SYBA-History-SEM-III-Paper-II-English-munotes

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MODULE I1RENAISSANCEUnit Structure1.0Objectives1.1Introduction1.2Meaning of Renaissance1.3Causes of Renaissance1.3.1 Rise of Intellectuals1.3.2 Discovery of Printing Press1.3.3 Patronage of Rulers, Popes and Nobles1.3.4 The Crusades1.3.5 Trade and Prosperity1.4Upsurge of Humanism1.5Renaissance Literature1.5.1 Dante1.5.2 Petrarch1.5.3 Machiavelli1.5.4 Geoffrey Chaucer1.5.5 William Shakespeare1.5.6 Erasmus1.5.7 Montaigne1.5.8 Sir Thomas More1.6Renaissance Art-Painting1.6.1 Leonardo da Vinci1.6.2 Michelangelo1.6.3 Raphael1.6.4 Other Painters1.7RenaissanceinSculpture1.8Renaissance inArchitecture1.9Renaissance in Science1.9.1 Geography and Astronomy1.9.2 Kepler1.9.3 Galileo1.9.4 Newtonmunotes.in

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1.9.5 Halley1.9.6 Chemistry and Medicine1.9.7 Mathematics1.10Summary1.11Unit EndQuestions1.0 OBJECTIVES1.To introduce the students to the modern world and modern ideas.2.To explain the causes and significance of Renaissance andHumanism.3.To illustrate the works of artists, writers and scientists duringRenaissance1.1 INTRODUCTIONThis paper is called Land marks in World History. We have to study themajor events in modernworld thataffected mankind. These events haveleft a mark on the evolution of modern politics, society, economy, religionand culture in Europe.The first significant landmark is the Renaissance.With the beginning ofRenaissance we enter the modem age ofEuropeanhistory.The earlierperiod was marred by chaos, conflict and confusion.After that life becamemore comfortable.This was possible due to political stability, education,trade and prosperity.This is where modern age begins. Though the periodchanges from country to country, the common bond between Europeanstates is the emergence of Renaissance. It is the rise of intellectualism andhumanism.In the following lesson we shall examine the causes ofRenaissance and its effect on art, architecture science and literature.1.2 MEANINGOF RENAISSANCERenaissance is the cultural movement that started in Italy in late 15thCentury. Then it spread toUnited Kingdom, France,and Germanyetc.It is one of the most important events in history because it is affected onevery aspects of human life.The literary meaning of the term renaissance is rebirth. The periodbrought about the revival of interest in Greek and Roman literature andart. The people of the times wanted to revive the culture by adding theirown ideas. They felt that ancient Greek and Roman traditions were rich incultural heritage.The medieval ideas which dominatedonthe society wereconsidered backward and were rejected by the leaders of renaissance e.g.church It controlledbythe society.Man was a slave in the hands ofmunotes.in

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religion.The renaissance put in a sense of inquiry.Thus there aroserationalism instead of dogmatism.The main theme of the movement was the ideal of Humanism.It meansthe development of human personality, regarding man as thecenterofactivity.Earliergod was thecenterof all activities and man was just acreature waiting for salvation.Artists turned attention to draw and sketchhuman beings.Therenaissancemovement produced a spirit of curiosity. Man was toldnot to accept philosophy and theology simply because hewas told to becurious about all things.He was encouraged to study more about himselfand his surroundings.The period encouraged original thinking and studyof texts including the Bible.However,the emphasis was on revival ofsecular literature.It was known that many ancient classics of Greece and Rome were lost inthe dark period.The leaders set themselves the task to rediscover, decipherand translate the texts.Thus,literature and art was wanted for the sake ofart and not for religion.There isno doubt that the movement was an urban phenomenon. It wasthe movement of classes and not masses.The leaders were intellectuals.Most of them were from the bourgeoisie class, who had some time tospend on literature and art.Though it’s a fact that the renaissance broughtin a new era and changed the entire culture, the changes were not sudden.It was a gradual process. In the height of the movement too, few acceptedthe changes.However, gradually as the ideas spread to newer lands, theyengulfed the entire human kind. Scholars agree that the modern era beganwith the renaissance.1.3 CAUSES OF THE RENAISSANCEThe renaissance originated in Italy and spread to other parts of Europe.The movement did not begin overnight.The causes of it lay in the middleages.Many believe that it started in 1453, whenAutomanTurks capturedConstantinople,afterthe fall of Constantinople, the middle class peopleincluding the scholarsof the city ran away, carrying their texts.They wentto Italy and enlightenedthe people with a sense of inquiry.This was theimmediate cause of the renaissance, but ideas were already gaining root.The event hastened the movement.Theimportantcauses are as follows.1.3.1 Rise of Intellectuals:An important feature of the middle ages was the rise of literacy. Peoplelearnt to read and write Latin and also vernacular languages.Encouragement was provided by a large number of clergy, bureaucrats,teachers,lawyers and merchants. They needed some sort of education tocarry governmentalactivities. Thereforeinthe 14th Century the schoolsmunotes.in

