Q.1 Explain any three beliefs of the conservatism that emerged after 1815. (2011 D)
Answer:
Three beliefs of conservatism that emerged after 1815 were:

1. Established and traditional institutions of state and society like monarchy, the Church, property and family should be preserved.
2. They believed in the modernization of the traditional institution to strengthen them, rather than returning to the society of pre-revolutionary days.
3. Also they believed that abolition of feudalism and serfdom and replacing it with a modern army, an efficient bureaucracy and a dynamic economy could strengthen autocratic monarchies of Europe.

Q.2
Explain the contribution of Otto von Bismarck in German unification. (2011 D)
Answer:
Contribution of Otto von Bismarck in German unification. Nationalist feelings started spreading amongst the middle class Germans, who in 1848, tried to unite different parts of German confederation into a nation state to have an elected parliamentarian government. However, this liberal movement was repressed by the combined forces of monarchy and military supported by Prussian landowners.

Prussian Chief Minister, Otto von Bismarck, took the responsibility of national unification with the help of Prussian army and bureaucracy. Under his leadership he fought three wars over seven years with Austria, Denmark and France. Prussia was victorious in all these wars and the process of unification of Germany was completed as a result of Prussia’s victory over France.

Q.3
Explain any three ways in which nationalist feelings were kept alive in Poland in the 18th and 19th centuries. (2011 OD)
Answer:
The three ways in which nationalist feelings were kept alive in 18th and 19th centuries in Poland:
(i) Emphasis on vernacular language. Language played an important role in developing nationalist sentiments. The use of the Polish language came to be seen as a symbol of struggle against Russian dominance. For example, In Poland, following armed rebellion against Russian rule, Polish was used for church gatherings and religious instruction. As a result, a number of priests and bishops were put in jails or sent to Siberia as punishment for their refusal to preach in Russian.

(ii) Emphasis on collection of local folklore. It was not just to recover an ancient national spirit, but also to carry the modern nationalist message to the large audience who were mostly illiterate.

(iii) Use of music to keep the nationalist feeling alive. For example, Karol Kurpinski, celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the polonaise and mazurka into nationalist symbols.

Q.4
Explain the contribution of Giuseppe Mazzini in spreading revolutionary ideas in Europe. (2011 OD)
Answer:
The year following 1815, was the period of revolutionaries. Most of the revolutionaries were committed to oppose monarchical forms and to fight for liberty and freedom

One such prominent revolutionary was “Giuseppe Mazzini”, an Italian revolutionary. Mazzini also saw the creation of nation-states as a necessary part in the struggle for freedom. Ele strongly believed in the unification of Italy as a single unified republic which could be the basis of Italian liberty.

Mazzini’s relentless opposition to monarchy and his vision of a democratic republic frightened the Conservatives. His ideas also influenced the revolutionaries of Germany, France, Switzerland and Poland. Question 14. Describe any three reforms introduced by Napoleon in the territories he conquered. (2011 D)
Answer:
Three reforms introduced by Napoleon in the territories he conquered were:

1. The Napoleonic Code —It finished all the privileges based on birth and established equality before law and secured the right to property.
2. He simplified administrative divisions, abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues.
3. He introduced uniform laws, standardized weights and measures and common national currency to facilitate the movement and exchange of goods and capital from one place to another.

Q.5.
Explain any three causes of conflict in the ‘Balkan area’ after 1871. (2011 OD)
Answer:
The nationalist tensions emerged in the Balkans due to the following reasons:
(i) Balkans was a region of geographical and ethnic variation comprising modern-day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro whose inhabitants were known as the Slavs. A large part of Balkans was under the control of the Ottoman empire.

(ii) After the decline of the Ottoman empire and the growth of romantic nationalism in the Balkans, the region became very explosive. Its European subject nationalities broke away from its control and declared independence.

(iii) As the different nationalities struggled to define their identity and independence, the Balkan area became an area of intense conflict. The Balkan states were fiercely jealous of each other and each hoped to gain more territory at the expense of others.

(iv) Balkan also became the scene of big power rivalry. Russia, Germany, England, Austria, Hungry — all big powers were keen in countering the hold of other powers. This ultimately turned Balkan into a war region which eventually provided a minor cause for the First World War.

Q.6 How did the local people in the areas conquered by Napoleon react to French rule? Explain. (2014 D)
Answer:
The reactions of the local population to the French rule were mixed.

Initially, in many places such as Holland and Switzerland, as well as in cities like Brussels, Mainz, Milan and Warsaw, the French armies were welcomed as harbingers of liberty. As new administrative arrangements did not go hand in hand with political freedom, enthusiasm turned into hostility. Increased taxation, censorship, forced conscription into the French armies to conquer the rest of Europe, outweighed the advantages of the administrative changes.

Q 7.
Explain the conditions that were viewed as obstacles to the economic exchange and growth by the new commercial classes during the nineteenth century in Europe. (2014 OD)
Answer:
In the economic sphere, liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of state-imposed restrictions on movement of goods and capital.

1. But in the 19th century Napoleon’s administrative measures had created out of countless small principalities a confederation of 39 states. Each possessed its own currency, and weights and measures.
2. A merchant travelling from Hamburg to Nuremberg had to pass through 11 custom barriers and pay 5% duty at each one of them.
3. As each region had its own system of weights and measures this involved time-consuming calculations.

Q.8 Describe the events of French Revolution which had influenced the people belonging to other parts of Europe. (2015 D)
Answer:

• The first clear-cut expression of nationalism came with the French Revolution in 1789. In 1789, France was under the rule of an absolute monarch.
• When the revolutionaries came to power in France, they were determined to create a new sense of unity and nationhood. For this, they emphasized the concept of France being the father land (La Patrie) for all French people, who were from now on addressed as citizens (citoyen). They were given the tri-colour flag, the three colours representing liberty, equality and fraternity.

French revolutionaries introduced various other measures such as:

1. The Estate General was elected by the body of active citizens and renamed the National Assembly.
2. New hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated all in the name of the nation.
3. A centralised administrative system was put in place and it formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory.
4. Internal customs, duties and dues were abolished and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.
5. Regional dialects were discouraged and French, as it was spoken and written in Paris, became the common language of the nation.

Q 9
How had the female figures become an allegory of the nation during nineteenth century in Europe? Analyse. (2016 D)
Answer:
Artists in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries portrayed nations 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 sought to give the abstract idea of the nation in concrete form. That is, the female figure became the allegory of the nation.

In France, she was named Marianne —a popular Christian name and in Germany, Germania. Germania wears a crown of oak leaves as the German oak stands for heroism. The characteristics of Marianne were drawn from those of Liberty and Republic —the red cap, the tricolour and cockade.

Q.10 What did Liberal Nationalism stand for? Explain any four ideas of Liberal Nationalists in the economic sphere. (2011 OD)
Answer:
Liberalism or Liberal Nationalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law. Lour ideas of Liberal Nationalists in the economic sphere are:

1. Liberalism stood for freedom of markets and abolition of state imposed restriction. For example, Napoleon’s administration was a confederation of 29 states, each of these possessed its own currencies, weight and measures. Such conditions were viewed as obstacles to economic exchange.
2. Liberal Nationalists argued for the creation of a unified economic territory allowing the unhindered movement of goods, people and capital.
3. In 1834, a customs union or ” zollverein” was formed. The union abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from 30 to 2.
4. The creation of a network of railways further stimulated mobility, harnessing economic interest to national unification.

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