The Rise of Nationalism in Europe Class 10 History Chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers
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The Rise of Nationalism in Europe Class 10 Extra Questions History Chapter 1
Very Short Answer Type Questions
1. Who was Frederic Sorrieu?
Answer: Frederic Sorrieu was a French artist, who prepared a series of four prints, visualising his dream of a world made up of democratic and social republics.
2. To which country did the artist Frederic Sorrieu belong?
Answer: Artist Frederic Sorrieu belonged to France.
3. Why did French artist, Frederic Sorrieu prepare a series of print based on democratic and socialist republics in 1848? [CBSE Sample Paper-2017]
Answer: To depict his Utopian vision where the people of the world are grouped as distinct nations, identified through flag and national costumes offering homage to the Statue of Liberty.
4. What does ‘Absolutist’ mean?
Answer: Precisely, a government or system of rule that has no restraints on the power exercised. In history, the term refers to a form of monarchical government that was centralised, militarised and repressive.
5. What was the concept of a ‘modern state’?
Answer: A centralised power exercised sovereign control over a clearly defined territory.
6. What does ‘Nation-state’ mean?
Answer: A nation state was the one in which the majority of its citizens and not only its rulers, came to develop a sense of common identity and shared history or descent.
7. What do the ideas of ‘la Patrie’ and ‘le Citoyen’ emphasize?
Answer: The ideas of ‘la Patrie’ and ‘le Citoyen’ emphasised the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.
8. Which new name was given to ‘The Estates General’?
Answer: ‘National Assembly’.
9. When did industrialisation begin in England and other parts of Europe?
Answer: Industrialisation began in England in the second half of the 18th century, but in France and parts of German states, it occurred only during the 19th century.
10. Which new social groups emerged after industrial revolution?
Answer: A working class population, and middle classes made up of industrialists, businessmen, professionals.
11. What is the origin of the word ‘Liberalism’? What did it mean?
Answer: The term ‘Liberalism’ is derived from the latin root ‘liber’, meaning free.
12. What was the meaning of the word ‘Liberalism’ for the new middle classes?
Answer: For the new middle classes, liberalism stood for freedom of the individual and equality of all before the law. Politically, it emphasised the concept of government by consent.
13. What was the strong demand of the emerging middle classes in Europe during nineteenth century? [CBSE (F) 2016]
Answer: The strong demand of emerging middle class in Europe was freedom of markets and the abolition of state imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital.
14. How did liberalism stand in the economic sphere?
Answer: In the economic sphere, liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of state–imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital.
15. What was Zollverein?
Answer: In 1834, a customs union or Zollverein was formed at the initiative of Prussia and was joined by most of the German states.
16. Why was Zollverein formed?
Answer: To harness economic interests which lead to national unification of Germany.
17. Which countries met at Treaty of Vienna?
Answer: In 1815, representatives of the European powers—Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria—who had collectively defeated Napoleon, met at Vienna to draw up a settlement for Europe.
18. Who hosted the Treaty of Vienna?
Answer: Austrian chancellor, Duke Metternich hosted this congress at Vienna in 1815.
19. What was the objective of Treaty of Vienna?
OR
What was the main aim of Treaty of Vienna 1815? [CBSE (F) 2016]
Answer: The aim was to reverse most of the changes that had come about in Europe during the Napoleonic war. The Bourbon dynasty, which had been deposed during the French Revolution was restored to power.
20. What was the main aim of revolutionaries of Europe during the years following 1815? [CBSE Delhi 2016]
Answer: Aim of revolutionaries of Europe: To oppose monarchial forms of government.
21. Who was Giuseppe Mazzini?
Answer: Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian revolutionary born in Genoa in 1807. He became a member of the secret society of Carbonari.
22. Which two underground societies were formed by Giuseppe Mazzini?
Answer: (i) Young Italy in Marseilles. (ii)Young Europe in Berne.
23. How did Metternich describe Mazzini?
Answer: Metternich described him as ‘the most dangerous enemy of our social order’.
24. Who were liberal nationalists?
Answer: The liberal nationalists belonged to the educated middle class elite, among whom were the professors, school teachers, clerks and members of the commercial middle classes.
25. What happened in the first upheaval of France in July 1830?
Answer: The Bourbon kings, who had been restored to power during the conservative reaction after 1815, were now overthrown by liberal revolutionaries, who installed a constitutional monarchy with Louis Philippe at its head.
26. Name the Treaty of 1832 that recognised Greece as an independent nation. [CBSE Delhi 2016]
Answer: Treaty of 1832: Constantinople Treaty.
27. Name the event that mobilised nationalist feelings among the educated elite across Europe in 1830–1848? [CBSE Delhi 2016]
Answer: Event that mobilized nationalist feelings: The Greek War of Independence.
28. Who supported Nationalists of Greeks in their Independence war?
Answer: Nationalists in Greece got support from other Greeks living in exile and also from many west Europeans, who had sympathies for ancient Greek culture.
29. What was ‘Romanticism’ during the age of revolutions?
Answer: Romanticism was a cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of nationalist sentiment.