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were started to established. In Italy even commoners got interested inreading classics. They sent childrenforhigher education. The period sawthe emergence ofnewuniversities at Paris, Naples, Oxford, Cambridgeetc. This spread of knowledge created a new approach to thinking andlearning.1.3.2Discovery of the Printing Press:The earliest printed paper in Europe was in1454, printed on movable type.There no evidence thathow and when Europeans learnt printing. In 12thcentury designs were printed on textiles, but books were written by hand.Therefore the spread of knowledge was slow and costly.Gradually peopledeveloped the art of printing in Mainz in Germany.Soon, there was ademandfor printed books.Within years, presses were introduced all overEurope.Books were produced quickly and cheaply and in greater quantity.This was a revolution of the time.Printing made the spread of literacyeasier.This was welcomed by the renaissanceleaders as it greatlycontributed to the movement.1.3.3 Patronage of Rulers, Popes and Nobles:In the 15thcentury Italian city states came under the rule of influentialfamilies.In other states there was republican form, where ruling classescontrolled government e.g. Florence and Venice.They spent a lot inconstruction and sponsoring artistic and intellectual activities.The Medicifamily dominated the city state of Florence.They controlled Europeanfinances and made the state prosperous.Lorenzopatronizedarts.Venicewas also acenterof renaissance art, supported by its rulers. King Francisof France, Henry VIII of Englandpatronizedscholars and invited them tothe court. Popes encouraged the revival of Greek and Roman classics.Pope NicholasV, asked for classics, for whatever price. He gathered aband of writers, for the job, of translating and composing texts.Hecollected about 5000 classics.All books were to be copied, according tohim.He even encouraged religious literature.Pope LeoX was a lover ofclassical art and literature and donated funds topatronizeactivities.1.3.4 The Crusades:The Crusades were expeditions of Christians, to reconquer the lost areasfrom infidels.The first crusade was launched in 1088 by Pope Urban.There were 7 more major and some minor crusades.The purpose was totake back Palestine from the Muslims.It was the land where Christ livedand died.The Crusades failed in their religious purpose, but brought ingreat effects in culture and economic life of Europe.They encouragedtrade and commerce,which made Italian state prosperous.There wascontact with the Arab world. Scholars could bring back many texts whichwere lost, since the Roman Kingdom ended.They translated Greek andArab writings.Peoplediscovered Aristotle’s classics and discussed hisviews. This encouraged a new era in learning.This contact with the newmunotes.in

