so that
the illiterate people could know what was written in the book.
• The Religious Implications The book talks about how the Church was against printing
any and every idea under the sun. But let us go a little back in time -
• Vejas Liulevicius informs us that Gutenberg was a clever businessman. He
approached the Roman Catholic Church to show how his printing press could
propagate the teachings and instructions of the Church. So, in the beginning, the
printing press and the Church were friends.
• It was only after the death of Gutenberg that the printing press started to be used by
the Protestants like Martin Luther.
• The Roman Catholic Church later concluded that low-cost printed books would
spread anti-Christian ideas and undermine the authority of the Church.
Religious Debates and the Fear of Print
Print revolutionised the spread of ideas, enabling widespread debate and discussion. It
allowed dissenting voices to reach a broad audience and persuade people to rethink and
act. However, this also sparked fears about the uncontrolled spread of rebellious and
irreligious thoughts, which could undermine established authorities and the value of
traditional literature.
In early modern Europe, this impact was evident in religion. In 1517, Martin Luther’s
Ninety-Five Theses, challenging the Catholic Church, were printed and rapidly circulated,
igniting the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s translation of the New Testament sold
thousands of copies quickly, highlighting print's crucial role in disseminating new ideas
and transforming intellectual life.
Print and Dissent
Print and popular religious literature encouraged a wide range of personal interpretations
of faith, even among less-educated working-class people. In the sixteenth century, an
Italian miller named Menocchio began reading the books available in his area. He
reinterpreted the teachings of the Bible and developed his view of God and Creation,
which angered the Roman Catholic Church. As the Church launched an inquisition to
suppress heretical ideas, Menocchio was arrested twice and eventually executed.
Concerned by the impact of widespread reading and questioning of faith, the Roman

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Church imposed strict regulations on publishers and booksellers and started maintaining
an Index of Prohibited Books from 1558.
The Reading Mania
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, literacy rates significantly increased
across Europe, largely due to churches establishing schools in villages, which helped
educate peasants and artisans. By the late eighteenth century, literacy had reached 60 to 80
percent in some regions. This rise in literacy created a strong demand for books, leading to
a surge in book production and the emergence of new forms of popular literature aimed at
different audiences.
Booksellers employed peddlers to sell small, affordable books in villages, such as
almanacks, ballads, and folktales. In England, these were known as penny chapbooks,
while in France, similar low-cost books were called “Bibliotheque Bleue.” Additionally,
romances and historical stories became popular among readers. The periodical press also
began to flourish, offering a mix of current affairs and entertainment.
The spread of print made scientific and philosophical ideas more accessible, allowing the
discoveries of scientists like Isaac Newton and the writings of thinkers like Thomas Paine,
Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau to reach a broader audience. These works contributed
to the popularisation of ideas about social science, reason, and rationality among the
general public.
‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world!’
By the mid-eighteenth century, many believed that books were key to spreading progress
and enlightenment. People thought books could transform society by ending despotism
and ushering in an era of reason. Louis-Sebastien Mercier, an eighteenth-century French
novelist, saw the printing press as a powerful force for progress and public opinion. In his
novels, characters are changed through reading, becoming enlightened and challenging
tyranny. Mercier famously warned despots to fear the power of the written word.
Print Culture and the French Revolution
Historians argue that print culture played a role in creating conditions for the French
Revolution, based on three main points:
1. Enlightenment Ideas: Print popularised Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and
Rousseau, who challenged traditional authority and promoted reason and rationality.

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Their writings questioned the Church and the state's power, undermining the
established social order.
2. Public Debate: Print fostered a new culture of dialogue and debate, encouraging
people to re-evaluate values and norms. This environment led to the emergence of
revolutionary ideas.
3. Criticism of Monarchy: By the 1780s, literature began mocking the monarchy and
highlighting its disconnect from the suffering of common people. This contributed to
growing anti-monarchy sentiments.
While print helped spread ideas, readers encountered diverse viewpoints and selectively
embraced or rejected different perspectives, thus opening up new ways of thinking without
directly shaping their beliefs.
The Nineteenth Century
In the nineteenth century, mass literacy in Europe expanded significantly, increasing the
number of readers among children, women, and workers.
Children, Women, and Workers
With compulsory primary education starting in the late nineteenth century, children
became a key audience for publishers, leading to the rise of dedicated children’s presses.
In France, a press established in 1857 focused on children’s literature, including both new
works and classic fairy tales. The Grimm Brothers in Germany also collected and edited
folk tales for children, altering their content to suit new standards. Women emerged as
significant readers and writers, with penny magazines and manuals tailored for them.
Prominent female novelists like Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters helped shape a new
image of women as strong, determined individuals. By the nineteenth century, lending
libraries, established earlier, played a crucial role in educating workers and supporting
self-education and self-expression among the working class.
Further Innovations
By the late eighteenth century, metal printing presses had been introduced. In the
nineteenth century, Richard M. Hoe perfected a power-driven cylindrical press that could
print 8,000 sheets per hour, which was ideal for newspapers. Later, the offset press,
capable of printing up to six colours simultaneously, was developed. The early twentieth
century saw advancements like electrically operated presses, improved paper feeding, and
better quality plates. These innovations transformed printed texts. Publishers adapted by