30. What were the ideas of Romantic artists and poets on nationalism?
Answer: Romantic artists and poets generally criticised the glorification of reason and science. Instead it focused on emotions, intuition and mystical feelings. Their effort was to create a sense of a shared collective heritage, a common cultural past as the basis of a nation.
31. What led to widespread pauperism in Europe?
Answer: The rise of food prices or a year of bad harvest led to widespread pauperism in town and country.
32. Why did weavers in Silesia revolt in 1845?
Answer: Weavers in Silesia had led a revolt against contractors who supplied them raw material and gave them orders for finished textiles but drastically reduced their payments.
33. What changes were brought in France after the events of February 1848?
Answer: Events of February 1848 in France had brought about the abdication of the monarch and a republic based on universal male suffrage had been proclaimed.
34. Who was Otto von Bismarck?
Answer: Bismarck was the Chief Minister of Prussia and was the architect of the unification of Germany. He carried out this process of unification with the help of Prussian army and bureaucracy.
35. How was unification of Germany ultimately achieved?
Answer: Three wars over seven years with Austria, Denmark and France ended in Prussian victory and completed the process of unification. In January 1871, the Prussian king, William I, was proclaimed German Emperor in a ceremony held at Versailles.
36. How was Italy fragmented before unification? Explain the political situation of Italy before its unification.
Answer: Italians were scattered over several dynastic states as well as the multi-national Habsburg Empire. During the middle of the 19th century, Italy was divided into seven states, of which only one, Sardinia-Piedmont, was ruled by an Italian Princely house.
37. Under whom, various states of Italy were ruled? Mention the lineages who ruled Italy.
Answer: The north was under Austrian Habsburgs, the centre was ruled by the Pope, and the southern regions were under the domination of the Bourbon Kings of Spain.
38. Describe the role of Giuseppe Mazzini in Italy’s unification.
Answer: Mazzini had sought to put together a coherent programme for a unitary Italian Republic. He had formed a secret society, called ‘Young Italy’ for achieving his goal.
39. Highlight the contribution of Garibaldi in unification of Italy.
Answer: Apart from regular troops, a large number of armed volunteers under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the fight. In 1860, Italy marched into south Italy and the Kingdom of two Sicilies and succeeded in winning the support of the local peasants in order to drive out the Spanish rulers.
40. Who was proclaimed the King of United Italy in 1861? [CBSE (AI) 2016]
Answer: Victor Emmanuel-II was proclaimed King of United Italy in 1861.
41. Was there any British nation existing before the 18th century?
Answer: There was no British nation prior to 18th century. The primary identities of the people who inhabited the British Isles were ethnic ones – such as English, Welsh, Scot or Irish. All of these ethnic groups had their own cultural and political traditions.
42. How did British combine the various ethnic nations?
Answer: All of these ethnic groups had their own cultural and political traditions. But as the English nation steadily grew in wealth, importance and power, it was able to extend its influence over the other nations of the islands.
43. How was Scotland gradually taken over by the British nation?
Answer: After the Act of Union between England and Scotland, England was able to impose its influence on Scotland. The growth of British identity meant that Scotland’s distinctive culture and political institutions were systematically suppressed. The Catholics in Scotland suffered terrible repression whenever they attempted to assert their independence.
44. How did Ireland become a part of United Kingdom?
Answer: Catholic revolts in Ireland against British dominance were suppressed. After a failed revolt led by Wolfe Tone and his United Irishmen, Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801.
45. How were the ideas of French Revolution propagated by the artists of that time?
Answer: French artists represented ideas of Liberty, Justice and Republic through symbols, female allegory and specific objects like Liberty as red cap or broken chains, while Justice is generally blindfolded woman carrying a pair of weighing scales.
46. What is an Allegory? State any one example to clarify the same. [CBSE Sample Paper-2016]
Answer: Allegory: When an abstract idea for instance; greed, envy, freedom, liberty is expressed through a person or a thing. It is symbolic.
Examples: Statue of Liberty, Marianne, Germania, etc.
47. Which female Allegory was invested by artists in France?
Answer: In France, the nation’s allegory was named ‘Marianne’, a popular Christian name, which underlined the idea of a people’s nation.
48. What was the Allegory of Germany?
Answer: Germania became the Allegory of the German Nation. In visual representations, Germania wears a crown of oak leaves, as the German Oak stands for heroism.
49. Name the Balkan countries.
Answer: The Balkan Nations comprise of Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, which were inhabited mostly by Slavs.
50. Why were Balkan nations in trouble?
Answer: A large part of the Balkans was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The spread of the idea of romantic nationalism in the Balkans together with disintegration of the Ottoman Empire made this region very explosive.
51. How did the Anti-imperialist movements begin?
Answer: The anti-imperialist movements that developed everywhere were nationalist, in the sense that they all struggled to form independent nation states and were inspired by a sense of collective national unity, forged in confrontation with imperialism.
52. Who remarked “when France sneezes the rest of Europe catches cold”. [CBSE (AI) 2016]
Answer: Metternich remarked, “When France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches cold.”
53. Who was proclaimed German Emperor in a ceremony held at Versailles in January 1871? [CBSE (AI) 2016]
Answer: Kaiser William I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor in a ceremony held at Versailles in January 1871.