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world brought in new ideas and gave an impetus to Renaissance.Similarly, geographical discoveries brought in a change in the outlook ofEuropeans.They developed a spirit of adventure spirit which encouragedthe rise of Renaissance.1.3.5Trade and Prosperity:Since the 11thCentury, theydeveloped trade and commercial relationswith other areas.Thus there was a changed of economyfrom agricultureto commerce.Secondly due totradeandcommercepeopleshiftedfromruraltourbantowns.As long as economic life remained static, there wasno Renaissance.As economic life became better there was an upsurge ofart and literature.Prosperity was the cause.Trade and prosperity broughtleisure.In agricultural economy man is throughout busy.He has no timeand energy to appreciate art.But with the change of economy people gotmore money,which they could spend onpatronizingrenaissance art andliterature.1.4UPSURGE OF HUMANISMThe most consistent ideal of renaissance was humanism, which meant thedevelopment of human personality.Humanists were those people whobelieved in the idea.They cultivated the use of classical Latin and Greekand searched ancient manuscripts of it.They felt that ancient Greekwashumanists.This was against the prevailing system.Greeks had made manas thecenter.There was hardly any emphasis on God.As against this theMiddle Ageswere called Age of Faith,where God was glorified.Humanism in the Renaissanceperiodwas an intellectual movement.Humanists were scholars who studied subjects which would developman’s personality e.g. literature, philosophy.Old classics contained thesubjects, but they werein ancient languages.So the humanists first studiedLatin.They studied history to understand more.They then tried to searchfor more material.They went to various libraries to search manuscripts.They collected ancient coins, statues.They were eitherteachers, orclergymen or tutors of princes.Already since late 14thcentury Italian humanists had visitedConstantinople to learn Greek language manuscripts.Verona, a humanistreturned with 50 manuscripts.There were others who brought manyclassics.In fact the Popes encouraged the import of Greek literature.Humanists even tried to apply humanist methods to the study ofChristianity, by editing texts on whichChristianitywas based-Bible,Letters of St. Paul, Augustine and other saints.The mostimportant humanist of the Renaissance was Francesco Petrarch.He wrote in Latin and Italian. He wrote some of the best love lyrics, but ismunotes.in

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more known for his epics.He had searched from manuscripts and foundone of Homer, but could not read as it was inGreek.Petrarch came from a middle class family.He wascriticizedfor hisinterest in classics.His parents forced him to study law.But after hisparents died he was free to search for lost knowledge. His Sonnets on hislady love Laura are famous.He expressed his feelings in the poems.Heappreciated her physical beauty.This would be a sin in middle ages.Evenin those times he sometimes worried about his own salvation for his socalled sinful poems.Bocaccio studied classical literature.He wrote acollection of storiescalled Decameron.He tried to describe human feelings and situationswhich could happen to common people.Humanism was evident in the works of painters and sculptors also.Whileearlier artists concentrated on religious theories, renaissance artists wantedtoportraypeople.Erasmus and Thomas Mare were Christian humanists.Erasmus was aware of evils in the church. Hecriticizedthose in his “ThePraise of Folly”. He questioned the morality of priests. He also said thatChristianity of the day was full of rituals and not of true spirit.ThomasMore was beheaded for objecting to Henry VIII’s divorce and not sayingthat Pope was above the king. In his ‘Utopia’, he attacked church evils.Thus the renaissance left an intellectual andartistic heritage. Since thetimes scholars have used renaissance methods of humanism.Check Your Progress:1.What were the major causesresponsiblefor the renaissance in Europe?1.5RENAISSANCEINLITERATURERenaissance literature reflected the spirit of humanism and secularism. Itwas written in local languages.While Italy was the home of famouswriters, typical renaissance literature was produced in France, UK, Spainand Germany.Interest in scientific study of languages emerged. Scientificdictionaries were prepared.There was a comparative study of philology.As said earlier literature revolved around human activities.munotes.in

