Democratic And Nationalist Revolutions 19th Centaury

• Democratic and nationalist movements assumed that a nation has an allthe above.

Explanation: At the beginning of the chapter, in the first passage, it has been stated – “ The democratic and nationalist movements sought to establish powerful states which were based on the active participation of citizens who felt that they shared a common history, culture, and economic life.” Thus, it is safe to say that ‘all of the above’ is the correct option for the given blank.

• Jacobin clubs were established in different countries by peasants.

Explanation: Jacobin clubs were established as a refuge for the radical democracy thinkers. The city poor and the peasants were the ones responsible for bringing about the Revolution and under the Jacobin constitution, all people were given the right to vote and the right of insurrection. This leads us to the answer that it was the peasants who established these clubs not only as a refuge but also to spread their views and political ideologies.

• During the mid-18th century the land was owned by aristocrats and cultivated by tenants.

Explanation: Mid-18^th Century saw several peasant revolts. This was a direct result of food shortages and widespread unemployment. Food shortages, in turn, resulted because of the hoarding practices by the landed gentry who would rent out their holdings in lieu of food supply leaving only a small amount for consumption and sale by the actual farmers and peasants of the land.

Mid-eighteenth-century Europe saw discontent with the aristocracy and clergy's monopoly on political power in France which led to the French Revolution and the ultimately to the establishment of nation states. Prior to this Eastern and Central Europe were under autocratic monarchies within the territories of which lived diverse peoples. Their language, ethnicity, and trade practices all differed and this often led to discrimination and oppression. The Habsburg Empire that ruled over Austria-Hungary, for example, was a patchwork of many different regions and peoples. It included the Alpine regions – the Tyrol, Austria and the Sudetenland - and Bohemia, where the aristocracy was predominantly German-speaking. It also included the Italian- speaking provinces of Lombardy and Venetia. There also lived within the boundaries of the empire, a mass of the subject, peasant peoples – who were again of different ethnicity. The aristocracy, though small in numbers were the land owners and often had more social and political importance. The majority of the population were the peasant classes who were tenants, and very few were small owners of the land. The towns did have an existing business class, but they grew in number and economic power only after the Industrial Revolution and in the early 19th century. It was among this educated working middle-class population that the concept of nation-state first came into being as they wanted the abolishment of aristocratic privileges and national unity.

A nation-state was one in which the majority of its citizens came to develop a sense of common identity and shared history. This commonness was forged through struggles, through the actions of leaders and the common people. The concept of nation states came into being after the French Revolution which saw a transfer of the ruling powers from the monarchy to the citizens. This reduced the hold of the aristocracy over common people to a great extent. In the past, the aristocracy which ruled the common people often turned out to be despotic which caused impoverishment among the citizens under their rule. It often led to shortages in the food supply, lack of proper earning opportunities, taxes which led to impoverishment and overall lowering in the standard of living for the general masses. This led to revolts and rose in demand for sovereignty. These revolts were often successful in removing the oppressive monarchy leading to declining of their dominance.

Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist who aimed for the unification of Italy and lead the Italian revolutionary movement. For the purpose of this answer, we take into consideration Mahatma Gandhi who was also an Indian nationalist and lead the civil disobedience movement in India against the British rulers.

Conversation:

Gandhi – My turning point in life had been the prejudice faced by myself in South Africa owing to my skin colour and country of origin which led me to question the Indian peoples’ standing in the British empire. What can be considered as your turning point?

Mazzini - At the age of sixteen when I was walking one Sunday with my mother, we were stopped by a man who was asking for alms for the refugees of Italy. The scene made a tremendous impression on my mind, and for the first time I felt that the cause of freedom was not a scholastic subject, but one demanding the height of sacrifice.

Gandhi – I was inspired by your young Europe of 1834 to start my Young India Movement. What will you say is the basic principles of the movement?

Mazzini – My La Giovan Europa is an association of men believing in the future of liberty, equality, a fraternity for all mankind.

Gandhi – I have an inherent faith in God. But I am opposed to all forms of sectarianism. Would you agree with this?

