World History (G.S.-1) Part-1

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INITIATIVE BY ECOHOLICS www.iasorigin.com

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WORLD HISTORY for G.S.-I Mains

Part-1 (Topics 1 to 4)
INDEX
1. Origin of Modern Politics 2-35

2. Industrialisation 36-56
3. Nation-State System 57-64
4. Imerialism and Colonialism 65-80

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1. ORIGIN OF MODERN POLITICS

 The concept of Nation-State is of modern origin. It developed probably in the late Middle Ages.
Prior to this, people of a particular country thought not in terms of having belonged to a
particular country but as citizens of a particular town or a city.
 A man who lived in London did not consider himself as an Englishman but as a Londoner. Then
how did the Nation-State emerge ? When feudalism had thrived in Europe, the people’s loyalty
was directed towards their liege-lords.
 But when any of their lords did not return from the crusades, the kings of Europe began to
establish their contacts with their respective subjects. They put an end to the power of the
noble. They used the gun-powder (a state monopoly) to destroy the castles of nobles. So by the
late Middle Ages, the kings of Europe became undisputed masters of their kingdoms.
The American Revolution, Civil War, US Constitution and New Deal

 By the middle of 18th century A.D, there were 13 English colonies in North America along the
Atlantic coast. Landless peasants, people seeking religious freedom, traders and profiteers had
settled there. Majority of the population consisted of independent farmers.
o Infant industries of flex, wood, leather had developed. In the North, the economy was based
on fishing and ship building while in the South it was more of plantation economy based on
the labour of the slaves who were of African origin.
o These plantations were of tobacco and cotton. Trade with the colonies and Europe had
become lively and prosperous.
 Each colony had a local assembly elected by the qualified voters. These assemblies enacted laws
concerning local matters, and levied taxes. However, they were under the rule of the mother
country, i.e., the Great Britain.
 By 18th century AD, colonists had made laws which the English government imposed upon the
colonies more and more. Gradually, the idea of being an independent nation grew and
developed into the revolutionary war in which the colonies gained their independence. It was a
revolt against the social and political system which was no longer appreciated in America.
 The American Revolution was a reflection of the development of a new attitude in the colonies.
The Americans were becoming increasingly unwilling to accept a subordinate position within the
British Empire whereas the British government especially after 1763, adopted new policies
designed to control the colonies more stringently than before.
 The diametrically opposed cultural, political, social and economic dimensions proved
incompatible and the way out was only revolutionary in nature. The British pursued two
diametrically opposed economic theories:
o Laissez-Faire for herself and
o Mercantilist Policy for the colony.
The Mercantilist policy

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 The economic conflict rested upon the theory of mercantilism which called for the subservience
of colonies to the political and economic welfare of the home country. Manufacturing of
products in the colonies which competed with the English products were discouraged.
 The colonial efforts to ease the financial situation by issuing paper money were also forbidden.
Colonial law to curtail the British slave trade was vetoed and every possible attempt was made
to control the colonial trade in the home market so that British capital would reap the advantage
of carrying trade, insurance and commissions.
 British mercantilism as a whole operated to the detriment of the colonial economic interests
and was probably the most potent influence in bringing about the American Revolution.
 The Americans unlike the others were aware of this fact that they had developed their own
attitude by their remarkable material and cultural progress which imbibed greater self-assurance
and confidence.
 They became fully capable of controlling their own desire, their own life and the concept of Pax
Britannica was absolutely useless to them.
o The concept of Pax Britannica or ‘British Peace’ was consciously modeled on the Pax
Romana of the ancient Mediterranean world, which was an articulation of the supreme
British power due to its invincible naval power.
o Most of the Americans were of British origin and therefore to them the concept of Pax
Britannica was kind of a jester. After 1764, British intensified the policies of Pax Britannica
and mercantilism in America and this led to greater repudiation of the British.
 The Americans were ready for an egalitarian partnership with the British and to have a self
government. The merchants, the bourgeoisie, the industrialist and the middle classes started to
realise that their expanding business was restricted by the British policies of trade.
 Their class was absolutely committed to progress and liberty. Therefore, this group started
demanding more political and economic rights and the abolition of discriminatory provisions in
order to remove the hurdles from their business.
 This class had two basic objectives:
o To protest against the British mercantilism.
o To mobilize the farmers to protest against aristocracy.
 Therefore, the American Revolution was a manifestation of the inherent clashes between the
growing American capitalism and British capitalist class.
o In the meantime, the global situation and scenario was also changing; France was growing
and had already challenged British hegemony.
o England was heavily indebted due to the constant warfare and they were facing stiff
competition with Baltic States in the business.
o Other European states like Russia, Austria and Prussia were also adopting rigorous
mercantilist policies.
 All these factors in a combined manner compelled the British investors to redefine their relation
with the colonies. They now started pursuing more rigorous conservative policies towards their
colonies and America was not an exception. The British took the following measures to control
the colonies:
i. The British desperately tried to have a complete balance between the colonies in trade, so
that they could earn insurance and other commissions.

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ii. Complete integration of colonial market with the British market so that raw material and
the demands could be fully controlled by the British.
iii. To give full protection to its capitalist class against capitalists of the colonies.
iv. In order to control waterways, they formulated a series of navigation laws.
 The salient features of these measures were:
i. Trade with the colonies would be conducted only through the ships of Britain, Ireland and
of her colonies.
ii. All kinds of raw materials which were required by the British could not be transported to
other places from the colonies without taking them at British harbor first.
iii. All the foreign vessels were prohibited to trade with British colonies. In 1660, a new
navigation act declared that all the colonial trade had to be carried in either English or
colonial ships and that certain enumerated commodities produced in the mainland and in
West-Indian colonies such as sugar and tobacco could be exported only to England.
 In 1688, new machinery was set up to ensure and enforce the laws of navigation. Therefore, the
navigation act had three main purposes:
i. The colonies must do all trade in British ships so that the trade monopoly, a source
economic strength, could be maintained.
ii. They must do most of their buying from Britain so that a positive trade balance could be
maintained.
iii. They must do most of their trade in raw materials because raw materials are sine qua non
for both heavy and consumer industries.
Analysis of the Navigation Act

 The basic purpose of these acts was to ensure British monopoly in the colonies and to eradicate
all intervention of any foreign country in their colonies. It served the policy of prevention is
better than cure.
 This meant that there would be limited scope for the development of the native capitalist class
in colonies.
i. The manufacturers of the colonies faced more restrictions, whereas, British manufacturers
faced none.
ii. The British goods were exempted from the import duties, while the exports were heavily
taxed.
iii. The British government severely quelled the bid of the colonies to print paper currency.
 All those colonies, which had lesser potential for the growth and development of capital classes,
did not feel the pinch of these acts. But where the capital growth was taking place, and the
native people were aspiring towards entrepreneurship, were deeply affected, as in the case of
USA or United States of America.
 The domestic and external factors forced the British Prime Minister George Grenville to pursue
a more rigorous and discriminatory policy against America. He found that the American
merchants were to be controlled through various acts by imposing disabilities in a consistent
manner.
1. Molasses Act, 1733: It is a British law that imposed a tax on molasses, sugar, and rum imported
from the non-British foreign colonies into the North American colonies.

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i. The basic purpose of the act was that the American merchants were to be compelled to buy
solely from the British planters. As per this act, a duty of 6 pence/gallon was to be paid on
molasses brought from France and Spain, West Indies.
ii. This created resentment amongst the American colonists who claimed that the British West
Indies alone could not produce enough molasses to meet the colonies’ needs.
iii. The American colonists also had the apprehension that the act’s effect would be to increase
the price of rum manufactured in New England, which may disrupt the latter’s exporting
capacity.
iv. It is to be mentioned that the Molasses Act was amongst the least effective in terms of
impact and repercussions of the British Navigation acts, since it was largely diluted through
smuggling.
2. As a remedy against this violation and relentless smuggling spree, in 1764, British Chancellor of
the Exchequer, Sir George Grenville, put through parliament the ‘Sugar Act’.
i. The Act was mainly geared to curb the smuggling trade in sugar and molasses from France,
Dutch and West Indies and to provide increased revenues to fund the enlarged British
Empire responsibilities following the French and Indian Wars.
ii. The Act reduced the duty on the foreign molasses from 6 pence/ gallon to 4 pence/ gallon,
but at the same time, set up machinery by which the duty could actually be controlled.
iii. With this Act, a virtual monopoly of the American market to British West Indies sugar
planters was granted.
iv. This was also extended to coffee, silk and other luxurious commodities. This affected the
common people and merchants.
3. In order to increase the revenue, the British Parliament, especially after the devastating effect of
Pontiac’s War (1763-64), imposed the Stamp Act in 1765 on all the colonial commercial and legal
papers, newspapers, pamphlets, cards, almanacs, and dice.
i. These stamps varied from 6 pence to 6 ponds. The Prime Minister calculated that these
measures will bring about l/3rd of cost of army stationed in America.
ii. In case of violation of this act, the trial will take place in the naval court. In this court, there
was no concept of jury of judge, the decision was given by only one judge.
iii. Nonetheless, the Stamp Act was repealed. At the same time, British Parliament issued the
Declaratory Act, which reasserted its right of direct taxation anywhere within the empire.
This was necessary for the British to maintain its undiluted suzerainty over others.
4. The government continued ahead with another act called Quartering Act of 1765, when imperial
authorities tried to strengthen its position by declaring that the colonist should provide the
entire fooding, lodging and fuel for the garrisons placed in various district for their protection.
i. The Quartering Act was passed primarily to compensate the defence expenditure in
America following the French, Indian War and Pontiac’s Wars.
ii. These taxes led to great protests in American. Riots took place in Massachusetts.
iii. The English goods were boycotted and as a result of this, government repealed the ‘Stamp
Act’ and gave concession on the ‘Sugar Act’, and at the same time a ‘Declaration Act’ was
passed, which asserted the right of parliament to legislate on the matters of all colonies. This
decision was taken by the Rockingham government.

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 The position was further aggravated when Townshend duties were imposed in 1767. It imposed
external tax on lead, glass, paper, paint and tea imported into America. These tariffs raised the
cost of living.
o The act also called for the reorganization of custom service and it also made certain
provisions to curb smuggling. In such circumstances, John Dickinson, who was a lawyer of
Pennsylvania, accepted the right of parliament to regulate trade but denied that, it could
levy taxes directly or indirectly.
o In the meantime, smuggling continued unabated with the help of the custom officers. There
was a growing opposition against the Townshend Act, and the act was partially repealed,
which had wider repercussions:
i. The withdrawal and amendment of the act had far reaching consequences. It removed
the feeling of inferiority and helplessness among the people of America.
ii. This gave impetus to the revolution and gave birth to the slogan “No taxation without
representation.” It for the first time raised the issue of supremacy of the British
parliament over America.
iii. This also gave the boost to the governor and his executive committee, which was
working under the British Parliament and as a consequence, they started to support the
local people.
Intellectual cause
 In 1636, a college was founded at Massachusetts, from there onwards the American education
found a new dimension. In 1693, in Virginia, William and Mary College became the centre of
education.
o The curriculum of this college was very scientific and rational, in which mathematics, physics
and chemistry were made regular in the syllabus. Vocational education was also stressed
upon.
o Benjamin Franklin had established a discussion house, which was later known as “American
Philosophical Society”. In the meantime, at Cambridge “Boston News Letter” was published.
In 1719, “American Mercury” and in 1725, “New York Gazette” were published.
 In 1754, at Albany, Franklin had proposed a plan for uniting the colonies under a national
congress; later served in the second Continental Congress and helped in the drafting of the
Declaration of Independence in 1776.
 He also negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris that had ended the Revolutionary War (1775-83). In
1787, he played a prominent role as a delegate to the convention that produced the US
Constitution.
 In January 1776, Thomas Paine, published a pamphlet called “Common Sense”, which created
great consciousness among the Americans about their status.
o In this pamphlet, he emphasised that the Americans must disassociate themselves from the
British. Later, he also published “The American Crisis”, which not only boosted the armed
forces but also encouraged the spirit of nationalism.
o He made a persuasive and passionate argument to the colonists that the cause of
independence was indispensible to deal with the current situation and made indelible marks
on the minds of the people.

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 James Otis was the first radical leader to propound the concept of self defence. He also
protested against the “Search Warrant Act”.
 Patrick Henry was one of the young leaders who not only protested against the “Stamp Act” but
also motivated the youth, and also played an instrumental role in the development of
“Continental Congress”.
 In 1777, he was the governor of Virginia and his famous slogan was “either give independence or
death”. Samuel Adams prepared a draft against the “Townshend Act”.
 In May 1776, the “Continental Congress” advised the colonies to establish independent
government and in June they began to discuss about the national independence. A committee
under Jefferson was appointed to draft the declaration. It was easier for the Americans to obtain
independence with the help of France.
External Factors
 The Impact of Seven Years’ war- The seven years’ war from 1756-63, was the last concrete
articulation of the struggle of colonies which was not only fought in Central Europe but also
between France and Britain in Europe, America and India.
o This gave a great opportunity to Americans to consolidate their position, to mentally and
strategically prepare themselves for the war of independence. All the European powers
united against Britain and this benefited the Americans.
o After the seven years war, England captured Canada and removed the French control from
there and this eased the permanent problem of America. America always had a fear of
attack by the Canadian French troops and for that they had to rely on Britain.
o In this war, the armed forces got great experience in fighting. The British had to concentrate
more on Canada and hence their control weakened in America. The British had to control
the Red Indians, who supported the French and hated the British.
Immediate Factors
 The ‘Townshend Act’ was partially repealed, but the ‘Tea Act’ was intact. The Tea Act was
enacted in 1773, with the following features:
o The East India Company would have complete monopoly over tea trade, thereby, completely
eliminating the role of American intermediaries and traders. Only East India Company would
supply trade to America.
o The tax would be imposed even on the tea store in the warehouses of London, if they were
to be reshipped to America. As a result of this, the tea became costlier.
o Earlier the English tea was cheaper than the inferior Dutch tea, which was consumed by
Americans due to its good quality and any rise in the price of tea was bound to infuriate the
Americans.
o As a result of this, tea smuggling started and for this the government took strong measures,
which further aggravated the situation and resulted in the Boston Tea Party.
 Boston Tea Party 1773: The Tea Act re-united dissident elements in America or it was seen as an
obvious ploy, an opening created to form a monopoly. The act was described as a “Dangerous
Innovation” and an insidious plot to subvert the American liberty.

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 Radicals in Boston and Charleston capitalised on this furor. On 16th December 1773, Samuel
Adams boarded the vassals and dumped the cargo of 342 chests of tea into the sea and
confiscated the cargoes; turning the consignments back elsewhere.
 British Parliament immediately took five measures to curb the incident; these measures were
termed as “The Intolerable Act”.
i. The port of Boston was to be closed till compensation for the damage was made.
ii. “The Massachusetts Charter” to be revised to curtail its liberal cause. Now the advisors of
the charter were to be appointed by the king, earlier they were elected by the colonies.
iii. The trials related to murder were shifted to the courts of England or other colonies.
iv. The Quarter Act was expanded and revised; now the expenditure would be borne by the
local people.
v. Tolerance was granted to Catholics living in Canada and the border of QUEDEC was extended
till river Ohio.
Implications
 By this act, the parliament reassured its position in America. The Townshend Act was revised,
which meant that the British had become more aggressive towards the Americans. The most
objectionable act was the Quebec Act because:
o By this act, the parliament annexed the area between Massachusetts and the Great Lake to
the acquired provision of Quebec against the claims of Virginia and Massachusetts.
o It annulled the colonies’ claims to the land north of Ohio.
o The acquisition of Ohio provided for an autocratic regime in Canada and gave a privileged
position to the Catholic Church in the province. Consequently, the Continental Congress was
convened in Philadelphia from 5th September to 22nd October in 1774.
 All the colonies had participated except Georgia which agreed upon the following resolutions:
o Complete internal sovereignty like a dominion status.
o Conceded the right to modulate the colonial trade but demanded elimination of all possible
oppressive acts.
o It requested to quell all the laws, which were formulated after 1765.
o Boycott of British goods and to establish substitute industries.
o Military preparation was to be made in defence against the possible British attacks. 17. Non-
importation, non- exportation and non- consumption of all goods to and from England.
o Continental Congress was deemed as a continuous organisation. As a result of these
measures English imports in the colonies declined sharply.
 The parliament responded by:

i. Declaring Massachusetts in a state of rebellion.
ii. Forbade the fishermen from fishing from Grand Banks of New Founded Land.
iii. Forbade the colonial trade with any other country except Great Britain, Ireland and British
West Indies. Nine months later in 1776, all intercourse with the colonies was prohibited.
iv. Declaration of War: George III tried to quell the revolt in colonies of military power.
v. The first Continental Congress in 1774 made it clear that Americans were not ready for any
compromise. The second Continental Congress under the leadership of Benjamin Franklin

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and Thomas Jefferson advocated complete independence. John Adams declared that,
“Throw all 13 colonies out of Royal Protection and make them independent”. The war of
autonomy had taken the form of war of independence by May 1776.
vi. The Continental Congress advised the colonies to formally establish the independent
responsible government. On 4th July 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the draft of
Declaration of Independence.
vii. The draft said, “All men were created equal by God. And all governments derived their just
power from the consent of God, which can’t be taken away and these laws encompass the
right to life, liberty and happiness.”
viii. Resistance hardened into a full-fledged war and the advocates of independence grew in
number. The internal political alignments of various colonies began to harden in New
England.
ix. Majority of the groups were overridden; in the south of Potomac loyalist feelings prevailed.
Galloway and Pennsylvania Quakers remain normally loyalists.
The War of Independence

 During the war, the Americans were divided basically into two groups:
o the Republicans; and
o the Centralists.
 Among those who supported the cause of independence, two broad divisions soon became
prominent. The ardent rebels of Virginia and New England became hard core republicans i.e.,
opponents of monarchy, of the central executive authority and of other forms of restraint on the
dominant local groups.
 The middle and southern colonies insisted upon the creation of a strong central government.
While these differences burgeoned, on 2nd July 1776, the congress voted for independence and
on 4th July they approved the Declaration of Independence.
o Once adopted, it exerted an incalculable influence by stimulating humanitarian movements
in America and inspiring the French Revolution.
o Immediately afterward, the provisional government based upon existing assemblies was
formed.
 In 1777, the Articles of Confederation provided for a central government, which were to be
ratified by all the states. The Confederation Government came into being in 1781. The settlers
lacked money and war materials.
 Consistent leadership was provided by George Washington who was named as the commander
in chief by the second Continental Congress. His opponents were:
o The British Colonial Army;
o The Loyalist Americans; and
o The Indian Tribe allied with Britain.
 During the war, America got full support of France. On 6th February, 1778, there was a
compromise between France and the Colonies, that none of the colonies will negotiate with the
British. In 1779, Spain also declared war against England on the issue of Gibraltar.

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 The situation further aggravated in 1780, when Holland declared war on England because of her
South- East Asian and South Asian policies. In 1781, Russia, Denmark and Sweden declared the
‘Armed Neutrality Act’.
 Finally, Britain had to surrender in York town on 17th October 1781, and the ‘Peace of Paris’
Treaty was signed and this is recognised as American Independence.
Peace of Paris Treaty

i. All the 13 American colonies were declared independent and the new name USA was given.
ii. France acquired West Indies; St Lucia and Tobago; Senegal in Africa and some parts of India
from England.
iii. Spain acquired Florida and Minorca Islands in the Mediterranean.
iv. The pre-war condition was restored in England and Holland.
v. The border of USA with Ohio River was established as the boundary with Canada.
American Revolution significance and analysis

i. The movement revealed that the excessive mercantilist policy is not going to be effective in
the coming times.
ii. This revolution reflected the importance of Enlightenment as a means of mobilisation and
participation.
iii. The concept of self-reliance and boycott proved to be an effective tool to shrug off the
colonial rule.
iv. The participation of foreign powers against Britain started a new trend of Groupism.
v. The British never wanted an outright independence but the reactionary policies of the
British compelled them to mentally prepare themselves for the complete independence.
vi. The role of middle-class was also very important and the participation of women was also a
positive factor.
American Revolution led to:

 The liberal forces of the world strengthened. It unleashed a new era. It contributed four
concepts to the world, which the world not only got acquainted with but also saw, its
implications:
i. Republicanism i.e., democracy plus the head of the state was elected by the people.
ii. Democracy i.e., all the powers will be exercised by the representatives of the people elected
directly or indirectly.
iii. Feudalism i.e., a concept of sharing of the powers.
iv. Constitutionalism i.e., supremacy of law.
v. Religious Freedom: The Church underwent a complete transformation. Although in America
the impact of the church in the lives of the people was less, the church never enjoyed special
privileges in America.
 The Act of 1786 called as ‘Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom’ signed on 16th of January, was
passed. It was based on Jefferson’s draft of 1779, it ended the compulsory church support and
attendance and discrimination based on religion.

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 Therefore, we see that one of the greatest contributions of American Revolution was the
creation of rational sense of secularism, where both individual and state were separate and
detached from the religion.
 It inspired many other revolutions especially the French and Spanish and also inspired the
Portuguese colonies in Central America.
 It proved that the political leadership was no longer the monopoly of the upper class. The first
elected governors of Virginia and New York were Patrick Henry and George Clinton respectively,
both of them had a rural background without any hereditary advantage and they were mere
lawyers.
 This demonstrated the participation of middle class in the revolution. By this way, the American
Revolution attacked divine origin of kingship and aristocracy. The impact was also felt in Britain,
where the protest was made to deteriorate the power of the king as compared to the power of
the parliament.
 In the other words, we see the relation between the constitutional revolution of Britain and
American Revolution.
o A new form of land ownership had emerged, big lands were confiscated and land
distribution took place.
o A new Inheritance Law was also enacted and the traditional concept of primogeniture was
replaced with it.
o Slavery was abolished in North America.
o The rapid growth of manufacturing sector and widespread industrialisation and the growth
and emergence of commercial banks had intensified the capitalist activities in North
America.
 The creation cannot be greater than the creator. Therefore, the greatest contribution of the
American Revolution was that the people were the greatest source of power; neither the church
nor the divine origin of kingship.
 The Social Contract theory of Rousseau (1762) was probably first seen in the American
Revolution. It not only contributed to liberalism but also created a paradigm that what kind of
liberalism there should be, but some of the limitations of the American Revolution were also
felt.
i. They had failed to maintain a balanced growth, which led to the emergence of regional
disparities and which cropped up during the civil war, therefore, American Revolution not
only affected the Americans but significantly contributed to the rise of liberalism worldwide.
ii. Mercantilist regulation in the atmosphere like that of America proved to be intolerable.
British failed to distinguish between Asian, African and American colonies.
iii. The desperate British situation compelled them to pursue a vigorous policy which
threatened the very formation of American economy. The depression in Britain found
expression in America.
iv. The rising middle class, the evil design of aristocracy, the growing importance of merchants
and traders, the effective concept of boycott and the development of concept of self-
reliance helped in the generation of independent consciousness.