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The main writers of the periodwere:-1.5.1 Dante:Dante was born in Florence. He was a renaissance poet.His collection of31 poems, ‘The New Life’, described his love to Beatrice.He is known forhis epic poem ‘The Divine Comedy’.It focuses on the theme of life afterdeath.It can also be a summary of medieval thought.He had a tremendousinfluence on later writers. Besides, these he has composed a number ofother works.1.5.2 Petrarch:Petrarch was also from Italy.He had written sonnets of love. He wasdeeply in awe of ancient writer Cicero. To spread interest in classicalliterature he toured widely.Petrarch wrote about 400 poems on LadyLaura.One is not sure whether she wasanimaginary figure or really lived.Poems describe the beauty of Laura.Petrarch goes on admiring thephysical prettiness of Laura.His poems describe human hopes andaspirations.1.5.3 Machiavelli:Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat.He is called the father of modernpolitical science and is the most famous political thinker of renaissance.He was a government official. In his duty he came across various crucialsituations.He gave a framework of an ideal state-that which is united,strong and peaceful. Machiavelli is famous for his book ‘The Prince’written in 1513.The book describes how an ideal ruler should behave invarious circumstances.He describes the things aking shouldpossess.Hegives ideas,about an ideal army, bureaucracy and state government.Machiavelli gives a perfect understanding of diplomacy.1.5.4 Geoffrey Chaucer:Geoffrey Chaucer was a great English poet.His ‘Canterbury Tales’ isgroup of stories, which made him popular.In this hecriticizedchurchabuses, in a satirical manner.In his tales he discusses social issues likemarriage, domestic harmony etc. Due to his excessive travel, Chaucer wasinfluenced by French and Italian writers.He read Latin classics andtheology.His famous romantic poem is ‘Troilus and Criseyde’.Here heexplored the beauty of love and the mystery of fortune.1.5.5 William Shakespeare:William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright-considered tobe thebest dramatist.He wrote 37 plays-comedies, tragedies andhistories. In these he wrote about social issues, including people of allwalks of life. Antony and Cleopatra, Othello, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Asmunotes.in

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you like it, 12th Night, Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet etc. are hispopular plays.He has written 2 long poems.He had composed a sequenceof 154 sonnets.1.5.6 Erasmus:Erasmus was a Dutch priest.Herealizedthe drawbacks in religion andsought to reform the church.Earlier he supported Martin Luther in hiscriticism.But later, when herealizedthat Luther wanted a separate church,hedid not support Luther.Hewanteda united Christian population.Hewrotephilosophyof Christ,where he stressed piety, morality anddedication to truth.He wrote New Testament in Greek which was notavailable earlier.1.5.7 Montaigne:Montaigne was a France essayist; a typical renaissance writer.For himeverything that concerned man was important.He wrote 107 essays, whichshow his independent mind and judgment.1.5.8 Sir Thomas More:Sir Thomas More was an English author and statesman.He served as LordChancellor, the highest judicial officer.But he resigned since he objectedto King Henry VIII’s plan to divorce the queen.He was beheaded in 1535for refusing to accept the King as the head of the church.He was a patronof arts.He wrote Utopia, about his dream of ideal society where justiceand equality would prevail.The renaissance has produced many writers of great fame like EdmundSpencer, Boccaccio, Juan Boscan,Cervantes, Rabelais, Martin Luther,Francis Bacon, Milton etc.The renaissance produced literature in all areas-drama, essays, stories,politics, religion, ethics, history and fantasy.There is no doubt that it hadrevived interest in classical literature. But literary activity was not limitedto classical style.There was a tendency to break away from Greek andLatin and seek expression in vernacular languages.This brought aboutdevelopment of national literature,and national politics.Religiousliterature tried to reach the masses with propaganda.Check Your Progress:1.Give an account of the renaissance literature?munotes.in

