Question

: The weavers depend on merchant’s for_______.
A. Raw material
B. Market
C. Both (A) and (B)
D. None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: We need to understand the relationship between weavers and merchants. A person who weaves fabric as an occupation is called a weaver. A merchant on the other hand is a person who trades the goods (fabric in this case) produced by the weaver. A trader is usually a link between the weaver and the merchant who buys goods from the weaver and sells it to the merchant.
Other than just trading, weavers also depend on merchants to help them produce the finished products.

Complete answer:
In addition to trading, merchants supplied raw materials to weavers and also instructed them about the quantity and quality of fabric to be produced within a specific time. Weavers hence did not need to invest any amount of money but need to just be involved in physical labor in producing the desired fabric. The raw materials as well as the matter of selling the final products were taken care of by the merchants. This widely spread system of business between the weavers and merchants is known as the “Putting-out system”.
In this system weavers are meant to provide labor while the rest was the duty of the merchants. This system is also known as the domestic system as weavers were allowed to work at their own homes at their own speed with no strict supervision under the merchants.
Hence we can say that the weavers depended on the merchants for Raw materials as well the market where the goods needed to be sold.
So, the correct answer is Option C.

Note: The putting-out system overburdened the weavers although they need not invest in buying the raw materials or be concerned about selling the finished products in the markets. Hence they were ill-treated by the merchants and paid very low wages. But with the advancement of technology during the industrial revolution, were brought in which weaved faster and efficiently, and gradually the putting-out system was called off.