THE RISE OF NATIONALISM IN EUROPE

UNIT 3: THE AGE OF REVOLUTIONS: 1830-1848

1. Who remarked “When France sneezes the rest of Europe catches
cold”?(P.13) (1m)
Metternich
2. Name the event that mobilized nationalist feelings among the
educated elite across Europe in 1830-1848 (P.13). (1m)
The Greek War of Independence.
3. Name the treaty that recognized Greece as an independent
nation. (P.13) (1m)
The Treaty of Constantinople, 1832
4. What were the effects of the revolutionary upheaval in France
in 1830? (P.13) (3m)
1) The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830.
2) The Bourbon kings who had been restored to power during the
conservative reaction after 1815, were now overthrown by
liberal revolutionaries.
3) A constitutional monarchy was installed with Louis Philippe at
its head.
4) The July Revolution sparked an uprising in Brussels which led
to Belgium breaking away from the United Kingdom of
Netherlands.
5. How did the Greek War of Independence mobilize nationalist
feelings among the educated elite across Europe? (P.13) (5 m)
1) Greece had been a part of the Ottoman Empire since the 15th C.
2) The growth of revolutionary nationalism in Europe sparked off
a struggle for independence amongst the Greeks which began in
1821.
3) Nationalists in Greece got support from other Greeks living in
exile and also from many West Europeans who had sympathies for
ancient Greek culture.
4) Poets and artists lauded Greece as the cradle of European
civilization and mobilized public opinion to support its
struggle against the Muslim Empire.
5) The English poet Lord Byron organized funds and later went to
fight in the war, where he died of fever in 1824.
6) Finally the Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognized Greece
as an independent nation.

1
6. Who was Eugene Delacroix? What was his role in the Greek War
of Independence? (P. 14- Painting) (3m)
1) Eugene Delacroix was one of the most important French Romantic
painters.
2) His painting the Massacre at Chios depicts an incident in
which 20,000 Greeks were said to have been killed by Turks in
the island of Chios.
3) By dramatizing the incident focusing on the suffering of women
and children and using vivid colours, he sought to appeal to
the emotions of the spectators and create empathy for the
Greeks
7. How did Romanticism facilitate the promotion of nationalist
sentiments? (How did Romanticism pave the way for nationalism
in Europe?) (How did culture play an important role in
creating the idea of a nation?) (P.13, 14, 15) (3m)
1) Romantic artists and poets generally criticized the
glorification of reason and science and focused instead on
emotions, intuition and mystical feelings.
2) Their effort was to create a sense of shared collective
heritage, a common cultural past as the basis of the nation.
3) Romantics such as Johann Gottfried Herder claimed that it was
through folk songs, folk poetry and folk dances that the new
spirit of the nation was popularized.
4) Collecting and recording these forms of folk culture was
essential to the process of nation-building.
5) The emphasis on vernacular language and the collection of
local folklore was not just to recover an ancient national
spirit but also to carry the modern nationalist message to
large audiences who were mostly illiterate.
8. Language too played an important role in creating the idea of
the nation. Justify this statement with reference to Poland.
(Why did Poland begin to use language as a weapon of national
resistance?) (P.15) (3m)
1) After Russian occupation, the Polish language was forced out
of schools and the Russian language was imposed everywhere.
2) In 1831, an armed rebellion against the Russian rule took
place which was ultimately crushed.
3) Following this, many members of the clergy in Poland began to
use language as a weapon of national resistance.
2
4) Polish was used for church gatherings and all religious
instruction and the use of the language came to be seen as a
symbol of struggle against Russian dominance.
9. The decade of 1830 had brought great economic hardship in
Europe. Support this statement with suitable arguments. (Why
were the 1830s the years of great economic hardship in
Europe?) (P.15,16)(3m or 5m)
1) The first half of the 19th C saw an enormous increase in
population all over Europe
2) In most countries there were more seekers of jobs than
employment
3) Population from rural areas migrated to the cities to live in
overcrowded slums
4) Small producers were often faced with stiff competition from
imports of cheap machine made goods from England where
industrialization was more advanced than on the continent.
5) In those regions of Europe where the aristocracy still enjoyed
power, peasants struggled under the burden of feudal dues and
obligations
6) The rise of food prices or a year of bad harvest led to
widespread pauperism in towns and countries
10. What is the significance of 1848 for France and the rest of
Europe? (P.15,16) (3m)
1) Food shortages and widespread unemployment brought the
population of Paris on the roads
2) Barricades were erected and Louis Philippe was forced to flee.
3) A National Assembly proclaimed a Republic, granted suffrage to
all adult males above 21 and guaranteed the right to work.
4) National workshops to provide employment were set up.
11. Why did the weavers of Silesia revolt in 1845? (P.16) (1m)
The weavers in Silesia led a revolt against the contractors who
supplied them with raw materials and gave them orders for
finished textiles but drastically reduced their payments. The
revolt was higher wages.
12. Explain what is meant by the 1848 revolution of the
liberals. (P.17) (3m)
1) Parallel to the revolts of the poor, unemployed and starving
peasants and workers in many European countries in the year