54. What was the meaning of liberalism in early nineteenth century in Europe? [CBSE (F) 2016]
Answer: LIBERALISM-stood for freedom for individual and equality for all before the laws
Short Answer Type Questions
1. What changes were introduced after the French Revolution in France?
Answer: A centralised administrative system was put in place and it formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory. Internal custom duties and dues were abolished and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.
2. What was the main aim of the revolutionaries behind the French revolution?
Answer: The revolutionaries declared that it was the mission and the destiny of the French nation to liberate the people of Europe from despotism and to help other people of Europe to become nations.
3. After becoming the Monarch what changes were introduced by Napoleon?
Answer: Napoleon had, no doubt, destroyed democracy in France, but in the administrative field, he had incorporated revolutionary principles in order to make the whole system more rational and efficient.
4. How did Napoleonic trade benefitted the businessmen and small scale producers?
Answer: Businessmen and small scale producers of goods, in particular, began to realise that uniform laws, standardised weights and measures and a common national currency would facilitate the movement and exchange of goods and capital from one region to another.
5. How did the local population react to the French Rule?
Answer: Initially, at many places like Holland and Switzerland, the French armies were welcomed. But the initial enthusiasm soon turned to hostility and opposition as it became clear that the new administrative arrangements did not go hand in hand with the political freedom.
6. What does ‘Liberalism’ stand for, since the french revolution?
Answer: Since the French Revolution, liberalism has stood for the end of autocracy and clerical privileges. A constitution and representative government through parliament.
7. How was liberalism adopted in revolutionary France?
Answer: Revolutionary France, marked the first political experiment in liberal democracy. The right to vote and to get elected was granted exclusively to property owning men. Men without property and all women were excluded from the political rights.
8. What kind of conservative regimes were set up in 1815?
Answer: Conservative regimes did not tolerate criticism and dissent and sought to curb activities that questioned the legitimacy of autocratic government. Most of them imposed censorship laws to control what was said in newspapers, books, plays and songs and reflected the ideas of liberty and freedom. They were autocratic in nature.
9. What was Mazzini’s role in the unification of Italy?
Answer: Mazzini believed that god had intended nations to be the natural units of mankind. So, Italy could not continue to be a patchwork of small states and kingdoms. It had to be forged into a single unified republic within a under alliance of nation.
10. How did Polish use their language as a weapon of national resistance against Russia?
Answer: Polish language was used for church gatherings and all religious instructions. As a result, a large number of priests and bishops were put in jail or sent to Siberia by Russian authorities as punishment for their refusal to preach in Russian. The use of Polish came to be seen as a symbol of the struggle against Russian dominance.
11. How did women retaliate for their rights in Germany?
Answer: Women formed their own political associations, founded newspapers and took part in political meetings and demonstrations. Despite this, they were denied suffrage rights during the election of the Assembly of Frankfurt Parliament.
12. How did Prussia out strive in Germany?
Answer: The nation building process in Germany had demonstrated the dominance of Prussian state power. The new state placed a strong emphasis on modernising the currency, banking, legal and judicial systems in Germany.
13. Describe any three economic hardships faced by Europe in the 1830s. [CBSE (AI) 2017]
Answer: Economic hardships faced by Europe in the 1830s:
(i) Enormous increase in population was seen all over Europe. In most countries, there were more seekers of jobs than employment. Population from rural areas migrated to the cities to live in overcrowded slums.
(ii) Small producers in towns were often faced with stiff competition from imports of cheap machine made goods from England.
(iii) In Europe, where the aristocracy still enjoyed power, peasants struggled under the burden of feudal dues and obligations.
(iv) The rise of food prices as a result of bad harvest led to wide spread pauperism in town and country.
14. Explain the concept of liberal nationalism which developed in Europe in early 18th century.
Answer: Liberalism meant different things to different people.
Political liberalism:
- It stood for equality before the law.
- Revolutionary France marked the first political experiment in liberal democracy in which right to vote and get elected was granted exclusively to property-owning men.
- Men without property, and all women were excluded from political rights.
- Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, women and non-propertied men organised opposition movements demanding equal political rights.
Economic liberalism:
- It stood for freedom of markets and the abolition of state-imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital.
- Customs Union or ‘zollverein’ was formed in Prussia, joined by most of the German states.
- The Union abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two.
15. What do you mean by conservatism? Highlight the main features of the beliefs.
Answer: Conservatism was a political philosophy that stressed the importance of the tradition and preferred gradual development to quick change.
Features of the believers of conservatism are:
- They believed in established, traditional institutions of state and society.
- They believed in a monarchy, the Church, social hierarchies, etc.
- They did not propose a return to the society of pre-revolutionary days. Rather, they realised that modernisation could in fact, strengthen the traditional institutions like the monarchy.
16. Write three features of the painting of Frederic Sorrieu.
Answer:
- Men and women walking across the statue of liberty offering homage.
- Statue of liberty has a torch of enlightenment and Charter of the Rights of Man.
- On the Earth lie the shattered remains of the symbols of absolutist institutions.
