Get textual answers, explanations, solutions, notes, extras, MCQs, PDF of Chapter 3 Europe in the Nineteenth Century: Conflict of Monarchical and Nationalist Ideas, WBBSE Class 9 History (English medium). However, the educational materials should only be used for reference, and students are encouraged to make necessary changes.
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Summary
In the 1800s, Europe saw big changes. The idea of a nation-state grew. A nation-state forms when people in one area, speaking the same language, unite under one government. This feeling of unity and loyalty to one’s nation is called nationalism. These ideas became powerful after the French Revolution and Napoleon’s wars. Early nation-states like England and France appeared as feudal lords lost power, the Church supported kings, and the middle class offered financial help.
Napoleon Bonaparte spread French ideas across Europe. While building his empire, his actions unintentionally sparked nationalism in invaded lands. People felt stronger unity against the French. After Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, European leaders met at the Congress of Vienna. They wanted to return to old ways, putting kings back on thrones based on ‘legitimacy’, the idea that ruling families had a right to rule. They ignored nationalist feelings. This created tension between old monarchies and new nationalist ideas. Austria’s Metternich created a system to suppress these new ideas.
Discontent led to revolts. In 1830, the July Revolution in France removed King Charles X. This inspired others. Belgium became independent. Poland revolted but was crushed. Uprisings also occurred in Italy and Germany. In 1848, the February Revolution in France overthrew the king and created the Second French Republic. This wave of revolution spread, weakening the Metternich System. It fueled desires for unity in Germany and Italy and led to changes in Hungary.
Italy experienced the Risorgimento, meaning ‘resurgence’, a movement for unity. Leaders like Mazzini inspired people. Count Cavour, leading Piedmont, used diplomacy and war, getting French help against Austria. Garibaldi led revolts in the south. By 1870, Italy became a united nation under King Victor Emmanuel. Germany was also divided. Otto von Bismarck of Prussia believed unity required ‘blood and iron’, meaning military strength and war, not just talk. He led Prussia through wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, partly sparked by the altered Ems Telegram message. In 1871, Germany was unified under Prussia. An earlier customs union, Zollverein, had helped economic ties.
The Ottoman Empire grew weak and was called the ‘sick man of Europe’, meaning it was declining and might fall apart. Christian peoples in the Balkans, like Greeks, Serbs, Romanians, and Bulgars, desired independence. Russia wanted more influence, leading to conflicts known as the ‘Eastern Question’. The Crimean War involved Russia against the Ottomans, Britain, and France. Later, Balkan nations gained more freedom or unity. In Russia, Tsar Alexander II saw reforms were needed after the Crimean War. He freed the serfs in 1861, ending peasant bondage, though the process had difficulties.
Textual Questions, Answers (Oriental)
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of the following was fruitful for the evolution of nationalism in Europe ?
(a) Fall of Bastille
(b) National Convention
(c) The Reign of Terror
(d) The French Revolution
Answer: (d) The French Revolution
2. Indicate which of the following the four Powers that brought about the fall of Napoleon:
(a) Austria, Russia, England and Turkey
(b) Russia, Austria, England and France
(c) Austria, Prussia, USA and England
(d) Austria, Russia, Prussia and England
Answer: (d) Austria, Russia, Prussia and England
3. After which of the following France was declared a ‘secular state’?
(a) French Revolution of 1789
(b) February Revolution of 1848
(c) July Revolution of 1830
(d) None of the above
Answer: (c) July Revolution of 1830
4. Of the following which country came to be called the ‘sick man of Europe’?
(a) France
(b) England
(c) Turkey
(d) Prussia
Answer: (c) Turkey
Very-short Answer Type Questions
1. Name the first two nation-states of Europe.
Answer: The first two nation-states under strong monarchy were England and France.
2. When was Napoleon and his Empire overthrown?
Answer: Napoleon and his Empire were overthrown in 1815.
3. Application of which principle restored the Bourbon monarchy in France?
Answer: The principle under which the Bourbon monarchy was restored in France was ‘Legitimacy’.
5. When did the February Revolution in France take place?
Answer: The February Revolution in France occurred after the government attempted to prevent a banquet scheduled to be held on 22 February 1848, which signalled the outbreak of rioting.
Short Answer Type Questions
1. Mention a factor that helped the emergence of the nation-states in Europe.
Answer: With the decay of feudalism towards the end of the middle ages, the feudal lords were no longer in a position to oppose the power of the kings. This helped make possible the emergence of the nation-states.
2. What is meant by the term Risorgimento?
Answer: The Italian term Risorgimento literally means ‘resurgence’ or ‘rebirth’. In respect to Italy, it meant the movement which led to the formation of a united Italy.
