Forest Society and Colonialism Class 9 – Study Notes

You must have read about many retributive reforms and regulations that colonialism brought with itself. Class 9 social science chapter Forest Society and Colonialism cover the greed and non-human fiscal reforms which were introduced by Britishers in India. It also discusses how these reforms led to instability and exploitation of the common people, giving rise to revolts and movements throughout the country. To understand the entire topic in a better way, we have devised study notes which are easy-to-learn. 

What is Forest Society and Colonialism?

The British had regulated the laws concerning the use of forests and forest products. Forest Society and Colonialism refer to the Act of the British Parliament that circulated laws prohibiting the use of forests and forest products by the Indian farmers. They were under the opinion that the Indian farming practices were hampering the forest cover of the region, which was essential for the revenue of the Crown. This class 9 chapter 3 on History, reflects the laws that were made to restrict the use of forest lands by the local dwelling near it.

The British colonized India for economic growth. It is no debate that their sole purpose was to drain all the wealth to the crown of England. The world was amidst a state of constant wars and civil unrest Forests and forest products formed a substantial part of the products needed to fight the wars such as paper, plywood, plants and tree extracts for medicines, etc. The burden on the existing cultivable land was increasing and hence, farmers were paving and flattening patches for developing land for cultivation. Hence, to stop that the Forest Society Act was regulated to protect the forest cover and impose heavy taxes on agricultural lands under the garb of fiscal policies.

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 Why were Forests Affected by War?

Forest society and colonialism class 9 notes provide an extensive understanding of this topic as well. Forests were affected by war at the time of the two historical wars, World War-I and World War- II. Large areas of forests were cut down to meet the needs of the British troops. At the time of these wars, all the equipment was made of wood. Forest was a rich source of revenue too due to the various forest products that were of commercial value. 

As already mentioned in the preceding paragraph Forest cover was of much political and financial value. The sale of forest products made up a big part of the overall revenue. Wars needed money and equipment, both of these were reliant on the Forest and forest products substantially. The British wanted to develop and plan the Forest management as per their convenience and interest. They had no interest in taking care of the public needs that were demanding more land for cultivation. Wars pose a huge pressure on the forest as their management changed from time to time to suit the needs of the British crown from time to time.

Deforestation and Rise of Commercial Forestry

Forest society and colonialism class 9 notes also point towards the fact that forests had to be cut down to make way for the infrastructure and innovation that was seeping the paradigms of the world. Forest was cut down to create land patches for cultivation. As the population of the country grew, its agricultural needs grew likewise. As a result, India lost a lot of its forest cover between 1880 to 1920. This massive deforestation led to the rise of forest societies that regulated the use of the forest land. There was a massive indiscriminate cutting down of trees as farmers had families to feed and taxes to pay. The agricultural lands were taxed heavily to bring the revenue surge that the British needed for their political interests.

By the 19th century, the oak forests were disappearing in England leading to a short timber supply to the Royal Navy of England. To bridge this gap, forests were cut down in a ruthless manner to supply timber for the needs of the Royal Navy.

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Forest Society and Colonialism: Forest Rules’ Affect on Cultivation

This is one interesting aspect of the topic forest society and colonialism.  Any laws that the British had developed were usually partial towards the Indians. Forest Rules affected the cultivation greatly as people could no longer practice agriculture as freely as they used to earlier. With the development of Forest Society and Forest use laws, the people were under an obligation to seek the permission of the government to cultivate the land. Even after that, heavy taxes were imposed on the cultivators, which left the farmers hungry and poor as they were left with nothing even after all the compliances. They also imposed oppressive rent and taxes.

This is one significant episode that you must flag in your class 9 social science notes of forest society and colonialism. In 1905 the government planned to reserve 2/3rd of forest and thus implemented various taxes and rents. People were determined to protect their rights, and therefore, they decided to rise against this oppression. In 1910 arrows, and other makeshift tools were distributed among the villagers to rebel against the British. The officials who were associated with the oppressive laws faced rebellious robberies from the protestors.

We hope you understood the forest society and colonialism rules implemented by Britishers and their after-effects. If you are facing difficulties in understanding any other Class 9 topic then you must check exclusive easy to read study notes by Leverage Edu.