17. How was France responsible in spreading nationalism to other parts of Europe?
Answer: Students and other members of educated middle classes began setting up Jacobin clubs like in France, in European countries. Their activities and campaigns prepared the way for French armies which moved into Holland, Switzerland, Belgium and much of Italy in the 1970s. With the outbreak of the revolutionary wars, the French armies began to carry the idea of nationalism abroad.
18. Give a short note on the Habsburg Empire.
Answer:
- It was a patchwork of many different regions and people.
- It included the Alpine regions — the Tyrol, Austria and the Sudetenland — as well as Bohemia, where the aristocracy was predominantly German-speaking.
- It also included the Italian-speaking provinces of Lombardy and Venetia.
19. Which conditions in France depicted their political liberalism?
Answer:
- The right to vote and to get elected was granted exclusively to property-owning men.
- Men without property and all women were excluded from political rights.
- The Napoleonic Code went back to limited suffrage and reduced women to the status of a minor, subject to the authority of father and husband.
20. Explain the role of romanticism in national feeling.
OR
“The development of nationalism did not come about only through wars and territorial expansion. Culture played an important role in creating the idea of the nation.” Elaborate upon the statement. [CBSE Sample Paper-2016]
Answer: Romantic artists and poets created a sense of shared collective heritage, a common cultural past, as the basis of a nation. It was through folk songs, folk poetry, and folk dances that the true spirit of the nation was popularised. Emphasis was given on the vernacular language and the collection of folklore, to carry the modern nationalist message to large audiences.
21. Describe the Silesian weavers’ uprising.
Answer: In 1845, weavers in Silesia had led a revolt against contractors who supplied them with raw materials and got finished goods. A crowd of weavers marched in pairs upto the mansion of their contractors, demanding higher wages. They smashed their windowpanes and also plundered the supply of cloth. As a result, the contractor fled away from his house with his family.
22. What kind of policy was followed by Bismarck? How did he manage to oust Austria from the German federation?
Answer: Bismarck followed the policy of ‘Blood and Iron’.
He was the architect of this process, which he carried out with the help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy.
Three wars were fought for over seven years with Austria, Denmark and France, which ended in the victory of Prussia and completed the process of unification.
23. Why did nationalist tensions emerge in the Balkans?
Answer: A large part of Balkans was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Ideas of nationalism in the Balkans with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire made this region very explosive. The rebellion nationalities in the Balkans thought of their struggles as attempts to win back their long lost independence.
24. How was the concept of ‘Nationalism’ introduced by the French Revolution?
Answer: France was a full-fledged territorial state in 1789 under the rule of an absolute monarch. The political and constitutional changes that came in the wake of the French Revolution led to the transfer of sovereignty from monarchy to a body of French citizens. The revolution proclaimed that it was the people who would, henceforth, constitute the nation and shape its destiny.
25. What was the political status of Europe before the concept of ‘Nation States’?
Answer: Germany, Italy and Switzerland were divided into kingdoms, duchies and cantons whose rulers had their autonomous territories. Eastern and Central Europe were under autocratic monarchies within the territories of which lived diverse people. They did not see themselves, as sharing a collective identity or a common culture. Often, they even spoke different languages and belonged to different ethnic groups.
26. Describe any three conditions that led to the formation of the British Nation State. [CBSE Foreign-2017]
Answer: The conditions that led to the formation of the British Nation State were:
(i) The primary identities of the people who inhabited the British Isles were ethnic ones – such as English, Welsh, Scot or Irish. All of these ethnic groups had their own cultural and political traditions. But as the English nation steadily grew in wealth, importance and power, it was able to extend its influence over the other nations of the islands.
(ii) The English parliament, which had seized power from the monarchy in 1688 at the end of a protracted conflict, was the instrument through which a nation-state, with England at its centre, came to be forged.
(iii) The Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland that resulted in the formation of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’ meant, in effect, that England was able to impose its influence on Scotland. The British parliament was henceforth dominated by its English members.
27. What do you understand by ‘Economic liberalism’?
Answer: In the economic sphere, liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of state imposed restrictions on the movements of goods and capital. In German-speaking regions during Napolean’s rule, there were 39 states, each of it possessed its own currency and weights and measures. A merchant travelling from Hamburg to Nuremberg to sell his goods had to pass through 11 customs barriers and pay a customs duty of about 5 per cent at each one of them.
28. How did liberal nationalism develop in Europe?
Answer: As conservative regimes tried to consolidate their power. Liberalism and nationalism came to be increasingly associated with revolution in many regions of Europe such as the Italian and German states, the provinces of Ottoman Europe, Ireland and Poland.
These revolutions were led by the liberal nationalists belonging to the educated middle class elite. Among them, there were professors, school-teachers, clerks and members of the commercial middle classes, who all believed in liberal nationalism and wanted to fight for it.
29. How were the feelings of nationalism kept alive by the people of Poland?
Answer: Poland had been partitioned at the end of the 18th century by the Great Powers—Russia, Prussia and Austria. Even though Poland no longer existed as an independent territory, nationalist feelings were kept alive through music and language. Karol
Kurpinski, celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the polonaise and mazurka into nationalist symbols.
