NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science (History) Chapter 1 The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

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SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 10th

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Class : 10th
Subject : Social-Science-History
Chapter : 1
Chapter Name : The Rise of Nationalism In Europe

Q1 Summarise the attributes of a nation, as Renan understands them. Why, in his view, are
nations important?

Answer. Ernst Renan was a French philosopher, who outlined the attributes of a nation which
are as follows
(i) A nation is not formed by a common language, race, religion or territory.
(ii) To form a nation, social capital, common glories and deeds of the past and common will
are necessary. A nation is the culmination of a long past of endeavours, sacri ce and devotion.
(iii) Nation is a large-scale solidarity, its existence is a daily plebiscite and its inhabitants have
the right to be consulted.
(iv) The existence of a nation is not only a good thing, but also a necessity.
(v) A nation has never any real interest in annexing or holding on to a country against its will.
Nations are important because existence of the nation is a guarantee of liberty. Liberty would
be lost if the world had only one law and only one master.

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Q1 Describe the political ends that List hopes to achieve through economic measures

Answer. A customs union known as Wolverine was formed at the initiative of Prussia and
joined by most of the German states. This union removed internal impediments and summed
up 32 currencies into two. Besides this, it the aim of the union is to bind the Germans
economically into a nation by strengthening the nation materially through its protection of
interests externally and stimulating its internal productivity. It must be awakened and
national sentiments should be raised through a fusion of individual and state interests.

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Q1 What is the caricaturist trying to depict?

Answer. The caricaturist is depicting the club of liberal nationalists which dates back 1820.
Conservative regimes were set up in 1815. These regimes were autocratic they were not ready
to tolerate criticism and dissent. They curbed all the actions which put a question mark on the
legitimacy of autocratic governments. Most of the regimes had imposed censorship law to
have control over freedom of the press and over songs motivating the ideas of liberty.

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Q1 Discuss the importance of language and popular traditions in the creation of national
identity.

Answer. Language played a very important role in the creation of national Identity. Grimm
brothers, namely Jacob and Wilhelm Grim, born in Hanau, a German city, wrote 'Fairy Tales'
which became popular among children and adults. They brought the folktales to the public
through their creations in German language which encouraged the feelings of the people to
achieve freedom of the press. The Grimm brothers tried to oppose French domination that was
a danger to German culture. They did a lot of work for the development of German language
and creation of German Nationality in reference to identity. They also published a 33 volume
dictionary of German language which was also a wider effort to oppose French domination.
Poems, music, stories, folk songs, folk dances, etc are means that create the idea of a nation.
Besides it they help to express and form national feelings through the creation of shared
heritage and common culture. Collective identity among the French people was created by the
French revolutionaries by discouraging local dialects and encouraging French. Use of
vernacular language in Poland became helpful in dissemination of modern nationalist feelings
among the large illiterate population. After Russian occupation, the Polish language was
forced out and the Russian language was imposed everywhere. Due to some reasons, Polish
came in use for church gathering and preaching and in due course, Polish came to be seen as a
symbol of the struggle against Russian domination.

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Q1 Describe the cause of the Silesian weavers’ uprising. Comment on the viewpoint of the
journalist.

Answer. The cause of the ‘Silesian Weavers’ uprising was due to the cheating of the weavers by
the contractors. In 1845, the weavers raised a revolt against the contractors as the contractors
drastically reduced their payments.
The viewpoint of the journalist Wilhelm Wolff for this uprising was - a large crowd of weavers
reached the house of the contractor and demanded higher wages. They were not treated well,
so a group of the crowd entered the contractor’s house forcibly and destroyed the furniture,
windowpanes and plundered it. The contractor ed with his family to a neighbouring village
but did not get shelter.
After 24 hours, he returned back with army and eleven weavers were shot dead. This shows
that the viewpoint of the journalist was based against the weavers and in favour of the
contractor. He did not understand the misery of the weavers properly.

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Q1 Compare the positions on the question of women’s rights voiced by the three writers cited
above. What do they reveal about liberal ideology?

