Write in brief
1. Write a note on:
a) Giuseppe Mazzini
Answer: Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian revolutionary, born in Genoa in 1807. He was a member of the secret society of the Carbonari. At the age of 24, he was sent into exile in 1831 for attempting a revolution in Liguria. He founded underground societies named ‘Young Italy’ in Marseilles and ‘Young Europe’ in Berne, whose members were like-minded young men from Poland, France, Italy and the German States.
b) Count Camillo de Cavour
Answer: The failure of revolutionary uprisings, both in 1831 and 1848, meant that the mantle now fell on Sardinia-Piedmont under its ruler, King Victor Emmanuel II to unify the Italian states through war. Chief minister Cavour, who led this movement to unify the regions of Italy, was neither a revolutionary nor a democrat. Like many other wealthy and educated members of the Italian elite, he spoke French much better than he did Italian. Through a tactful diplomatic alliance with France engineered by Cavour, Sardinia-Piedmont succeeded in defeating the Austrian forces in 1859.
c) The Greek War of Independence
Answer: The Greek War of Independence mobilised nationalist feelings among the educated class in Europe. Since the 15th century the Ottoman Empire had made Greece its territory. In 1821 the Greeks struggled against this and a nationalist movement began. Exiled Greeks and many West Europeans who admired ancient Greek culture supported the Greek nationalists. Poets and artists lauded Greece as the cradle of European civilisation and mobilised public opinion to support its struggle against a Muslim empire. After the war, the Treaty of Constantinople was signed in 1832. It recognised Greece as an independent nation.
d) The Frankfurt Parliament
Answer: Middle-class professionals, businessmen, wealthy artists and artisans came together to vote for an all-German National Assembly. They met at Frankfurt on 18 May, 1848, and 831 elected representatives walked to take their places in the Frankfurt Parliament convened in the Church of St. Paul. A Constitution was drafted for a German nation which was to be headed by a monarchy, subject to a Parliament. However, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia, rejected the offer to head such a monarchy and opposed the elected assembly. The opposition grew stronger eroding the Parliament. As the middle-class members in the Parliament dominated, they gave no credence to the demands of artisans and workers and so lost their support. The troops were called and the Assembly was also disbanded.
e) The role of women in nationalist struggles
Answer: The issue of extending political rights to women was a controversial one within the liberal movement, in which large numbers 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 during the election of the Assembly. When the Frankfurt Parliament convened in the Church of St. Paul, women were admitted only as observers to stand in the visitors’ gallery.
2. What steps did the French revolutionaries take to create a sense of collective identity among the French people?
Answer: The steps taken to create a sense of collective identity among French people by the French revolutionaries are:
(i) Ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizen) emphasising the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.
(ii) A new French flag, a tricolour.
(iii) A new National Assembly elected by active citizens.
(iv) New hymns, oaths and martyrs commemorated in the name of the nation.
(v) Centralised administrative system.
(vi) Uniform system of weights, measures and abolition of internal customs.
(vii) Discouraging regional dialects and promoting French as a common language of the nation.
3. Who were Marianne and Germania? What was the importance of the way in which they were portrayed?
Answer: Marianne was the name given to the French nation; which was projected as the female figure. Similarly, Germania was the name given to the German motherland. Her characteristics were drawn from those of Liberty and Republic; the red cap, the tricolor, the cockade. Her statues were erected in public squares and her images were marked on coins and stamps; to persuade the people to identify with it. Germania wears a crown of oak leaves. The German oak stands for heroism.
4. Briefly trace the process of German unification.
Answer: In the 1800s, nationalist feelings were strong in the hearts of the middle-class Germans. They united in 1848 to create a nation-state out of the numerous German States. But the monarchy and the military got together to repress them and they gained support from the landowners of Prussia (the Junkers) too. Prussia soon became the leader of German unification movement. Its Chief Minister Bismarck was the architect of the process with support from Prussian army and Prussian bureaucracy. The unification process was completed after Prussia won wars with Austria, Denmark and France over seven years time. In January 1871, the Prussian king, William I, was proclaimed the German Emperor in a ceremony held at Versailles.
5. What changes did Napoleon introduce to make the administrative system more efficient
in the territories ruled by him?