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v. The common saga created a common situation i.e., no taxation without representation.
Mercantilist regulation although was made for the difference but it did not give full
stimulations to the economic and social cause of the revolution.
vi. There existed a psychological antipathy for taxation, both imperial and colonial, which
undoubtedly was one of the potent causes in bringing about the separation.
vii. It was also due to the commercial cum financial regulations imposed between 1763- 1765
that caused the economic dislocation. Other factors, not limited to the colonies only, also
played their part.
viii. The Industrial and Agricultural revolutions’ unrest and instability in England further
aggravated the situation. The hard times in England due to cyclic fluctuation and poor crops
in 1765 and 1774 were reflected in America.
ix. Re-enforcement of the mercantile system was disastrous for American merchant class and
the enforcement of Molasses Act threatened the prosperity of merchants and shippers,
which affected the southern colonies. The south as a whole did not feel this general
economic recession but the fluctuation of trade was indicative of this phenomena.
x. The depression affected the farmers too. The unrest and depression increased. The
Townshend Act’s duties, closure of the Boston port and closure of the Grand Banks for New
Foundland fishermen were imperial mistakes which hastened the colonial rebellion.
 The American Continent was separated by the British home land by a physical barrier of over
3,000 km and in the course of time, it was inhabited by ethnic groups that possessed an innate
hostility towards the Great Britain.
 Over 150 years of time, the first settlements had adopted an aggressive and independent life of
a new community, who intended to develop self- reliance and minimize English protection
especially after the Indian and French wars.
 There was a growth of independent consciousness. The efforts of Great Britain to dilute the
powers of local governments were not only inimical but implicated in raising the constitutional
question of equality of the parliament of Britain vis a vis the local legislatures.
 The revolution therefore, did not stem from the attempts of the English disports who sought to
regain their lost powers. On the contrary, interminable clashes between the provinces and
economic imperialism with all its institutions fitted against the essence developed by men like
Franklin, Paine and Jefferson.
 They had developed a revolutionary psychology which affected the revolution even before the
war commenced. The Constitution of America (United States of America) is the role model for
the entire democratic states of the world.
o It was indeed the fairest and the greatest governance world had ever witnessed and the
foundation of this governance and law making remains embedded in the brilliant
“constitution” of the nation.
o The constitution of United States has evolved gradually through several phases of criticism,
debates, discussions and rebellions. After achieving independence, the biggest challenge in
front of USA was to sustain its sovereignty.
o It was believed world over that the United States would not be able to maintain its unity and
sovereignty for long.

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o Thus, there was a desperate requirement of a constitution which could guide the
government to enable the participation of entire strata of the society.
 By this time, America was going through a great controversy over the notion and content of the
constitution. These controversies were:
i. The view of traditional democracy was that the functions of the government should be
restricted. The interest of the poor people should be emphasised as compared to the rich.
There was a traditional believe in the concept of liberty. This school of thought was led by
Thomas Jefferson.
ii. The traditional aristocracy and the land owner capitalist did not believe in the rule of
majority. According to them, the illiterate masses did not have the capability to visualise and
frame the future of the nation and would lead the nation to the state of utter confusion and
destruction.
iii. So, all the powers of nation building should rest in the hands of the upper class at least for
some time. The most important exponent of this view was Hamilton.
iv. The third school of thought was however economy oriented. For them, the greatest issue
was ‘Right to Property’. Those who wanted the rule of the commoner believed that ‘Right to
Property’ should be made limited i.e., the property should not remain beyond a specific
level in anyone’s hand.
v. In their opinion, the land should be restricted and the government should give help to new
landed people in the form of loans and other facilities so that they can utilise their land to
the fullest.
vi. The dispute was also over the nature of trade. The aristocratic class wanted free trade, while
the commoners wanted protectionist trade policies.
vii. The aristocratic class wanted extreme centralisation. So, that discipline law and order could
be maintained and there could be peaceful environment for growth and capitalism.
 The Articles of Confederation and different stages of the evolution of the Constitution:
1. The first stage in the making of the constitution was the “Articles of Confederation”. Under
this, the first central government of United States was established.
a. It was drafted by John Dickinson, after several amendments were accepted by the
Continental Congress in 1777. It was ratified in 1781.
b. All the powers like defence, foreign policy etc. rested with the Confederation except the
two powers, which in the later run proved to be the greatest handicap for the
government in dealing with the economic crisis.
c. One was the power to tax and other was the power to regulate trade. Its revenue was to
be derived from the requisition on different states. No provision was made for the
separate executive and judicial branches.
d. All the authority of the Confederation was vested with the congress. All the 13 members
of the Confederation had one vote regardless of their size and population.
e. Presence of 9 out 13 members was mandatory for taking any important decision. The
Article could not be amended without the consent of all 13 members.
2. By this time, the nation was surrounded by several economic problems. The requisition
system of raising money was breaking down; some of the states refused to pay anything.

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a. Interest on the public debt was pilling up at home, while the nation’s credit worthiness
was reducing abroad. Individual states were getting out of hand.
b. Many of them were quarrelling over the boundary issues and were levying duties on the
goods from their neighbours.
c. New York, for example taxed firewood from Connecticut and cabbage from New Jersey.
3. It was during these odd situations that an alarming uprising known as Shays’s Rebellion took
place in Western Massachusetts in 1786. This rebellion was carried out by the impoverished
backcountries farmers; many of them were revolutionary war veterans who were losing
their farms through mortgages, foreclosure and tax delinquencies.
a. This rebellion was led by Caption Daniel Shays, a veteran revolutionary. Their demands
were cheap paper money, lighter taxes and suspension of mortgage foreclosure.
Massachusetts’ authority responded with a drastic action.
b. They raised a small army under General Lincoln, partly with the help of the contribution
from wealthy citizens. Shays’s rebellion was crushed and Daniel Shays who believed that
he was fighting against tyranny was commanded but was later pardoned.
c. Although the rebellion was crushed and it failed to achieve its aim but it was an eye
opener. Both the supporters and critics of the Confederation believed that it needed
some strengthening.
d. But the chief question was to how this goal should be attained and how maximum
number of states’ rights could be reconciled with a strong central government.
4. In 1786, Virginia took the lead and issued a call for convention at Annapolis, Maryland. Nine
states appointed delegates, but only five were finally represented. Alexander Hamilton
brilliantly saved the convention from becoming a complete failure.
a. He called upon the congress to summon a convention to meet in Philadelphia, the next
year. The convention was not only called to deal with commerce alone but also to
bolster the entire fabric of the Article of Confederation.
b. As per the promise, the convention met after a year in Philadelphia. 55 delegates from
12 out of 13 states attended it.
c. These delegates were a conservative well to do body of lawyers, merchants, shippers,
land-speculators and moneylenders. Not a single spokesperson was present from the
poorest debtor group.
d. They were young but experienced statesmen. They were nationalists, more interested in
preserving and strengthening the young Republic, for that they took a bold step of
completely scraping the old Article of Confederation, despite explicit instructions from
the congress to revise it.
e. Technically, they were determined to over throw the existing government of the United
States by peaceful means. The sovereign states were in danger of losing their
sovereignty.
5. During this process of formulation of a new constitution, Virginia gave the first push in the
form of “the large state plan” proposal. According to this plan, the representation in both
the houses of a bicameral congress should be based on population that would naturally give
the larger states an advantage.

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a. New Jersey, a tiny state in comparison to Virginia was suspicious about the plan so to
counter it, it proposed a “the small- state plan”, this provided for equal representation
in a unicameral congress of states, regardless of the size and population, as under the
existing Articles of Confederation.
b. The weaker states feared that under the Virginia scheme, the stronger states would
band together and lord it over the rest. After a bitter and prolonged debate, the “Great
Compromise” of the convention was hammered out and agreed upon.
c. The larger states were conceded representation by population in the house of
representation and smaller states were appeased by equal representation in the
Senate. Each state no matter how much poor or small would have two Senators.
d. The big states which would have to bear the major burden of taxation yielded more. As a
sop to them, the delegates agreed that every tax bill or revenue measures must
originate in the house, where population counted more heavily.
e. This compromise broke the hitch and from here onwards the dream of a perfect
constitution seemed within reach. The new constitution provided for a strong,
independent executive in the presidency.
f. The framers here were partly inspired by the example of Massachusetts, where a
vigorous rebellion took place in the face of Shayes’s rebellion. The president was to be
the military commander in chief and to have wide powers to appoint domestic officers
including judgeships.
g. The president was also to have veto power over the legislature. The constitution which
was drafted was a bundle of compromise. A vital compromise was the method of
electing the president through indirect election by the Electoral College rather than
directly.
6. Another challenge that emerged during this period was in the form of a vital question that,
should the vote less slaves of the southern states be counted as a person apportioning
direct taxes and also representation in the House of Representatives?
a. South not wishing to be deprived of the influence, voted ‘yes’ while the Northern states
voted ‘no’. As a compromise between the total representation and none at all, it was
decided that a slave might be counted as three-fifth of a person.
b. Most of the states wanted to shut off the African slave trade. But South Carolina and
Georgia, requiring slave labour in their rice paddies and malarial swamps, raised a
vehement protest.
c. A compromise was made on this issue as well by the convention that the slave trade will
continue until the end of 1807. No members of the convention were completely happy
with the result.
d. Regardless of their personal desires, they finally had to compromise and adopt what was
acceptable to the entire body, and what presumably would be acceptable to the entire
country.
e. The framing fathers foresaw that the nation’s wide acceptance of the constitution would
not be easy. People were in shock as they were expecting a modified ‘Articles of
Confederation’ but the convention ended up creating an all new ‘Constitution’ itself.

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7. With this new Constitution the gravest fear of Anti-Federalists came alive. Charles Beard’s
book, ‘An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States’ (1913) described
the constitution as “reactionary” of the revolutionary era.
a. The anti-federalists who were against the constitution feared corruption. They saw small
government susceptible to local control as the only safeguard against tyranny.
b. The federalists who made the constitution on the other hand believed that a strong and
balanced national government would rein in selfish human interests and challenge them
towards the pursuit of the common good.
c. Alarmed by the excesses of the state governments, the federalists developed the novel
idea of an ‘extensive republic’.
Comparison between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution

 The Articles of Confederation could not act directly upon the individual citizens of a sovereign
state nor could it protect itself from gross indignity. Yet it proved to be a landmark in
governance. In spite of its defects, the Articles of Confederation was significantly a stepping-
stone towards the present constitution.
 We can see that the provision of unanimous voting to amend the Confederation proved to be
the reason for the birth of the constitution because if the amendment would have been simple
enough, then the republicans might have struggled along the patched up Article of
Confederation rather than adopting a whole new and powerful constitution.
 The American constitution not only protected the rights of the individuals but also helped in the
regulation of businesses. The need for more responsive and effective business regulation was
one of the reasons for the fight of independence and the establishment of the federal
government.
American Civil War

 The most important development in American history following the war with England in 1812
was the westward expansion of the American frontier. It was out of this expansion that there
arouse the important domestic and foreign issues that Americans had to deal with.
 It brought a war with Mexico, diplomatic crisis with Spain and Portuguese and above all, it led
directly to a greater crisis that American history had to witness in the face of civil war or a war
between the agrarian based economy of the south and the domestic industry based economy of
the north.
 The burning issues which divided the two were the American tariff policy and the attitude
towards slavery. American civil war was the manifestation of two discordant socio-ethno-
economic states of nature within America.
 The divergent economic interests and the structure of north and south were leading to
sectionalism; north being more industrialised and south solely agriculturalist, thereby, ushering
different priorities, values, modus-vivendi (mode of living) and creating a distinct political
culture.
 The aspiration, the desire, the requirement, remained distinct. Due to the intensified process of
industrialisation, war of independence, development of communication, more frequent

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interaction compelled them to come close to each other with entirely different ethos. The
American tariff policy and question of slavery only exposed the accumulating grievances.
 The civil war which took place from 1861 to 1865 can be regarded as the repercussion of the
geographical disparity. The northern states were greatly influenced by Britain, France, Spain and
Portugal and they actively participated in the American war of independence.
o The northern states were mainly engaged in manufacturing, so, they wanted:
a. High tariff
b. Uniform rate of taxation
c. Safety and security to protect their infant industries.
o On the other hand, the southern states were basically agrarian, controlled by the
aristocratic planters who devoted themselves primarily to the cultivation of cotton, on the
basis of slave labour. Therefore, they had distinct and contradicting priorities.
o The north wanted a republican form of government creating uniform system whereas the
south wanted a more conservative form of government, creating greater regionalism. Thus
the north and south came to have a set of interests naturally antagonistic to each other.
o A regional and sectional feeling was born, which worked against their solidarity and union.
For them, sectional zone tariff and the question of slavery became important issues.
o The latter, in fact, generated a lot of emotional, political and economic tension which
precipitated the crisis.
 The slavery had existed at the time of American independence in all states, but due to industrial
and capitalist development of the north, slavery became obsolete to their economic needs,
therefore, slavery was excluded from the north-west territory, by the ordinance of 1787.
o Although slavery was dying in the south too, but the industrial revolution of England re
enforced it as England’s textile industries needed a lot of cotton. The demand for cloth went
up and the need for slave labour in cotton plantation became necessary once again.
o In this new development of the cotton boom, the slave population increased rapidly. For the
southerners, slaves became indispensable and commercially viable and must.
o Slaves became commercially very precious and valuable asset that’s why it was not easy to
surrender them easily. Thus, strong economic ties with interest bounded the southern states
against those of the north and their anti- slavery stance.
o The north wanted more free labour so that they can have excess to cheap labour. By 1860,
only 10 per cent of the total industries were in south.
 The economic aspect of slavery directly assumed a political colour with the western expansion of
America. As the new territories were acquired, the question aroused weather these states
should be declared free or slaves.
o This was important, as according to the constitution, five slaves had three votes and this
could be vital for the allocation of a representative for the state. Thus, both the north and
south faced the possibility of supremacy in the government by each other.
o This issue assumed an enormous preposition. The growing tension was ventilated through
the Missouri compromise of 1820. Missouri had applied for admission as a slave state, this
alarmed the north.

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o The tension was diffused when a compromise was arrived at and it was agreed that Missouri
will be admitted as a slave state but the future states to the north 36 degree 36’ and to the
west of Mississippi should be counted as ‘Free State’.
o The compromise worked till Texas was applied as a slave state. The struggle was keenest
over the question of California, America’s most coveted Mexican acquisition.
 The tension was averted and another compromise was worked on, it was agreed that California
would remain a free state but in the rest of Mexican secession the people were to decide their
status. The southerner was also appeased with the ‘Fugitive Slave Act’, which facilitated the
discovery of runaway slaves.
o According to this act, if anyone was found guilty of protecting or giving shelter to any
fugitive slave, his property will be confiscated and action will be taken against him.
o But the crisis had only been averted not solved. Up to 1850, there was parity between ‘slave’
and ‘free’ states. California tilted the banner in favour of north, and from there the struggle
started.
 In 1854, Kansas Nebraska Act was passed by the American congress and it replaced the Missouri
compromise. The Kansas Nebraska Act was brought down by Stephen Douglas and this provided
great relief to the South.
o As per the Act, Kansas and Nebraska were created as two separate states and they were
given full sovereignty. This provided opportunity to both North and South to influence these
two newly created states.
o From the late 1820s and early 30s a strong abolitionist movement grew in the North and its
leader denounced the constitution which recognised the institution of slavery.
 In 1833, the American anti-slavery society was formed. The South felt indignant, the Fugitive
Slave Act also created a lot of friction because the northerner frequently sheltered the runaway
slaves.
o The publication of Harriet Stowe’s ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’, in 1852 added fuel to the fire of
emotion prevailing in this issue.
o The Supreme Court’s verdict in the Dred Scott case 1857, the bench headed by Roger Brooke
Taney observed that slaves were the private property of the owner and hence the state had
no right to abolish it.
o The bench made null and void all the anti- slavery emancipation measures and it led to the
reintroduction of slavery in some states.
 The immediate result of Kansas Nebraska Act was the formation of the Republican Party in the
north with the aim of resisting the extension of slavery and organizing the high tariff policy. The
climax of the crisis occurred when in 1859, John Brown, an abolitionist seized the government
arsenal at Harpers Ferry with the objective of arming the slaves to fight with their masters.
 The south was alarmed with the possibility of a slave insurrection aided by the north. Hence, the
south decided not to submit to the national government, under the control of northerners.
 Owing to a temporary split in the Democratic Party, the Republicans were able to get their
candidate Abraham Lincoln elected as the president. On 4th March 1860, Abraham Lincoln was
elected as the president of America.

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oHe was famous for his anti-slavery views. The answer of the southerners to this was,
secession of Southern California and followed by Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana,
Texas and Georgia in 1861.
o With Jefferson as the president of these ‘Confederate States of the South’, the confederate
states union recognised the principle of state sovereignty and the right to secede.
o Lincoln refused to accept this. It was over this question on the right of secession that the civil
war was fought in 1861. To Lincoln, the territorial integrity was more important than the
question of slavery so he declared the ‘Compact Theory of Union’.
o When in 1863, he had issued a proclamation for emancipation from slavery; it was inflicted
more with military than ethical considerations.
o He wanted to deprive south of the property which could be used as a war machine. Besides,
he had realised that if the union was to be kept free of future civil wars, it must the union of
free men.
 The war began in 1861 and lasted for four years. The confederate states began the war by
bombarding the fleet Sumter, a federal arsenal. In the meantime, some other states like Virginia,
North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas also decided to secede but Delaware, Kentucky,
Maryland and Missouri remained under the union.
o The capital of the union was transferred from Montgomery to Richmond. On 21st July,
1861, the union army attacked Virginia. However, the north was logistically far superior and
also controlled the sea through the federal navy.
o The year 1863 proved to be a turning point in the war. The capture of the New Orleans by
the north followed by that of Vicksburg, gave it the control of Mississippi.
o This divided the south into two parts. Commander Ulysses S. Grant captured Gettysburg,
Port Hudson and Mississippi. In September 1864, Sherman captured Atlanta. On 13th
December, Georgia was captured. General Lee’s southern troops lost the decisive battle of
Gettysburg in 1863.
o The Confederate States finally surrendered on 26th April 1865. On 14th April 1865, Abraham
Lincoln was assassinated. On 26th April 1865, the Confederate states surrendered.
Repercussions
 More than 3, 60,000 people were killed in North America and 2, 58,000 in South America.
 By August 1865, the government was in debt of 2.65 crore dollars.
 The slavery was finally abolished by the 13th amendment of 1865 and even blacks were given
fundamental rights.
 By the 14th amendment in 1868, blacks were given citizenship rights. Army was further
streamlined and by the 15th constitutional amendment in 1870, the blacks were given voting
rights.
 Every achievement is a result of sacrifices. The damage done by the Civil War was very intense. It
was realised by the legislature that the behavioural change should be immediately followed by
the structural change.
 The question of slavery not only solved the north and south problem but also the problem of
racism i.e., the differentiation between the White and Blacks.
 Civil war became a vehicle for political consolidation and unification of America as the USA. It
had also given the message to the world that the economic disparity breeds regionalism and a

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balanced growth is the most important requirement for the territorial integrity of a nation. A
regional imbalance generally leads to sectionalism, secessionism and parochialism.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND NAPOLEON

 The year 1789 marks a signal event in the European and world history: the overthrow of
monarchy through a popular revolution. Although 1789 marked the storming of Bastille and the
Declaration of the Rights of Man, the king Louis XVI (1774-1793), was not actually dethroned till
1792 and he was executed in 1793.
 And, much of the impact of the French Revolution was felt elsewhere in Europe only after
Napoleon Bonaparte seized the power in 1799. The Revolution had not fully concluded until the
defeat of Napoleon and the restoration of the monarchy in 1815.
 These events that occurred in France had a special significance for the rest of Europe. France
was in many ways the most important country on the Continent at the time of the Revolution.
Louis XIV
 Louis XIV (1643-1715), the Sun King, had established a standard for a rigorous, powerful, and
elegant monarchy, and his luxurious palace at Versailles was admired all over Europe. With some
twenty-eight million inhabitants, France was the most populous country on the Continent.
 It was the leading center of arts and sciences and the focal point of the intellectual ferment of
the Enlightenment. French was the most widely used international language, the language both
of diplomacy and of most of the royal courts of Europe.
 As with all the revolutions, the causes of the French Revolution of 1789 included both long- term
and structural factors, as well as immediate events.
o The former included the socio-economic changes of the eighteenth century, the ideas of the
Enlightenment, and the weaknesses of monarchy.
o The short-term factors were primarily economic: government debt, financial crisis, and a bad
harvest year.
o The financial crisis led the king to convoke a meeting of the Estates General in 1789, and
from there events cascaded out of control.
 During most of the eighteenth century, France experienced both economic stability and growth.
Agricultural productivity and industrial production increased steadily in the middle of the
century, and the literacy rate of the population grew from 21 percent (at the beginning of the
century) to 37 percent (at the end).
o However, it was also a time of economic and intellectual ferment. Industry and commerce
were transforming the economic landscape and fostering the growth of cities and a new
middle class (the bourgeoisie), who were agitating for more influence, both in the economy
and in the political realm.
o Enlightenment writers were broaching the ideas of religious and cultural freedom,
representative institutions, and legal equality. And they were more generally pressing for
change and progress.
o The eighteenth century saw a rapid expansion in the publication of books, periodicals, and
pamphlets, which led to a wide dissemination of these new ideas and, with that, the early
stages of public opinion.

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 By the end of the century, however, France was suffering from serious problems. An inefficient
system of taxation made it difficult for the monarchy to raise the money that it needed.
o Furthermore, both the church and the nobility, which together owned much of the land in
the country, were virtually exempted from the taxes.
o The financial problems of the regime were made worse by the financial and material aid
provided by France to the American colonies during their war of independence against
Britain.
o For France, this was a strategic decision, rather than a moral or ideological one, as it
intended to weaken the country’s chief rival, England, and to average the loss of French
colonies in America and India during the Seven Years’ War.
o The combination of mounting debts and ineffective tax collection meant that, by 1787,
payments on the debt absorbed about half of all the taxes that were collected.
o The economic slump impacted the rest of the French population as well. The economic
growth of the eighteenth century and the import of silver from the New World had fueled
inflation in France, a phenomenon that was both new and alarming for many people.
o Between 1726 and 1789, the cost of living increased by 62 percent, whereas wages rose by
only 25 percent. In the 1780s, increased competition from the British textile manufactures
led to massive unemployment in the textile towns of northern France.
o Then, 1788 saw the worst grain harvest in France since 1709,causing increase in grain and
food prices, food shortages, and even famine. All this provoked a rising discontent in both
the cities and the countryside.
 One more problem was the weakness of the monarchy. Louis XIV had been a strong and
vigorous leader, but his successors were not, and Louis XVI was both weak and ineffectual.
o He was not able to control his ministers, and ministerial infighting made it difficult to deal
with the financial crisis of the 1780s.
o Furthermore, Louis XVI had become a virtual prisoner of Versailles, rarely leaving the Paris
region, and therefore he was increasingly isolated from his subjects and the diverse regions
of his kingdom.
THE POSITION OF THE KING WAS LIMITED BY A NUMBER OF FACTORS
 Although the king was the last court of appeal for the law suits and criminal cases but, he could
dispense his justice only with the approval of Parlement (in France Parliament was called
Parlement).
 Most of the offices were purchased and inherited paying by a paulette(small amount of money).
 Any attempt to change the rules by the king met with an instant, institutionalised and vocal
opposition from the Parlement, thereby making the reforms increasingly impossible.
 The Parlement was dominated by old aristocracy and nobility; they were intellectually more
aggressive and socially more assured and knew all the limitations of the king.
 For the purpose of imposing more taxes, the king had to call the Estates- General. Estates were
an assembly in France represented by three estates (classes): first were the clergies; second
were the nobles; and third was rest of the population.
o This assembly had huge financial powers and the king could not impose taxes and fresh cess
without the consent of the estates general.

