NATIONALISM IN EUROPE

UNIFICATIONS
Q1 Briefly trace the unification of the Italy.

(i) Italy a fragmented State: During the middle of the nineteenth century, Italy
was divided into seven states, of which only one, Sardinia- Piedmont, was ruled by
an Italian princely house.

(ii) Role of Giuseppe Mazzini: He was the leader of the Republican party. While in
exile in 1831, he founded a new association called the Young Italy. It was a secret
society which was formed to bring about the regeneration of Italy through
education.

(iii) Role of Cavour : Cavour became the Chief Minister of Piedmont in 1852. His
main aim was to affect the emancipation of Italy from Austria. Through a tactful
diplomatic alliance with France, he succeeded in defeating the Austrian forces in
1859.

(iv) Role of Giuseppe Garibaldi : Garibaldi was the hero of Red Shirts,
revolutionary movement. In 1860, he marched into South Italy and the kingdom of
two Sicilies, and succeeded in winning the support of the local peasants in order to
drive out the Spanish rulers.

(v) Victor Emmanuel II: In 1861, the first Italian Parliament representing the
whole of Italy except Rome and Venetia, assembled in Turin which formally
conferred upon Victor Emmanuel II, the title of the 'King of Italy'.

Q2 Explain the unification of Germany.

Ans. (i) Frankfurt Parliament 1848: The Frankfurt Parliament tried its best for
the unification of Germany under the leadership of King Wilhelm IV of Prussia, but
it failed.

(ii) Unification under the leadership of Prussia: Prussia took on the leadership of
the Movement for national unification. Its Chief Minister, Otto Von Bismarck, was
the architect of the process, and carried out the movement for national unification
with the help of the Prussian army and the bureaucracy.

(iii) Role of Bismarck: Bismarck was one of the greatest sons of Prussia who
accomplished the supreme task of the unification of Germany with the help of the
army bureaucracy. He was convinced that the unification of Germany could be
achieved only by the Princes, and not by the people. He wanted to achieve his aim
by not merging Prussia into Germany but rather, by expanding Prussia into
Germany.

iv) Three Wars: Bismarck's object of unifying Germany was accomplished by three
wars, which were fought during a brief period of seven years (1864 – 1870).

(v) Final unification of Germany : The above wars ended in Prussian victory and
helped in completing the process of unification. On January 18, 1871, in the Royal
Palace of Versailles, the King of Prussia was crowned as the German Emperor and
the ceremony symbolised in the eyes of the world, the newly born unity of the
German people.
Q3 Describe in brief the process by which the British nation came into
existence.
Answer: (i) Economic Prosperity: The industrial revolution helped in the
economic prosperity of the English nation. With the help of trade and wealth, it
succeeded in extending its influence over other nations of the Island.

(ii) Role of Parliament: The English Parliament, which had seized power from the
monarchy in 1688 at the end of a protracted conflict, was the instrument through
which a nation-state, with England at its centre, came to be forged.

(iii) The Act of Union: The Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland
resulted in the formation of the United Kingdom.

(iv) Incorporation of Ireland into the United Kingdom: Ireland was forcibly
incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801 under the Act of Union, 1801.

(v) National Symbols: A new 'British nation' was forged through the propagation of
a dominant English culture. The symbols of the new Britain—the British flag
(Union Jack), the national anthem (God Save Our Noble King), the English
language-were actively promoted and the older nations survived only as
subordinate partners in this union.

Q4 Why did nationalist tensions emerge in the Balkans?

Ans: Following are the points of nationalist tensions emerge in the Balkans:
1.Balkan region: The Balkans was a region of geographical and ethnic variation
comprising modern-day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro whose inhabitants were
broadly known as the Slavs. A large part of the Balkans was under the control of the
Ottoman Empire.
2.Tensions with nationalism emerged in the Balkans since the idea of romantic
nationalism spread. The Ottoman Empire used to rule over this area.
3.Various Salvic communities in the Balkans began to struggle for independent rule.
4.They wanted more territory as they were jealous of each other.
5.The imperial power in the Balkans made conditions worse.
6.England, Germany, Russia and Austro-Hungary wanted more control in this area.
7.This conflict led to the First World War in 1914.