NCERT Solutions Class 10 Social Science History
(India and the Contemporary World – II)
The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 10 Social Science – History (India and the Contemporary World – II) Chapter – 1 (The Rise of Nationalism in Europe) has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.
Chapter – 1 (The Rise of Nationalism in Europe)
Exercises
| Write in brief |
1. Write a note on:
a) Guiseppe Mazzini
Answer – During the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini had sought to put together a coherent programme for the unitary Italian Republic. He had also formed a secret society called ‘Young Italy’ for the dissemination of his goals.
b) Count Camillo de Cavour
Answer – Count Camillo de Cavour had led the movement to unify the regions of Italy. Count Cavour was neither a rovolutionary nor a democrat. Like many other wealthy and educated members of the Italian elite, he spoke French much better than he did Italian.
c) The Greek war of independence
Answer – This was a successful war of independence waged by Greek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1829 against the Ottoman Empire. The Greeks were supported by the West European countries, while poets and artists hailed Greece as the cradle of European civilisation. Finally, the Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognised Greece as an independent nation.
d) Frankfurt parliament
Answer – It was an all-German National Assembly formed by the middle-class professionals, businessmen and prosperous artisans belonging to the different German regions. It was convened on 18 May, 1848 in the Church of St. Paul, in the city of Frankfurt. This assembly drafted a constitution for a German nation to be headed by a monarchy subject to a parliament. However, it faced opposition from the aristocracy and military. Also, as it was dominated by the middle classes, it lost its mass support base. In the end, it was forced to disband on 31 May, 1849.
e) The role of women in nationalist struggles
Answer – Artistic representations of the French Revolution show men and women participating equally in the movement. Liberty is personified as a woman; also, liberal nationalism propounded the idea of universal suffrage, leading to women’s active participation in nationalist movements in Europe. Although women had actively participated in nationalist struggles, they were given little or no political rights; an example being the Frankfurt parliament where 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 French revolutionaries took the following steps to create a sense of collective identity among the French people :
- The ideas of la Patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizens) were introduced, which unified people by giving them equal rights under a constitution.
- The French tricolour was chosen as the new flag instead of the former royal standard.
- Citizens were allowed to elect members to the Estates-General, which was renamed as the National Assembly.
- A central administrative system was put in place and it formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory.
- French became the common language as it was written and spoken in the capital city of Paris, and regional languages were discouraged.
- A uniform system of weights and measures was introduced and it was followed by the abolition of customs duties and dues.
3. Who were Marianne and Germania? What was the importance of the way in which they were portrayed?
Answer – Marianne and Germania were the female allegories of France and. German nations respectively. They stood as personifications of the ‘Republic’ and ‘Liberty’. They were portrayed such that they gave the abstract idea of a nation in a concrete form. Thus they would instill a sense of nationality in the citizens of these countries.
4. Briefly trace the process of German unification.
Answer – The process of German unification was continued by Prussia after the defeat of the liberal, middle-class Germans at the hands of the aristocrats and the military in 1848. Its chief minister Otto von Bismarck carried out this process with the help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy. Over seven years, Prussia fought three wars with Austria, Denmark and France. These wars culminated in Prussian victory and German unification. William I, the Prussian king, was proclaimed German Emperor in January 1871, at Versailles.
5. What changes did Napoleon introduce to make the administrative system more efficient in the territories ruled by him?
Answer – Napoleon introduced the Civil Code of 1804, also known as the Napoleonic Code. This Code removed all privileges based on birth. The Right to Property was secured and the Feudal system was finally abolished and simplified administrative divisions were introduced in its place. The peasants were freed from serfdom and other types of dues, while in towns, guilds and other types of restrictions were removed. Napoleon also improved transport and communication systems throughout his empire.
| 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 – By the 1848 Revolution of the Liberals, we mean, the revolution led by the educated middle classes of Europe. Events of February 1848, in France brought about the abdication of the monarchy and a republic based on universal male franchise was formed. The social and economic ideas supported by the liberals are :
(i) Politically, it emphasised the concept of government by consent, abolition of autocracy and special privileges.
(ii) Socially, the liberals supported the abolition of discrimination based on birth.
(iii) Economically, it stood for the abolition of trade restrictions imposed by the state.
2. Choose three examples to show the contribution of culture to the growth of nationalism in Europe.
Answer – Examples ofcontribution of culture to the growth of nationalism in Europe are
(i) The idea of a nation can be created through stories, poems and writings. Music too can help in expressing nationalist feelings or sentiments.
(ii) Romanticism, a cultural movement which emerged in Europe, sought to develop a particular form of nationalist sentiments or national feelings. The main aim of Romantic artists was to create a sense of a shared collective heritage and a common cultural past.
(iii) Language also played an important role in developing the national sentiments or nationalist feeling. For example in Poland, language began to be used as a weapon of national resistance. The wide scale use of Polish language came to be seen as a symbol of struggle against national dominance.
3. Through a focus on any two countries, explain how nations developed over the nineteenth century.
Answer – The development of the German and Italian nation-states in the nineteenth century.
Germany
- Nationalist sentiments were often mobilised by conservatives for promoting state power and achieving political domination over Europe. This can be observed in the process by which Germany and Italy came to be unified as nation-states.
- Middle-class Germans tried to unite the different regions of the German Confederation, but their plans were not materialised due to actions of large landowners called the ‘Junkers of Prussia’. Three wars over seven years with Austria, Denmark, and France ended in a Prussian victory. In Jan 1871, the Prussian King William I was proclaimed German emperor.
- Importance was given to modernising the currency, banking, legal and judicial systems in Germany.
Italy
- During the 1830s, Mazzini sought to unify Italy. He had formed a secret society called ‘Young Italy’, and it had failed. Hence, the responsibility fell on Sardinia-Piedmont under its ruler King Victor Emmanuel II, to unify Italian states through war.
- Austrian forces were defeated in 1859. Apart from Sardinia-Piedmont, a large number of volunteers had joined the cause under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi. In 1860, they marched to South Italy and managed to defeat Spanish rulers. In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed as the king of Italy.
4. How was the history of nationalism in Britain unlike the rest of Europe?
Answer – The history of nationalism in Britain is unlike the rest of Europe in the following ways:
- 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.
- There was no British nation prior to the eighteenth century. The primary identities of the people who inhabited the British Isles were ethnic ones – such as English, Welsh, Scot or Irish.
- However, with the growth of the power of the English nation, it was able to dominate the other nations of the islands.
- The English parliament seized power from the monarchy in 1688 at the end of a protracted conflict and became a nation-state with England at its centre.
- In 1707, the United Kingdom was formed with the Act of Union between England and Scotland.
- England started dominating Scotland and Ireland in all socio-political and cultural spheres. This was evinced by the fact that the British parliament was dominated by English members.
- Ireland was taken by the British after a failed revolution led by Wolfe Tone and his United Irishmen in 1798. With this, a new ‘British Nation’ was finally formed.
- 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 – Nationalist tensions emerged in the Balkans because of the spread of ideas of romantic nationalism as also the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire that had previously ruled over this area. The different Slavic communities in the Balkans began to strive for independent rule. They were jealous of each other and every state wanted more territory, even at the expense of others. Also, the hold of imperial power over the Balkans made the situation worse. Russia, Germany, England, Austro-Hungary all wanted more control over this area. These conflicts ultimately led to the First World War in 1914.