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o The powerful kings used to avoid meetings of estates general and imposed taxes of their
own whereas the less powerful kings had to call the meetings of estates general in order to
control the revenue.
 France was theoretically a Catholic nation. They kept civil records and imparted primary,
secondary and university education, besides maintaining public charity.
o The Church claimed its medieval right to evade taxes on their properties, by the payment of
periodic ‘free gifts’ to the state, which were far less than the amount which could be
obtained from the direct taxation.
o They had their own courts; had the powers of jurisdiction; monopolised all the most
lucrative offices of the state; immune from taxation or rather had power to impose taxation.
 The clergy and nobility were extremely powerful and their consent was mandatory for any
reform or innovation in the matters related to laws and taxes. Moreover, the Parlementarians
were not appointed by the crown and they purchased their offices and inherited it by paying the
paulette.
o It is to be noted that the La Paulette tax introduced in 1604 by King Henry IV’s minister
Maximilien de Bethune, due de Sully and was named after the financier Charles Paulet.
o It was a kind of “annual right”, a special tax levied by the French Crown during the Ancient
Regime. The holders of various government and judicial offices could secure the right to
transfer their office at will by annually paying the Crown one sixtieth of the value of their
office.
o Although initially, the paulette tax ensured political and social stability but gradually it
became an impediment in the path of growth and change.
o In the 18th century, the venality of the offices stood in the way of changes - both social and
political, because it ensured that only vested and complacent interests were to be politically
represented. In this manner the problem of reforms became increasingly difficult.
o Undoubtedly, the Frenchmen accepted their position due to the secular and proprietary
nature of their position. They also developed other abstract and theoretical justifications of
their power.
 The nobility too was protected from the custom of the payment of anything like the
proportionate share of taxes. The direct taxes like taille tax (tax on the French peasantry and
non-nobles and it was the oldest tax, originally levied to finance the wars but gradually it
became regular and it was collected by the Intendants).
o The upper classes were exempted from it and therefore, the entire burden of this tax was on
the third estate.
o Real estate personal property, poll tax and income tax, could be evaded by both the clergy
and the nobility especially the higher nobility who extracted privileges from the King,
exempting them from the direct taxes.
o The indirect taxes like salt tax, consumer tax, tariffs and tolls were laid evenly on the people.
 Under the Old Regime, nobles were mainly of two types: the Nobles of the Robe or Nobles of
the Gown (French: Noblesse de robe).
o They were French aristocrats who owed their rank to judicial or administrative posts —
often bought outright for high sums and The Nobles of the Sword (French: noblesse d’epee)

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refers to the class of traditional or old nobility in France during the Middle Ages and the
Early Modern period.
o This class was an heir to the militaristic ideology of professional chivalry. Therefore,
theoretically, the absolutist monarchy was all powerful but practically ineffective to bring
about the changes urgently needed for the purpose of governance.
o Any attack on the economic and social privileges of these people was bound to produce a
massive political effect. In other words, the traditional political structure gave enormous
powers to the two important classes: the nobility and the clergy.
o These two classes monopolised the highest posts of the government services and the army.
Thus, the power was concentrated in the hands of a few people and these people had
virtually nothing to do with the common people and had absolutely no responsibility
towards them.
 Mercantilism (an economic doctrine in which the government’s control of foreign trade is of
paramount importance for ensuring the military security of the country and there is complete
regulation of economic activities by the state, at both domestic and foreign level) proved to be a
very powerful instrument for the absolutist king especially Louis XIV.
o By pursuing this policy, the king consolidated his position immensely and controlled not only
the trade and commerce, export and import but built guilds also.
o In this process, the king also got the support of the nascent bourgeoisie (newly capitalist
class) because they needed protection from the king. Gradually the bourgeoisie became
independent and felt mercantilism as the greatest obstacle in the path of their natural
growth.
o In the course of time, the king lost support of the bourgeoisie and the middle class. In fact,
one of the failures of the Ancient Regime was its inability to transform the mercantilist policy
into the policy of laissez-faire.
o It is a liberal regime in which transactions between private parties are free from government
restrictions, tariffs, and subsidies, with only enough regulations to protect property rights).
 One of the most pathetic limitations which the absolutist king faced was his surroundings. The
kings after Louis XIV did not get the true and effective advisors like Colbert. The subsequent
kings were able to generate only mediocre advisors who failed to visualise the forthcoming
financial crisis and therefore, the financial crisis remained unresolved.
 Therefore, it can be said that it was neither the social nor the economic but it was the crisis of
the Ancient Regime which created revolutionary conditions and made people feel for a change
for which they were not behaviourally prepared.
 It was this reason responsible for the continuation of the revolutionary conditions up to 1799
without any viable alternative and even when the alternative was created, it came in the form of
modified absolutism under the indomitable Napoleon.
 The king was resorted to take certain measures which irked the overburdened commoners.
Although more than 90 per cent of all Frenchmen lived in the countryside in 1715 but by 1789,
the urban population was around 15 per cent.
o They were vocal and politically aware. They wanted change, progress and growth, whereas
the traditional world of the Ancient Regime was antithetical to progressive elements.

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o The primary duty of the government was to protect itself rather than the people, especially
the urban ones. In the meantime, Noblesse de robe (mainly parlementarians) and noblesse
d’epee (mainly the aristocrats) merged.
o As a result of it, the newly merged group of nobles sought to recapitulate all the lost feudal
rights through the prosecutors of their courts. The impact of this combination was felt by the
peasantry who were perpetually vexed by the customary duties.
 Although most of the peasants were free but they were mainly share- croppers and they were
subjected to vigorous economic conditions like:
i. Payment of annual rental not only to the feudal lords but to the government also; i.e., they
were subject to dual taxation. They had to contribute to banalities.
ii. A share was to be given to the landlords whenever a tract was sold.
iii. They had to pay Corvée which is unfree labour, often unpaid, that was required of people of
lower social standing and imposed on them by the state or by a superior (such as an
aristocrat or noble).
iv. Hunting was the privilege of the nobilities and the commoners.
v. Further, the landless wage earners were impoverished by the price rise.
 Their plight was aggravated by the demographic expansion; therefore, the peasantry had to face
not only the incessant price rise but also the aggressive nobility with exorbitant double
taxation. The absolutist monarchies had introduced standing armies, a permanent bureaucracy,
national taxation, a codified law, and the beginning of a unified market.
o This created a strong operational base for the nascent capitalist class (Bourgeoisie). Unlike
Britain, the French Bourgeoisie was not a homogenous group.
o It included men of various occupations and stratified income, they acknowledged the
gradations that separated them from each other but resented the privileges which
precluded them from the affairs of state and politics.
o They had no influence on the court; did not have a share with the highest owners and they
even could not vote. The commercial, financial and industrial groups felt that without having
direct and indirect access to the power, their natural growth would be inhibited.
o Unlike Britain, the Bourgeoisie were offered a very low position in the social strata. In fact,
their economic position was gradually changing but their political and social position
remained stagnated or rather deteriorated further and therefore, they were left with no
other option than to convert themselves into revolutionaries.
 The mercantilist policies of the government were already obsolete but still the government
vigorously pursued them. Britain switched over to the policy of laissez faire but the Ancient
Regime, due to its limited dynamism failed to do so.
 The upper Bourgeoisie were basically below the aristocratic class and the lower one belonged to
relatively poor class but they were more learned and politically aware than rest of the classes.
o It is to be noted that France had a superb education system. Earlier, education was
monopolised by the churches but later on, because of the efforts of Louis XIII and XIV, the
education was released from the fetters of church and secular institutions and curriculum
were developed for it.

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o History became a serious discipline and modern French historiography began. Mathematics,
Physics, Geography were added to the curriculum. Now the Ancient Regime got exposed to
their conservatism, nepotism, perverted privileges and stagnant socio-economic policies.
 The middle class was aware of one thing that under the scenario they neither can achieve good
economic conditions nor a higher social status. They felt that their aspirations can only be met
when a liberal form of government can be developed.
 The economic factors were less relevant in France for the French Revolution. The economic and
social structure of France had greatly outgrown its political and governmental system but the
economic conditions of the workers, peasants and nascent bourgeoisie were not that bad, in fact
it was better than most of the other European nations.
o From 1643 up to 1715, foreign trade increased by five times, thereby creating a middle class
of business- persons and small manufacturers. But in 1770’s and 1780’s the trade started
declining because Britain had adopted mere aggressive policies towards France.
o The traders and bourgeoisie started to believe that the king is no longer effective in order to
protect their interests abroad and therefore, for them the absolutism had become defunct.
The multiplicity of interest tariffs became pernicious.
o From 1726 to 1780 the population increased from 18 to 25 million and also the circulation of
metallic currency increased manifolds. But gradually due to the poor economic policies, the
government failed to control the price rise and the inflationary tendencies created volatile
conditions.
 Besides that, the unproductive wars emptied the royal treasury and created
unmanageablefinancial crisis. Britain also undermined the French occupation in Asia and Africa.
Like the American Revolution, the French Revolution was also deeply influenced by the
Enlightenment ideals, particularly by the concept of popular sovereignty and inalienable rights.
 Enlightenment not only contributed to the growth of rationalism, humanism, individualism but
also to the growth of nationalism and liberalism. The French revolution embodied radical
changes that were based on Enlightenment, principles of nationalism, citizenship, and
inalienable rights.
John Locke
 Some influence of the American Revolution was also felt, which was a success in 1776. The first
important thinker was John Locke (1632- 1704). His major works are:
o A Letter Concerning Toleration, 1689;
o (1690) A Second Letter Concerning Toleration;
o (1692) A Third Letter for Toleration;
o (1689) Two Treatises of Government;
o (1690) An Essay Concerning Human Understanding;
o (1691) Some Considerations on the consequences of the Lowering of Interest and the
Raising of the Value of Money;
o (1693) Some Thoughts Concerning Education;
o (1695) The Rea sonableness of Christianity, as Delivered in the Scriptures;
o (1695) A Vindication of the Reasonableness of Christianity.

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 John Locke is widely known as the Father of Classical Liberalism. He was an English philosopher
and physician regarded as one of the most influential man of the Enlightenment. Considered as
one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally
important to social contract theory.
 His works had a great impact upon the development of epistemology and political philosophy.
His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau and many other Scottish Enlightenment thinkers.
Locke was the first to define the self through a continuity of consciousness.
o He postulated that the mind was a blank slate or tabula rasa. Contrary to the pre existing
Cartesian philosophy, he opined that we are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge
is instead determined only by experience, derived from the sense of perception.
o In his political theory, he remarked that the original state of nature was a happy one,
characterised by reason and tolerance. To him, all human beings were equal and free to
pursue life, health, liberty and possessions.
o Gradually it was felt that a systematic organisation of power was to evolve, to protect their
freedom and possessions.
 For this purpose, a government was set up with only executive powers and the state was
nothing but a joint power of all members of the society. The power of the king (or any
government) is derived from the people, who agreed to obey their rulers in exchange for law
and security.
o Although individuals transferred their rights of judgment to the whole community, it would
be wise for this sovereign body to delegate different types of power (legislative, executive
and federative) to different bodies.
o Normally, the law-making (legislative) body would control the law-enforcing (executive) and
treaty-making (federative) institutions. He said that whatever the distribution of power, the
majority of the community always has the final say.
o When individuals consent (whether tacitly or explicitly) to become citizens of some society,
their consent entails agreement to be governed by the majority’s decisions.
 Locke’s idea found articulation through the French people. In fact, he experienced his ideas in
Britain but experimented in France because in France the absolutism had out rightly encroached
the natural rights of the people.
o If the government exceeds or abuses or transgresses and the authority becomes tyrannical
then the people would have all the rights to dissolve it or rebel against it or overthrow it.
Locke condemned absolutism in every form.
o He denied the right of any political authority to encroach the natural rights. The greatest
contribution from his side was the formulation of the Doctrine of Revolution.
o Locke extended this right beyond mere self- preservation and self -defence and argued that
by nature all individuals possess the executive power of the law of nature and are authorized
to punish infringements of the rights of others as well as to defend themselves.
Jean-Jacques-Rousseau
 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a Swiss-born philosopher, writer, and political theorist, made huge
impact on the minds of the people of France. His Discourse on the Origin of Inequality and his
Discourse on the Social Contract are cornerstones in the modern political and social thought.

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 Rousseau claimed that the state would have a primitive condition without any law or morality.
As the society developed, division of labour and private property required the human race to
adopt institutions of law. In the degenerate phase of society, man is prone to be in frequent
competition with his fellow men while also becoming increasingly dependent on them.
 This double pressure threatens both his survival and his freedom. In the Social Contract,
Rousseau sets out to answer what he takes to be the fundamental question of politics, the
reconciliation of the freedom of the individual with the authority of the state.
 This reconciliation is necessary because human society has evolved to a point where individuals
can no longer supply their needs through their own unaided efforts, but rather must depend on
the cooperation from others.
 The theory of Social Contract was first developed by Hobbes, then Locke and Rousseau.
Rousseau says that sovereignty is indivisible and the people have surrendered their general will
to enhance the efficacy of the society.
 In fact, state is a politically organised community in which the cardinal concern is the expression
of the general will. Rousseau’s central doctrine in politics is that a state can be legitimate only if
it is guided by the “general will” of its members.
o The Social Contract envisages that each person will enjoy the protection of a common force
while remaining as free as they were in the state of nature.
o The key to this reconciliation is the idea of a general will: that is, the collective will of the
citizen body taken as a whole. In other words, the general will to be truly general and it must
come from all and apply to all.
o The general will is the source of law and is willed by each and every citizen. In obeying the
law, each citizen is thus subjected to his or her own will, and consequently, ac-cording to
Rousseau, remains free.
o The law must be general in application and universal in scope and on that basis, he strictly
believed that there is no scope for any privilege or prerogative for anybody whether royal or
general.
o He further says that it is the general will that has created the state and this general will has
to be preserved by the state. If the state works against the general will, then the people
have all the rights to breach the social contract.
 The impact of Rousseau was not effectively felt before the revolution, but in the second stage of
the revolution, his views deeply influenced the French society, especially the middle class.
 The doctrine of Rousseau believed in ensuring accountability and transparency in the
governance. This strengthened the foundations of liberalism and certainly eroded the edifice of
absolutism.
Voltaire
 Franôois-Marie Arouet, or Voltair eveh emently opposed both the Catholic Church and absolute
government and fought for freedom of speech and religious tolerance in his writings.
 He preferred an understanding of God beyond institutionalized religion and defended, in ‘A
Treatise on Toleration’ (1763), that all men are brothers, regardless of their religion, as they are
the same creatures created by the same God.

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 He believed in individualism and wanted everyone to be free and equal. He compared and
contrasted the governments of England and France and believed that the French government
had more social barriers and obstacles that ensured that the different classes never mixed or
overlapped.
 Moreover, France’s absolutist government and unjust laws did not allow men to move up in
station through hard work or individual merit. Instead, people were divided by their birth and
ancestry.
 Voltaire could see that the government infinitely favoured the aristocracy, keeping the common
people as poor as possible, and wrote that “In general, the art of governance consists in taking
as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to the other.” Voltaire’s attack on
the absolutist government of France rationalized a change in the government.
 However, since those in power had no intentions of relinquishing any of their powers or
improving the lives of the people, rebels France called for revolution. Voltaire’s explanation of
the English government greatly influenced the leaders of the French Revolution because they
were inspired by England’s parliament balancing the power of the king.
 So, they rooted their new government in the balance of power by creating a National Assembly,
Legislative Assembly, and other bodies of politicians. Nevertheless, he was more inclined
towards the enlightened monarchy or a bourgeoisie dominated republican government.
 Voltaire vehemently opposed Louis for wasting money on extravagant things, and taxing and
borrowing money to pay for it.
Montesquieu
 Montesquieu (1689-1755) was heavily influenced by the English. He compared the republican,
despotic and monarchical forms of government and advocated the separation and balance of
powers within the government as a means of guaranteeing the freedom of an individual.
 He denied the existence of any one perfect system of government and insisted that a successful
political institution harmonises with the physical conditions and the level of social advancement
of nations. He wanted only a limited monarchy.
 Like Voltaire, he admired the political theories of the English, especially those of Locke. Although
he did admire the English’s separation and division of the power in the government but he
worried that the spirit of ‘extreme’ liberty among the English could undercut the constitutional
separation of powers that protect their liberties.
 He claimed “a liberal constitutional monarchy was the best system of government”, especially for
the freedom loving people, since “by dividing the sovereignty of the nation, it provided a
permanent check on any one of them becoming despotic”.
 Montesquieu believed that the French should, like the English, use “the Crown, the aristocratic
courts, the Church, the landed nobility, and the chartered cities” to divide sovereignty among
different groups, as opposed to having power solely with a king or a queen.
 Montesquieu also gave great power to the aristocracy in his plan for the government, which
might be explained by the fact that he himself was a noble.
 These ideas influenced Comte de Mirabeau, who was the “leading orator among the
revolutionists”. Mirabeau disagreed, however, with the power set aside for the aristocracy, in
spite of being a noble himself.

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Theories of Adam Smith

 Besides this, Adam Smith’s ‘The Wealth of Nations’, which is considered his magnum opus and
the first modern work of economics, had an enormous impact on the course of French
revolution. Mercantilism was attacked and the new economic theories persisted with the point
that the sphere of the production and distribution of wealth was subjective to the natural laws.
 The theory of Laissez faire was propounded by Adam Smith, it categorically highlighted the non-
intervention of government in the economic affairs and there must be absolute freedom of
contract.
o It says complete separation of polity and economy and to create a perfect ambience of
competition. It advocates lesser tariffs and free trade and breaking down all customs and
protective tariff barriers, advancement of public health and education.
o These new theories of Adam Smith found expression in the ambitions of bourgeoisie who
wanted to do away with all the artificial restrictions and sanctions and wanted free
movement of goods.
 All three of these Enlightenment thinkers - Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu - changed the
meaning of freedom and government for the French and the world.
 Their writings deeply influenced the French Revolution, by inciting citizens and giving them a
reason to rebel against their regime, whether by breaking a social contract, adopting a
progressive, scientific government, or by proposing the adoption of the English system of rule.
 We see that the French Revolution was to some extent a result of the French Enlightenment.
The rationalist, liberal, humanitarian, scientific and intellectual advancement definitely led to the
enhancement of inquisitiveness in an individual.
o The Enlightenment stressed the possibility of man’s own intellect planning, a society on
rational grounds and therefore, denied the traditional authority of the king and the church.
o It removed the existing pessimism of the people and imbued the concept of optimism. It
sought a scientific and logical analysis of the distressing situation.
o The Enlightenment had put greater emphasis on the power of independent human thought
and it led to socialism, liberalism and utilitarianism.
o Therefore, we see that the will of the people was very much shaped by the enlightenment to
act, react and find a solution of their own problems by removing the exiting one.
Financial crisis
 By 1770, it became apparent that something concrete was to be done to improve the financial
position of the state because of the following:
a. Expansion of the bureaucracy.
b. Increasing tension in Europe especially between France and Britain.
c. Falling rate of taxation.
d. Uncontrolled price rise.
e. Bad harvest especially of 1787 and 1788.

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 Necker made several cautious experiments in social and administrative reform. He abolished
mortmain (possession of lands by a corporation) on the royal domains in August 1779, reduced
the numbers of the general tax on farmers from 60 to 40.
 Established “provincial assemblies” for Berry and for Haute- Guyenne with administrative
powers in which the Third Estate (the commons) had as many representatives as the clergy and
the nobility combined and voting was by head (1778-79).
 The first and the last of these experiments met with a vehement opposition from the privileged
class and were not extended, as had been hoped, to the country as a whole.
o Necker’s principal mistake, however, was his misguided attempt to finance the French
participation in the American Revolution without recourse to any additional taxation.
o Since the security of the state was the prime responsibility of the king and at the same time,
king was aware of the fact that if he fails to do so, then his traditional role would be
exhausted.
o The financial crisis was so intractable that the king had to take harsh financial measures
against his traditional allies like the aristocrats and big bourgeoisies.
 The most desperate bid was made by the minister Calonne when he took a number thrifty
measures like:
o curtailed the government’s expenditure;
o extended the stamp duty;
o impose taxation on animals and production of soil;
o revived the free trade in grain.
 But these reforms were not enough and the crown was compelled to recall the Parlement in
September 1787 but dismissed it in 1788, but again was recalled. After both, Charles- Alexandre
de Calonne and fitienne-Charlesde Lomenie de Brienne had failed to solve the financial
problems for which Necker was partially responsible, Necker himself was reinstated as the
finance minister on August 26, 1788.
 France was now on the verge of bankruptcy, in spite of the aristocracy’s agreement to surrender
its immunity from taxation. In the face of the financial crisis it was decided to summon a meeting
of the Estates- General.
 It was the representatives of the clergy, nobility, and commons which was to set in motion the
French Revolution. This clearly demonstrated the growing powerlessness of the institutions of
Ancient Regime.
 The king had no other option but to call the Estates-General in May 1789. In fact, attempting to
handle this critical situation through obsolete procedures with no plans or firm sense of
direction led to the complete denigration of the king.
 Simultaneously, the accumulated grievances of the plebeians found expression and they became
ambitious and also the common people felt that the king was like a common man, his problems
were common and therefore, he was subject to extermination.
Personal blunders of Louis XVI

 His liaison with the women made him morally defunct. Besides that, his arrogant wife Marie
Antoinette brought immense discredit to the government and monarchy.

