Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

In the pre-colonial Indian textile trade, goods moved from loom to ship through a layered network:

1. Weavers in interior villages produced the cloth.
2. Supply merchants linked weaving villages to port towns. They gave advances to weavers, procured the finished cloth, and transported it to the ports.
3. Bankers financed production and trade across this network.
4. At the port, big shippers and export merchants employed brokers who negotiated prices and bought goods from the supply merchants.

Armenian and Persian merchants carried goods overland via the north-west frontier to Central Asia, while sea routes through Surat, Masulipatam, and Hoogly connected India to West and Southeast Asian markets.

Source: Chapter 4, Section 3.1 – The Age of Indian Textiles

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The examiner expects students to identify the distinct roles of each type of merchant — supply merchant, banker, broker, and big exporter — not just say "merchants traded cloth." The movement from loom → village → port → ship must be clear and sequential. Mentioning land and sea routes adds completeness for 3 marks. Avoid vague phrases like "they helped trade"; be specific about what each agent actually did (advance credit, procure, negotiate, ship).