Mazzini – of course, I believe in God. My sociology, ethics and political philosophy, as mirrored in my life and writings.... are all derived from my intense religious psychology which hungered and thirsted after righteousness, which could not brook, injustice, inhumanity, and slavery anywhere. In my ‘Duties of man,’ I have shown that every man must learn how to rule himself. How have been able to incorporate this into your philosophy?

Gandhi – I feel that political freedom from British rule is not an end but a necessary step in the entire development of men.

Mazzini and Gandhi despite their similarities in their political thought process had one very distinctive dissimilarity. Mazzini envisaged a strong centralized and Republic Italy opposing decentralization and federalism. But Gandhiji wanted more and more decentralization of power. Though Mazzini’s dream was thwarted with the advent of Italian monarchy in 1870. Like Mazzini, Gandhiji’s dream of Indian unity was defeated with partitioned in 1947, that giving birth to India and Pakistan.

Sentences that describe conservatives are as follows:

a) Conservatives believed that established, traditional institutions of state and society – like the monarchy, the Church, social hierarchies, property, and the family – should be preserved.

b) According to the chapter conservatives also believed that – ‘A modern army, an

efficient bureaucracy, a dynamic economy, the abolition of feudalism and serfdom could strengthen the autocratic monarchies of Europe.

c) Nationalist sentiments were often mobilised by conservatives for promoting state power and achieving political domination over Europe.

In contemporary India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the largest right-wing conservative party and promotes Hindu nationalism.

Sentences that describe liberals are as follows:

a) Nineteenth-century liberals also stressed the inviolability of private property.

b) The memory of the French Revolution nonetheless continued to inspire liberals. One of the major issues taken up by the liberal-nationalists, who criticised the new conservative order, was freedom of the press.

In contemporary India, Swatantra Party (1959 – 1973), Lok Satta Party (2006 - ) are some of the political entities that support liberal viewpoints.

The various national movements carried out by the educated middle classes of Europe along with the revolts brought about by the poor, unemployed and starving peasants and workers is known as 1848, Revolution of Liberals. The revolution originated in France where the then current monarchy led by Louis Philippe faced numerous oppositions and ultimately had to flee to London. This brought about the end of monarchy in France and the establishment of a republic based on the universal male franchise. In various other European countries like Germany, Italy, Poland, etc, the revolution was carried forth by the liberal middle classes who demanded the creation nation-states based on parliamentary principles. For e.g., in Germany, this was done through the convening of the Frankfurt Parliament through which the German people tried to unite the different regions of the German confederation into a nation-state governed by an elected parliament. But the monarchy and the military with the aid of the large landowners called Junkars of Prussia thwarted this attempt of nation building. This pattern was repeated in various countries, but the old monarchy realised that to stop the cycle of revolution and repression, concessions had to be made to the liberal-nationalist revolutionaries.

Democratic ideals formed the basis of the political, social and economic ideas supported by the liberals.

• On the political front, the liberals demanded constitutionalism with national unification—a nation-state with a written constitution and parliamentary administration.

• Socially they demanded equality among classes.

• Economically, the focus was on the right to property. They wanted the abolishment of serfdom and bonded labour.

These ideals formed the basis of the establishment of the nation-states as democratic countries.

• With widespread nationalist feelings among the middle-class Germans, the first major step towards the unification of Germany was taken in 1848. This was done through the convening of the Frankfurt Parliament through which the German people tried to unite the different regions of the German confederation into a nation-state governed by an elected parliament. But the monarchy and the military with the aid of the large landowners called Junkars of Prussia thwarted this attempt of nation-building.

• After this failed attempt, the process of unification of Germany was taken up by Prussia, whose Prime Minister, Otto von Bismarck was the main architect of the process. He was aided by the Prussian bureaucracy and the military in his effort.

• Bismarck’s main objective was to unify Germany, and he believed that this could only be done through military power and not by the common people. This led to three wars over seven years against Austria, Denmark, and France.

• The wars ended with Prussian victory and led to the unification of the German Confederation.

• The process of unification ended in January 1871, when the Prussian king William I was crowned the German emperor in a ceremony at Versailles.