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 In the meantime, Turgot was made a minister who wanted to bring about liberal changes which
were called ‘Turgot reforms’. In 1776, he introduced an ambitious program of reform, which
later became known as the Six Edicts.
 Two of these edicts are worthy of a special note. The first one proclaiming a partial suppression
of the guilds in order to destroy the old trade monopolies and to introduce the concept of free
enterprise.
 The other sought the elimination of the corvee by proposing that all landowners be taxed.
Turgot added to the edicts, the enforcement of the strictest control in public spending, which
was not well received by the court. In a short time, he lost much of his popularity.
 The clergy, who had long opposed Turgot for his tolerant religious views, were joined by the
nobles, and then by Marie Antoinette, angered by Turgot’s refusal to grant favours to her
protégés. In May 1776, Turgot was forced to resign.
 He retired to a life of study and died of gout in 1781. It has been believed by some historians
that the French Revolution might have been avoided if Turgot’s reforms had succeeded.
Role of American war of Independence:

 The conservatives were already aggressive against Turgot. In the meantime, the successful
American war of independence proved to be an example for the enlightenment movement and
motivated the commoners.
 Besides that, the American war of independence basically aggravated the existing financial
difficulties of the king and the king became further dependent upon the Estates-General, which
led to the revolution.
Social origins:
 Third Estate, comprising around 98 per cent of the entire French population, sought equality. In
a struggle against aristocracy, they wanted to destroy the privileges of the Church and the
nobility and voiced to set up a system, where promotion to the high office should be based on
merit and not on ascribed status.
 They believed that the taxes should be paid by all without any discrimination and all the
prevailing laws should be the same for everyone.
 The growth of commerce and industry had created, in course of time, a new form of wealth,
both mobile and commercial wealth, and a new class, called bourgeoisie in France. They
considerably strengthened the awareness and the participation of the Third Estate.
 Unlike the other countries, the bourgeoisie were mainly concentrated in the cities but at the
same time, more and more families started living in small country villages.
 The bourgeoisie intermixed with the rest of the population and this was the reason why they
had assumed the leadership of the revolution. For the first time since 1614, the king authorised
bourgeoisie to speak.
1789: THE REVOLUTION BEGINS

 In the face of the financial crisis and the refusal of the privileged classes to approve the new
taxes, Louis XVI decided to convoke the Estates General to address the government reforms and

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tax system. An assembly representing the three estates—the clergy, nobility, and the Third
Estate—the Estates General, had not met since 1614.
 The twelve hundred delegates of the Estates General met at Versailles in May 1789, bringing
with them the ‘cahiers de doleances’ or list of grievances, that the voters had drawn up in the
electoral assemblies who had selected the delegates.
o The cahiers generally called for the moderate reforms of the judicial, tax, and seigneurial
systems and were not, on the whole revolutionary.
o Nevertheless, the very process of drawing up the lists had politicized the population. Even
before the delegates had assembled, a debate arose on how voting was to be conducted at
the Estates General.
 Traditionally, each of the three estates sent the same number of delegates to the Estates
General, and the voting there was by order, not by head, meaning that the Third Estate,
representing over 95 percent of the population, had only one vote out of the three.
o But in some of the provincial assemblies who had met in the previous summer, the Third
Estate had been given half of all the delegates, and voting was by head, so there was some
precedent for a change. In an influential pamphlet, titled “What Is the Third Estate?” a
priest, Abbe Sieyes, answered the title question, “Everything,” and suggested a similar
formula for voting.
o Sieyes’s pamphlet discussed more than voting procedures and hinted at even more radical
changes: “If the privileged order was abolished,” he wrote, “the nation would be not
something less but something more.”
 In June, the Third Estate essentially adopted the program set out in Sieyes’s pamphlet and
declared itself as the National Assembly.
 When they next tried to assemble, they found the doors of their meeting place locked, so they
moved next door to an indoor tennis court, where they swore the famous Tennis Court Oath:
“Wherever we meet, there is the nation,” they proclaimed and vowed not to adjourn until France
was given a new constitution.
 As the delegates and the city of Paris became more unruly, the king began to move troops into
the city. With rumors that the regime was intent on dissolving the National Assembly, armed
militias had begun to form throughout the city.
o On July 14th, a crowd of eighty thousand people stormed the Bastille, the old royal prison, in
a hope of the seizing ammunition stored there.
o Royal troops opened fire, killing a hundred people, but the crowd prevailed, seized the
governor of the fortress, cut off his head, and carried it in the town on the end of a pike.
o The fall of the Bastille, like the fall of the Berlin Wall two hundred years later, became an
important symbol of the Revolution, and that day, Bastille Day, is still celebrated as a French
national holiday, with fireworks and parades.
o The Bastille Day has had the most symbolic importance, and in revolutions, symbols are
crucial. The vulnerability of the monarchy was exposed, and its authority quickly evaporated.
 The story about the fall of the Bastille spread to the provinces, where peasants followed the
Parisians by raiding the chateaus of their landlords. In August, the newly formed National
Constituent Assembly officially abolished the remnants of feudalism and unshackled the
peasants from the payments of the seigneurial system.

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o The assembly then turned to the task of determining the principles on which a new political
regime would be based.
o The result passed by the assembly on August 26th was, the Declaration of the Rights of Man
and the Citizen, similar in impact to the American Declaration of Independence and later the
symbolic foundation of the French Republic.
o The declaration clearly reflects Enlightenment ideals and the ideas and language of
Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Locke. It makes no mention of the authority of the monarch
and declares instead “the natural, inalienable, and sacred rights of man.”
o “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights” and these rights include “liberty,
property, security, and resistance to oppression.”
 King Louis XVI refused to sign the declaration, and most of the deputies at this point still
assumed that his signature was necessary before the document could become official. Once
again, the Parisian crowd took action, feeling that the king would be more responsive to the will
of the people if he were in Paris rather than Versailles.
 A crowd of six thousand women, aggravated by the short supply of bread in the city markets,
marched fifteen miles to Versailles and escorted the king back to Paris.
 For the next two years, a kind of stalemate prevailed, with the Constituent Assembly working on
a new constitution, debating the powers of the monarchy, and wrestling with the country’s
continuing financial crisis, while King Louis was looked upon as a sort of de facto constitutional
monarch.
 In an effort to deal with the country’s continuing debts, the assembly confiscated all properties
belonging to the church. They enacted the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which required public
election of clergy and bishops and forced the clergy to sign an oath of loyalty for the nation.
 Finally, in June 1791, the new constitution was presented to the public, providing for an elected
legislative assembly and granting the king only a suspensive veto; that is, the power to delay
legislation but not to defeat it.
 Dismayed by these developments, Louis XVI fled to Paris disguised as a commoner and
attempted to reach the French border to ally with those who opposed the Revolution. Among
them, were virtually all of the European monarchs, who saw events in France as a catastrophe
for their own rule.
 The empress of Russia, Catherine the Great, declared that “the affairs of France were the
concern of all crowned heads.” But King Louis was captured and brought back to Paris. The new
constitution was put into force, and a legislative assembly was elected.
 Prussia and Austria soon joined in a war against France, and when their troops began to move
into France, an allegation that king Louis was in collusion with the foreign monarchs provoked a
new insurrection in Paris.
 New elections were called, and in September 1792, the newly elected National Convention
scrapped the constitution, abolished the monarchy and declared the establishment of the first
French republic.
THE RADICAL REPUBLIC AND THE TERROR

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 The fall of the monarchy marked the triumph of popular democracy and a return to universal
manhood suffrage (introduced in 1789 but abandoned in 1791). In Paris, the charismatic leaders
like Georges Danton and Maximilien Robespierre strived for power and influence.
 Political clubs (like the radical Jacobins) were formed. Meetings of the assembly were attended
by a crowd of regular folk who jeered, cheered, shouted, and threw things at political leaders
and speakers.
 Such a crowd’s participation had a dramatic influence on both, the policies adopted and changes
in the leadership. In Paris and the provinces, local clubs and “section assemblies” drew large
numbers of ‘sans-culottes’ (those “without fancy pants”) into almost daily political activity.
 In the National Assembly, the first order of business for the newly elected deputies was to
decide the fate of the former king. Some argued that he should be tried for treason; others
argued that he should be executed immediately without any trial, whereas the conservatives
held that he enjoyed a royal immunity from either trial or prosecution.
 The deputies finally decided on a trial, conducted by the National Convention itself. King Louis
appeared twice in his own defence, but after a month, the deputies voted unanimously to
convict him of collusion with foreign powers and then, by a narrow majority, to execute him.
 In January 1793, he was beheaded on the guillotine, as was his wife, Marie Antoinette, nine
months later. The guillotine, a mechanical beheading device was introduced as a painless and
efficient means of execution, became another symbol of the Revolution. Within a month of King
Louis’s execution, Britain, Holland, and Spain joined Austria and Prussia in the war against
France.
 The threat that the French revolutionaries posed to the monarchies of Europe was made more
immediate and personal by the fact that Marie Antoinette was the sister of the ruler of Austria.
 In France, the combined threats of counter revolution and foreign war strengthened the hand of
more radical factions within the National Convention, which set up a Committee of Public Safety
to defend the gains of the Revolution and eliminate its enemies.
 Led first by Danton and then by Robespierre, the committee officially proclaimed the Terror,
responding both to internal enemies and the threat of foreign invasion. Those who opposed the
Revolution were now classified as suspects subject to arrest and trial.
o As Robespierre put it, “To good citizens revolutionary government owes the full protection of
the state; to the enemies of the people it owes only death.”
o The guillotine was the usual method of execution. Overall, about forty thousand people had
died during the terror.
o Within a year, the Terror had run its course, but not before consuming itself. Upon being led
to the scaffold, Danton told the executioner, “Show them my head; it is a sight worth
seeing.” A few months later, Robespierre followed him to the guillotine.
NAPOLEON AND EUROPE

 Napoleon was made a general in 1793 at the age of twenty-four. Two years later, he made a
name for himself by putting down a royalist uprising in Paris. The next year, he was given the
command of the French army of Italy, where he scored a victory against the supposedly superior
forces of Austria.

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 He returned France as a hero, and even after the coup of 1799, his popularity remained high. He
was elected as the first consul in 1802, and two years later he crowned himself as Napoleon I,
emperor of the French. He was to hold that title for ten years, and during most of that time, he
and France dominated the Europe.
 Within France, Napoleon pursued a balanced course, trying to preserve the major gains of the
Revolution while avoiding a return either to radicalism or to monarchy.
o He emasculated the representative institutions, censored the press, put down rebellions,
and imprisoned or executed those who were caught in either royalist or republican
conspiracies.
o He also made peace with the Catholic Church, signing a concord with the pope and
eliminating the embarrassment of the church and clergy caused by the Revolution.
o Perhaps his most enduring legacy was the introduction of a new legal code, the Napoleonic
Code, which remains even today the basis for the legal systems of France and most of the
rest of Europe.
o Napoleon formed mass armies and led them into other countries to spread the ideas of the
Revolution and to enhance his own power and that of France. In 1805, he inflicted a
punishing defeat on combined Austrian and Russian forces at Austerlitz, in Austria.
o The next year, he crushed the Prussian army at Jena, in Germany, and occupied Berlin. At
the zenith of the Napoleonic Empire in 1810- 1812, France controlled Spain, Italy, Belgium,
Holland, Switzerland, and much of Germany, Poland, Croatia, and Slovenia.
 Before the Revolution, the royal law and church law both competed with the local level
traditions in many French provinces. Napoleon commissioned a body of lawyers to help him
establish a uniform code of law and personally played a role in the project.
 The code, over two thousand articles in length, institutionalized many of the gains of the
Revolution, including equality before the law, freedom of religion, and the rights of property
owners.
o It also reflected Napoleon’s traditional views of the family, which he considered a crucial
intermediary between the state and the individual.
o Napoleon once complained, “Women are considered too highly. They should not be regarded
as equal to men. In reality, they are nothing more than machines for producing children.”
o The new legal code reflected this patriarchal view, with women and children legally
subordinate to and dependent on their husbands or fathers and the men assigned with
control of family property.
o However, the code also required that inheritances be divided among all sons and daughters,
thus ending the practice of primogeniture, which assigned all property to the eldest son.
o As an unexpected consequence, French couples began to limit themselves to two or three
children, so their property would not be further divided.
 The Napoleonic Code, applied or adopted throughout much of Europe, is still the basis for the
legal systems of much of the Continent, including secular, but Muslim, Turkey, as well as of the
state of Louisiana, which was a French colony at the time of the code’s inception.
 Napoleon himself felt that his code was his most enduring legacy: “My glory is not to have won
forty battles . . . what nothing will destroy, what will live eternally, is my Civil Code.” Napoleon

P a g e | 37
was not a revolutionary, but he solidified many of the revolutionary changes of 1789-1791, and
he himself supported most of the ideas and proposals of Enlightenment philosophers.
 Through his military conquests, he spread many ideas of the Enlightenment and the Revolution,
across the Continent. In many of these areas, Napoleon established satellite republics along
with the constitutions, declarations of rights, elected legislatures, and civil equality, and he
implemented financial, judicial, and administrative reforms modeled on France.
 In every part of the empire, he undermined feudalism, introduced a legal code, fostered notions
of representative government, and awakened the spirit of national-ism.
 The people of these areas did not exactly welcome French rule perse, but they saw French
innovations as tools to be used against their own repressive monarchies. The monarchs, of
course, saw Napoleon as a threat, both to the old order and to the balance of power in Europe.
*****

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2. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
 Industrial Revolution was a manifestation of the revolutionary changes in the standard of living
and quality of life. The factor which brought this huge change was industry. The Industrial
Revolution was never a sudden development. Its causes were evolutionary in nature and its
results were revolutionary too.
 Industrial Revolution’s origin can be traced back to the renaissance period i.e., 14th century.
Commercial revolution, Price revolution, Agriculture revolution, Mercantilism, Reformation,
Overseas expansion and Geographical discoveries were the factors which contributed to
Industrial Revolution.
Industrial Revolution in Britain

INTRODUCTION
1. Wide-spread and systematic application of science and empirical knowledge for the production
for market not for the individual household;
2. Specialization of economic activity directed towards production for national and international
markets rather than for family;
3. Movement of population from rural to urban areas;
4. Intensive and extensive use of capital resources as a substitute for and supplement to human
effort;
5. Emergence of new social and occupational classes determined by ownership;
6. Greater differentiation of occupation;
7. Predominance of structural change with greater individual dependability and greater amount of
individualism.
Phases of Industrial Revolution

 The phases had evolved in different phases with the course of time. Generally, it is divided into
three stages:
i. The first stage is of the traditional society where the production was limited because of the
limited technology and organisation. This stage was mainly agriculture and its orientation
was to meet the family requirements.
ii. The second stage is of Pre-industrial period which is characterized by the last stage of
feudalism. During this period, the medieval towns, markets, currency and trade had already
emerged. Demands were increasing but the supply was not increasing correspondingly.

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iii. And the last stage is the industrial period in which technology was improving to meet the
demand. The accumulation and saving of capital was also taking place and this was the point
from where the Industrial Revolution really took off.
 Why Britain? The Industrial Revolution marks the most fundamental transformation of human
life in the history of the world.
Industrial Revolution in Europe

 For a brief period, it coincided with the history of a single nation, The Great Britain and entire
world economy was thus built on, or rather around, Britain, and this country therefore
temporarily rose to a position of global influence and power unparalleled by any state of its
relative size.
 There was a moment in the world’s history when Britain can be described, as its only workshop,
its only massive importer and exporter, it’s only carrier, it’s only imperialist, almost it’s only
foreign investor; and for that reason it’s only naval power and the only one which had a genuine
world policy.
 For most of the world the ‘British’ era of industrialization was merely a phase -the
contemporary history but for Britain it was much more than this. The Industrial Revolution was
not merely an acceleration of economic growth, but an acceleration of growth because of, and
through, economic and social transformation.
 In the late 18th century, this economic and social transformation took place in and through a
capitalist economy. The British Revolution was the first in history. This does not mean that it
started from zero, or that any earlier phase of rapid industrial and technological development
cannot be found.
 The British Revolution was preceded by at least two hundred years of fairly continuous
economic development, which led to its foundations. Unlike, the 19th or 20th century Russia,
Britain had entered into industrialization well prepared and not unprepared.
 The ‘European Economy’ had shown marked signs of expansion and dynamic development for
several centuries, though it had also experienced major economic setbacks or shifts, notably in
the 14th to 15th and 17th centuries.
 The problem about the origins of the Industrial Revolution which concern us here is actually,
why it was Britain which became the first ‘workshop’ of the world? A second and connected
question is why this breakthrough occurred towards the end of the 18th century and not before
and after? Well, there have been a number of explanations to it:
1. Demographic Changes- In the 16th century, the entire Europe experienced population explosion
and this process continued up till 19th century.
i. In 1700, population was 144 million, in 1750 it was 192 million, and in 1800 it was 274
million, in 1850 it was 335 million. In Britain, the population in 1700 was 9.5 million while in
1850 it rose to 22.3 million. In France, the population in 1700 was 20 million while in 1850 it
was 36.5 million.
ii. It is important to note that a sharp increase in population was only noted in Holland,
Belgium and the United Kingdom. The increase in population was a combined effect of:
o better living conditions,

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o better nutrition,
o decline in the death rate,
o higher production and better transportation to surplus production and
o immunisation and improvement in sanitation.
iii. As a result of this, the infant mortality rate decreased and life expectancy increased. The
effect of demographic transition-
o increased population created a larger labour force,
o it created a larger demand,
o role of market increased because of the increase in demand and supply,
o migration started from rural to urban areas and
o self sufficiency of regional units was destroyed because of fragmentation of holdings.
2. Geographical Factors- It is argued that England had geographical advantages like a vast coast-
line and a number of ports that facilitated the expansion of foreign trade.
i. The presence of a number of rivers made transportation of heavy goods easier and reduced
the cost of the product. England’s moist climate was conducive to textile manufacturing.
ii. The most important factor was the location of coal and iron mines in close proximity to each
other. It led to the concentration of industries around them.
3. Glorious revolution- The Glorious Revolution of 1688 created a favourable political climate for
industrialization. It is argued that it marked the triumph of individual liberty and greatly
enhanced the political influence and social prestige of the commercial and industrial classes.
i. Men from these classes promoted rational economic values. The development of political
theory promoting the right to property and its protection by the law, ensured the success of
an individual and led to the control of civil society by men of property.
ii. Such men provided political support to industrial activities. Social scientists emphasize the
role of the Protestant Revolution in creating and promoting the spirit of capitalism.
Protestantism changed the economic attitude and instilled a spirit of competition.
4. Agrarian Revolution -Agrarian changes in England after the Restoration period had a profound
impact on the British economy. Historians generally accept that theBritish Industrial Revolution
was associated with an agrarian revolution. The Agrarian revolution incorporated the Enclosure
movement; New Technology of Production and Changes in the entrepreneurial attitude.
I. Enclosure Movement: In the 15th century, we see mass exodus from rural to urban areas. By
1660, the British Parliament had set up British Parliament’s superiority over monarchy.
a. The parliament was bi-cameral. The House of Lords were dominated by big lords and the
House of Commons was dominated by the lesser lords and newly converted
shopkeepers and traders.
b. These lords influenced the Parliament to frame a number of laws which enabled lords to
encircle the entire land of those serfs who had migrated to urban areas in the 15 th
century between 1760- 80, as many as 900 and between 1793- 1815 as many as 2000.
c. It was the enclosure movement which offered opportunities to the feudal class to adopt
and assimilate capitalist mode of production because of cheap labour. It was not a
deliberate measure but a natural process.

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d. After enclosure act had come into effect, the feudal lords gradually got transformed into
the capitalist class. The process was so swift that these feudal lords never realised this
fact.
e. In France and other Eastern European countries, no such enclosure act was passed,
therefore, when population explosion happened in 16th century Europe and cities failed
to provide them employment, we see reverse migration, i.e., from urban to rural areas.
f. As a result, we see restoration of feudalism in France, Russia and other countries of
Europe except Britain. In Britain when they returned to rural areas the scenario was
entirely different.
g. Whole of land was enclosed and now they had no other option but to work in their own
fields as labourers. P. Deane had said that the enclosure created reservoir of cheap
labour without which Industrial Revolution would have been impossible.
h. The enclosure movement led to substantial changes in the farming practices and large
scale consolidation of land units. It extended the arable land over heaths and commons.
It increased agricultural productivity drastically.
i. Most importantly, it transformed the village community of self- sufficient peasants into
agricultural labourers and freed many peasants from the industrial activities and linked
the agriculturalists to the national and international markets.
j. A favourable agricultural condition generated surplus income that could be spent on
manufactured goods as the purchasing power of the common man had increased in the
course of 18th century.
k. This created a solid home market that justified large scale production and made
factories profitable. Besides, the agriculture provided a substantial part of the capital
required to carry out industrialization.
l. It is not easy to find exact sources of funds that financed the early industries. Thus, the
agricultural transformation alone cannot be regarded as the cause of industrial
revolution; but it facilitated the process of industrial growth.
II. New Technology of Production: Adoption of the new technology of production included new
form of crop rotation; potatoes and turnips and different forms of lentils and pulses were
preferred.
a. As a result of this, firstly, the land was not required to be left fallow; secondly, by this
they even did farming during winters;
b. Thirdly, oxen were replaced by horses and fourthly, improvement of the plough -from
wooden ploughshare to iron ploughshare was a revolutionary one.
III. Change in the entrepreneurial attitude: The widening of economic horizons eliminated self-
sufficiency and compelled the farm owners to produce for the national and international
markets rather than for home consumption.
a. There was an increase in economic specialization which led to the appearance of
professional farms. There was more and more emphasis on technology, to reduce the
labour cost and dependability on labour.
b. Increasing influence of monetisation led to the emergence of the concept of
accumulation of capital. Wider use of horses and demand for iron and seeds compelled
the agriculturists to be market oriented.

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c. During trading, they always came across with the urban markets where they used to
purchase consumer goods. As a result, their living standard increased and compelled
them to become market oriented.
d. Agricultural revolution had started in England in 1700 but in France it started in 1750-60
and that’s why there is a difference between industrialization of France and Britain.
e. Germany experienced Industrial Revolution as late as 1850 because its Agricultural
Revolution took place in 1800.
Ways through which agriculture contributed to

Industrial Revolution
1. The surplus production provided subsistence to huge
population
2. It sustained demographic revolution further
3. It increased the demand for consumer goods
4. Agricultural development helped the development of
the iron and steel industry.
5. Commercial Revolution -Commercial means two things; one is the existence of surplus and the
other is lack of self-sufficiency. One of the ways, the commercial way perhaps, by which an
economy could develop from pre-industry to an industrial state is to exploit the opportunities
open to it from the international market.
In widening the potential market for domestic producers, foreign trade encourages them to
specialize, to develop special skills and techniques of organisation and to reap the economy of
large scale production.
Commercial revolution incorporates: a shift from the Mediterranean to Atlantic; Mercantilism
to Laissez-Faire; market; technology; capital and innovations and banks.
I. Shift from Mediterranean to Atlantic: The shift took place because of the following reasons:
a. Spain, Portugal, Italy and to some extend France only focused on their intermediary role
and only manufactured luxury goods.
b. During the Price Revolution i.e, inflation, the demand for luxury goods declined and the
need for subsistent economy increased.
c. It led to a direct relationship between Atlantic countries and America, Asia and Africa
and their intermediary role had exhausted.
d. Britain had already developed some rudimentary infrastructure because of the excessive
demand and only it was in the position to supply basic demands and therefore this
helped Britain to achieve this unique distinction.
e. The guild system in Mediterranean countries was very powerful. In Britain, the guild
system was not fully developed because of the presence of greater nobility in the social
hierarchy. Instead of developing a guild system, Britain experienced the putting out
system.
f. The putting out system: this system was a very dynamic one and it led to the foundation
of proto-industrialization. It unleashed a tendency to expand the existing lines of
production with few innovations or new products.

