Cotton Industry Dbq

One of the similarities between Japan and India’s mechanization of the cotton industry from the 1880s to the 1930s is the production of cotton and yarn went up with the use of machines. One difference is more men worked in India than Japan. The first topic for discussion will be about how the workers in Indian and Japanese textile factories are different, (Docs: 4, 7, 8, and 10). The second grouping will discuss hand vs. machine (Docs: 1, 2, and 6.) The last topic for discussion will be about both Japan and India’s low wages (Docs: 3, 5, and 9.) An additional document that would be helpful would be one from a male worker in India. With this document we can see their point of view of working in the factory, to see if they enjoy it, or if maybe
they were treated cruelly. Another beneficial document would have been from a parent of one of the female workers. This way we can see what the parents have to say about their child working in a cotton mill.

Documents 4, 7, 8, and 10 all show that the workers in textile factories are different.
There is a chart (Doc 7) that compares the amount of female cotton textile workers in Japan and India. It shows that over three-fourths were women in Japan, and less than one-fourth of Indian laborers were women. Another way this document helps show the difference of workers between Japanese and Indian textile factories is that in Japan the percent of women workers slightly increases over the years 1920-1930. In India, the percent of female workers from 1909-1934 decreases, meaning women didn’t work as much in factories. Because India was so patriarchal the women’s job was to stay home and take care of the house. Document 4 is a written concern about how there are many women working in Japanese textile mills. Documents 8 and 10 both consist of a picture from a Japanese cotton mill (Doc 8), and an Indian textile mill (Doc 10). The Japanese mill (Doc 8) illustrates a couple of women working and two or three men just sitting there (most likely supervising.) However in difference to Japan, the Indian mill (Doc 10) shows only male workers, this helps prove that more men worked than women in Indian textile mills. One should approach document 8 with caution because the source seems to be unreliable. The photo is from and official company history, meaning the picture was most likely staged to make it look like a superior place to
work.

Not only are Japan and India different when it comes to who works in their textile factories, documents 1, 2, and 6 help show how their cotton industries are similar, (Doc 1) is a chart of the production of cotton yarn and cloth in India.
One should take into account the point of view of this source because it was gathered by British Colonial authorities. The source seems reliable since they are talking about India’s statistics and not their own. Also the data looks reasonable and not over exaggerated. The source of this document most likely composed this chart to help show how the use of machines helped increase Indian textiles. Japan’s textile chart (Doc 2) combined both hand and machine spun statistics. Even though they were combined there was still a rapid increase of production of cotton yarn. (Doc 6) was written by and Indian economist and it talks about how there has been a rapid decline of hand woven cloth makers and they can’t compete with machine woven cloth. All these documents help illustrate how India and Japan’s textile industries are similar due to the use of
machines.

Lastly we will discuss similarities in the pay and wages of the cotton industry workers in Japan and India (Docs: 3, 5, and 9) (Doc 3) talks about how two Japanese women worked in a textile factory when they were younger and the first year they were not paid, the second year their parents got 35 yen an the following year 50 yen. The point of view expressed in this document is of interest because it was written by Tsurumi Shunsuke, Japanese industrialist. The source seems unreliable because it says there are surplus of workers and they come from the over abundance of people working on their own land. Also it says, “All he or she has to do is earn enough to maintain his or her own living.” The money usually goes towards the family not to the worker. I think he is writing to get people to work for him and doesn’t want to be accused as being cheap. Not only is the pay low for Japanese textile laborers, it is the same for Indian workers as well. (Doc 9) “Wages are low, and there has been no significant change in wages over the last decades.”

The mechanization of the cotton industry grew in the 1880s to the 1930s in Japan and India. The women in Japan worked in harsher conditions than the men in India, Both Japan and India’s cotton industries used peasant labor.