Long Answers Questions (LAQs) for Chapter 1 The Rise of Nationalism in Europe Class 10 History
Important Questions1
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
• There was absence of freedom of markets.
• State imposed various restrictions on the movement of goods and capital.
• Presence of large numbers of states created problems as each had its own currency, and weights and measures.
• 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.
• In 1834, a customs union or zollverein was formed at the initiative of Prussia and joined by most of the German states.
• The union abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two.
2
What happened during the year following 1815 when the fear of repression drove many liberal nationalists underground? Explain.
Answer
• Secret societies sprang up in many European states to train revolutionaries and spread their ideas.
• To be revolutionary at this time meant a commitment to oppose monarchical forms that had been established after the Vienna Congress and to fight for liberty and freedom.
• Most of these revolutionaries also saw the creation of nation-states as a necessary part of this struggle for freedom.
• Giuseppe Mazzini, a Italian revolutionary founded two more underground societies, first, Young Italy in Marseilles, and then, Young Europe in Berne, whose members were like-minded young men from Poland, France, Italy and the German states.
• Following his model, secret societies were Set-up in Germany, France, Switzerland and Poland.
3
Explain the events leading to the unification of Germany.
Answer
• Nationalist feelings were widespread among middle-class Germans, who in 1848 tried to unite the different regions of the German confederation into a nation-state governed by an elected parliament.
• This liberal initiative to nation-building was, however, repressed by the combined forces of the monarchy and the military, supported by the large landowners (called Junkers) of Prussia.
• From then on, Prussia took on the leadership of the movement for national unification.
• Its chief minister, Otto von Bismarck, was the architect of this process carried out with the help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy.
• 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.
4
How did the Greek War of Independence mobilized nationalist feeling among the educated elite across Europe?
Answer
• Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the fifteenth century.
• The growth of revolutionary nationalism in Europe sparked off a struggle for independence amongst the Greeks which began in 1821.
• Nationalists in Greece got support from other Greeks living in exile and also from many West Europeans who had sympathies for ancient Greek culture.
• Poets and artists lauded Greece as the cradle of European civilisation and mobilised public opinion to support its struggle against a Muslim empire.
• Finally, the Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognised Greece as an independent nation.
5
Explain the 1848 revolution of the liberals. What were the political, social and economic ideas supported by the liberals?
Answer
The 1848 revolution was led by the educated middle class which was parallel to the revolts of the poor, unemployed and starving peasants and workers in many European countries.
• Political ideas: In German regions, large number of political associations whose members were middleclass professionals, businessman and prosperous artisans came together in the city of Frankfurt and decided to vote for all German National Assembly.
• Social ideas: A large number of women had participated actively and formed their own political associations founded newspaper, took part in political meetings and struggled for right to vote.
• Economic ideas: Liberals struggled for abolition of serfdom and bonded labour and wanted freedom of market.
• Monarchs were beginning to realise that the cycles of revolution and repression could only be ended by granting concessions to the liberal-nationalist revolutionaries. Thus serfdom and bonded labour were abolished both in the Habsburg dominions and in Russia.
6
How did growth of a British identity suppressed Scotland’s cultural identity?
Answer
• The Act of Union in 1707 between England and Scotland that resulted in the formation of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’
• This meant that England was able to impose its influence on Scotland.
• The British parliament was henceforth dominated by its English members.
• The growth of a British identity meant that Scotland’s distinctive culture and political institutions were systematically suppressed.
• The Catholic clans that inhabited the Scottish Highlands suffered terrible repression whenever they attempted to assert their independence.
• The Scottish Highlanders were forbidden to speak their Gaelic language or wear their national dress, and large numbers were forcibly driven out of their homeland.
7
Describe the process of Unification of Britain.
Answer
• In Britain, the formation of the nation states was the result of long drawn out process.
• Primary identities of the people were ethnic ones.
• All ethnic groups such as English, Welsh Scot or Irish had their own cultural and political traditions.
• The English nation steadily grew in wealth and power.
• It was able to extend its influence over the other nations.
• The Act of Union 1707 between England and Scotland resulted in the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
8
Briefly trace the geographical and ethnic variations of Balkan region. Why did this region become politically very explosive?
OR
Why did nationalist tensions emerge in the Balkans?
OR
What conditions of the Balkans areas led to World War I?
Answer
• The Balkan was a region of geographical and ethnic variation comprising of many states and territories whose inhabitants were commonly known as Slavs.
• A large part of Balkans was under the control of the Ottoman Empire while some other parts were under the control of Russia and Austria causing a complex problem.
• The spread of the ideas of Romantic nationalism in the Balkans together with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire made the region very explosive.
• The Balkan people based their claim for independence or political rights on nationality and desired to win back their long lost freedom.
• The Balkans also became the scene of big power rivalry over trade and colonies as well as naval and military might. Each power—Russia, Germany, England, and Austria-Hungary—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.
9
Describe the conditions of European nations before the emergence of the spirit of nationalism.
Answer
• Germany, Italy and Switzerland were divided into kingdoms whose rulers had their autonomous territories.• Eastern and Central Europe were under autocratic monarchies and people within these kingdoms did not see themselves as sharing a collective identity or a common culture.
• The Habsburg Empire that ruled over Austria-Hungary, for example, was a patchwork of many different regions and peoples.
• In Hungary, half of the population spoke Magyar while the other half spoke a variety of dialects.
• In Galicia, the aristocracy spoke Polish.
• The only tie binding these diverse groups together was a common allegiance to the emperor.
10
Explain the reasons for the nationalist upsurge in the 19th century Europe.
Answer
Reasons for the Nationalist upsurge in the 19th century Europe:
• Various events led by the liberal-nationalists belonging to the educated middle-class elite promoted the growth of revolutionary nationalism in Europe.
• The French Revolution inspired the people to fight for freedom. With the outbreak of revolutionary wars, the French army and its soldiers began to carry the ideas of nationalism abroad.
• Romantic artists and poets create a sense of shared collective heritage a common cultural past, as the basis of a nation.
• At the same time folk songs, folk poetry and folk dances promoted the spirit of the nation.
• Vernacular language is one of the important aspects which grows the feeling of nationalism.