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g. This system involved two main parties; the master artisan or producer and the
merchant capitalists. The merchant capitalist initiated production by placing orders with
the artisans, who usually worked in their homes, they used to advance the raw material
and some capital to sustain the artisan until the work had been complete.
h. The putting out system was the beginning of the industrialization and of interaction
between the economic forces on a relatively large scale. The worker was alienated by
the means of production and this production was started for the market.
i. And this system became more resistant to cope up with the expanding market for
commodities.
j. Gradually, the small scale putting out system of the period failed to supply the required
demand and thereby some of them got transformed into large scale vertically integrated
capitalist enterprises and monopolist operations and state sponsored industries.
II. Mercantilism to Laissez-Faire- Mercantilism, a policy of state intervention in the economy
proved to be the most instrumental factor to form a transition from feudalism to capitalism.
a. ‘Colbertism’ in France initially got same success but it failed to change its gear to the
policy of Laissez-Faire as per the requirement. In Britain, the mercantilist policy was only
pursued for a limited time and immediately the parliament realised that they should
pursue mercantilism for outsiders and Laissez- Faire for their traders.
b. Whereas, in France mercantilism still continued for both outsiders and insiders,
therefore the movement of traders in France was restricted and in Britain was
absolutely free and at the same time Britain continued to pursue protectoral policy
restlessly.
Commercial activities revolutionized by the policy

of laissez-faire
1. The entrepreneurial class continued to flourish without
monopoly
2. There was more and more competition. This led to the
strengthening of internal market
3. Standard of living increased and therefore demand was
created within the market. We see an increase in trade
because of the triangular trade which multiplied the
capital accumulation.
III. Market as an operational base for capitalism- It is not easy to establish a direct link
between foreign trade and industrial revolution. Yet the foreign trade certainly generated
capital and resource. British trade with the European states was quite limited.
a. The British supplied manufactured goods to the Portuguese and the Brazilian markets
and dominated the Italian and the Levant markets.
b. The British goods did not penetrate the European market on a large scale till 1780s
because of the protective tariffs on the Continent, but after that the low prices of
products of the modernized British industries could not be resisted.

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c. The importance of this colonial market was that it provided a rich range of products and
raw materials that the English merchants could sell in Europe- spices and silk from the
east and sugar, tobacco, cotton, indigo and dyewoods from the West Indies.
d. Thus, in the first half of the 18th century, the English exports had gone up by 90 per cent
and it doubled in the next half of the century. A new market for the British developed in
North- America in the second half of the 18th century.
e. The foreign market demonstrated a dynamic and expandable character. Holland had a
commercial revolution and Spain enjoyed extensive colonial trade, neither of the
countries progressed to the stage of an industrial revolution as they both lacked a purely
national market.
f. The rising population and the commercial revolution stimulated industrial development
by creating a demand for manufactured products. The growing population was absorbed
in rural industries and inland trade reflected growing prosperity.
g. Unlike France, where the state was directly involved in setting up industries, the most
important of them were the luxury industries, in England; the industrial expansion was
done through the private initiative and production of goods of mass consumption such
as textiles.
h. The Industrial Revolution was an example of economic growth and its basic
characteristic was an unprecedented and sustained increase in the rate of growth of
goods and services. In the 18th century, when population was growing rapidly, the
conversion of population growth into effective demand provided the market with the
opportunities for continued investment.
i. The rise in demand widened the range of consumer goods and substituted many older
products with new machine- made goods. There was an increase in the population,
movement of people from non- monetary to monetary incomes leading to more
consumers, and increase in income per person.
j. The swift increase in coal and iron production was chiefly to meet the internal demand.
Steam engines were the product of mines. These two sectors witnessed a revolutionary
transformation with the coming of the railways.
k. Historians have also emphasised the role of non-conformist groups like the Quakers.
The Quakers made special contributions to the brewing industry and the market,
because of their far flung connections from London to Norwich, Midlands and other
regions.
l. They invested in business and industrial sectors with the potential markets. Thus, both
foreign as well as domestic markets contributed to the intensification of the
industrialization in Britain.
IV. Role of transportation- Transport and communications formed one of the essential
prerequisites for industrial and agricultural growth as well as for market expansion. The sea
had become the chief highway for the English throughout the 18th century.
a. A part from the ships of the Royal Navy and the merchants engaged in overseas trade, a
large number of small crafts were used in English waters. There were some rivers like

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Savern, which were navigable between Bristol and Welsh Pool, transporting coal, salt
and grain.
b. The Thames, despite having several barriers, was used for transporting goods from
London to Oxford, Reading and Newbury. The Dutch provided the inspiration for canal
construction, canals which could be used for transporting goods.
c. In England, road building efforts intensified through the parliamentary acts in the second
half of the 18th century. The cheapest way of transporting bulky and heavy goods was by
water and Britain enjoyed a great advantage in this field.
d. The canals provided a reliable, low-cost and high-capacity transport system that enabled
British entrepreneurs to overcome transportation hurdles. There were two important
phases of canal construction; the first in the 1760s and the second after the American
War of Independence in the 1790s.
e. The rise of a large scale industry hastened the process of canal construction towards the
end of the 18th century. Canals virtually halved the price of the coal that had earlier
fluctuated violently in the times of bad weather.
f. In most cases, it was the product of corporate and private initiative led by local land
lords or business men supported by local shareholders and bankers as well as city
corporations. The canals made possible enormous savings in terms of man power and
horse power.
g. It immensely facilitated the market unification and thereby, made a massive
contribution to the first Industrial Revolution and was a worthy forerunner of the
railways.
h. The new roads and canals achieved a huge reduction in the costs of heavy raw materials
and enabled the commercial and industrial entrepreneurs to economise in their stock-
holdings.
V. Role of capital formation- Since the Restoration, English economy had shown signs of
reasonable prosperity and steady growth. The economy tended to generate a surplus that
was available for investment.
a. It took place in overseas shipping, in building and other construction activities, in
agriculture improvement and in the construction of canals.
b. Unlike France, where the nobles squandered their income mostly on unproductive
expenses, the upper class in England did invest part of their income productively,
especially in agriculture and transportation, while the rate of saving was high even
among the mercantile and professional classes.
c. The general view among the economic historians is that England suffered neither form
an absolute nor relative shortage of capital and saving that could threaten its economic
growth.
d. Capital needs of early industrialization were modest and that the Industrial Revolution
was not the result of any significant acceleration in capital accumulation. A long period
of steady and constant economic growth was an important factor.

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VI. Technology and innovations- Before the onset of the industrial age, the chief sources of
power were human and animal labour, wind and water. All these forms of energy had
limitations varying from capacity to reliability.
a. For example, wind energy was subjected to weather conditions while human labour was
conditional by physical factors. None of these were capable enough to support a modern
industry. The invention of the steam engine in England was a major breakthrough and
marked a rapid growth in industrialization.
b. Two of the important components of industrialization were coal and iron and they
constituted the major bottlenecks holding back the advent of industries. A major
breakthrough in iron production was achieved in 1709 when the Darbys started smelting
of cool at Coal Brook Dale.
c. From the mid-18th century, cast- iron began to be produced on a large scale at a lower
coast and thus replaced wood in running machines. The new methods of making iron-
mould boards and all-iron ploughs during the 1770s greatly helped the agrarian sector.
d. The invention of the steam engine led to centralization of the work place, as it became
convenient and common to carry out the entire process of production in a central
factory by employing workers on regular wages to run the machines.
e. This caused a dramatic change in the organization of the workforce and productivity
leading to a mass production of goods at cheaper rates. Its greatest impact was to be
seen first in the textile and mining sectors.
f. It also transformed the transport system with the introduction of steam navigation and
steam locomotives. The impact of technological changes was first felt on the cotton and
iron industries that made England a ‘workshop of Europe’.
g. Taking into consideration the physical and human resources of the economy and the
flexibility of the market, English society and economy was freer in the 18th century than
other European economies.
h. Property and enterprise had greater security and England experienced greater social
mobility. The rise of modern society appeared more favourable to change and
innovation.
i. The rise of modern science and the 17th century is not directly related to industrial
technology but it certainly promoted experimentation and broadened social attitudes
and also made English society more receptive to new ideas.
j. Englishmen turned to risk-taking and profit- making ventures to make use of economic
opportunities and hence, the emergence of ‘pushing’ entrepreneurs with ‘disruptive
innovating energy’.
VII. Role of banks -Bank of England was founded in 1694 with a capital of 1.2 million pounds. Its
main objective was to raise money for the government.
a. In 1700, it offered to store imported gold and some began to make loans against such gold
deposits.
b. Therefore, the public deposits and lending started. In 1720, it started the security system. In
1750s, the check system became prevalent.

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Changes brought by Check System

1. Loans became available.
2. Bank became a guarantor of the credits
3. Practice of bills of exchange increased
4. Gold became as one of the base for liquid money
5. During the crisis, the bank of England acted as
government’s bank and custodian of the nation’s gold
reserve.
6. It also encouraged joint stalk companies by lending
them.
Impact of the Commercial Revolution

 Positive balance of trade (BOT).
 Increase in overseas expansion.
 Strong domestic market.
 Transportation streamlined.
 Availability of raw materials.
 Between 1700-1770, British home industries increased their output by 7 percent while export
oriented industries increased by 80 per cent.
 The difference in transportation cost was too much as compared to the other European
countries. Canals had cut the cost per tonne between Liver Pool and Manchester or Birmingham
by 80 per cent.
 The food industry competed with the textile as the pace setter for private enterprises. The
demand for manufactured goods and drinks was admittedly more limited than that of textile.
Flour mining and beer brewing was an important pioneer of technological revolution.
 The availability of coal was ubiquitous and the mining engineering was developed. From 1700
to1750, home industries increased their input by 7 per cent, export industries by 76 per cent,
between 1750-70 home industries increased by 7 per cent, export industry by 80 per cent. Home
demand had increased and foreign demand also multiplied.
 Industrialization was a cumulative process and helped to create financial institutions. England
had all the resources for development; it had a unified market, sustained leadership, to identify
the problem.
 The agriculture was transformed into produce surplus, the British businessmen were ready to
adapt the new technology, engineers and entrepreneurs were also eager for the same.
6. Social factors- In France and Germany, unequal distribution of surplus led to the emergence of a
class which purchased luxury goods .Whereas, in Britain a modern class structure appeared at
the upper level, the society consisted of financers, parliamentarians, director of joint stock
companies, prosperous lawyers, high civil servants etc.
i. Unlike France, the secular forces determined the hierarchy of the society. The middle class
was quite resilient and they were not only consumers of textiles and other consumer goods,
but also they were aware of the international situation.

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ii. The middle class basically constituted of smaller merchants, prosperous shopkeepers,
clergy’s and traders. The lower class consisted of skilled artisans and craftsmen and they
enjoyed relatively better conditions than in any other society.
iii. Therefore, the pro-industrialization was a by-product of overseas trade as compared to
internal trade.
7. Political conditions- The political conditions were mostly favourable for the rise and growth of
the Industry in Britain.
i. The extraordinary potential of expansion and growth of internal market and conquering
markets by war and colonisation required not merely an economy for exploiting those
markets, but also a government willing to wage war and colonise for the benefit of British
manufacturers.
ii. Unlike France, Britain was prepared to subordinate all foreign policies to economic ends. The
aims were commercial, unlike Dutch; Britain economic aims were increasingly dominated by
the pressure groups of manufacturers.
iii. Unlike all its other rivals, the British policy in the 18th century was governed with systematic
aggressiveness, most obviously against its chief rival France.
iv. Britain participated in all the great wars of the period, the Spanish succession of 1702- 1713,
the Austrian succession of 1739-1748, 1756-1763 The Seven years’ war, the war of American
independence 1776-83, the revolutionary and Napoleonic War 1793-1815; with a pragmatic
approach and with calculated aggression.
v. The damage done by the war was very marginal as compared to the other rivals who got
crippled by the war. All these political decisions and the sense of propagation distinguished
the British clearly from others.
8. Economic conditions- The British economic conditions can be indicated by its strong domestic
market, positive Balance of Trade, and increasing overseas expansion. Britain’s internal market
was strengthened by three factors:
i. Transportation;
ii. Food and Capital Goods; and
iii. Coal.
Why Britain lagged behind in 18th and 19th centuries?

 The industrial equipments which had started the Industrial Revolution became absolute and
immediate change of that technology was not feasible.
 When Britain realised that in the Industrial Revolution other European countries were far behind
and they did not give any competition, this made Britain a slow, lethargic and complacent
entrepreneur.
 The diversification of industries was not intensified because there was a lack of pressure due to
which everything worked in a piecemeal fashion, without any change.
 They relied heavily on the colonies for their trade and even resorted to illegal trafficking of
opium to China.

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 On the other hand, new nations came into being especially after the unification of Germany and
Italy and after the rise of liberalism in France and abolition of feudalism in East Europe. Since the
fate of British industries depended more on colonies than on their own markets; the imperial
rivalry of the 19th century considerably effected their monopolistic situation.
 The emergence of America and Japan checked the British imperialist ambition in the Far East
like China and Japan.
 The British domination over Africa, Asia and America was too strong and any intervention by the
European powers was tantamount to the decline of British control. Therefore, Britain had to
fight in order to protect its monopolistic position.
 France was experiencing not only liberalism but also resorted to technological change and
capitalism. The second phase of the industrialization in Europe was quite distinct from the first
phase in a number of ways like:
o The first phase of the Industrial Revolution was a result of social and political factors but the
second phase was mere a result of technological transformation.
o It was an era of natural sciences and originality in which France was much ahead of Britain.
o The first phase of industrialization was known for the specialisation while the second phase
for diversification and flexibility. The Incremental Capital Output Ratio (ICOR) of Britain was
greater than France and Germany because the machine was becoming older and it
consumed more money for any additional production than France and Germany.
o ICOR is basically the ratio of investment to growth which is equal to 1 divided by the
marginal product of capital- The marginal amount of investment capital necessary for an
entity to generate the next unit of production.
o Overall, a higher ICOR value is not preferred because it indicates that the entity’s production
is inefficient and not viable for the long run survival.
o The New French and German industries were not only technologically improved but they
were heavy in nature.
 Explanation of the Industrial Revolution by historic accidents ought to be the rejected. The mere
fact of overseas discoveries in the 15th and 16th centuries does not account for industrialization,
and neither does the scientific revolution of the 17th century can be made responsible for it. The
Reformation had occurred more than two centuries before the Industrial Revolution.
 Last, purely the political factors must also be rejected. In the second half of the 18th century
practically all governments in Europe wanted to industrialize, but only the British succeeded.
Conversely, British government from 1660 onwards firmly committed to the policies favouring
the pursuit of profit above aims, but the Industrial Revolution did not occur more than a century
later.
 Thus, the Industrial Revolution was the product of a combination of conditions such as favorable
endowments, which England possessed a long with the economic commercial demographic
growth and a changing society. All these factors preceded and accompanied industrialization.
 Technical advances and innovations in economic life gave a push to industrial production.
Breakthrough in one field effected many other sectors. Increasing use of machinery and new
technology started affecting the organization and management of labour and capital that in turn
hastened the improvement in transport and market organization.

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 Hence, instead of treating each factor in isolation, it would be useful to coordinate various
spheres of English economic and commercial life to form an integrated picture in order to
understand what led to the Industrial Revolution.
Industrial Revolution in France

 French industrialisation was probably the most gradual in Europe. From 1750 to 1850, French
industries owed so much to government intervention, war and protection that when they were
left on their own they were unable to sustain themselves.
 Another, problem, related to the above, was the country’s political instability and the
interdependence between the pattern of economic change and the political regimes in power.
The existing socio-economic conditions i.e.,
o stagnating agriculture,
o industries’ inclination towards luxury articles,
o strong guild system,
o different attitude of labour compared to that of Britain,
o absence of sound banking system,
o small domestic market,
o limited foreign trade and the conservative family set up,
o unable to adopt new forms of productive organisation facilitating to mass production
considerably hindered the industrial development in France.
 In France, the Industrial Revolution was not original but largely imported from England. This is
not to underestimate the originality of French inventions such as the innovation of Jacquard’s
loom, Thimonnier’s sewing machine, Berthollet’s chlorine bleacher etc. but it must be admitted
that the most important thing was English inspiration.
 The French monarchy tried to attract English specialists such as Milne, Holker, Wilkinson and
others or by the missions of French businessmen to England to try to penetrate the industrial
secrets of the country.
 The founder of the Belgium and to some extent of French, textile industry Lievin Bauwens went
to England under the protection of the Directory in 1748 to bring back both the machines and
workers and he was not the only person to do so.
 According to the American historian, Louis Durham the Industrial Revolution should be
considered a late phenomenon in France which occurred around the middle of the 19th century.
 Morris Levy Leboyer and Francois Crouzet have undertaken the construction of statistical tables
on the subjects dated from 1809-1815 and then to 1913. These refer to agriculture, industry and
foreign commerce.
o In Leboyer’s view, the French economy in the 19th century was dominated by the progress
of industry. The relative decline of agriculture did not handicap the economy. However, the
industrial growth remained slow in the pre- 1830 period varying between 1.6 per cent to 3
per cent points out.
o In Crouzet’s view, the most intensive period of industrialization was achieved under the
authoritarian empire. A tendency towards stagnation can be seen in the last quarter of the
century with the vigorous revival at the beginning of the 20th century. Thus all the views
discussed highlight the difficulties and situation of the industrial revolution in France.

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 The historical environment of the industrial revolution in France was dominated by non-
economic factors. These were:
o political evolution;
o education; and
o demographic changes.
The political developments

 The 18th Century highlights the monarchy’s interest in industrialization of the country. The
Anglo- French commercial treaty of 1786 stimulated competition and incited the French
producers to follow the industrial pattern of England. Thus there was indeed in the second half
of the 18th century a very widespread industrial growth.
 The outbreak of the Revolution interrupted the first phase of industrialization in spite of the fact
that its supporters were large property owners, business people and others who favoured a
liberal economic regime. In fact, the revolution and the empire were caught in a dilemma which
they never succeeded in surpassing.
 The liberalization of individual activities was legally favoured by a series of well-known measures
like Allarde’s decree which suppressed the old corporate system and the Le Chapelier Law
which prohibited commercial groupings and later on the civil court which protected the
initiatives of the individuals and strengthened the rights of property made by the bourgeoisie.
 Napoleon’s Penal Code or the Commercial Code also aimed in the same direction. The French
position was weakened because of the loss of its colonial empire and it was also cut off from the
world outside and hence lost contact with technical progress. The creation of a continental
market could not compensate for the loss of colonies.
 This national catastrophe for the French economy during the revolutionary period marked by
twenty years of war caused irreparable harm. After 1815, France had a long period of peace. The
state favoured development of transport, roads, canals and railways, what previous
governments had not been able to achieve because of the war expenditure.
 In 1833, the Department of Highways and Bridges was charged with designing a network of lines
by studying British and American models. A systematic plan was drawn up, the main lines
radiating from Paris and serving military as well as civil demand.
 The 900 km of lane was constructed with the mixed help of state aid, loans and guarantee to the
promoters. The railway law of 1842 provided the solution for the critical question of finance.
The provision of capital was to be a joint effort of public sector and private interest, with the
authority of the king who was responsible for the infrastructure.
o Before handling over the lines to the private sector, the state in return for its aid secured
representation in management supervision and safety and retained the right to nationalize
the lines when the concessions expired.
o In the mid- 1840s, subsidized by the government policy and by attracting the British
contractors, French Railway construction boomed. By 1847, there was 1,800 km long railway
track across France.
o Brought to a halt by the crisis of 1847 and the revolution of 1848, the development of
railways again boomed in 1850s. By this time, extending aid to railways had become the part
of a broad base stimulus by the state to industry, banking and urban development.

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o By 1860s, the original plan of 1842 had been completed and the French railway system had
been successfully established by the distinctive partnership of the public and private
resources and effort.
Education
 British economic historians have recently underlined the importance of education and its
expansion in the evolution of states. Two aspects of education were basic education and
technical education. The weak and slow expansion of elementary education was a handicap to
the industry, if a link between this development and predominance of illiteracy in rural areas can
be established.
 It is more difficult to say anything definite about the technical competence of the contractors
because of lack of studies on this subject. The situation improved after 1815. The percentage of
illiterates declined but the distribution of education remained unequal between regions.
 The regions having an established educational record were also those which contributed most to
the industrialization.
Demographic
 Changes are considered crucial by economic historians for the development of industries. In the
18th century, France was the most populated state with the exception of Russia. An increase of
about 40 per cent at the end of the century may be noted and it continued to increase till the
19th century.
 But France remained predominantly rural in contrast to Britain and Germany. The question is
whether it was a hurdle in industrialization. To some extent yes, because industrial
entrepreneurs had a limited labour market and rural society provided a limited consumer
market with most of the countryside cut off from the urban areas.
 It was the combination of roads and railways after 1850 and perhaps more after 1870, that more
regions were opened for trade. In the majority of areas, rural crafts were enough to supply the
local needs.
Agriculture
 Substantial rural population opposed the enclosure movement. The anti-aristocratic policy of
monarchy undermined the position of old nobility though there was an aristocratic reaction but
it failed and the peasantry strongly established itself in the country side.
o Here the real losers were the agricultural proletariat who gained nothing out of it. Most of
the rural lands were bought by the urban bourgeois who wanted it to be cultivated by
regular wage farm labourers. In its early stages, therefore, industrialisation proceeded rather
differently from that of England.
o Large scale investment in the modern industries for mass production remains exceptional,
and there were few big industrial concentrations instead, new technology was adopted in a
gradual process without bringing any great change in traditional structure.
o Both the textile and iron industries continued to make use of considerable rural labourers
especially in the farm through putting out system.