3. Who was Bismarck?
Answer: Otto von Bismarck came from the German state of Prussia and assumed the office of the Chancellor (or Prime Minister) of Prussia. He was a nationalist to the core of his heart. He hated Austria and wanted to see Germany united under Prussian leadership. Bismarck was a strong man, not an idealist.
4. Why is Florence Nightingale remembered?
Answer: Florence Nightingale is remembered because during the Crimean War, she led a group of nurses to the war front where she set up clean hospitals. For the first time, Britain’s wounded soldiers received good medical care. As a nurse, Nightingale is considered one of the founders of modern nursing.
Long Answer Type Questions-I
1. What were the aspirations of the peoples of Europe after 1815 ?
Answer: After 1815, the peoples of Europe were attracted to the ideas of democracy and nationalism, influenced by the French Revolution and Napoleon. However, neither nationalism nor democracy gained anything from the arrangements made in the Vienna Congress, landing the people in a world of repressive autocrats. In the years following 1815, the aspirations of the people were mainly twofold: nationalist and democratic. For people who were yet to achieve unity, popular aspirations turned towards unity or independence, as seen in Germany and Italy. In countries where national unity and independence had already been achieved, like France, Spain, Russia, and England, the people’s struggles were directed towards the achievement of democratic principles and institutions.
2. What was the impact of the February Revolution of 1848 in Europe?
Answer: The Revolution of 1848 did not go in vain. Its importance lay in the fact that it finally was successful in overthrowing the reactionary Metternich System, which had been suppressing nationalist attempts across Europe since 1815. The Revolution proved that it was impossible to kill ideas, allowing the forces of liberalism and nationalism released by the French Revolution to work their way through the conservative diplomatic structures. In Germany and Italy, the Revolution of 1848 deepened nationalist sentiments for union. In Germany, liberals summoned a national assembly at Frankfurt, elected on the basis of adult suffrage, and the founding of the Frankfurt Parliament was the first important step towards German unification. The nationalist struggle in Italy revealed that Piedmont-Sardinia should be the centre for the Italian unification movement, awakening national consciousness in dissected Italy. In Hungary, liberals effected a revolution, freed the press, abolished vestiges of feudalism, established a liberal government, and Hungary emerged as a free national state.
3. What were the contributions of the Young Italy movement ?
Answer: Although the Young Italy’s uprising of 1848 showed the unpractical nature of Mazzini’s programme, the movement expressed the nationalist aspirations of the Italian people. It helped the frustrated people rise from a slough of despair. The disunited people of Italy realized that their independence was not merely an elusive dream. Furthermore, a mental strength was created among the Italians that was so necessary for building a new united Italy.
4. Write about the spurt of nationalism in Serbia.
Answer: Serbia had lost its independence long ago and remained under Turkish rule until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Although King Alexander granted a liberal constitution in 1889, he failed to win popular support, and political unrest continued. In 1903, rebels placed Peter on the throne and restored the 1889 constitution. Under Peter, Serbians concentrated on a nationalistic policy aimed at uniting all Serbs of the Balkans into one large state. However, this dream of a larger Serbia could not be realized without conflict with Austria-Hungary. Consequently, the movement turned revolutionary, directed against the integrity of Austria-Hungary, becoming the most dangerous ‘irredentist’ problem in Europe, advocating for the annexation of territories administered by another state based on common ethnicity.
Long Answer Type Questions-II
1. Write about the impact of the July Revolution of 1830 in Europe.
Answer: The July Revolution had its echoes heard in other parts of Europe. Immediately after the revolt broke out in Paris, the Belgians who were discontented with the Dutch rule felt that they should now throw it off. Demonstration broke out in Brussels that was followed by revolts in provincial towns. The Belgians declared their independence in 1831. The Belgian independence was soon recognized by France and Britain. The successful revolt of the Belgians was a striking victory of nationalism and the first breach of the settlement made at the Vienna Congress.
The other country soon to be affected by the July Revolution was Poland. The country had been under the misrule of Russia for a long time. The Poles resorted to insurrection in 1831. The revolt was led by university students and some secret societies. The rebels even set up a provisional government. The Polish revolt, however, was severely crushed by the ruling Tsar Nicholas I.
In Italy too revolution broke out and the impetus was the July Revolution in France. The Italian liberals cherished the idea that France would support Italian revolution. Risings largely with constitutional aims took place in Parma, Modena and the Papal States. But the revolts were savagely suppressed.
The July Revolution in Paris sparked off demonstrations and riots in several German states. The rebels’ demands were for a constitution or for liberalization where there had already been a constitution. But the agitations achieved practically nothing.
In the wake of the July Revolution the people of Spain and Portugal began agitation for introducing democratic principles. Under pressure of the movement the rulers were compelled to introduce liberal administrative reforms.