30. What conditions prevailed in 1848 France?
Answer: (i) The year 1848 was the year of food shortages and widespread unemployment. It brought the population of Paris on the roads.
(ii) Barricades were erected and Louis Phillippe was forced to flee.
(iii) A National Assembly proclaimed a Republic, granted suffrage to all adult males above the age of 21 and guaranteed the right to work. National workshops to provide employment were also set up.
31. Were anti-imperial movements nationalist? Could the anti-imperialists movements be considered as nationalist movements?
Answer: Yes, the anti-imperial movements could be considered as nationalist as it was the struggle to form an independent nation-states and were inspired by a sense of collective national unity, forged in confrontation with imperialism. European ideas of nationalism were nowhere replicated, for people everywhere developed their own specific variety of nationalism. But the idea that societies should be organised into ‘nation-states’ came to be accepted as natural and universal.
32. ‘Ideas of national unity in the early nineteenth century Europe were closely allied to the ideology of liberalism’. Support the statement with arguments. [CBSE Sample Paper-2017, CBSE (Comp) 2017]
Answer: Liberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law. Politically, it emphasized the concept of government by consent.
(i) Derived from’ liber’ means free
(ii) Stood for freedom for all and equality for all before the law
(iii) Politically –Govt. by consent
(iv) Universal suffrage, right to vote for all
(v) French revolution stood for the end of autocracy and clerical privileges, a constitution and representative govt. through parliament.
(vi) Struggles for equal political rights.
(vii) It stressed on Economically, inviolability of private property.
(viii) Freedom of markets and abolition of state restrictions.
(ix) Any other relevant point
33. The 1830s were years of great economic hardship in Europe. Explain how? [CBSE Sample Paper-2016]
OR
“The decade of 1830 had brought great economic hardship in Europe”. Support the statement with arguments. [CBSE (AI) 2016]
OR
What was the status of people in Europe during economic hardships in 1830s?
Answer: (i) There was enormous increase in population all over Europe. In most countries there were more seekers of jobs than employment.
(ii) Population from rural areas migrated to the cities to live in overcrowded slums.
(iii) Small producers in towns were often faced with stiff competition from imports of cheap machine-made goods from England.
(iv) In those regions of Europe where the aristocracy still enjoyed power, peasants struggled under the burden of feudal dues and obligations.
(v) The rise of food prices or a year of bad harvest led to widespread pauperism in town and country
34. How had the female figures become an allegory of the nation during nineteenth century in Europe? Analyse. [CBSE Delhi 2016]
Answer: The female figures as an allegory of the nation:
(i) Artists found a way out to represent a country in the form of a person.
(ii) Then nations were portrayed as female figures.
(iii) The female figure was chosen to personify the nation. It did not stand for any particular woman in real life.
(iv) It gave the abstract idea of the nation a concrete form.
(v) Thus, the female figure became an allegory of the nation.
(vi) During the French Revolution, artists used the female allegory to portray idea such as Liberty, Justice and the Republic.
35. “Culture had played an important role in the development of nationalism in Europe during eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.” Support the statement with examples. [CBSE (F) 2016]
Answer: (i) Culture played an important role in creating the idea of the nation, art and poetry, stories and music helped to express and shape nationalist feelings.
(ii) Emotions, intuition and mystical feelings were not focused.
(iii) Their effort was to shared collective heritage, a common cultural past, as the basis of a nation.
(iv) They criticized the glorification of reason and science.
(v) German philosopher Johann Gottfried popularised true spirit of nation through folksongs, folk poetry and folk dance.
36. ‘The idealistic liberal-democratic sentiment of nationalism became a narrow creed with limited ends.’ Support the statement in the context of Balkan nationalism in the early 19th century. [CBSE Sample Paper-2017]
Answer: The Balkans comprised modern-day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro.
(i) The disintegration of the ruling Ottoman Empire and the spread of the ideas of romantic nationalism made this area explosive.
(ii) The European subject nationalities started breaking from its control to declare independence.
(iii) The Balkan revolutionaries’ acts were directed to gain back the long-lost independence.
(iv) The Balkan States were fiercely jealous of each other and wanted to gain more territory at the expense of the other.
(v) There was intense rivalry among the European powers over trade, colonies, naval might and military might. European powers such as Russia, Germany, England and Austro-Hungary were keen on opposing the hold of other powers over the Balkans for extending their own area of control.
(vi) All these events ultimately triggered the First World War (1914).
37. Explain the dominance of landed aristocracy in Europe.
Answer: Socially and politically, a landed aristocracy was the dominant class in the continent. The members of this class were united by a common way of life that cut across regional divisions. They owned estates in the countryside and also town-houses. They spoke French for purposes of diplomacy and in high society. Their families were often connected by ties of marriage. This powerful aristocracy was, however, numerically a small group.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. Briefly explain the process of unification of Italy.
Answer: (i) Political Fragmentation: Like Germany, Italy was also politically fragmented. During the middle of the 19th century, Italy was divided into seven states, of which only one, Sardinia–Piedmont was ruled by an Italian Prince.
(ii) Role of Mazzini: Giuseppe Mazzini made efforts to unite Italian Republic. He had formed a secret society called ‘Young Italy’ for achieving his goal.