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o The lack of coal meant that heavy industries played a modest role. In the meantime, the
dominant form of industrial capitalism was the family dependence from accumulating profit
for its expansion.
 All these factors imposed a break on the French economy which delayed industrial revolution.
The accumulation of capital and its injection into the economy is one of the conditions
necessary for the expansion of the industrial revolution. Also, it must be certain that the profit
derived will be either equal or surpass that from other sources such as agriculture.
 Capital can be derived from the yield of land, commerce and international trade. In this respect,
France was well placed in the 18th century, a period of commercial expansion at the end of the
century. Banking system had been established which showed the growing wealth of France.
o The Revolution and Empire threw international commerce into confusion and ruined what
had been achieved in the previous centuries.
o The movement of investments into the industry ceased from 1790 to the first years of the
Empire as a result of political instability, possessors of capital sought security in the form of
real estate and property.
o The Napoleonic government had to revive this enthusiasm by creating a stable currency
based on gold and by founding a Central bank i.e. the Bank of France. Movement of
investments is noticeable in 1850s and 60s and more after 1875.
o Creation of joint stock companies in the mid-19th century may be noted when it was decided
to do away with all restrictions which had hindered them earlier.
 In 1870, the French industry was using five times as much horse power than it had used in 1851
and three times as much coal was being consumed. The iron mine which was producing five
thousand tons a year in 1836, it had raised its output to 133000 tons by 1867.
 Thus by the end of the 19th century, the spread of industries became possible due to the
conjunction of several factors:
o unification of home market by railways,
o use of new techniques in metallurgy among other sectors and
o the development of foreign competition.
 The slow pace of industrial revolution in France left important consequences and France
developed some noticeable backwardness in comparison with other economic powers which
became evident by mid-20th century. Germany, United States, Japan, Russia moved ahead of
France. It also left serious social consequences.
o It had allowed the survival of peasantry which was politically influential. It also created a
world of dissatisfied workers, ill-paid, ill- housed, and looked down in the society.
o Industrialization in France was slow because it was not accompanied by a large scale
movement from countryside to the towns and because it allowed men to believe in the
superiority of the landed property.
o It did not succeed in achieving a mental breakthrough which would have led to a revision of
these values and a more homogenous society.
Industrialization in Germany: Background

 Many events which have been characterized as elements of the industrial revolution recurred in
several countries. Thus in Germany too, industrialisation was accompanied by a demographic

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revolution, an agrarian revolution, a transport revolution but the German timing differed from
that of its western and eastern neighbours and socio- economic structures.
 Two factors were primarily responsible for the special nature of the German development: the
geographical and historical conditions of the country. Many German merchants and officials
visited Britain towards the end of the 18th century and 19th century, to study and transmit to
Germany their newly acquired knowledge.
 Not merely machinery but also commercial institutions, mercantile techniques, maxims of
economic policy and administration were adopted by Germany. From the end of 19 th century,
Germany’s slow start proved to be of real benefit for its later developments.
 Not too much capital was tied up in the old industries nor was the access of rural population tied
up in traditional trade.
 Therefore, it was easier than Britain, for example, to shift labour and capital to new industries
such as mining, engineering, chemicals and electronics and also to equip them with the latest
technology.
o German producers and consumers benefited directly from Britain and western European
sellers and British capital goods were especially important in the development of German
industries.
o For example, the first German railways from 1835 onwards were equipped with British
engines, wagons and rails. Till the 19th century, Germany did not possess an integrated
territory with an economic and administrative centre.
o Germany had never been a centre for European economic progress rather it served as an
intermediary between the western and eastern parts and which later determined the
regional variations in its economy.
 The Zollverein or German Customs Union founded in 1834, was a coalition of German states
formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. German industry
developed at a later period in comparison to Britain and France for several reasons:
o it lacked a political unity and suffered from great confusion of currencies, customs, weights
and measures. Even when the Customs Union, the Zollverein, had started to operate, it was
not a substitute for complete political and economic unity.
o Communication between various potentially industrial areas was poor. Areas with mineral
deposits were on the edges of the country and too remote from the centres of population.
o Thus, the Ruhr and Silesian coalfields were far from the densely populated areas and also
Silesia was very far from the sea. Germany was rich neither as a trading nor as an agricultural
country.
o The British industry had largely developed on the capital accumulation through agriculture
and trading. Much of the capital for investments in German industries had come in the early
period from France.
o Germany’s northern seaports were too far from the Atlantic to compete successfully with
the Dutch and British commerce until the steam-ships deteriorated the importance of this
factor.
 The Customs Union, the Zollverein, pursued a commercial policy of moderate production for the
industry. The Customs Union created a larger market for German-made farm and handicraft
products and promoted commercial unification under fiscally sound economic parameters.

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 The Prussian bureaucracy in agreement with the agricultural exporters displayed preference for
the idea of free trade. But within the free trade area, every member still reserved the right of
independence in internal economic policy.
Role of transportation
 Besides the Customs Union, the second event of importance was the starting of railway building
in Germany. At first, the government did not take any active part in the building of railways as
the loan needed required the sanction of the Diet of the Estates and the King.
 They did not wish to summon the session. But by the Law of 1838, the government regulated
the construction work.
 During the 1840s and 50s, the railways emerged as the most important carrier of long distance
bulk products, for example, in transportation of coal. In a short time, railway construction
stimulated the demand and encouraged the spirit of risk taking enterprises.
 The traditional form of transport was also included which added to the transport revolution of
1830s and 40s. A large network of canals was build covering 1400 kilometers. Roads were
improved and by 1850, Germany possessed about 50000 kilometers of metal roads mainly in the
West.
 This was the first capital boom in Germany which got terminated with the crop failure of 1846-
47. The expansion of industries also received a setback from 1847 to 49, chiefly due to the
revolutions of 1848 accompanied by large-scale unemployment in all industries including the
newly founded industries in textiles.
Unification leading to economic development

 Germany had overcome its economic difficulties in the post-unification period. The Political
unification of 1871 contributed to the economic progress as did the foundation of the North
German Federation of 1867.
 But the unification was not a “necessary” condition for progress because politically and
economically Prussia on its own had been strong enough since 1866 for a sustained growth. The
foundation of the German Empire may rather be seen as a result of Prussia than as a condition
of growth in Germany.
 After 1874, the industrial investment increased. The share of total net investments in every kind
of industry rose from 14 per cent in the early 1850s to more than 50 per cent at the end of the
19th century. The population of Germany also got multiplied; two and a half folds from 1850 to
1930 and the proportion of employed people also rose from 43 to 46 per cent.
 There was a rapid development of economy in various sectors such as mining and agriculture.
Agriculture continued to expand: It included the expansion of cultivation and crop production
while the technical progress in agriculture got accelerated.
 In the mining sector till 1860, coal had not overtaken wood as the source of power. Iron mining
was widely dispersed. The Saar district, Upper Silesia, Ruhr and Alsace-Lorraine (after 1871)
became new centers of iron mining and smelting.
 Textile industry proposed eliminating the old crafts and domestic industry, in the spinning of flax
and wool from 1815-1873. The manufacture of apparels and shoe making industry absorbed

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about a quarter of the employed population. The production of food and drink was the third old
established trade.
 Large mills arose around the river and sea ports to grind imported corn and large enterprises
and also produced sugar and chocolates. In the heavy industry such as steel, Germany forged
ahead of Britain as much as 300 per cent by 1900.
 According to Hoffmann and Wagenhofer, all manufacturing industries expanded from 1850 to
1930 by almost 3.8 per cent. In contrast to the metal production especially irons and steel,
metallic manufacturing, paper making, chemical industry, gas and electricity supply grew much
faster.
 Coal in Germany was dependent upon the building of railways which in turn needed greater coal
production. The use of steam engine to accelerate transport of land and sea had been of
enormous significance in Britain. It was perhaps even more important in Germany.
 Capital in Germany was raised for the foundation and extension of the industrial enterprise but
the methods of the German banks differed sharply from the British practice. They were faced by
a materially different situation.
 Also, industrialization was carried forward by the industries which offered little scope for the
financial techniques of the merchants. The emergence of cartels moreover reinforced the
influence of banks and still further weakened the financial role of the merchants.
 The big German banks often exerted a direct influence in the business decisions of industrial
firms. They played a cardinal role in business decision-making. Gradually the German Industrial
Revolution lost its initial dynamism.
 The German industries had to adopt themselves to come to terms with the domestic market
that was becoming increasingly involved in the former. But correspondingly industrial carvings
and consumer demands were not increasing. Population was dramatically increasing during the
depression as well as the unemployment ratio.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF INDUSTRIALIZATION

 Industrialization transformed not only the economy of Britain but also the workplace, family,
and daily life. Before the eighteenth century, most of the people lived in farms, in villages, or in
small towns, and most of the work was done either in the fields, in the houses, or in small shops.

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o With the emergence of the factories and urbanization, all of this began to change.
Manchester, the quintessential early industrial city, grew tenfold in the last quarter of the
eighteenth century, and the whole of Britain exploded with new, large cities during that
period.
o In 1785, only four cities in England and Scotland had a population of fifty thousand or more;
seventy years later, there were thirty-two cities of this size.
 These cities were set up for the industrial production but were not very pleasant places to live.
Until 1835, no normal procedures existed in England to incorporate cities, so most of the new
factory towns had no municipal governments or provisions for taxation.
o Most of these new cities also had no representation in the national parliament. So, there
were few financial and administrative resources to provide basic urban services like police
protection, water and sewer, or garbage disposal.
o The new urban agglomerations were drab places, blackened with the heavy soot of the early
coal age, settling alike on the mills and the workers’ quarters, which were dark, for the
climate of the Midlands is not sunny. Housing for workers was hastily built, closely packed,
and always in short supply.
o Work in the factories was unrelenting and grim. Factory people often had to perform the
same task over and over again, with few breaks or changes, during workdays up to fourteen
hours long. The work was organized to be fast, coordinated, and intense, so there was little
opportunity for socializing.
o The plants were usually fueled by coal, which meant that the factories, inside and out, were
often covered in black dust. Wages were typically so low that a man could not support his
wife and children. Therefore, children, some of them as young as six years old, often had to
work in the factories as well.
 The brutal conditions of working-class life in England in the nineteenth century were
immortalized in the works of Charles Dickens, as in his novels ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘Hard Times’. His
father was almost constantly in debt, and when he was thrown into a debtor’s prison, Dickens
was forced to leave school, at the age of twelve, and go to work in a bootblack factory to help
support his family.
 The concentration of workers in cities and factories had political consequences as well.
o The cramped and dirty working environments of the factories created both tension and a
opportunity for laborers to gather and discuss these conditions and their common plight.
o As workers gained a sense of solidarity and potential power, they organized labor unions,
even though these were formally illegal in England before 1825 (and the strike remained
illegal for many years after that).
o Fearing the advent of a revolution, Parliament passed an electoral reform act in 1832 that
doubled the electorate, but even with that, only one in five adults, male citizen was able to
vote.
o In 1838, a working-class group called the Chartists drew up a people’s charter, which
demanded universal suffrage for all adult males and the abolition of property requirements
for elected members of the Parliament.

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o Even though over a million people signed a petition to the House of Commons in support of
the charter, the Commons rejected it, and this was thirty years before suffrage was
significantly extended in Britain.
o This failure of the moderate, parliamentary route to labor reform caused many workers to
turn towards more radical solutions, including the ideas of socialism and the revolutionary
overthrow of capitalism.
 Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), a German born, manager of the Manchester cotton industry,
provided a crucial link between industrialization and socialism.
o Even though he was on the top of the industrial hierarchy, Engels was shocked by seeing the
poverty in the city and wrote an account of his observations that was published as ‘The
Condition of the Working Class in England’ (1844).
o Shortly afterwards, he met and befriended a fellow German Karl Marx and brought him to
England, He introduced Marx to several leaders of the Chartist movement.
 In 1848, Marx and Engels collaborated in producing The Communist Manifesto, which ended
with the phrase “Workers of all countries, unite!” This was one of the first steps in the formation
of the Communist Movement, which would culminate in 1917 with the Russian Revolution.
 Communism was just one of the “isms” that emerged in the first half of the nineteenth century.
The period saw a proliferation of doctrines and movements of all kinds. More people were
becoming involved in the society and in social and political issues, and they began to think more
systematically about the societal problems.
 Thus, the words “liberalism,” “radicalism,” “socialism,” and “nationalism”, all appeared for the
first time in English language between 1820 and 1850.
 Romanticism was also born in this period, although, unlike the political “isms,” it was a
movement in literature and arts. Romanticism was a reaction both to the Enlightenment and to
the two revolutions of the eighteenth century.
o It rejected both the pure reason of the Enlightenment and the harsh political and social
outcomes of the French and Industrial revolutions.
o Romantics stressed the importance of feelings and emotions as well as reason, and believed
that the world could not be understood completely on the basis of reason and scientific
evidence.
o Romanticism affected artists and writers all over Europe, flowering in the first decades of the
nineteenth century with poets and novelists such as the German Johann Goethe (Faust), the
Frenchman Victor Hugo (Les Miserables), Alexander Pushkin in Russia, and the English poets
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, and Alfred Lord Tennyson.
o Many of these writers struggled with the ambiguous results of the Industrial Revolution and
the tensions between the tradition and change. Industry had generated enormous wealth
and progress, but it also produced misery and alienation. These were issues and tensions
that would confront Europeans for generations to come.
THE IMPACT OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

 The Industrial Revolution began in England but spread quickly to the rest of the world. Although
the most important early inventions occurred in England, others followed elsewhere.

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 In the United States, there was Robert Fulton’s steamship and Cyrus McCormick’s reaper, which
revolutionized the harvesting of wheat, as well as the development of chemical fertilizers by
Justus von Liebig and other German chemists.
 The railroads spread like a spiderweb all over Europe, linking the Continent together. It
accelerated the western territorial expansion of the United States and the eastern expansion of
Russia (which occurred at about the same time). In Germany, pig iron production quadrupled
between 1825 and 1860; French coal and iron output both doubled in the same period.
 In 1837, the nineteen-year-old Victoria ascended to the English throne. She was to rule for the
next sixty-four years, and that period has come to be associated with her name: the Victorian
era. By the time of Victoria’s coronation, the industrial era was well under way in Britain, and the
newly emerging middle class was coming to dominate the British society and shape its system of
values.
 Although industrialisation and urbanization may have been hard on the working class, it brought
many benefits and many changes to the middle class. Many more consumer goods were now
available to those who could afford them, and factories were busy producing “luxury” goods that
had previously been accessible only to the aristocracy.
 Libraries, theaters, and symphonies were springing up in the cities to provide middle- class
entertainment, and most of the major cities had their own newspapers.
 As a part of the socio-economic transformation, gender roles were being redefined. Whereas in
the preindustrial era a family often worked together in the field or in cottage industries, now the
man was going to work in the city, and his wife was expected to take care of the home and
children.
 Victorian values dictated the importance of hard work (even more than talent) and the stability
and solidity of the nuclear family. Romantic marriages became the norm, and the family size
became smaller.
 Middle class norms and Victorian values dominated the British society for most of the
nineteenth century and helped to maintain the relative stability and prosperity in that country. It
was on the continent of Europe, however, rather than in England, where the French Revolution
unleashed many of these tensions and the Industrial Revolution came to a head.
*****
3. NATION-STATE SYSTEM
Unification of Italy
 The Napoleonic expedition brought two elements to Italy: Liberalism and Nationalism. After
Congress of Vienna in 1815, Venetia and Lombardy was ceded to Austria and rest of the part was
divided between Bourbon and Papacy.
 The nascent forces of Liberalism and Nationalism were brutally crushed by conservative forces.
The efforts of unification were already started in 1830, with the impact of Joseph Mazzini and
others. In 1831, Mazzini founded Young Italy (La Giovine Italia) at Marseille.

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o Mazzini was a pragmatic leader and wanted to mobilise people, especially the middle class
intelligentsia against conservative forces. In 1848 revolution he played a pivotal role. Mazzini
organized a powerful organization called Risorgimento.
o Risorgimento proved to be a platform under Count Camillo Di Cavour. Mazzini tried to
establish republican form of government in Rome. In 1848 revolution, several places were
encompassed like Lombardy, Venetia, Tuscany, Modena, and Parma.
o Nevertheless, the 1848 revolution did not bring about any proper change in existing system
but, the revolution partially energised these areas.
 On August 25th 1849, Venice capitulated and Austria officially took over the government. With
the fall of Venice, victory of reactionary forces was complete. In the kingdom of Naples, Papal
States, Venetia, Tuscany, Modena, and Parma well as Bohemia and Hungary, the old system was
restored and only in Sardinia and Piedmont the constitutional government was maintained.
o King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia and Piedmont refused to abolish the constitution which
his father, Charles Albert, had granted in 1848. The courageous act by the young king won
the confidence of Italian liberators, who began to look at him as the liberator and unifier of
Italy.
o Victor Emmanuel II was an elemental man. He was ignorant, superstitious and had no
inclination for literature and art. But his honesty, consistency of purpose and strong
common sense made him the leader.
o Italians were moved by a right instinct when they turned to him for leadership in the
struggle for unification. Victor Emmanuel II did not alone unify Italy. He was assisted by a
trusted group of statesmen. One of the most important among them was, Marquis D’
Azeglio.
 The failure of 1848, proved a milestone. The policies of Mazzini seemed to have been defeated
and a new policy of Cavour proved to be effective. Cavour was born at Turin in 1810, in a noble
Piedmont family.
o He started his journey from becoming an engineer in the army to a gentleman farmer and in
1850 he became minister of commerce and agriculture after the death of Santa Rosa.
o In 1852, he reached his final destination i.e. to the post of prime minister. He became the
right hand of Victor Emmanuel II in the struggle for the unification of Italy. He was a
moderate liberal and believed in parliamentary government.
o Therefore, Cavour seems to be more pragmatic whereas Mazzini seems far too
revolutionary. Cavour wanted to bring about the change by being a part of the government.
o He pursued free trade, liberal laws, and even cooperated with conservative elements at
times and firmly relinquished the idea of immediate revolution and nationalism.
 Cavour carried several policies to strengthen the country:
o The policy for encouraging agriculture. He introduced scientific farming and experimenting
with irrigation and artificial fertilizer.
o Improved transportation by subsidizing railway construction and linking railroads with those
of France, Germany and the Italian states to the east and south.
o He negotiated favourable treaties of commerce with France, Belgium, England, Switzerland,
Austria, and the German Zollverein and stabilized the currency by creating sound financial

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establishments. As a result of this policy, there was material prosperity and now the people
could easily bear the burden of new taxes.
o He also created a large well- equipped army of 90,000 men and constructed strong
fortification along the frontier.
o He always knew the fact that he should maintain friendly relations with foreign powers.
 In 1854, the Crimean War broke out in which France and England were allied on the side of
Turkey against Russia. Although Sardinia Piedmont had no quarrel with Russia, but, Cavour
looking beyond the immediate question, saw in the war, an opportunity to win the goodwill of
the two great western powers.
o So, over the protest of his fellow ministers and with reluctant consent of parliament, he
bought Sardinia and Piedmont into the war against Russia. Both Napoleon and Lord
Clarendon were happy with him.
o Emperor Napoleon consented to bring the Italian question before the Paris Peace
Conference and Lord Clarendon promised his support. With this process, he managed to
inter- nationalize the Italian issue.
o This was the first international support to the cause of Italian unification. This success
consolidated the position of Cavour over Mazzini.
 In 1859, once again Cavour formed an alliance with Napoleon without the consent of the
cabinet. According to this alliance, France was to get Nice and Savoy which was strategically
located as neighbouring areas of France, whereas Piedmont was to get Lombardy and Venetia,
which were its neighbouring areas as well.
 It is to be recollected that both Lombardy and Venetia were parts of Austria. This alliance was
formed against Austria. In this Franco- Austrian war, both parties suffered heavy losses and all
of a sudden Napoleon III signed the Treaty of Villafranca without capturing Venetia.
 Nevertheless, during this war, Piedmont brought control over Lombardy, but Cavour was not
happy with his political success and tendered his resignation. Outcome of Treaty of Villafranca:
o Lombardy was to be ceded to France and transferred by France to Sardinia and Piedmont.
o Venetia was to remain an Austrian province.
o The Grand Duke of Tuscany, Duchess of Parma and Duke of Modena were to be restored. All
the Italian states, including Venetia, were to be formed into confederation under honorary
presidency of the Pope. Difference between Mazzini and Cavour:
MAZZINI CAVOUR
1. He wanted immediate revolution. He He did not want any immediate revolution
formed secret societies and was an or change. He believed in evolutionary
extremist. process and failure of 1848, proved that
immediate success cannot be possible.
2. He wanted to establish republic. He first wanted to establish national
monarchy; therefore, he made alliance with
national monarch, Victor Emmanuel II.
3. He gave priority to liberalism over He first wanted to bring about liberalism
nationalism than nationalism.
4. He wanted the Italian unification by only He even wanted foreign assistance in order
Italians; he did not want any foreign to unify Italy.

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assistance. He overestimated the ability of

Italian people to oust the Austrians without
foreign influence.
 By having another treaty in 1860, Cavour this time became more pragmatic. He offered
Napoleon III Savoy and Nice as the price of withdrawal of his opposition to annexation of central
Italy to Piedmont.
o Napoleon accepted this offer, but stipulated that plebiscite be held in Tuscany, Parma,
Modena and Romagna to see that if the people of these states desired annexation to
Piedmont. The plebiscites in central Italy were held in the middle of March 1860.
o The voters were overwhelming in favour of annexation. Victor Emmanuel II accepted the
sovereignty, thus offered him and took over administration.
o Now, the entire cynosure shifted to Southern Italy which included Papal States, Kingdom of
Naples and Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Papal States had three provinces: Marche,
Umbria, St.Peters which included Rome.
 The credit of incorporation of southern areas goes to Giuseppe Garibaldi. He was deeply
influenced by Mazzini and he joined Young Italy and took part in unsuccessful insurrection in
Savoy in 1834.
o Although he was an ardent republican, he had become convinced in recent years that
Mazzini’s idea of unitary republic for all of Italy was not practicable and he rallied to the
standard of Victor Emmanuel II.
o Therefore, we see Garibaldi was closer to Cavour than Mazzini. Though he was inspired by
Mazzini, he had made strong departure from his policies.
o Instead of appeasing France, he found that France is becoming the biggest hurdle in the
path of unification. He protested against secession of Nice and Savoy, which was part of
Piedmont, to France. From 1860 onwards Garibaldi became more aggressive.
o On May 11th 1860, he landed at Marsala, on the Western coast of Sicily and achieved
considerable success and defeated Napoleonic army. Later on, Garibaldi assumed the
government of Sicily as dictator in the name of Victor Emmanuel II.
o By the end of July 1860, he completely controlled Sicily and headed towards Naples, Rome
and Venice. On August 19th, he marched towards Naples and defeated King Francis II.
 Cavour was delighted with the fall of Kingdom of Naples but he became anxious of the growing
influence of Garibaldi. Garibaldi seemed to be more practical than Cavour. He launched his every
attack and ceased power only in the name of Victor Emmanuel II.
 At the same time, Cavour felt that Garibaldi is humiliating him because Cavour was very close to
Napoleon III. It seems that here the role of Cavour was historically exhausted and Garibaldi
became more important.
 By 18th February 1861, all Italian states were represented in Turin except Venetia and St. Peters.
In March, a new constitution was made and Victor Emmanuel II became the King of Italy. To
patriotic Italians, it was unthinkable that unification should be considered complete without
Venetia and St. Peters.

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 But practically, the new kingdom was not strong enough to take Venetia from Austria by force,
nor dispose to defy the French emperor by an attack on Rome. So, the attitude of watchful-
waiting was adopted by Italian government.
 In 1866, Italy joined forces with Prussia in a war against Austria. Although Austria defeated Italy
in several battles, Prussia’s overwhelming success compelled Austria to cede Venetia to Italy,
which was then annexed by a favourable plebiscite. In 1870, at the outbreak of Franco- German
war the French troops were withdrawn from Rome.
 The Italian government was quick to take advantage of the situation. On September 20th 1870,
Italian army occupied Rome and deposed the Pope and the last remnants of his temporary
power. Thus the protracted process of Italian unification was completed.
Unification of Germany
 The defeat of Napoleon led to reassertion of conservative power of Metternich, suppression of
nascent nationalism and liberalism by Austria, rise of nascent industrialization in Eastern Europe,
growing awareness about the Western European concept of rationalism, humanism and concept
of laissez faire.
 All, in a combined manner, created a condition which compelled the various German states to
unify themselves in order to survive. Although the revolutionary movement of 1848 was
ruthlessly quelled by Austria, the remnants were still alive.
 The political consequences of transition from agrarian to industrial economy were also
important. This industrialisation produced a number of new classes which wanted:
o To liberalize the political institutions of each state.
o To form a federal union of all the states so that they should be strong enough to negotiate
favourable commercial treaties and can provide adequate protection to German merchants
and manufacturers in competition to world market.
o The custom and tariff barriers had hampered the free movement of goods and at the same
time, access to the market, raw materials and labour became limited. During Napoleon’s
time, they realised that they had better access to the market and raw materials and at the
same time they had to pay lesser taxes as trade barriers were removed.

