Given below are two statements : Statement I : Before the railway age, the town of Mirzapur was a collection center for cotton coming from the Deccan. Statement II : Cotton production in Bombay almost came to an end due to the American Civil War. In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Mirzapur

• Before the coming of the railways, Mirzapur on the Ganga was an important collection centre for cotton and other goods coming from the Deccan plateau, from where they were carried down the river to Calcutta.
• After the railway line linked Mirzapur to Bombay in the 1860s, its earlier importance declined. Hence, statement I is true.

Impact of the American Civil War

• When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, the supply of American cotton to Britain was cut off and Britain turned to India for raw cotton.
• As a result, exports of raw cotton from Bombay rose sharply and cotton prices boomed, so cotton production in the Bombay Deccan expanded instead of coming to an end. Hence, statement II is false.
• When the Civil War ended in 1865, American cotton returned to the market, exports from India declined and the ryots of the Deccan were caught in a debt trap, which led to the Deccan riots of 1875.