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1.6 RENAISSANCEINART-PAINTINGIn the renaissance period specific progress was made in art andarchitecture.Art was an aspect of renaissance and it was a reflection of theperiod in which it was produced.In the middle ages, art was dominated bythe church.Since there was a dogmatic approach, artists had littlefreedom.Therefore art tended to be hard,conventional and grotesque. Itwas the spirit of humanism that brought a simpler and restrained form,which was an adoption of classical art form.Artistic revival in Italy began with Giotto.He had a sense ofhumorandlove for realism.He combined secular and religious themes in hispaintings. Since paintings of classical days were few, renaissance paintershad an opportunity to be original.The renaissance produced the followinggreat painters.1.6.1 Leonardo da Vinci:Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest painters.Besides he was a poet,artist, musician and engineer.He also studied anatomy, botany, geologyand astronomy.Leonardo studied painting underVerrocchio.He then builthis studio in Florence.Of the many paintings he finished, 4 arerecognizedas masterpiecesMona Lisa, has a mysterious smile.The painting has norival in its beauty of posture, grace and background.The ‘Last Supper’ isextremely beautiful. Christ surrounded by 12 apostles, announced that oneof them would betray Him.His face is serene, but the psychological effecton other faces is noteworthy.The Virgin of the Rocks and the Virgin andchild with St. Anne are also masterpieces of the world.In 16thcentury-Rome became thecenterof Italian painting.The Popesspent large sums to make Rome glorious.Raphael and Michelangeloworked in Rome.Their style is called High Renaissance, combiningearlier art with Roman realism.1.6.2 Michelangelo:Michelangelo was also an genius-a painter, an architect, sculptor, poetand engineer.He studied anatomy and physiology.His pictures havestrong emotions, a sense of grandeur and power.The Popes invited him todecorate Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.The frescoes show 9 scenes fromOld Testament, 3 of God creating the world, 3of Adam and Eve and 3 ofNoah and the Flood.These are surrounded by 12 huge, prophets.Mostwell-knownof these is The Creation of Adam-God moving on a cloudand raising his arm to Adam to receive the spark of life.Michelangelo alsopaintedThe Last Judgment on the entire ceiling.Others includeCrucifixion of St. Peter and Conversion of St. Paul.munotes.in

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1.6.3 Raphael:Raphael was an influential Italian painter.His grace and skill areremembered till today.He painted frescoes of historical and mythologicalscenes and portraits.He was invited by Pope Julius II to work in Rome.He painted Marriage of the Virgin, Sistine Madonna, School of Athensand others.1.6.4Other Painters:Venice was the secondcenterfor art in 16th century.Venice was acommercialcenterand had contact with East.So we find influence ofEastern art, special fascination for colour.Venetian painters mastered inoil paintingGeorgina, and Titianwasfamous oil painting artists.Jar Van Eyck was a Flemish style painter.Rembrandtwas Dutch artist.Hehas 600 painting works, 300etching and 1400 drawing.The rangeincludes landscapes, nudes, portraits, animals, birds as his subjects.ElGreco, Holbies and Durer were other renaissance painters.1.7RENAISSANCEIN SCULPTURESculpture is associated with architecture. Effect of renaissance could beseen on sculpture.Itwasdueto ancient monuments in Italy.Archaeological discoveries, of 15thcentury encouraged sculpture. Medicifamily promoted it.Humanism in sculpture began withNicola Pisano and his San Giovanni in13thcentury.But in 15thcentury therearose agreat sculptor calledLorenzo Ghiberti.He carved doors for the Baptistery of Florence.Theywere grand and beautiful.Donatello:Donatello of 14th century was a greatRenaissance sculptor. He producedstatue of David, which was a theological subject, but the approach wasrenaissance.With it he revived nude figures.It was first nude after Romanart. He also decorated churches in Florence.Michelangelo was awell-knownsculptor too.The Medici familypatronizedhim. He sculptured tomb of Lorenzo Medici. He is known forthe emotional feelings on his statues.His statue of David is a masterpiece.Michelangelo carved 3 statues inSistineceiling.The 16thcentury sculptorcopied Roman styles.Renaissance sculptor was found outside Italy.Sculptors were called to UK and France.munotes.in