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o The new classes, like professors, lawyers, students, professionals, intellectuals, etc. wanted a
bigger place to work independently. They wanted, to serve more and more people and
that’s why they wanted the unification and this is very much clear from the writing.
o The new professionals and the officers who were given opportunity to administer during the
time of Napoleon also wanted to abolish the traditional rule because under this kind of rule,
the officers were hereditary and described in nature and therefore, they were denied the
opportunity.
 Hence, the liberalists became imperative for their survival. In 1861, William I became the King of
Prussia and was threatened by growing demand for dramatic change. He was a pragmatic ruler
and realized that democracy-related demands cannot be ruled out.
o Therefore, he accepted some of the demands. But, those accepted demands were not
enough; as a result of this, the process of liberalisation began to take place.
o In 1861, Progressive Party was founded and Landtag was dissolved. Land- tag was the lower
house and in re-election liberals got the majority. In 1861, liberals came to power and they
were not happy with the situation and wanted to bring change.
 The king got worried in this circumstances and Otto von Bismarck was appointed as Prime
Minister. The main purpose behind his appointment was to quell the growing liberal forces and
to strengthen the institution of absolutism in Prussia.
 Therefore, when he was appointed, he never thought of unification. He knew that in the greater
Germany, the forces ofliberalism would be further strengthened. Hence, Bismarck had only two
objectives:
o To make William I more powerful; and
o controlling Landtag and the constitution.
 His initial objectives were:
o In order to protect absolutism, Prussia was to be strengthened.
o To replace Austria in Eastern Europe by Prussia.
o To increase the influence of Prussia over the states of Germany and to reduce that of Austria
by making Prussia stronger by quelling liberal forces.
o In order to control Austria, the alliance with Russia was must.
o Any alliance between an Eastern European power and France could have perturbed the
power equation for Prussia. Therefore, the prime assignment of the Bismarck system of
alliance was to seclude France from any other power (Austria/ Russia).
o To suppress the national elements, because nationalism leads to decline in absolutism and
that’s why Bismarck helped Russia to quell the independence movement in Poland.
o In order to control the internal condition and in order to divert the liberals and the growing
republicans, he laid emphasis on aggressive foreign policy.
o To change the provision of Treaty of Vienna and get the benefits out of this change. Treaty
of Vienna was the greatest source of power for Austria.
o To check the growing influence of Austria, Britain and Russia in the Balkan area and to create
space for Prussia.
o To expand for more and more colonies in order to sustain industrialization and, in this
respect, control raw materials and market to maintain current state of industrialization.

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 In 1863, Danish government announced incorporation of Schleswig with Denmark against their
will. This alarmed Bismarck. Here, he realised that he can get power only when he can create a
new state and a new confederation under the leadership of Prussia.
o Otherwise it was very difficult to displace Austria. His first task was to create an alternative
confederation and then strengthen it. Bismarck diplomatically and strategically invited
Austria and instigated it to protect Holstein and Schleswig from Denmark.
o Both Schleswig and Holstein were freed from Denmark but in this process Austria lost huge
number of soldiers. This was the second war which directly benefited Bismarck. Now Prussia
became aggressive over the status of Schleswig and Holstein.
o Bismarck did not want the new German states to be puppets in the hands of Austria. So, he
determined to dispose-off the matter in another way to protect the monarchy.
 The inhabitants of Schleswig and Holstein wanted to form a separate state and wanted to be
admitted in the German confederation. The people of Prussia as well as Austria were also in
favour except Bismarck. Bismarck wanted to humiliate Austria both externally and internally.
o Bismarck’s first act was to politically isolate Austria. Bismarck was aware of the fact that until
Britain’s own interest was threatened, it would not interfere in the continental affairs.
o Russia was already defeated in the Crimean war but, at the same time, it was happy with
Prussia as it had helped her in the Polish revolt of 1863.
o Therefore, only problematic country was France. Rise of strong military state in Northern
Germany would be a perpetual threat to French security.
o For Bismarck, only three powers mattered France, Austria and Russia. He was already aware
about the fate of Napoleon and also knew that pursuing the vigorous policy against all these
powers simultaneously would not only be feasible but also suicidal.
o He also knew that if Prussian existence has to be maintained then he has to control them.
For this, he initiated some policies.
 Seven constituents of system of alliances:
a. To seclude these three powers from each other. Not to reveal the intention to these powers.
b. Not to allow these powers to combine against Prussia.
c. To keep Britain away from these developments.
d. To find the less powerful among the three powers and then to attack it.
e. For this, to keep constant vigilance on day- to-day internal affairs of these powers.
f. To build a strong military.
g. External condition: Russia was defeated by Britain in the Crimean war of 1854-56. During
this war, Britain was helped by Austria and Sardinia. After this war, Wallachia and Moldova
was united and called Romania. The unification of Romania was absolutely against Austrian
empire, although, Austria helped Britain in this war.
 Germany got benefited out of this because:
o Humiliating defeat of Russia compelled it to surrender the idea of expansion in Eastern
Europe.
o Austria became active against Romania and inactive in North West Europe which directly
benefited Prussia.
 First step towards consolidation of Prussia was to replace Austria as chairperson of German
confederation. Bismarck raised the issue of Schleswig and Holstein.

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 By Treaty of Vienna, both Schleswig and Holstein were transferred to Denmark, though the
population consisted of German inheritance. Now the question arises as to why he chose to
espouse the cause of Schleswig and Holstein?
o For the first time, the question of nationalism was raised on the basis of composition of
population, i.e. race as a point of nationalism had occurred for the first time, which had two
results:
a. Psychologically every person of German origin realized that their interest can only be
protected by Bismarck; and
b. To expose Austrian power to the world and in this process show his own power. He
exposed that Austria was against the German race and that it had imperialist nature in
Eastern Europe.
o Bismarck knew that if there is a victory in war it will be his victory and if Austria was
defeated it will be her defeat as Austria was heading the confederation.
o To know about the military strength of Austria.
 Bismarck tried to convince Napoleon III, but he refused to attack Austria. Nevertheless, Bismarck
became successful in neutralising France. Then, Bismarck turned himself to fulfill the long
cherished plan of Italian- Prussian alliance.
 The pre-planned issue of Schleswig and Holstein led to Austrian-Prussian war. It was a seven-
week battle fought from July 3rd 1866 in Sadova. Prussia won the war and the treaty of Prague
was signed on 23rd August with following conditions:
o Austria was to cede Venetia to Italy but to lose no other territory and pay only a small
indemnity.
o It was to consent the dissolution of old confederation and to exclude itself from the German
confederation.
o Austria was to consent the formation of North-West confederation, composed of those
German sates lying north to the river Maine.
o Austria was to consent to the annexation by Prussia of Schleswig and Holstein, Hanover and
free city of Frankfurt.
o South German states like Bavaria, Baden, Wittenberg left free to the union of their own if
they so desired. Now the various German states were reduced to three groups - Austria,
which influenced old confederation, North German confederation under Prussia and
independent South German states.
Analysis of the Treaty of Prague

 The new addition of territory increased Prussian population by 5 million and its area by 1/4th .
 Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were commercially viable for strategic and commercial
reasons, for it was possible to connect Baltic and North Sea by means of a canal passing through
the harbor of Kiel thus, giving merchants and naval vessels opportunity to trade.
 Nothing succeeds like success. After the conclusion of peace, Bismarck appeared in the low
chamber of Landtag and was greeted as the national hero and all his opponents became great
supporters and admirers.
 At his request, the bill of indemnity was laid before the chamber legating all the military
expedition during the years 1862 to 1866 and the bill was passed by an overwhelming majority.

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Thus, the bitter struggle between king and parliament for the control over the nation ended in
the victory of the king.
 Henceforth, the Prussian people and the people of Germany at large abated their demand for
popular government; their confidence in Parliamentary institution being undermined and
Bismarck’s conservatism scored over Parliament’s liberalism.
 His policy of blood and iron further consolidated his position. Blood consolidated his position to
identify those German places where they had German origins, entire South German states were
won by Bismarck. Austria was already defeated and France was left, which was handled by Iron.
What is this Blood and Iron policy of Bismarck?

Blood means to identify with the people and places of German origin and those
areas which are left and not part of the German origin must be ruthlessly
quelled. In other words, it was the policy of persuasion-cum- reconciliation-
cum- suppression. In this regard, his first policy was the formation of North
German confederation. On 1st July, 1867, the ‘National German Confederation’
came legally into existence.
The first official act of the president was to appoint Bismarck as Chancellor. The
NGC consisted of Kiel (Schleswig and Holstein), Mecklenburg, Hamburg,
Oldenburg, Saxony, East Prussia and Brandenburg. The rapidity with which
Prussia crushed Austria in 1866 had upset the calculations of Napoleon III. By
the time he understood the main plan of Bismarck, it was too late.
The next target of Bismarck’s policy was France and the first step towards
controlling France was to have an alliance with South German states like
Baden, Bavaria and Wittenberg. Bismarck regarded war with France inevitable
sooner or later. He was convinced that France would never permit the union of
South German states with the North.
*****
4. IMERIALISM AND COLONIALISM
Imperialism and nationalism in Asia

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 This region included India, China, Turkey, Japan, South and South East Asia, Nepal, Burma,
Malaya, Indonesia, Indo-China, Thailand and The Philippines. While Britain was involved in China
during the Opium wars, France consolidated its hold over Indo-China.
 But when France received permission from Burma in 1880, the British, fearing France expansion,
started a war with Burma and annexed it to British India in l886. Thailand, though independent,
remained under the British and French authority.
 The United States joined the race here in late 19th century. In the war with Spain, the US sent its
troops to the Philippines to help it against the Spanish rule. After defeating Spain, the Americans
occupied the Philippines.
European Colonisation of Africa

 European colonisation of Africa was a monumental milestone in the development of Africa. It is
the most important factor in understanding the present conditions of the African continent and
of the African people.
 Between the 1870s and 1900, Africa faced European imperialist aggression, diplomatic
pressures, military invasions, and eventual conquest and colonization. By the early twentieth
century, however, much of Africa, except Ethiopia and Liberia, had been colonized by the
European powers.
 The Portuguese were the first to establish trading posts along Africa’s west coast and acquire
gold, ivory, and African slaves in the 15th century. The Dutch East India Company overthrew
Portuguese supremacy in the Indian Ocean in the first decade of the 19 th century and between
1637 and 1642, captured all major Portuguese settlements on the West Coast of Africa.
 But soon, the Dutch also gave way to the British and French whose governments were not
inclined to allow their American colonists to become tied to Dutch merchants for their supplies
of slaves and other forms of capital with the resultant possibility that much of the marketing of
their produce in Europe would be in Dutch hands.
Europe’s interests in Africa and the Scramble for Africa

An overview
 There were three main factors which pushed European imperialist desires into Africa. These
factors can be clubbed as economical political, and social.
o The desire for the Dark Continent developed in the 19th century following the collapse of the
profitability of the slave trade, its abolition and suppression as well as the expansion of the
European capitalist Industrial Revolution.
o Another important reason for the scramble of Africa stemmed from the European
ethnocentrism or racism itself, rooted partly in Western Christianity. Since much of Africa
followed their own traditional religious beliefs, Europeans felt that there was a definite need
to proselytize and convert Africans to Christianity.
 Thus, political, social, economic, and religious impetus resulted in the inter-European power
struggles and competition for pre-eminence. Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal,
and Spain were competing for power within the European power politics.
 One way to demonstrate national pre-eminence was through the acquisition of territories
around the world, including Africa. The two largest colonial powers in Africa were France and

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Britain, both of which controlled two-thirds of Africa before World War I and more than 70
percent after the war.
 The period from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s marked the zenith of imperial rule in Africa.
The formalization of colonial rule was accomplished at the Berlin Conference of 1884- 1885
when all the European powers met and partitioned Africa. The conference was called to reach
agreement on imperial boundaries so as to avoid any future conflict among European powers.
Economic causes
 Hobson explained European imperialism in the 19th century by pointing to transformation of
erstwhile small competitive organisations into giant trusts and companies. Hobson’s argument
was that small enterprises would have found satisfactorily remunerative accommodation of
their surplus in the home market itself.
 But the advent of monopolised industries necessitated the search for new overseas markets and
new investment channels. Imperialism was the function of the need to invest the profit of the
new trusts overseas where they can be profitability invested.
 Lenin agreed with Hobson’s analysis of the predominance of finance capital, which monopolised
the economy, generating surplus capital that cannot be profitably reinvested internally. Lenin
argues that the banks play a crucial role in transforming competitive capital into monopoly
capital.
 Finding overseas investment outlets becomes necessary because intensive capital accumulation
is blocked by the class nature of capitalism; Lenin departs from Hobson from the issue of anti-
monopoly reforms.
 He finds such measures contradictory to the fundamental premises of the capitalist mode of
production. To him, imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism. He envisages five processes:

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i. Preponderance of export over import;

ii. Fusion of merchant capital and finance capital;
iii. Concentration of capital in the hands of few;
iv. Increasing role of banking capital; and
v. The division of the world into interest spheres, which have been accomplished.
 Lenin said that monopoly capitalism generated imperialism so that the surplus capital could be
profitably reinvested in non-monopolised areas. For Lenin, export of capital was the principal
dynamic behind the modern imperialism with the pursuit of raw material playing a vital
secondary role.
 Military force was often used to secure new areas. According to Lenin, finance capital can
establish control over less-developed areas in a number of ways:
o Through the creation of the semi colonies formally independent with little real autonomy.
o Through the creation of commercial colonies where the local bourgeoisie is thoroughly
dependent over the finance capital of the leading capitalist countries.
o As independent protectorates, where the protected country grants favourable economic
concession to the protector within its own boundaries as well as in its colonies.
 Politically, governments were responsible for reasons not exclusively economic. The ports of
Africa and the Far-East were valuable as naval bases and ports of call, no less than inroads for
trade and investment.
 Given the triangle of international fears, distrusts in Europe during these years, and the ever
present menace of war, no possible strategic or prestige giving advantage could be forfeited.
 Once the scramble for partitioning Africa had begun, the powers were confronted with the
choice of grabbing such advantages for themselves or seeing them snatched by potential
enemies. The international anarchy was an impetus to the general race for colonies.
 The intensive imperialism rivalries were rampant in the absence of an international organisation
which exercised regulations and functions as check and balance mechanism.
 Besides, there were other direct political motives of imperialism i.e. the desire to strengthen
national security by holding a strategic base such as Cyprus and the Cape or to secure additional
sources of manpower as the French sought in Africa, or to enhance national prestige as the
Italians did in Libya.
o Christian missionaries played an instrumental part in this process. The most famous was the
Scott David Livingstone. The catholic missions under the 3rd Republic were exceptionally
active.
o In the south of Algiers, French Cardinal Charles Martial Allemande Lavigerie founded the
society of missionaries who came to be known as the ‘White Father’.
o Belgian missionaries were active in the Congo as early as 1878. These missionary activities
went hand-in-glove with the other factors of imperialism. David Livingstone had remarked
that, “Christianity, commerce, civilization went hand in hand”.
 Further, sense of racialism expanded by Arthur de Gobineau who attempted to demonstrate
that Blacks possess animal characteristics and that no civilized society could be created by them.
o Furthermore, social Darwinism whose proponents claimed that the material wealth of the
west and the poverty of the rest of the world were proofs enough for the genetic superiority
of the Whites, and finally, altruism or the civilizing mission.

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o The proponents thought that they were representing progress. In fact, this was one of the
reasons given by President William McKinley to justify the annexation of the Philippines.
 In 1875, less than l/10th of Africa was turned into European colonies and by 1895, only l/10th
remained unappropriated. Between 1871 and 1900, not only did France, Britain and Russia
enlarge their colonies, even Germany, Belgium and Italy acquired a new colonial empire.
 A number of conditions favoured the imperialist conquest of Asia and Africa. Firstly, industrial
revolution had not come to this part of the world. Thus, the goods manufactured here could not
compete with those of the industrial countries. Also, as the result of this, the two continents
were militarily weak.
 Secondly, the governments were incapable. Therefore, strong nation-states had not developed
and the small feudal-type states did not command the willing obedience of the majority which
made easy the takeover by small companies.
British Colonial Empire in Africa (1735-1909)

An overview
 The British colonisation policy in Africa was followed in much more hesitant manner than that of
its Asian policy. Asia was colonized by trading companies, British imperial interests in Africa were
manifested my missionaries and humanitarians as well as traders.
 Britain had many colonies in Africa:
o in British West Africa there was Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Southern Cameroon, and Sierra
Leone;
o in British East Africa there was Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and
Zanzibar); and
o in British South Africa there was South Africa, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Southern
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Nyasaland (Malawi), Lesotho, Botswana, and Swaziland.
 Britain had a strange and unique colonial history with Egypt. The Sudan, formerly known as the
Anglo- Egyptian Sudan, was jointly ruled by Egypt and Britain, because they had jointly colonized
the area. The joint colonial administration of the Sudan by Egypt and Britain was known as the
condominium government.
o The British system of government affected the type of racial or ethnic problems that all of
Britain’s African colonies had during the colonial period, the immediate post-colonial period,
and from the 1980s into the twenty- first century.
o The British employed various systems of governance in their African colonies. These were
through the agency of:
a. trading companies,
b. indirect rule,
c. the settler rule, and then the unique joint rule of the Sudan with the Egyptians known as
the
d. condominium government.
French Colonial Empire in Africa

 France lost most of its colonial empire in the mid- 18th century because of conflicts with Great
Britain. These wars were the War of the Austrian Succession (1744-1748), the Seven Years War

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(1756- 1763), the War of the American Revolution (1778- 1783), and the French Revolutionary
(1793-1802) and Napoleonic (1803- 1815) Wars.
 The foundations of the second French Colonial Empire were laid between 1830 and 1870, when
Louis Philippe’s forces penetrated Algeria. The French expanded their influence in Africa,
establishing a protectorate on Tunisia in 1881.
 Gradually, French control was established over much of Northern, Western, and Central Africa
by the turn of the century (including the modern nations of Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Mali,
Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo), as well as the
east African coastal enclave of Djibouti (French Somaliland).
 In 1911, Morocco became a protectorate. After the First World War, they gained mandates over
the former Turkish territories that make up what is now Syria and Lebanon, as well as most of
the former German colonies of Togo and Cameroon.
Spanish Colonies in Africa

 The Spanish expansionist policy in Africa was developed during the regency of Ferdinand the
Catholic in Castile. Several outposts in North African coast were conquered and occupied by:
o Castile - Mazalquivir (1505),
o Penon de Velez Gomera (1508),
o Oran (1509),
o Algiers (1510), and
o Tripoli (1511).
 In the first half of the 17th century, Larache and La Mamora, in the Moroccan Atlantic cost and
the Island of Alhucemas in the Mediterranean, were taken, but during the second half of the 17th
century, Larache and La Mamora were also lost.
Spanish Territories in Africa (1885-1975)

 In 1848, Spanish troops conquered the Islas Chafarinas. In 1860, Morocco ceded Sidi Ifni to Spain
as part of the Treaty of Tangiers. After the Berlin Conference of 1884 Spain administered Sidi Ifni
and Western Sahara jointly.
 Spain claimed a protectorate over the coast of Guinea from Cape Bojador to Cap Blanc, too. Rio
Muni became a protectorate in 1885 and a colony in 1900. In 1911, Morocco was divided
between the French and Spanish.
 In 1926 Bioko and Rio Muni were united as the colony of Spanish Guinea, a status that would
last until 1959. In 1931, following the fall of the monarchy, the African colonies became part of
the Second Spanish Republic.
 In 1969, under international pressure, Spain returned Sidi Ifni to Morocco. Spanish control of
Spanish Sahara endured until the 1975 Green March prompted a withdrawal, under Moroccan
military pressure. The future of this former Spanish colony remains uncertain.
Belgian colonial empire in Africa

 Belgium created two main colonies in Africa - the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the
Republic of Rwanda, previously Ruanda- Urundi, a former German African colony that was given
to Belgium to administer after the defeat of Germany in World War I.

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 Belgium’s scramble for African colonies was the brainchild of Leopold II, king of Belgium. In
1876, Leopold II commissioned Sir Henry Morton Stanley’s expedition to explore the Congo
region. This exploration led initially to the establishment of the Congo Free State.
 The new colony comprised a land bigger than Western Europe and seventy-four times larger
than Belgium, and belonged to Leopold II as a personal possession. In 1908, Leopold was forced
to hand over the Congo Free State, his personal fiefdom, to the Belgian state.
 Finally, civil disobedience, strikes, and civil unrest against the Belgian colonialists in 1960 led to
the disintegration of the Belgian colonial administration and helped in winning independence for
the Congo in 1960.
 Belgium seized Rwanda and Burundi from Germany in 1916; two years later, after the defeat of
Germany in World War I, Ruanda- Urundi was formally given to Belgium as a League of Nations
trust territory.
 In 1945, it was designated as a United Nations trust territory, but it was under Belgian
administration until 1962, when it developed as the independent states of Rwanda and Burundi.
Positive impacts of African colonisation

1. The most important positive political consequence was the establishment of a relatively a
greater degree of peace and stability in Africa. After the First World War, most parts of Africa
enjoyed a great degree of continuous peace and stability.
2. The colonisation of Africa led to the emergence of the modem independent nations of Africa as
geo-political entities. The scramble of Africa led to drastic reshaping of the political face of
Africa.
3. Another important political consequence was the birth of not only a new type of African
nationalism but also of Pan- Africanism.
4. The colonisation led to the introduction of Western medicines which made an incredible
difference in the survival rates of the African population.
5. Europeans introduced formal education system in Africa, which led to broadening of African’s
outlook and has unlocked the hidden potential of the African people.
6. The colonial rule introduced two new institutions in Africa - namely - new judicial system and
new bureaucracy, both based on western models.
7. The European colonizers made every effort to develop and exploit some of the rich natural
resources of the continent. The full mineral potential of Africa was realised and the mining
industry boomed.
8. A new social structure evolved in Africa that emphasized individual merit and achievement.
9. African economies expanded greatly due to the increase in the demand of African goods on the
international markets.
10. Sanitation in Africa improved greatly, and the life expectancy rate increased tremendously.
11. Due to European colonization, Africa became industrialized.
12. Colonization reduced the high rate of local warfare.
13. Christianity was spread throughout Africa.
Negative impacts of African colonisation

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1. There was massive exploitation of Africa in terms of resource depletion, labour exploitation,
unfair taxation, lack of industrialisation, the prohibition of inter- African trade, and the
introduction of fragile dependent one-crop or one-mineral economies.
2. The Nationalism that grew in Africa was the result of oppressive, discriminatory, humiliating and
exploitative measures introduced by the colonial rulers.
3. The exacerbation of ethnic rivalries, which the British, especially, through the implementation of
the colonial policy of “indirect rule,” exploited in furthering colonial control, has continued to
echo in post-independent conflicts in Africa.
4. The destruction of African culture and values through the imposition of alien religions and the
relentless attack on African values mounted by mission schools contributed to the loss of
confidence in themselves, their institutions, and their heritage.
5. The denial of political participation to colonized Africans has retarded post-colonial political
development, as the excessive use of force in addressing political problems has been carried
over to the postcolonial period.
6. With the Europeans taking over Africa’s natural mineral wealth, it caused a scarcity in the
mineral wealth of Africa. This deprived the countries of Africa of its natural minerals.
7. There was no way Africa was able to develop and compete with the rest of the world due to the
rivalry with Europe.
8. The division of Africa was the most harmful. Africa was broken into colonies with rival tribes and
many civil wars broke out.
What factors led to the rise of nationalism in Africa?

