Rise of Nationalism in Europe: 10th History

Question: Describe the event of French Revolution which had influenced the people belonging to other parts of Europe.

Answer: The events of French Revolution which had influenced the people belonging to other parts of Europe:

1. Students and other members of educated middle class began to Set-up Jacobin dubs after the events in France reached the different cities of Europe.
2. Their activities and campaigns prepared the way for the French armies.
3. The French armies began to carry the idea of nationalism abroad.

Question: What were the changes that took place after the French revolution In France?
OR
What steps did the French revolutionaries take to create a sense of collective identity among the French people?

Answer:

1. The ideas of la patrie and Ie citoyen emphasised the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.
2. A new French flag, the tricolour, was chosen to replace the former royal standard.
3. The Estates General was elected by the body of active citizens and renamed the National Assembly.
4. New hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated, all in the name of nation. A centralised administrative system was put in place and it formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory.
5. Internal customs duties and dues were abolished and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.
6. Regional dialects were discouraged and French, as it was spoken and written in Paris, became the common language of the nation.

Question: Briefly describe the concept of liberalism which developed in the Europe in early 18th century?

Answer:

1. The term ‘liberalism’ derives from the Latin root liber, meaning free.
2. For the new middle classes liberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law.
3. Politically, it emphasised the concept of government by consent.
4. It stood for the end of autocracy and clerical privileges, a constitution and representative government through parliament.
5. 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.

Question: List any three features of the Civil Code of 1804 usually known as the Napoleonic Code.

Answer:

1. It did away with all privileges based on birth.
2. It established equality before law and secured the right to property.
3. It simplified administrative divisions, abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues.

Question: Culture played an important role in creating the idea of the nation in Europe.” Support the statement with examples.

Answer: Culture also played an important role in the development of nationalism along with wars and territorial expansion:

1. Romanticism was a cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of nationalist sentiment.
2. The effort of romantic artists and poets was to create a sense of a shared collective heritage, a common cultural past, as the basis of a nation.
3. It was through folk songs, folk poetry and folk dances that the true spirit of the nation was popularised.

Question: How did the local people in the areas conquered by the Napoleon react to French rule ? Explain.

Answer: In the areas conquered, the reactions of the local populations to French rule were mixed:

1. Initially, in many places such as Holland and Switzerland, as well as in certain cities like Brussels, Mains the French armies were welcomed as harbingers of liberty.
2. But soon initial enthusiasm faded as it became clear that the new administrative arrangements did not go hand in hand with political freedom.
3. Increase in taxes, censorship and forced conscription in French armies were seen as outweighing the advantage of administrative changes which Napoleon brought.

Question: Why were 1830s called the years of great economic hardship in Europe ? Give any three reasons.
OR
“The decade of 1830 had brought great economic hardship in Europe”. Support the statement with arguments.

Answer:

1. The first half of the nineteenth century saw an enormous increase in population all over Europe.
2. In most countries, there were more seekers of jobs than employment.
3. Population from rural areas migrated to the cities to live in overcrowded slums.
4. The rise of food prices or a year of bad harvest led to widespread pauperism in town and country.

Question: How was the ideology of liberalism allied with National Unity in early 19th century in Europe? Explain in three points.

Answer: The ideology of liberalism allied with Nationalism:

1. Liberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before law.
2. It emphasised on the concept of government by consent.
3. It stood for the end of autocracy and clerical privileges.
4. It believed in a constitution and representative government through Parliament.
5. It emphasised the inviolability of private property.

Question: Explain the conditions which were viewed as obstacles to economic exchange and growth by the new commercial classes. How did it end in 1834?

Answer:

1. There was absence of freedom of markets.
2. State imposed various restrictions on the movement of goods and capital.
3. Presence of large numbers of states created problems as each had its own currency, and weights and measures.
4. Duties were often levied according to the weight or measurement of the goods. As each region had its own system of weights and measures, this involved time-consuming calculation.
5. In 1834, a customs union or Zollverein was formed at the initiative of Prussia and joined by most of the German states.
6. The union abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two.