Answer. (i) Woman is weaker than man and her sphere is the home where she keeps children
and does household duties such as cooking washing and cleaning. etc.
(ii) Equality between the sexes or woman and man would only endanger harmony and destroy
the dignity of the family.
(iii) According to Louise Otto-Peters, a political activist and founder of a woman's journal and
a feminist political association, Men who try to gain freedom and liberty for all do not obey
this but their untiring efforts are intended for the welfare of only men. She advocated that
liberty cannot be divided among the men and women.
An Anonymous writer says that
(i) It is injustice to discriminate against women on the basis of gender.
(ii) The women should not be deprived of the right to vote while an illiterate man has given
the right to vote.
(iii) The above discussion shows that Louise Otto-Peters and the Anonymous writer favour
woman on the basis of rights of liberty and equality.
(iv) The rst writer does not favour woman's rights of liberty and equality.

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Q1 Write a note on:
(a) Giuseppe Mazzini
(b) Count Camillo de Cavour
(c) The Greek war of independence
(d) Frankfurt parliament
(e) The role of women in nationalist struggles

Answer. (a) Giuseppe Mazzini: He was an Italian revolutionary who played a Signi cant role in
promoting the idea Of a uni ed Italian state. He believed that nations were the natural units
of mankind, and so Italy (whiCh was then divided into a number of small states and kingdoms)
had to be forged into a Single uni ed republic. During the 1830s,he strived to put together a
coherent programme for such a unitary Italian Republic. He also set up two secret societies,
namely young Italy and young Europe. These societies helped in the dissemination Of his
ideas.

(b) Count Camillo de Cavour: Of the seven states of Italy, only Sardinia-Piedmont was ruled by
an Italian princely house. When the revolutionary uprisings of 1831 and 1848 failed to unite
Italy, the responsibility to establish a uni ed Italy fell upon this Italian state. King Victor
Emmanuel II was its ruler and Cavour was the Chief Minister. Cavour led the movement to
unite the separate states of nineteenth-century Italy. Heengineered a careful diplomatic
alliance with France, which helped Sardinia-Piedmont defeat the Austrian forces in 1859, and
thereby free the northern part of Italy from the Austrian Habsburgs.

(c) The Greek war of independence: 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: 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: Artistic representations of the French
Revolution show men and women participating equally in the movement. Liberty is
personi ed 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.

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Q2 What steps did the French revolutionaries take to create a sense of collective identity
among the French people?

Answer. The French revolutionaries took many important steps to create a sense of collective
identity among the French people. Ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the
citizen) popularised the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a
constitution. A new French ag replaced the royal standard. The Estates General was renamed
the National Assembly and was elected by a group of active citizens. A central administrative
system made uniform laws for the entire nation, and regional dialects were discouraged in
favour of French as the national language.

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Q3 Who were Marianne and Germania? What was the importance of the way in which they
were portrayed?

Answer. Marianne and Germania were respective female allegories for the French and the
German nation. They stood as personi cations of ideals like 'liberty' and 'the republic'. The
importance of the way in which they were portrayed lay in the fact that the public could
identify with their symbolic meaning, and this would instil a sense of national unity in them.

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Q4 Brie y trace the process of German uni cation.

Answer. The process of German uni cation 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 uni cation. William l, the Prussian
king, was proclaimed German Emperor in January 1871, at Versailles.

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Q5 What changes did Napoleon introduce to make the administrative system more ef cient in
the territories ruled by him?

Answer. Napoleon introduced several changes to make the administrative system more
ef cient in the territories ruled by him. He formulated the Civil Code of 1804, also known as
the Napoleonic Code. It did away with privileges based on birth. This law established equality
before law, and also secured the right to property. Napoleon shortened administrative
divisions, abolished the feudal system, and freed peasants from manorial dues and serfdom.
Transport and communications were improved too.

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Q1 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 1848 revolution of the liberals refers to the various national movements
pioneered by educated middle classes alongside the revolts of the poor, unemployed and
starving peasants and workers in Europe. While in countries like France, food shortages and
widespread unemployment during 1848 led to popular uprisings, in other parts of Europe
(such as Germany, Italy, Poland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire), men and women of the
liberal middle classes came together to voice their demands for the creation of nation-states
based on parliamentary principles. In Germany, for example, various political associations
comprising middle-class professionals, businessmen and prosperous artisans came together in
Frankfurt to form an all-German National Assembly. This Frankfurt parliament drafted a
constitution for a German nation to be headed by a monarchy subject to a parliament. Though
such liberal movements were ultimately suppressed by conservative forces, the old order could
never be restored. The monarchs realised that the cycles of revolution and repression could
only be ended by granting concessions to the liberal-nationalist revolutionaries.
The political, social and economic ideas supported by the liberals were clearly based on
democratic ideals. Politically, they demanded constitutionalism with national uni cation—a
nation-state with a written constitution and parliamentary administration. They wanted to rid
society of its class-based partialities and birth rights. Serfdom and bonded labour had to be
abolished, and economic equality had to be pursued as a national goal. The right to property
was also signi cant in the liberals' concept of a nation based on political, social and economic
freedom.