In England the example of the July Revolution made the conservative rulers realize that it was no more possible to resist the democratic influence. The farsightedness of the rulers of England in this respect was confirmed when extensive reform measures were introduced (Reform Bill) in 1832.
2. Write how Italy emerged as a nation-state.
Answer: Conquest of the mainland of Italy, a divided country, by Napoleon had far-reaching consequences. Napoleonic conquest gave some encouragement to Italian nationalism. At the Vienna Congress pre-Napoleonic regime was restored in Italy. The restoration meant widespread discontent. It was this discontent that led to a movement for the unification of Italy, known as the Risorgimento.
The first shot in the Italian movement for unity and liberty was fired by the Carbonaries, Italian revolutionaries who worked under a secret society. But their risings were ruthlessly suppressed by Austrian troops. Mazzini led the second stage of the movement. In 1831, Mazzini founded a youth organization called the Young Italy. The programme of the Young Italy was very clear and emphatic: Austria was a stumbling block and was to be pushed out of Italy, a war with Austria was inevitable, no foreign help was necessary, and a unified Italy must have a republican form of government. In 1848, the Young Italy organized mass uprising, but the movement fizzled out for lack of organization and co-ordination. Yet the movement expressed the nationalist aspirations, helped the frustrated people rise from despair, made the disunited people realize independence was not an elusive dream, and created mental strength necessary for building a new united Italy.
It was Count Cavour who furthered the unification of Italy. He projected Piedmont in the leadership of the unification. Cavour realized that unity and independence could not be attained without foreign help and cultivated friendship with France, Prussia and Britain. In 1859 France helped Piedmont in a war against Austria, resulting in the conquest of Lombardy. Meanwhile four other Italian states revolted against their rulers to ally themselves with Piedmont. In 1860 the Kingdom of Two Sicilies (Sicily and Naples) revolted under the leadership of Garibaldi. In the same year Cavour invaded the Papal States, all of which, except Rome, fell to the Piedmontese forces. Cavour then persuaded Garibaldi to permit the unification of the Two Sicilies. Thus almost all the Italian peninsula was united. King Victor Emmanuel was proclaimed the King of Italy in 1861. The final additions of Venetia in 1866 and Rome in 1870 completed the formation of Italy as a nation-state.
3. Write in brief about Balkan nationalism.
Answer: The European part of the Ottoman Empire comprised the Balkans in the South-East Europe, a hilly region between the Aegean Sea and the Danube. In this region lived the Greeks, Romanians, Bulgars, Serbs, Albanians and others who were Christians. These people sensing the weakness of the Ottoman Empire were stirred by an urge for liberation. Russia desired to push her frontiers into the Ottoman Empire on the plea of protecting the interests of the Balkan nationalities, which went against the interests of other European powers like England, France, Austria and others, leading to the ‘Eastern Question’. The ‘Question’ centred round the hopes and aspirations of the Christian nationalities of the Balkans and the imperialist designs of Russia.
The main developments after the Crimean War concerned the small Balkan nationalities.
In Greece, after King Otto abdicated in 1862, the new King George I consented to a parliamentary government. The prosperity of the Greeks encouraged their nationalist desires for annexation of Greeks in Crete, Salonica and the Aegean Islands. With the help of Serbia and Bulgaria in the Balkan War (1912-1913), the Greeks received the desired territories and became a unified nation. Greek nationalism had seen a revival since the French Revolution and Napoleon, with pioneers like Adamantios Korais and Constantine Rhigas founding secret societies. In 1814, the Hetairia Philike society was founded in Odessa, led by Prince Alexander Ypsilanti, who organized a national Greek revolt in Rumania, though he was confined by Turkish troops.
Serbia had remained under Turkish rule until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Though King Alexander granted a liberal constitution in 1889, political unrest continued. Rebels in 1903 placed Peter on the throne and restored the 1889 constitution. Under Peter, Serbians concentrated on a nationalistic policy to bring all Serbs of the Balkans into one large state. This dream required conflict with Austria-Hungary, turning the movement revolutionary and directed against Austria-Hungary’s integrity, becoming a dangerous ‘irredentist’ problem.
Moldavia and Wallachia, two districts at the mouth of the Danube, virtually became independent at the end of the Crimean War. The people had always shown a strong national spirit. In 1856, the powers recognized their independence with two separate assemblies, but this was overcome by the assemblies each choosing the same prince. Thus the two provinces united to form the new state of Romania in 1861 (though the name was given in 1866).
The independence of Montenegro, under a separate prince, was recognized in 1878. It prospered under Prince Nicholas, advancing political democracy with a constitution adopted in 1905 providing for a parliament elected by universal manhood suffrage.