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serialising novels in periodicals and introducing cheap editions and book jackets during
the 1920s and 1930s to boost sales during economic downturns.
India and the World of Print
Let’s look at when printing started in India and how people wrote down ideas and
information before printing was invented.
Manuscripts Before the Age of Print
India had a long tradition of manuscripts in Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, and various
vernacular languages, produced on palm leaves or handmade paper. These manuscripts
were often beautifully illustrated and bound in wooden covers or sewn to preserve them.
Despite their aesthetic value, manuscripts were costly, fragile, and not easy to read due to
varying script styles. Consequently, they were not commonly used in daily life. In pre-
colonial Bengal, although there was a network of village schools, students frequently
learned to write from dictation rather than reading texts themselves. Many became literate
without engaging with written material.
Print Comes to India
The printing press arrived in India with Portuguese missionaries in the mid-sixteenth
century, who printed tracts in Konkani and Kanara. By 1579, Catholic priests had printed
Tamil books, and by 1713, Malayalam texts. Dutch missionaries also printed Tamil texts in
the early 18th century.
The English press started late in India. James Augustus Hickey launched the Bengal
Gazette in 1780, marking the beginning of English-language printing. His publication,
critical of the colonial government, led to persecution by Governor-General Warren
Hastings. By the end of the 18th century, various newspapers emerged, including Indian
newspapers like the Bengal Gazette, published by Gangadhar Bhattacharya.
Religious Reform and Public Debates
From the early nineteenth century, religious debates intensified in colonial India, with
various groups using print media to share and challenge beliefs. Reformers and
traditionalists argued over practices like widow immolation and idolatry, spreading their
views through newspapers and tracts in everyday languages.
In Bengal, reformist Rammohun Roy's Sambad Kaumudi faced opposition from
traditionalist publications like the Samachar Chandrika. Muslim leaders, concerned about
colonial influence, used lithographic presses to publish religious texts and newspapers.

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Hindu reformists also promoted religious texts in vernacular languages, making them
widely accessible. Print media not only fueled debates but also connected communities
across India, fostering a sense of pan-Indian identity.
New Forms of Publication
The rise of printing created a demand for literature that reflected people's lives, emotions,
and experiences. Novels, which developed in Europe, quickly adapted to Indian tastes,
offering new perspectives on human life. Other literary forms, like short stories and essays
on social and political issues, also became popular, focusing on personal experiences and
societal norms.
By the late nineteenth century, a new visual culture emerged with the spread of printing
presses. Artists like Raja Ravi Varma produced mass-circulated images, and affordable
prints became popular among the public. Caricatures and cartoons began appearing in
journals, offering social and political commentary, sometimes mocking Westernized
Indians or critiquing imperial rule.
Women and Print
The portrayal of women's lives in literature led to a rise in women's reading, particularly in
middle-class homes. While some families supported female education by teaching women
at home or sending them to schools, others resisted, fearing negative consequences.
Despite this, women like Rashsundari Debi secretly learned to read and later published
influential works.
As interest in women’s issues grew, more women wrote about their struggles with
domestic labour and social injustice. Journals for women became popular, discussing
education, widowhood, and societal roles. In Punjab and Bengal, cheap, illustrated books
and folk literature spread, providing both educational content and entertainment for
women in their leisure time.
Print and the Poor People
In nineteenth-century Madras, cheap small books were sold at crossroads, making them
accessible to the poor. By the early twentieth century, public libraries were established in
cities, towns, and wealthy villages, often funded by local patrons for prestige. Caste issues
became prominent in print, with Jyotiba Phule’s "Gulamgiri" (1871) and writings by B.R.
Ambedkar and Periyar spreading awareness across India.

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Despite their challenges, some factory workers wrote about their experiences. Kashibaba,
a Kanpur millworker, published "Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal" in 1938, linking caste and
class exploitation. Sudarshan Chakra, another millworker, wrote poems later compiled in
"Sacchi Kavitayen." By the 1930s, Bangalore millworkers set up libraries, supported by
social reformers promoting literacy and nationalism.
Print and Censorship
Before 1798, the East India Company showed little concern for censorship in India,
focusing instead on controlling Englishmen who criticised Company rule, fearing these
critiques could challenge their trade monopoly in England. By the 1820s, press regulations
were introduced, promoting newspapers that praised British rule. In 1835, Governor-
General Bentinck revised press laws, restoring freedoms under Thomas Macaulay's
guidance.
After the 1857 revolt, the colonial government’s stance hardened, leading to the Vernacular
Press Act of 1878, which allowed strict control and censorship of the vernacular press.
Despite repression, nationalist newspapers grew, challenging colonial rule and inspiring
protests. Notably, Balgangadhar Tilak’s support for Punjab revolutionaries in his
newspaper Kesari led to his imprisonment in 1908, sparking widespread protests across
India.