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Q2 Choose three examples to show the contribution of culture to the growth of nationalism in
Europe.

Answer. Apart from wars and territorial expansion, culture also played a crucial role in the
development of nationalism. Romanticism was a European cultural movement aimed at
developing national unity by creating a sense of shared heritage and common history. The
Romantic artists emphasis on emotions, intuition and mystical feelings gave shape and
expression to nationalist sentiments. The strength of art in promoting nationalism is well
exempli ed in the role played by European poets and artists in mobilising public opinion to
support the Greeks in their struggle to establish their national identity.

Folk songs, dances and poetry contributed to popularising the spirit of nationalism and
patriotic fervour in Europe. Collecting and recording the different forms of folk culture was
important for building a national consciousness. Being a part of the lives of the common
people, folk culture enabled nationalists to carry the message of nationalism to a large and
diverse audience. The Polish composer Karol Kurpinski celebrated and popularised the Polish
nationalist struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the polonaise and
mazurka into nationalist symbols.

Language also played a distinctive role in developing nationalist feelings in Europe. An
example of this is how during Russian occupation, the use of Polish came to be seen as a
symbol of struggle against Russian dominance. During this period, Polish language was forced
out of schools and Russian language was imposed everywhere. Following the defeat of an
armed rebellion against Russian rule in 1831, many members of the clergy in Poland began
using language as a weapon of national resistance. They did so by refusing to preach in
Russian, and by using Polish for Church gatherings and religious instruction. The emphasis on
the use of vernacular language, the language of the masses, helped spread the message of
national unity.

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Q3 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
Political fragmentation: Till the middle of the nineteenth century, the present-day nations of
Germany and Italy were fragmented into separate regions and kingdoms ruled by different
princely houses.
Revolutionary uprisings: Nineteenth-century Europe was characterised by both popular
uprisings of the masses and revolutions led by the educated, liberal middle classes. The middle
classes belonging to the different German regions came together to form an all-German
National Assembly in 1848. However, on facing opposition from the aristocracy and military,
and on losing its mass support base, it was forced to disband.

In the Italian region, during the 1830s, revolutionaries like Giuseppe Mazzini sought to
establish a unitary Italian Republic. However, the revolutionary uprisings of 1831 and 1848
failed to unite Italy.

Uni cation with the help of the army: After the failure of the revolutions, the process of
German and Italian uni cation was continued by the aristocracy and the army. Germany was
united by the Prussian chief minister Otto von Bismarck with the help of the Prussian army
and bureaucracy. The German empire was proclaimed in 1871.
The Italian state of Sardinia-Piedmont played a role similar to that played by Prussia. Count
Camillo de Cavour (the Chief Minister) led the movement to unite the separate states of
nineteenth-century Italy with the help of the army and an alliance with France. The regions
annexed by Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Red Shirts joined with the northern regions to form a
united Italy. The italian nation was proclaimed in 1861. The Papal States joined in 1870.

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Q4 How was the history of nationalism in Britain unlike the rest of Europe?

Answer. The history of nationalism in Britain was unlike that in the rest of Europe in the sense
that it was forced down upon the masses. There was no concept of a British nation prior to the
eighteenth century. The region was in fact inhabited by different ethnic groups (English,
Welsh, Scot, Irish). Each group had its own cultural and political tradition. However, as the
English state grew in terms of wealth, importance and power, it was able to extend its
in uence over the other states of the islands. The English parliament, which had seized power
from the monarchy, played a crucial role in doing away with the ethnic distinctions and
uniting the different groups into a British nation-state, with England at its centre. The ethnic
nationalities were, directly or indirectly, forced to join the English state to form the United
Kingdom of Great Britain. The symbols of new Britain—the British ag, the national anthem
and the English language were widely popularised, while the distinctive identities of the other
joining states were systematically suppressed. English culture dominated the British nation,
while the other states became mere subsidiaries in the Union. Thus, nationalism in Britain did
not come about as a result of the people's desire to unite or countrywide movements for the
same, but from the decisions of the people in power.

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Q5 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 con icts ultimately led to the First World War in 1914.

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