(iii) Role of Count Cavour: He was the chief minister who led the movement to unify Italy. He formed a tactful diplomatic alliance with France and defeated the Austrian forces.
(iv) Role of Giuseppe Garibaldi: Garibaldi also formed armed volunteers. In 1860, they marched into South Italy and the Kingdom of Two Sicilies and succeeded in driving out the Spanish rulers.
In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed King of United Italy.
2. What conditions led to the development of a new middle class in Europe?
Answer: (i) In Western Europe and parts of Central Europe, the growth of industrial production and trade meant the growth of towns and the emergence of commercial classes whose existence was based on production for the market.
(ii) Industrialisation began in England in the second half of the 18th century, but in France and parts of the German States, it occurred only during the 19th century.
(iii) In its wake, new social groups came into being, a working class population and middle classes made up of industrialists, businessmen and professionals.
(iv) In Central and Eastern Europe, these groups were smaller in numbers till late 19th century.
(v) It was among the educated, liberal middle classes that ideas of national unity following the abolition of aristocratic privileges gained popularity.
3. Who hosted ‘Vienna Congress’ in 1815? Analyse the main changes brought by the ‘Vienna Treaty.’ [CBSE Delhi 2017]
OR
Describe the main clauses of the Treaty of Vienna of 1815.
Answer: The main clauses of the Treaty of Vienna signed in 1815 were:
Vienna Congress: The Congress was hosted by the Austrian Chancellor “Duke Metternich”.
(i) The Bourbon dynasty which had been deposed during the French Revolution was restored to power.
(ii) France lost the territories it had annexed under Napoleon.
(iii) A series of states were setup on the boundaries of France to prevent French extension in future.
(iv) Kingdom of the Netherlands, included Belgium was setup.
(v) Prussia was given important new territories on its western frontiers.
4. What was Zollverein? Why was it formed?
Answer: In 1834, the customs union of Zollverein was formed at the initiative of Prussia and was joined by most of the German states.
(i) The union abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two.
(ii) The creation of a network of railways further stimulated mobility, harnessing economic interests to national unification.
(iii) A wave of economic nationalism strengthened the wider nationalist sentiments growing at the time.
(iv) Varied currencies and weights and measures were obstacles to economic growth, so the creation of a unified economic territory allowing the unhindered movement of goods, people and capital was needed. So, Zollverein was formed.
5. What kinds of conservative regimes were set up in 1815? What did liberals think about them?
Answer: Conservative regimes set up in 1815 were autocratic.
(i) They did not tolerate criticism and dissent and sought to curb activities that questioned the legitimacy of tyrannical governments.
(ii) Most of them imposed censorship laws to control what was said in newspapers, books, plays and songs and reflected the ideas of liberty and freedom associated with the French Revolution.
(iii) The memory of the French Revolution nonetheless, continued to inspire liberals.
(iv) One of the major issues taken up by the liberal nationalists (who criticised the new conservative order) was freedom of the press.
6. Give a brief description of the French Revolution of 1830.
Answer: The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830. The Bourbon kings who had been restored to power during the conservative reaction after 1815, were now overthrown by liberal revolutionaries, who installed a constitutional monarchy with Louis Philippe at its head. Metternich once remarked, “When France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches cold.” The July Revolution sparked an uprising in Brussels which led to Belgium breaking away from the United Kingdoms of the Netherlands.
7. Explain how folklore, folk songs raised the spirit of nationalism in Europe.
Answer: It was through folk songs, folk poetry and folk dances that the true spirit of the nation was popularised. So, collecting and recording these forms of folk culture was essential to the project of nation building. The emphasis on vernacular languages and the collection of local folklore was not just to recover an ancient national spirit, but also to carry the modern nationalist message to large audiences who were mostly illiterate. In Poland, they popularised their language, folk stories, folk songs and folk dances to propagate nationalism among Polish people, who were under the rule of Russia, Prussia and Austria.
8. How did the Polish language work as a symbol of struggle against Russian dominance?
Answer: Language too played an important role in developing nationalist sentiments. After Russian occupation, the Polish language was forced out of schools and the Russian language was imposed everywhere. In 1831, an armed rebellion against Russian rule took place which was ultimately crushed. Following this, many members of the clergy in Poland began to use language as a weapon of national resistance. Polish was used for church gathering and all religious instructions. As a result, a large number of priests and bishops were put in jail or sent to Siberia by the Russian authorities as punishment for their refusal to preach in Russia. The use of Polish came to be seen as a symbol of the struggle against Russian dominance.
9. What do you understand by the term ‘allegory’? How did a female figure become an allegory of a nation?
Answer: When an abstract idea is expressed through a person or a thing, it is called an allegory. It is the personification of a country.
While it is easy enough to represent a ruler through a portrait or a statue, it is difficult to give a face to a nation. Artists in the 18th and 19th centuries found a way out by personifying a nation. In other words, they represented a country as if it were a person. Nations were then portrayed as female figures. The female form that was chosen to personify the nation did not stand for any particular woman in real life, rather it would give an abstract idea of the nation in concrete form. This is how the female figure became an allegory of the nation.