Oppressions by Turkish officials provoked peasants in Herzegovina to rise in insurrection in 1875, joined by fellow Slavs of Bosnia. The next year, the people of Bulgaria rebelled against Turkish officials, suffering brutal torture and mass killings which thrilled Europe. Serbia and Montenegro declared war against Turkey in 1876. The Balkan issues were finally settled at the Berlin Congress in 1878.
4. Write about Tsar Alexander II as a reformer.
Answer: Alexander II (1855-1881) ascended his father’s (Nicholas I) throne while Russia was fighting the Crimean War. Realizing the war had seriously weakened Russia and that the government must be reformed, Alexander made many reforms. Though no believer in democratic methods, he wanted to introduce reforms keeping intact his royal rights, trying to reduce the impact of the autocratic rule. First of all, press censorship was withdrawn. Unjust laws prohibiting foreign travel of the subjects were rescinded. Next he released the Decembrists many of whom were imprisoned or exiled by his father. Alexander kept a watchful eye on the economic development of the country. As a result of his efforts education and the communication system of the country improved vastly. His efforts contributed significantly to the expansion of trade and commerce of Russia.
All the reforms of Alexander were not successful. But the laws he enacted for the emancipation of the serfs was his most remarkable social reform. The medieval system of serfdom existed nowhere in Europe except Russia in the mid-nineteenth century, diminishing her dignity. After discussions, Alexander II signed the Emancipation Statute (March 1861), bringing an end to serfdom in Russia. Because of this, Tsar Alexander II is known in history as the Tsar Liberator.
The Emancipation Statute stipulated that Russian serfs were now free from bondage to feudal lords. A substantial section of the nobility’s land was distributed amongst the peasantry on a collective basis through village communes (mir or obshchina). The Tsarist government advanced compensation money to landowners on behalf of peasants, to be realized from them in forty-nine installments collected by the mirs.
Generally speaking, the emancipation yielded good results: the price of land increased considerably, collection of land-revenue increased improving government finances, and agricultural produce showed an upward swing enhancing trade volume. Though emancipation improved the general condition of the peasantry, its less happy results were more important with far-reaching consequences. The Statute failed to improve the condition of the peasants, was bulky and complex, and the provision for advances in installments was disadvantageous. It came as a bitter disappointment, as the hopes raised could hardly be fulfilled within the Tsarist autocracy framework. Ultimately, the Russian people could get their hopes and aspirations fulfilled only through the fall of the Tsardom.
Extras
Additional MCQs
1. What term describes a political entity where people share language and territory under one king?
A. Nation-state
B. Confederation
C. Empire
D. Republic
Answer: A. Nation-state
60. Which Russian tsar enacted the emancipation of the serfs in March 1861?
A. Nicholas I
B. Alexander II
C. Alexander III
D. Nicholas II
Answer: B. Alexander II
Additional Questions, Answers
1. Define Nation-State.
Answer: A nation-state may be said to have developed when a group of people living in a particular geographical area, speaking the same language combine together as ‘one people’, distinct from others, under a powerful king.
45. Examine the causes, conduct and consequences of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71.
Answer: Causes: The Franco-Prussian War occurred in 1870. France was alarmed at the growing power of Prussia following the Austro-Prussian war of 1866. The French realized that Bismarck would unite all the German states and that the German nation would emerge as the strongest power in Europe. Bismarck, the Chancellor of Prussia, was chiefly to be blamed for the outbreak of the war, as he fondly desired it for the unification of Germany. On 12 July 1870, Bismarck received a telegram from Ems, where the Prussian King William was holidaying, communicating about a meeting to be held between the King and Count Benedetti, the French ambassador. Apprehending that the meeting might resolve disputes, Bismarck reduced the telegram by striking out words, without adding or altering anything, in such a way as to make the French people believe their country had been insulted by the Germans, and to make the Germans believe that they were being threatened by France. Bismarck released this altered Ems Telegram to the press. This infuriated the Frenchmen, and a strong public opinion was created in France for waging war with Prussia. When King William saw the published version, he remarked, ‘This is war’.
Conduct: In the Battle of Sedan (1870) that followed, the French were badly defeated by the Prussian troops.
Consequences: As a result of the defeat, France had to give up two important territories, Alsace and Lorraine, to Germany. After the war, all the German states joined to form a new nation. On 17 January 1871, Germany emerged as a unified nation-state. The Franco-Prussian War thus completed the unification of Germany. Since then, however, Germany and France remained bitter enemies.
Ron’e Dutta is a journalist, teacher, aspiring novelist, and blogger who manages Online Free Notes. An avid reader of Victorian literature, his favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. He dreams of travelling the world. You can connect with him on social media. He does personal writing on ronism.
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