Answer: In the territories conquered by Napoleon, he introduced a number of reforms as he had done in France. Return to monarchy had damaged democracy in France but Napoleon had introduced revolutionary principles in administration that had changed it for the better. In 1804 the Civil Code, also called Napoleonic Code, was introduced and it did away with all privileges based on birth, established equality before the law and secured the right to property. Soon the Code spread to all territories under French control. Administration was simplified, feudal system was abolished and serfs were freed in the Dutch Republic, in Switzerland, in Italy and Germany. In the towns, guild restrictions no longer remained. Transport and communication systems improved. Artisans, peasants, workers and new businessmen enjoyed the new-found freedom. Businessmen and small-scale producers learnt that uniform laws, standardised weights and measures and a common national currency would help in trading goods and capital from one region to another. In the French territories, there were mixed reactions. In Holland and Switzerland, Brussels, Mainz, Miland and Warsaw, the French armies were welcomed as messengers of liberty. But this feeling soon became negative because the people realised that the new administrative method did not go along with political freedom. Soon people detested increased taxes, censorship and forced conscription into the French armies required to conquer the rest of Europe.
Discuss
1. Explain what is meant by the 1848 revolution of the liberals. What were the political, social and economic ideas supported by the liberals?
Answer: The term ‘liberalism’ derives from the Latin root liber meaning free. The middle-class believed in the individual’s freedom and that the law must view everyone with equality.
Political & Social Perspective: From the political perspective, the idea of liberalism emphasized the concept of government by consent. Liberalism also meant an end of autocracy and clerical privileges. Further, it meant the need of a constitution and a representative government. Inviolability of private property was also emphasized by the nineteenth century liberals.
Economic Perspective: Economic liberalization was another hallmark of the Napoleonic Code. The emerging middle class was also in favour of economic liberalization. Multiple currencies, units of weight and measurement and tariff barriers worked as obstacles for economic activities. The new commercial class was demanding a unified economic territory so that there could be unhindered movement of goods, people and capital.
2. Choose three examples to show the contribution of culture to the growth of nationalism in Europe.
Answer: (i) In France, promoting a single language helped in creating a sense of common identity among people.
(ii) In Poland, use of Polish language was a means to show resistance towards Russian domination.
(iii) In Germany, the revolutionaries promoted the folk culture to create a sense of common identity among the people.
3. Through a focus on any two countries, explain how nations developed over the nineteenth century.
Answer: Italy became a nation because of efforts of Cavour. He made strategic alliances with France to defeat the Austrian forces. After several wars, the unification of Italy could become a possibility and it emerged as a nation state.
Greece proclaimed independence from Ottoman Empire by citing its ancient culture which was entirely different from the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Many Greek who were in exile also supported this movement.
4. How was the story of nationalism in Britain unlike the rest of Europe?
Answer: (i) In Britain the formation of the nation-state was not the result of a sudden upheaval or revolution.
(ii) The primary identities of the people who inhabited the British Isles were ethnic ones - such as English, Welsh, Scot or Irish.
(iii) The Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland resulted in the formation of the 'United Kingdom of Great Britian' meant that England was able to impose its influence on Scotland.
(iv) 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.
(v) The English helped the Protestants of Ireland to establish their dominance over a largely Catholic country. Catholic revolts against British dominance were suppressed. Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801.
(vi) The symbols of the new Britain: the British flag, the national anthem, the English language were actively promoted and the older nations survived only as subordinate partners in this union.
5. Why did nationalist tensions emerge in the Balkans?
Answer: (i) The Balkan region comprised modern-day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, and its inhabitants were broadly called Slavs.
(ii) With a large area of Balkan region under Ottoman Empire, the spread of the ideas of romantic nationalism in the Balkans together with the breaking up of the Ottoman Empire made the situation even more serious.
(iiii) Ottoman Empire had not been able to become strong even after reforms and modern methods after an effort of nearly 91 years. Gradually most of the European subject nationalities broke away from the Ottoman Empire’s control to declare themselves
independent.
(iv) The claim for independence and political rights by the Balkan people was based on nationality. They gave examples of history to prove that they had once been independent but had subsequently been subjugated by foreign powers.
(v) Thus the rebellious nationalities in the Balkans thought of their struggles as attempts to win back their long lost independence.
(vi) Soon various Slavic nationalities were struggling to define their identity and independence making Balkan region one having intense conflict.
(vii) The internal rivalries and jealousies made the Balkan states distrust and fear each other.
(viii) As the Balkans had become site for big power fights, the situation became even more serious. The fights were among the European powers who fought for trade and colonies and for naval and military powers.
(ix) Russia, Germany, England and Austria-Hungary wanted to gain control of the Balkan region causing many wars which culminated in the First World War.
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