10. What conditions of Balkan areas led to World War I?
Answer: (i) As the different Slavic nationalities struggled to define their identity and independence, the Balkan area became an area of intense conflict.
(ii) The Balkan states were fiercely jealous of each other and each hoped to gain more territory at the expense of others.
(iii) During this period, there was intense rivalry among the European powers over trade and colonies as well as army and naval might.
(iv) These rivalries were very evident in the way the Balkan problems unfolded.
(v) Each power—Russia, Germany, England, Austria-Hungry—was keen on countering the hold of other powers over the Balkans and extending its own control over the area. This led to a series of wars in the region and finally the First World War.
11. Explain the Napoleonic Code.
OR
What were the advantages and disadvantages of the Napoleonic code?
Answer: Advantages:
(i) Established equality before law.
(ii) Abolished all privileges based on birth.
(iii) Simplified administrative divisions.
(iv) Granted the right to property to French citizens.
(v) Abolished feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom.
(vi) Eliminated restrictions on guilds in town.
(viii) Made efforts to improve transport and communication.
Disadvantages:
But this initial enthusiasm soon turned into hostility and opposition when it became visible that the new administrative arrangements do not go hand in hand with the political freedom. Censorship, taxation, forced conscription into the French armies required to conquer the rest of Europe, all seemed to outweigh the advantages of the administrative changes.
12. Explain the nation building process of Germany. [CBSE Sample Paper 2017]
OR
Examine the ‘Nation State Building’ process in Germany after 1848. [CBSE (F) 2017, CBSE (Comptt.) 2017]
Answer: German Unification
(i) After 1848, nationalism in Europe moved away from its association with democracy and revolution.
(ii) Nationalist sentiments were often mobilized by conservatives for promoting state power and achieving political domination over Europe.
(iii) Nationalist feelings were widespread among middle-class Germans in 19 century.
(iv) In 1848 they tried to unite the different regions of the German confederation into a nation state governed by an elected parliament.
(v) This liberal initiative to nation-building was repressed by the combined forces of the monarchy and the military, supported by the large landowners (called Junkers) of Prussia.
(vi) Prussia took on the leadership of Otto von Bismarck, who became the architect of this process.
(vii) Three wars over seven years – with Austria, Denmark and France – ended in Prussian victory and completed the process of unification.
(viii) In January 1871, the Prussian king, William I, was proclaimed German Emperor.
13. Analyse the measures and practices introduced by the French revolutionaries to create a sense of collective identity amongst the French people. [CBSE Delhi 2016]
Answer: Measures and practices introduced by the French revolutionaries for collective identity:
(i) The ideas of la patrie and le citoyen emphasized.
(ii) A new French flag, the tricolor was chosen.
(iii) The Estate General was elected by the active citizens.
(iv) The elected body of active citizens renamed as National Assembly.
(v) New hymns were composed.
(vi) Oaths were taken.
(vii) Martyrs commemorated.
(viii) A centralized administrative system was implemented.
(ix) Formulated uniform laws.
(x) A uniform system of weights and measures were adopted.
(xi) French became the common language of the nation.
14. In Britain, the formation of the nation-state was not the result of a sudden upheaval or revolution. Validate the statement with relevant arguments. [CBSE Sample Paper 2016]
Answer:
- In Britain, the formation of the nation-state was not the result of a sudden upheaval or revolution. It was the result of a long-drawn-out process.
- Role of ethnic groups: their cultural identities
- Steady growth of the English nation steadily in case of wealth, importance and power, it was able to extend its influence over the other nations of the islands.
- The Act of Union 1707—between England and Scotland.
- The growth of the British identity.
- Language and religious policies.
15. “Napoleon had destroyed democracy in France but in the administrative field he had incorporated revolutionary principles in order to make the whole system more rational and efficient.” Analyse the statement with arguments. [CBSE (AI) 2016]
Answer: Napoleon had destroyed democracy in France but in administrative field he had incorporated revolutionary principles in order to make the whole system more rational and efficient.
(i) All privileges based on birth were removed.
(ii) He had established equality before law.
(iii) Right to property was given.
(iv) Simplified administrative divisions were made.
(v) Feudal system was abolished and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues.
(vi) Guild restrictions were removed.
(vii) Transport and communication systems were improved.
16. “Nationalism no longer retained its idealistic liberal democratic sentiment by the last quarter of the nineteenth century in Europe.” Analyse the statement with examples. [CBSE (F) 2016]
Answer: Nationalism in Europe- The Balkans:
(i) During this period, nationalist groups become increasingly intolerant of each other.
(ii) Manipulations of the nationalist aspirations were there.
(iii) The Balkan was under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
(iv) Ideas of romantic nationalism spread in the Balkan.
(v) They claimed for independence or political rights on nationality and used history to prove that they had once been independent but had subsequently been subjugated by foreign domination.(vi) Russia, Germany, England, Austria-hungry were keen on countering the hold of other powers over the Balk.
(vii) This led to a series of wars in the region and finally the First World War.
HOTS Questions (Higher Order Thinking Skills)
1. Which conditions were viewed as obstacles to economic exchange & growth by the new commercial classes during Napoleon’s rule?
