Arihant Education Foundations

Arihant College of Arts Commerce and Science,

Camp, Pune – 01

HISTORY S2 (2A) ASSIGNMENT

Name of Student: Lallawmsanga Khiangte

Class: S.Y.B. A
Roll. No: FYBA 19041
Subject: GLIMPSES OF THE MODERN WORLD

Assignment name: 1. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE

FRENCH REVOLUTION
2. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF WORLD
WAR I

Guide/Teacher’s name:

Total Marks:
Received marks:

……………………………………
Teacher’s Signature
 Q.1 CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF FRENCH
REVOLUTION
The French Revolution was a major event in the history of Western societies,
and has had a profound effect on the world today. Beginning in 1789, the
French Revolution saw the French people overthrow their absolute monarchy
and bring about a republic that was based on the principles of equality, liberty
and fraternity. In general, historians agree on several different causes of the
French Revolution, including: the history of the estates-system, resentment
towards the absolute monarchy of Louis XVI, the impact of the Age of
Enlightenment, the weather conditions before 1789 and the economic crisis
that France faced under Louis XVI.

1) Enlightment
The ideals of liberty and equality, that were needed to overthrow Louis XVI,
emerged first from the writings of important and influential thinkers of the Age
of Enlightenment. Specifically, the writings of John Locke, Jean-Jacques
Rousseau and Baron de Montesquieu greatly influenced the revolutionaries in
France. Each of these three Enlightenment thinkers questioned the traditional
authority of an absolute monarch and argued against the rigid class divisions of
feudalism, or the estates-system, present in France. Their questioning of
authority and the role of the government inspired the revolutionaries, and
ordinary citizens, of France.

2) Estates System
The second major cause of the French Revolution is the history of the estates
system in France. The estate to which a person belonged was very important
because it determined that person’s rights, obligations and status. Usually a
person remained in one estate for his or her lifetime, and any movement from
upwards in the estate system could take many generations. This is the period
before the French Revolution and is a time known as the Ancient Regime.
 The First Estate was made up of the Roman Catholic. The clergy included
people such as: monks, nuns, parish priests and bishops. The clergy was
divided in that the higher church positions, like bishops, were held by members
of the nobility, while positions in lower clergy were often held by members of
the peasant class. The Church had many privileges, including the collection of
tithes. Tithes are one-tenth of a person’s income which is formally taken in
support of the church and clergy. Also, the Church did not pay land taxes, even
though it owned about 6% of the land and was very wealthy.

The Second Estate consisted of the French nobility, which numbered about
400,000 people. The nobles owned about 20% of the land and had many
feudal privileges. For example, they were exempt from paying many taxes and
were allowed to collect dues from the peasants. The nobility occupied most of
the powerful positions in the army, Church and government.

All other people in France, about 98% of the population belonged to the Third
Estate. This group included: merchants, lawyers, poor labourers, and ordinary
peasants. They paid most of the taxes collected by the government but were
generally looked down upon by the nobility. They resented the power of the
Church and the nobility.

3) ABSOLUTE MONARCHISM OF KING

LOUIS XVI
The next major cause of the French Revolution was the absolute
monarchy of Louis XVI and resentment that French citizens felt towards the
authority of the king. An absolute monarchy is a form of government that
involved society being ruled over by an all-powerful king or queen. The
monarch had complete control over all aspects of the society, including:
political power, economics, and all forms of authority. The monarch was able
to maintain absolute control over the society with the addition of feudalism,
which involved people being placed into different estates of power, such as:
clergy, nobility and peasants.
 4) WEATHER CONDITIONS

The fourth major cause of the French Revolution was the impact that weather
conditions had on the French crops in the years immediately before the
outbreak of the revolution. More specifically, in the decade before the
outbreak of the revolution France experienced drastic shifts in the weather
that negatively affected the food production of the country. For example, on
the 8th of June in 1783 the Laki volcano in Iceland erupted and sent ash high
into the atmosphere which spread across the skies of Europe. As a result, the
winter of 1784 was severe in Europe and the following summers included
extreme droughts that caused poor harvests and famine. All of these hardships
were felt the most by the poorest in French society. The peasant class of
France worked the fields and depended on the production of yearly grain
harvests for their subsistence. After nearly a decade of dramatic weather and
poor harvests, the peasants were suffering to survive day-to-day life in France.

The final cause of the French Revolution was the economic crisis that France
was facing in 1789. Throughout the 1700’s France participated in a series of
expensive wars, especially against Britain, its long-time rival. For example,
during the American War of Independence against Britain, France allied itself
with the United States and helped support the American war efforts. France’s
support of the war was expensive and caused the country to push itself into
bankruptcy. This action by Louis XVI proved costly, as his decision to assist in
the war would eventually cause him to face a financial crisis in his own
country. As France slipped into crisis, Louis XVI tried to solve the country’s
financial woes by forcing increased tax rates on the citizens, including new
taxes for the nobility. However, Louis XVI did not anticipate the consequences
of this decision as the French nobility worked to block his plans and the third
estate’s anger with the absolute monarchy of the king grew more intense.
 CONSEQUENCES
(a) Feudalism was destroyed and all the laws of the Old Regime were cancelled.