 African nationalism refers to the desire for Africans to end all forms of foreign control and
influences so as to be able to take charge of their political, social and economic affairs. Before
1960 most of the Africa was under colonial rule but by 1970 most of the African nations had
gained independence from the Europeans.
i. The colonial policies led to the growth of African nationalism. Evils of colonialism such as
forced labour, over taxation, land alienation, racial discrimination and forced growing of
cash crops etc. made the people of Africa hate the colonial masters.
ii. The loss of independence to foreigners and the introduction of foreign system of
government caused feeling of resistance among rulers and people of Africa.
iii. Western education led to the rise and growth of African nationalism. The few Africans who
went to schools like King’s college Budo acquired a common language - English. This made
communication very easy between the nationalists of different races.
iv. The emergence of new super powers like the USA and the Soviet Union, replaced Britain,
France and Germany, which had failed to protect world peace. The new powers wanted to
be free to pursue their trading interests in Africa and wanted to instill the capitalist ideology
on the continent.
v. The Second World War also encouraged African nationalism. This war which started in 1939
and ended in 1945 trained Africans on how to use guns, exposed them to military weakness
of the whites and also exposed Africans to ideas of democracy from American soldiers.
vi. The formation of the United Nations in 1945 favoured African nationalism. UNO put
pressure on Britain to grant independence to Tanganyika, Uganda and finally to Kenya.

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vii. The rise of able and charismatic leaders such as Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere, Milton
Obote, Abu Mayanja and others. These led the masses in popular demonstrations and rallies
demanding for independence.
Decolonisation of Africa
African nationalism began to gain momentum after 1945. The main reason for the growth of
nationalism in Africa was the emergence of educated class who got education in Britain and
America. They began to see colonialism as a means of humiliation and exploitation of blacks by
whites, and working class.
Factors that led to decolonisation of Africa

 The retreat of European powers from African continent is described as decolonisation and it was
one of the most sudden and momentous transformations in the history of the modern world.
i. The process was completed in the aftermath of the World War I. After the end of World War
II, European powers felt it difficult to hold on their colonies in the face of weakness at home
and growing internal demands for independence.
ii. The wave of freedom started in Liberia in 1952. This independence went smoothly and then
spread to Morocco and Tunisia in 1956. However, in Algeria, independence did not occur
smoothly. The bloody Algerian War occurred against the French till 1962.
iii. The decolonisation movement in Africa gained momentum because some European political
leaders such as Oliver Stanley of Britain and Charles de Gaulle of France felt that self-
government within the framework of the empire made sense, any notion of full
independence belonged to the remote future.
iv. Within a rather short period of twenty years, however, almost all European colonies in sub-
Saharan Africa became completely independent.
v. Undoubtedly, the aftermath of World War II changed everything; it strengthened African
nationalist movements and consolidated global sentiments against colonial rule, thereby
forcing imperial powers to begin to think about exit strategies.
vi. The social, economic, and political consequences of the World War II changed the
perspectives of Africans and led to heightened anti-colonial militancy.
vii. International factors also hastened the course of decolonization in the post-war years. The
anti-colonial posture of the new superpowers— the Cold War rivals, the United States and
the Soviet Union spelled doom for European rule in Africa.
viii. The United States opposed colonialism because “it was antithetical to free trade and self-
determination—both ideals that the United States had lauded in the Atlantic Charter
(1941)”, and the Soviet Union attacked colonialism because Marxist- Leninist philosophy
described it as the “highest stage of capitalism”.
ix. The Pan-African movement, which was founded in 1900 by people of African descent in the
Diaspora, played an important and unique role in the decolonization process.
Decolonisation in British Colonies

1. The Gold Coast - It was the first black African state from South of the Sahara to win
independence after the Second World War. The national leader here was Kwame Nkrumah. In

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1951, first election were held and Nkrumah became the Prime Minister. But Ghana, as it
became known gained complete independence in 1957.
2. Nigeria - It was the largest of the Britain’s African colonies. Here the leading nationalist was
Nnamdi Azikiwe. The country gained independence in 1960.
3. Sierra Leone and the Gambia - These colonies gained independence without much violent
incidences, Sierra Leone in 1961 and Gambia in 1965.
4. Tanganyika - Here the nationalist campaign was conducted by Tanganyika African National
Union (TANU) led by Julius Nyerere. The independence was achieved in 1991 and Zanzibar was
united with Tanganyika, and the country took the name of Tanzania.
5. Uganda - In Uganda, independence was delayed for a time by tribal squabbles, the ruler (known
as the Kabaka) of the Buganda area objected to the introduction of democracy. Eventually a
solution was found in a federal constitution which allowed the Kabaka to retain some powers in
Buganda. Uganda itself became independent in 1962 with Milton Obote as Prime Minister.
6. Kenya - It was one of the most difficult regions of Africa to deal with because some 66000 white
settlers were violently opposed to black majority rule. They refused to negotiate with the African
nationalist leader Jomo Kenyatta and his Kenya African Unity Party and were determined to
prolong white settler rule. After prolonged struggle, in the year 1960, the British changed their
heart and allowed Kenyatta to become Prime Minister and Kenya became independent in 1963.
7. Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia - The British introduced new constitution in Nyasaland and
Northern Rhodesia which in effect allowed the Africans their own parliaments (1961-62). Both
wanted to leave the Federation, which was therefore terminated in December, 1963, signaling
defeat for the settlers. In 1964, Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia became fully independent,
taking the names of Malawi, and Zambia.
The End of French Empire in Africa

1. Tunisia - In Tunisia, the main nationalist group was the New Destour led by Habib Bourghiba. In
March, 1965, Tunisia became fully independent under the leadership of Bourghiba.
2. Morocco - The nationalist party was called Istialal, and King Muhamed himself seemed to be in
the forefront of opposition to the French. It became independent in 1956.
3. Algeria - Encouraged by the French defeat in Indo-China, a militant nationalist group was formed
- the National Liberation Front, led by Ben Bella, which launched a guerrilla war towards the end
of 1954. Under huge pressure of the civil war, the French Republic agreed that Algeria should
become independent in 1962, and Ben Bella was elected first President.
Decolonisation of Belgian colonies in Africa

1. The Belgian Congo - Civil war broke in Congo in 1959. The main reason for the civil war was
rising level of unemployment and declining living standards. Seeing this, the government of
Belgium announced that Congo could become independent in six months. The Congo became
independent in June 1960 with Patrice Lumumba of Congolese National Movement as Prime
Minister and Joseph Kasavubu became the President.
2. Ruanda-Urundi - The Belgian territories of Ruanda-Urundi were given independence in 1962 and
were divided into two states - Rwanda and Burundi.

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Disintegration of Spanish empire in Africa

 Spain owned some areas in Africa, the largest was Spanish Sahara, and there were also the small
colonies of Spanish Morocco, Ifni, and Spanish Guinea. General Franco, who ruled Spain from
1939 until 1975, showed little interest in the colonies.
 When nationalist movements developed, he did not resist long in the case of Spanish Morocco,
when the French gave independence to French Morocco (1956). Franco followed suit and
Spanish Morocco became part of Morocco.
 The other two small colonies had to wait much longer. Ifni was allowed to join Morocco but not
until 1969. Guinea became independent as Equatorial Guinea in 1968.
Present state
 The ongoing political stability, social disorder, and economic crisis in some nations of Africa have
its roots in colonization era. European nations completely exploited the political, economic, and
social structure of African societies.
 During colonization period, colonials used divide and rule tactics, imposition and exploitation of
African resources which had long lasting effects on African societies and economies even after
colonization was ended. Lack of funds and advance technology along with climate, and
population growths has hampered economic development of the African continent.
Africa: West and Central Africa

 In 1870, only 10 per cent of the African territory was under the European control but by 1914,
the entire scenario changed and almost 90 per cent of the African territory, except Abyssinia
(modem Ethiopia) and Liberia were able maintained their independence.
 The trade and European colonisation was regulated by the Berlin Conference of 1884- 85, also
known as the Congo Conference or West Africa Conference during the New Imperialism period.
The conference was called by Portugal and organized by Ottovon Bismarck, first Chancellor of
Germany.
o The main objective of the conference was to protect the commercial and territorial interests
in Africa from British claims. The conference tried to formalize the scramble for concessions
and territorial acquisition by overriding the autonomy and self governance of the different
African states.
o The process of scramble for African territories was intensified by the unification of Germany
in 1871. The same period also witnessed the emergence of the United States, Belgium, Italy,
and, for the first time, an Asian power, Japan.
o Indeed, this very multiplication of colonial powers, occurring in a relatively short period,
accelerated the tempo of colonial growth.
 The nascent Germany knew that without strong colonial hold, survival as a powerful nation
would be difficult. The multiplication of colonial powers led to the intensification for the search
of new colonies.
 Besides that, the third phase of European industrialisation demanded more and more markets
and raw materials. Moreover, the major technological innovations of the late 19th and early 20th
centuries improved the competitive potential of the newly emerged industrial nations.

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 The further colonization in Asia was not possible and inextricably Africa was the only option. The
Berlin Conference provided a base for the partition of Africa. The most important outcome of
the conference was the international recognition given to King Leopold’s Congo Free State.
o In 1878, with the financial assistance of king Leopold II of Belgium, Henry Morton Stanley
founded the International Congo Association, so that by 1885, 2.3 million square kilometers
became the Congo Free states which, in turn, in 1908 became known as Belgium Congo.
o Gradually Congo’s gold, diamonds, uranium, timber and copper became more important
than its rubber and ivory.
o England and United States joined Belgium in exploring Congo. An Anglo-Belgian company
that controlled the copper sources of Katanga province played a big role in Congo political
affairs.
o Since control of the river Niger meant control over the land with rich resources, the British
occupied Nigeria after buying out the French company here.
o In West Africa, Britain also occupied Gambia, Ashanti and Sierra Leone. In West Africa, a
French Congo was also re-established. France had earlier occupied Senegal. Other West
African conquests included Dahomey, Ivory Coast, French Sudan.
Upper Volta, Mauritania and Niger Territories

 In 1880, Germany also got interested. First, she occupied Togoland, then the Cameroons and
finally South West Africa. After First World War, the former two were divided among Britain and
France, and German South West Africa was given to South Africa.
 Spain had only two colonies on the Western coast of Africa, Rio de Oro and Spanish Guinea. Even
Liberia which remained independent came increasingly under American influence, particularly
under American investors in rubber plantations.
 In South Africa, the Dutch had established the Cape Colony which was taken over in the early
19th century. The Dutch settlers known as Boers went north and set up two states, the Orange
Free State and the Transvaal. In 1870, Cecil Rhodes founded Rhodesia which has resources in
diamond and gold.
 The British further occupied Swaziland and Basutoland. The British plotted to overthrow the
Boer government of Transvaal which was rich in gold. This led to the Boer war 1899 in which the
Boers were defeated. After this, the Union of South Africa was formed consisting of the Cape,
Natal, Transvaal and Orange River Colony.
 By an agreement among France, Germany and Britain, France got Madagascar and East Africa
was split up between Germany and Britain, Uganda passed under the British. After the First
World War, East Africa passed to England and was renamed Tanganyika. The British East Africa
became Kenya, and Ruanda and Burundi were given to the Belgians.
 In North Africa, Algeria was conquered by France in 1830 but it took 40 years to suppress the
Algerian resistance. Algeria became France’s most profitable colonial possession, providing it
with a new market.
 Tunisia too passed under France, while Britain occupied the island of Cyprus. Since Morocco,
situated on the North West tip of Africa, was strategically important, an Italian-French rivalry
developed.

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 In 1900, by an agreement, France occupied Morocco and Italy secured Tripoli and Cyrenaica. By
the Anglo-French agreement of 1904, Britain got Egypt. Since Germany had been left out of
these negotiations, it threatened a war which was averted when France gave it territory from
French Congo. Italy after defeating the Turkish ruler occupied Libya.
 Egypt became important because it had the Suez Canal which Benjamin Disraeli described as “a
high way to our Indian Empire”. From 1882 to 1956, when the canal was nationalised by
President Nasser, the Suez Canal zone was under the control of British military.
 The financial crisis of its ruler had led to an Anglo- French dual control in 1871 and finally in 1882
it came under British rule. In 1882, the British took control of Egypt had to immediately realise
fact that they had become rulers of a society but that society was totally dependent upon the
Nile.
 Therefore, they understood from the very conception that the economic stability, economic
development and political stability of Egypt depended on Nile control. The water crisis of 1890s
further cemented the British conviction of controlling Nile.
 To control the Nile, Britain had occupied what is today Uganda in 1894 and occupied, together
with Egypt, Sudan between 1896 and 1898, the so-called River War. By 1898, the British had
managed to control the whole White Nile.
 In a consolidated outcome by 1902 Britain had controlled Uganda, Sudan, Egypt - the whole area
around Lake Victoria and also Kenya; in other words, whole of Nile Basin was conquered. In
1914, when the war started, England declared Egypt a British protectorate.
 Britain and France had been rivals in Sudan. They almost reached a flash point of war but it was
averted by the agreement of 1899 by which Egyptian Sudan came under the British and the
French were given a free hand to extend their control in Central Sudan and the Sahara.
AUSTRALIA
 Australia is the smallest among the six continents covering an area of 7.7 million sq. km. It is
situated between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The aborigines are believed to have settled in
this continent some 40,000 years ago.
 The first European explorer who reached Cape York on the Peninsula of Queensland, Australia in
1606, was a Dutch named Willem Janszoon. In 1688, William Dampier, an English explorer
named Tasman sailed along the south east coast of Australia and discovered an island later
named after him Tasmania.
 It was in the 1770s ,that Captain James Cook, a British explorer and scientist, sailed in his ship
‘Endeavour’ along the east coast he came across a region which reminded him of his homeland
Wales. It came to be called as New South Wales later.
 All the regions that he had discovered were claimed as British territories in the name of King
George III. A number of British settlements came up after 1796. The earliest to arrive from
Britain were convicts who landed in Port Jackson in 1788.
 Sydney became the capital of New South Wales. During the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, the British created six colonies, namely, New South Wales, Victoria Queensland South
Australia, Western Australia and the island of Tasmania. These colonies were sent here for the
purpose of serving out the rest of their prison terms.

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o All the six colonies were granted self- government. By the middle of the nineteenth century
the free settlers displaced the aborigines from their settlements and made a living through
agriculture cattle-rearing and so on.
o During this time, large deposits of gold and other minerals were discovered which attracted
many more immigrants from Britain and other parts of Europe. The population of Australia
reached nearly 4 million at the end of the nineteenth century.
o The new settlers with progressive ideas changed the attitude of the British Government
from treating Australia as a country fit for sending only convicts.
o In course of the time, all these colonies became states, and bound by uniform legislation.
The British Parliament passed the Common Wealth of Australia Constitution Act in 1900.
o The Colonies came to be known as the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, and it consisted
of a Union and six federation units. The Federal Parliament consisted of two houses, namely
the Senate and the House of Representative.
o The Constitution clearly defined the powers of the federal government and the six states.
Thus the constitution government came into force on 1st January, 1901.
 Since the 1960s the Australian government has permitted immigrants from Asia and Africa to
settle there. It checked the interference of the British Government in its internal affairs in 1968
by serving its constitution links. Even today debates continue about its relations with the British
Government, and also about forming a Republic.
 Australia sent its contingent force to help Britain and France in the First World War, and its army
fought enemies at Gallipoli. During the Second World War, it joined the allies and fought the
Japanese in Asia – Pacific region.
 It became a close ally of the US after signing the ANZUS Pact for the purpose stemming the tide
of communist expansion in South East Asia. The Australian joined the West in its war on Terror
since 11th September, 2001.
 Today Australia is a prosperous country with 99 percent literacy, and a life expectancy of eight-
one years. It is rich in minerals (coal, copper, nickel, gold silver iron, ore, and oil) and is also the
largest producer and exporter of Uranium. It produces large quantities of wool, wheat and meat.
Imperialism and Free Trade: Rise of Neo-Imperialism

 During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the trading countries of Europe followed the
policy of mercantilism. Mercantilism implied the implementation of government rules and
regulation concerning trade matters.
o In the early phase of mercantilism, gold became the medium of exchange among countries
trading with each other. However, when the European countries colonized Latin America,
they got gold freely from countries like Mexico and Peru.
o Thus, Spain, Portugal, Britain and the Netherlands became rich. Merchants saved enough
money to start industries during the Industrial Revolution.
o With the availability of abundant natural resources, and the capital invested, the industrial
Revolution made substantial progress in Britain.
 Thereafter, the Industrial Revolution spread to other countries of Europe. The mercantilist policy
of Britain in the eighteenth century came to be very much criticized. The thirteen British colonies
vehemently opposed the mercantilist regulations, often leading to violence.

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o The outbreak of the American war of Independence was the direct outcome of this
unpopular policy followed by Britain. Political economists like Adam Smith and Davis
Ricardo urged the British Government decades later.
o The British government was compelled to give up this mercantilist policy when a famine
spread in Ireland, Robert peel’s government repealed the Corn Laws and pursued the free
trade policy. In course of time, trade rivalries intensified among the European countries.
o As competition increased, these countries found it difficult to secure raw materials for their
industries, and also find new markets for their finished goods.
o It was at this critical juncture that major European powers began to colonise Africa and Asia.
The latter supplied much of the raw materials to the former, and also provided access to
their markets.
 Hence, the nineteenth century witnessed a race for colonies of Africa and Asia. Germany was the
last European country to enter this race. It must be noted the Imperial rivalries in Africa and Asia
became one of the causes for the outbreak of World war I.
 The term ‘Imperialism’ simply means “the policy and practice of forming and maintaining an
empire”. The European powers followed this concept form the fifteenth to the seventeenth
century. Britain followed by French Portugal, Spain and Holland established trade connection
with American and Asian countries.
o Merchants and businessmen considered it important to have colonies in order to gain
immense profits. Thus, rivalry among the European powers to establish colonies and
effectively control them for their own benefits was not uncommon during those centuries.
o During the first half of the eighteenth century, several statesmen realised the futility of
establishing colonies. It was during this time that old imperialism declined very rapidly.
o France lost its colonies in North American colonies after the latter won independence
following a protracted struggle between 1776 and 1783. Spain too lost its colonies in South
America during the early nineteenth century.
o The White man’s burden became too heavy for maintaining colonial empires. In course of
time the trouble and expense of administering colonial empires outweighed any possible
benefit. In Britain, there was the prevailing sentiment that its colonies would eventually
become independent.
o Disraeli, the British Prime Minister wrote in 1852 “these wretched colonies will all be
independent in a few years and are millstones around our necks.”
o So, by the first half of the nineteenth century, the European countries seemed to be tired of
slashed new colonies In Germany too, Bismarck did not pay much attention to establishing
Colonies.
 However, during the last two decades of the nineteenth century, there occurred the glorious
revival of colonialism on the part of the Western powers. This is called ‘New Imperialism’. Many
colonial societies were established in Europe to encourage the establishment of new colonies.
o Merchants, traders, adventurers, capitalist and industrialists all liked the establishment of
colonies in Africa and Asia. In 1872 even Disraeli, who had earlier decried imperialism, began
to evince a keen interest in reviving imperialism.
o In France, two men Gambetta and Jules Ferry, came forward with some ideas about the
likely benefits an imperialist country would derive from establishing new colonies.

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o In course of time, Bismarck also bowed to the demands of his countrymen for establishing
colonies in Africa and Asia. It was realised during the last quarter of the nineteenth century
that the world was after all a small place.
 This idea became apparent after the improvements effected in the means of transport and
communication. Steam Steamships began to sail across from one continent to another. Similarly
the railways moved across desert and land.
 New inventions and weapons made it possible for the Western powers to dominate over Afro-
Asian countries which had not made much progress in these areas. The old laissez faire idea
became unpopular as time passed. The mercantilist idea became unpopular once again the
1870s witnessed the resurgence of imperialism on account of increasing competition among
rival.
 Power on one hand, and the imposition of tariffs on important goods on the other, the European
manufactures who had produced goods far in excess of their own requirements, could only think
of disposing them off in the newly established colonies.
 Thus, from all these points of view, establishment of new colonies became an important facet of
foreign policy of the industrialized countries of Europe. Also, the industrial capitalists thought in
terms of investing their surplus capital in the newly established colonies for various reasons.
o Colonies served manifold purposes. They provided raw materials for the imperialist
countries. It must be remembered that the Industrial Revolution was making rapid progress
in almost all western countries during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
o Industrial nations of the Western world required huge quantities of raw materials, not
available in their own countries, which were very much required in order to keep their
factories fully engaged.
o The Western powers naturally looked forward to establishing overseas colonies for
exploitation. For example, India provided plenty of raw materials to its colonial master,
Britain.
o When the civil war broke out in America, India started exporting cotton to British mills in
Liverpool and Manchester to keep the textile mills busy. Similarly, the imperialist powers
obtained rubber, hemp, coconuts, vegetable oils, tea, coffee, fruits, sugar, silk, petroleum,
coal, iron, copper, zinc and other goods and metals from their respective colonies.
o The industrial nations of Western Europe established new colonies which provided overseas
markets. Trade rivalries in Europe countries turned towards their respective colonies to
dispose off the excess goods manufactured.
o For example, cotton was sent from India to feed the British textile mills, and the latter in
exchanges sent their manufactured goods to Indian markets.
 Thus the western imperial powers gained two-fold profit, at the time of purchase of cheap raw
materials in the colonies and also at the time of the sale of their manufactured goods. There
came a time when the British industrialists thought in terms of investing their capital in the
colonies.
 This would bring about more profits than what they could have imagined. However, the
industrial capitalism began to grow and subsequently, it spread to the colonies also. The
industrial capitalists started investing their capital in the colonies.

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 In India, the British capitalists started building railways. Their venture brought huge profit.
Similarly other imperial powers started building railways, undertook mining and managed
communication systems and so on, in the countries of Africa and Asia.
 In 1913, Britain’s overseas investments touched twenty billion dollars. Similarly, France and
Germany invested eight billion and five billion dollars respectively in their colonies during the
same year.
 The manifold profits derived by exploiting the colonies in Africa and Asia resulted in a headlong
race for acquiring more colonies during the nineteenth century. The New Imperialism was
similar to the old in many respects.
 The motives behind acquiring colonies were “gospel, gold, and glory”. Colonial rivalries
characterized the age of the new imperialism. The imperialists did not look forward to the
establishment of colonies in the new continent.
 This time they were bent on exploiting the colonies of Africa and Asia. Thanks to the
advancement of science and technology, these western powers were able to easily defeat the
native rulers in Africa and Asia
*****

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World History (G.S.-1) Part-1

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WORLD HISTORY for G.S.-I Mains

1. Origin of Modern Politics 2-35

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1. ORIGIN OF MODERN POLITICS

The American Revolution, Civil War, US Constitution and New Deal

The Mercantilist policy

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Analysis of the Navigation Act

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 The parliament responded by:

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The War of Independence

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Peace of Paris Treaty

American Revolution significance and analysis

American Revolution led to:

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Comparison between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution

American Civil War

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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND NAPOLEON

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