3
 1848 a revolution led by the educated middle class was
underway.
2) Events of February 1848 in France had brought about the
abdication of the monarch and a republic based on universal
male suffrage had been proclaimed.
3) In other parts of Europe, where independent nation states did
not exist – such as Germany, Italy, Poland, the Austro-
Hungarian Empire – men and women of the liberal middle class
combined their demands for constitutionalism with national
unification.
4) They took advantage of the popular unrest to push their
demands for the creation of a nation state on parliamentary
principles – a constitution, freedom of the press and freedom
of association.
13. Why is the period from 1830 to 1848 known as the Age of
Revolutions? (P.13.17) (3m or 5m)
1) The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830.The
Bourbon kings who had been restored to power during the
conservative reaction after 1815, were now overthrown by
liberal revolutionaries. A constitutional monarchy was
installed with Louis Philippe at its head. The July Revolution
sparked an uprising in Brussels which led to Belgium breaking
away from the United Kingdom of Netherlands.
2) The growth of revolutionary nationalism in Europe sparked off
a struggle for independence amongst the Greeks which began in
1821. Finally the Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognized
Greece as an independent nation.
3) In the German regions, a large number of political
associations whose members were middle class professionals,
businessmen and prosperous artisans, came together in the city
of Frankfurt and decided to vote for an all-German National
Assembly. On 18 May 1848, 831 elected representatives marched
in a festive procession to take their places in the Frankfurt
parliament convened in the Church of St. Paul. They drafted a
constitution for the German nation to be headed by a monarchy
subject to a Parliament.
4) Parallel to the revolts of the poor, unemployed and starving
peasants and workers in many European countries in the year
1848, a revolution led by the educated middle class was
4
 underway. Events of February 1848 in France had brought about
the abdication of the monarch and a republic based on
universal male suffrage had been proclaimed.
5) In other parts of Europe, where independent nation states did
not exist – such as Germany, Italy, Poland, the Austro-
Hungarian Empire – men and women of the liberal middle class
combined their demands for constitutionalism with national
unification. They took advantage of the popular unrest to push
their demands for the creation of a nation state on
parliamentary principles – a constitution, freedom of the
press and freedom of association.
14. Write a short note on the Frankfurt Parliament. (P.17) (3m
or 5m)
1) In the German regions, a large number of political
associations whose members were middle class professionals,
businessmen and prosperous artisans, came together in the city
of Frankfurt and decided to vote for an all-German National
Assembly.
2) On 18 May 1848, 831 elected representatives marched in a
festive procession to take their places in the Frankfurt
parliament convened in the Church of St. Paul.
3) They drafted a constitution for the German nation to be headed
by a monarchy subject to a Parliament.
4) When the deputies offered the crown on these terms to
Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia, he rejected it and
joined other monarchs to oppose the elected assembly.
5) While the opposition of the aristocracy and military became
stronger, the social basis of parliament eroded.
6) The parliament was dominated by the middle class who resisted
the demands of workers and artisans and consequently lost
their support. In the end troops were called in and the
assembly was forced to disband.
15. Explain the role of women in the nationalist struggles of
Europe? (The issue of extending political rights to women was
a controversial one within the liberal movement. Evaluate this
statement giving suitable arguments.) (Pg.17,18) (5m)
1) Women had actively participated in large numbers in the
liberal movement

5
2) They had formed their political associations, founded
newspapers and taken part in political meetings and
demonstrations.
3) Despite this they were denied suffrage rights during the
election of the National Assembly in Frankfurt
4) When the Frankfurt parliament convened at the church of St.
Paul, women were admitted only as observers to stand in the
visitor’s gallery.
16. What changes were made in Europe after the movement of
1848? (P. 18) (1m or 3m or 5m)
1) Though conservative forces were able to suppress liberal
movements in 1848, they could not restore the old order.
2) Monarchs were beginning to realize that the cycles of
revolution and repression could only be ended by granting
concessions to the liberal nationalist revolutionaries.
3) In the years after 1848, the autocratic monarchs of Central
and Eastern Europe began to introduce the changes that had
already taken place in Western Europe before 1815.
4) Serfdom and bonded labour were abolished both in the Habsburg
dominions and in Russia.
5) The Habsburg rulers granted more autonomy to the Hungarians in
1867.