Answer: Following conditions were viewed as obstacles to economic exchanges & growth by the new commercial classes:
(i) There was an enormous increase in population.
(ii) Feudal system, serfdom and manorial dues were taxing for the poor landless peasants.
(iii) There were no standardised weights and measures and neither a common national currency.
(iv) There was an increased taxation, censorship, forced recruitment into the French armies to conquer Europe.
(v) There was no freedom to peasants, artisans, workers and new businessmen.
2. How was Europe closely allied to the ideology of liberalism?
Answer: (i) Ideas of national unity in early 19th century Europe were closely allied to the ideology of liberalism.
(ii) The term ‘liberalism’ is derived from the Latin word ‘liber’ which means free.
(iii) For the new middle classes, liberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before law.
(iv) Politically, it emphasised the concept of government by consent.
(v) Since the French Revolution, liberalism had stood for the end of autocracy and clerical privileges, a constitution and representatives government through parliament.
3. “The Habsbury Empire that ruled over Austria-Hungry, was a patchwork of many different regions and peoples.” Justify the statement with suitable examples.
Answer:
- Eastern and Central Europe were under autocratic monarchies within the territories of which lived diverse people.
- They did not see themselves as sharing a collective identity or a common culture.
- The Habsburg Empire that ruled over Austria-Hungry, for example, was a patchwork of many different regions and people.
- It included the Alpine regions—the Tyrol, Austria and the Sudetenland— as well as Bohemia, where the aristocracy was predominantly German speaking.
- It also included the Italian speaking princes of Lombardy and Venetia.
- In Hungry, half of the population spoke Magyar while the other half spoke a variety of dialects.
- In Galicia, the aristocracy spoke Polish.
- Besides these three dominant groups, there also lived within the boundary of empire, a mass of subject peasant peoples — Bohemians, Slovaks to the north, slovens in Carniola, Croats in the south and Romans to the east in Transylvania.
- The only tie binding these diverse groups together was a common allegiance to the emperor.
4. “Vernacular language and local folklores carried modern nationalist message to large audiences, who were mostly illiterate.” Justify with suitable examples.
Answer:
- Vernacular languages and local folklores played an important role in creating the idea of nation in Europe.
- This was especially so in the case of Poland which had been partitioned by the great powers — Russia, Prussia & Austria.
- Karol Kurpinski of Poland celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the Polonaise, Mazurka into nationalist symbols.
- After Russian occupation, the Polish language was forced out of schools and the Russian language was imposed everywhere.
- Many members of the clergy in Poland began to use language as a weapon of national resistance.
- Polish was used for church gatherings and all religious instructions.
- As a result a large number of priests and bishops were put in jail or sent to Siberia by the Russian authorities.
- The use of Polish came to be seen as a symbol of struggle against Russian dominance.
5. Why was the issue of extending political rights to women a controversial one within the liberal movement in 1848? What do these revolutions reveal about political conflicts due to gender differences?
Answer:
- Parallel to the revolts of poor, unemployed and starving peasants and workers in many European countries in the year 1848, a revolution led by the educated middle classes was underway.
- Events of February 1848 in France had brought about the abdication of the monarch and a republic based on universal male suffrage had been proclaimed.
- In other parts of Europe where independent nation states did not exist —such as Germany, Italy, Poland, the Austro-Hungarian Empire—men and women of the liberal middle classes combined their demands for constitutionalism with national unification.
- The issue of extending political rights to women was a controversial one within the liberal movement, in which large number of women had participated actively over the years.
- Women had formed their own political associations, founded newspapers and taken part in political meetings and demonstrations.
- Despite this, they were denied suffrage rights during the elections of the Assembly.
- When the Frankfurt Parliament was held in Church of St. Paul’s, women were admitted only as observers to stand in visitor’s gallery.
6. Explain the statement “When France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches cold.”
Answer:
- Most of the European countries followed France persistently.
- The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830.
- The Bourbon kings, who had been restored to power during the conservative reaction after 1815, were now overthrown by liberal revolutionaries, who installed a constitutional monarchy with Louis Philippe at its head.
- ‘When France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches cold’ was spoken by Metternich.
- The July revolution sparked an uprising in Brussels which led to Belgium breaking away from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- An event that mobilised nationalist feelings among the educated elite across Europe was the Greek war of Independence.
7. ‘‘The first clear expression of nationalism came with the ‘French Revolution’ in 1789.’’ Examine the statement. [CBSE (AI) 2017]
Answer: “The first clear expression of Nationalism came with the ‘French Revolution’ in 1789”:
(i) The political and constitutional changes that came in the wake of the French revolution led to the transfer of sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French citizens.
(ii) Sense of collective belonging with La Patrie (the fatherland) and Le Citoyen (the citizen).
(iii) Formation of National Assembly.
(iv) Hymns were composed and oaths were taken.
(v) Centralised and uniform laws were introduced.
(vi) Internal customs duties and dues were abolished and a uniform system of weights and measure were adopted.
(vii) French became the common language of the nation.
(viii) With the outbreak of the revolutionary wars, the French armies began to carry the idea of nationalism abroad.