The Industrial Revolution in Britain & Southern Africa
The Industrial Revolution in Britain & Southern Africa is one of 8 topics in the Grade 8 Social Sciences CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. What was a workhouse?
A harsh institution where very poor people were forced to live and work for basic food and shelter
A type of factory machine
A trade union for skilled workers
A school for factory owners' children
Answer: A harsh institution where very poor people were forced to live and work for basic food and shelter — Workhouses were harsh institutions where very poor people, who could not support themselves, were forced to live and work in exchange for basic food and shelter.
Easy
2. What were Luddites?
Workers who smashed new machines they believed were destroying their jobs
A type of steam-powered factory machine
Factory owners who invented new machines
Members of the British government
Answer: Workers who smashed new machines they believed were destroying their jobs — Luddites were workers who, in a form of labour resistance, smashed the new machines they believed were destroying their jobs and livelihoods.
Medium
3. Name the union formed in 1833-34 that organised workers for better pay and conditions.
Answer: the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union — The Grand National Consolidated Trades Union, formed in 1833-34, organised workers collectively for better pay and conditions.