(b) The lands of the Church and the nobles were confiscated and these were
bought by the middle classes who now became politically powerful.

(c) All privileged classes were abolished.

(d) Capitalism became the new economic system.

(e) The word 'nation' was given a new meaning which stressed on the people
being the source of all power and authority. The nation was sovereign and no
foreign power had authority to interfere in its internal matters.

(f) The Jacobins gave to all, the right to vote and to revolt, and to have their
grievances settled.

(g) Slavery was abolished in all French colonies.

(h) In 1792, all non-propertied classes (workers, peasants, artisans) were given
equal political rights.

(i) The ideas of social equality and socialism became popular

 Q2. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF WORLD WAR I

World War I, also known as the Great War, was an international War
fought between the forces of the Triple Alliance and the Central powers in
1914. It was the First war of this magnitude, and it left a lasting impression on
the pages of human history.

Some of the immediate causes of the First World War are:

1) The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

On June 28, 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was
assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. Ferdinand was chosen as a target
because he was to be the heir of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On
the day of his assassination, the Archduke travelled to Sarajevo to
inspect imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, former
Ottoman territories acquired by Austria-Hungary in 1908. While
Ferdinand was traveling in an open car in Sarajevo, Princip fired into
the car, shooting Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. Following the
assassination, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, which
was rejected and led Austria-Hungary to declare war against Serbia,
with German support. Russia then came to Serbia’s defence,
therefore initiating the First World War.
2) Germany Millenarianism – Spirit of 1914
Millenarianism is a belief held by a religious, political or social group
or movement that a coming major transformation will occur, after
which all things will be changed. For Germany, leading into World
War I, historians report that the Spirit of 1914 was high, with support
from the German population for participation in the war. The
German government believed that the onset of war and its support
of Austria-Hungary was a way to secure its place as a leading power,
which was supported by public nationalism and further united it
behind the monarchy. The success Germans saw in the opening
battles of WWI provided a platform for the German government to
position itself as able to accomplish more when unified and
nationalistic. However, this millenarianism was short-lived, as
Germany was unprepared to fight the long war, which took a
dramatic and demoralizing toll on its people and later set the stage
for the rise of the Third Reich, less than two decades later.

3) The Blank Check Assurance: Conspired Plans of

Germany and Austria-Hungary
The alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary at the start of
World War I is also commonly known as the “blank check assurance.”
In July 1914, during a meeting between members of the Austrian
Foreign Ministry, the Ambassador to Berlin, the German Emperor
and the German Chancellor, Germany offered Austria-Hungary
unconditional support in the wake of the assassination of Franz
Ferdinand. This “blank check,” via unconditional support, sought
military and political triumph in securing the Balkans. It also gave
Austro-Hungarian leaders the confidence needed to embark on war
against Serbia. Today, historians regard it as one of the most
controversial decisions in the history of modern warfare, particularly
because Germany failed to withdraw the unconditional support
when given the opportunity. It is also widely recognized as one of the
main reasons Germany is seen as responsible for the escalation and
continuation of World War I.
 4) European Expansionism
In the 1900s, several European nations had empires across the globe,
where they had control over vast swaths of lands. Prior to World War
I, the British and French Empires were the world’s most powerful,
colonizing regions like India, modern-day Vietnam and West and
North Africa. The expansion of European nations as empires (also
known as imperialism) can be seen as a key cause of World War I,
because as countries like Britain and France expanded their empires,
it resulted in increased tensions among European countries. The
tensions were a result of many colonies often being acquired
through coercion. Then, once a nation had been conquered, it was
governed by the imperial nation: many of these colonial nations
were exploited by their mother countries, and dissatisfaction and
resentment was commonplace. As British and French expansionism
continued, tensions rose between opposing empires, including
Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, leading to the
creation of the Allied Powers (Britain and France) and Central Powers
(Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire) during World
War I.
 CONSEQUENCES OF WORLD WAR I
World War I caused more damage than any other war before it. 9
million soldiers and as many civilians died in the war. Germany and
Russia suffered most, both countries lost almost two million men
in battle.
Large sections of land, especially in France and Belgium, were
completely destroyed. Fighting laid buildings, bridges and railroad
lines in ruins. Chemicals and gun shells made farming
land unusable for years to come.

1) Economic consequences
World War I cost the participating countries a lot of money. Germany
and Great Britain spent about 60% of the money
their economy produced. Countries had to raise taxes and borrow
money from their citizens. They also printed money in order to
buy weapons and other things they needed for war. This led
to inflation after the war.

2) Political Consequences
World War I brought an end to four monarchies: Czar Nicholas II of
Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, Emperor Charles of Austria and
the sultan of the Ottoman Empire had to step down.

3) Social Consequences
World War I changed society completely. Birth rates went down
because millions of young men died. Civilians lost their homes
and fled to other countries.
The role of women also changed. They played a major part
in replacing men in factories and offices. Many countries gave
women more rights after the war had ended, including the right to
vote.
The upper classes lost their leading role in society. Young middle and
lower class men and women demanded a say in forming their
country after the war.