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1.8RENAISSANCE INARCHITECTUREArchitecture of renaissance style originated in Florence in 15thcentury.There was a trend towards classical style.The Gothic style which wasChristian was discarded.Instead the arches domes and columns of Greekand Rome models were adopted.In Italy Gothic was not very popular.Rome becamecenterfor the new style.Brunelleschiaroused interest in remains of structures in 14thcentury.Hepointed the virtues of classical art.He did his project of the dome ofcathedral of Florence.Besides he designed many other structures.Albertiwrote a book on renaissance architecture.He designed church of SantaMaria Novella in Florence.However the greatest project of renaissancewas the St. Peter’s church in Rome.The work began in 1506 and wascompleted in late 17thcentury.The huge dome was designed byMichelangelo.Nine otherarchitectsworked till it ended.The renaissancearchitecture spread to France, UK and Spain by 16thcentury.1.9 RENAISSANCEIN SCIENCEScience had made some progress inmiddleAges but the spirit of modernscience was born with the renaissance.In middle ages therewererestrictionson every aspect.Church opposed scientists, Superstitions werecommon and to masses they were more acceptable than scientificexplanations.Physicians were looked down upon as atheists.Renaissancebrought interest in things pertaining to man.The main cause for the beginning of progress in science was the loss ofreligious monopoly on man’s intellect.The ProtestantReformationchallengedtheauthorityof the church and encouraged personalexpression.The rise of national state with stable society aided the progressof science.The discovery of new lands brought new ideas from unknownpeople.Science of the 16thcentury made effective protest against existingscientific method.Francis said that classical conclusions did not representmature nature.Descartes questioned the knowledge of ancient world.Wegive the idea of doubt and doubt is the fore runner of new age.1.9.1 Geography and Astronomy:Discovery of new lands proved that some ideas were wrong.It was provedthat theologians spread incorrect ideasVoyages of discovery revealed anew earth.There was hardly any progress done since the theory ofPtolemy in 2nd century.The theory was challenged by Copernicus in 15thCentury.He said that the sun was thecenterof universe and the earthrevolved round and the sun.Copernicus’ theory was revolutionary becausemunotes.in

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it challenged the church.He was afraid of the Pope, due to religious holdon the people.1.9.2 Kepler:Kepler gave mathematical laws to support Copernicus.He said thatplanets revolve inellipticalpaths.Both Catholics and Protestantscondemned the theory.It was put on Papal Index and Luther called it ascontradictory to Holy Scriptures.1.9.3 Galileo:Galileo brought fresh evidence by inventing the telescope.Throughexperimentation he discovered principles of mechanics.He saw mountainson the moon and rings round Saturn. He said that world was controlled bymechanical order. He was punished to death for saying heretic things.1.9.4Newton:Newton concluded that movements of all things are controlled bygravitation.This he wrote in his book ‘Principia’.His studies in lenses andprisms laid the foundation for the study of optics.1.9.5Halley:Halley predicted the appearance of the Comet that now bears his name.He shattered the old belief that comets brought disaster.With the newastronomical knowledge the Julian calendar was reformed in 1582 byPope Gregory XIII.The calendar was moved back 10 days and extra leapyear day was omitted from centenary years, except those which weremultiples of 400.This calendar is adopted by most countries.1.9.6Chemistry and Medicine:Halley brought interest in these subjects.Works of Hippocrates and Galenwere revived.Vesalius wrote his work on anatomy.He corrected mistakesof earlier scholars.He gave details of skeleton, veins and arteries,digestive and reproduction systems, lungs and brain.Harvey discovered that blood circulates from heart to arteries and then tovein sandback to heart.Helmonddiscovered carbon dioxide andexplainedabout various gases.1.9.7Mathematics:In the field ofmath’s,west got rich heritage from east.Arabs contributedthe elements of algebra and Arabic numerals.Arithmetic and geometrycame from Greece.In 16th century proofs were needed for knowledge.Math’sprovided simple numerical data.Physics and mechanics developedmunotes.in

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due tomath’s.Gilbert and Galileo were prominent physicists. Galileomade the telescope.He also invented air thermometer and astronomicalclock. Other important machines of the period are balance for knowingweight, compass needle, the barometer, printing press, gun powder etc.All new knowledge led to the foundation of the Royal Society in Londonin 1660 and the Academy of Sciences in Paris in 1666.These societiesaimed at promoting science.Check Your Progress:Trace the development of renaissance art and architecture?1.10 SUMMARYIt is difficult to determine the exact date of modern age.This is becausedifferent nations experienced the new phase at different times.Certainsocieties becamemodernizedearlier than others.Still we can say that ingeneral, the modern age begins with the Renaissance.The main feature of the Renaissance was humanism.We have alreadyexamined the meaning of Renaissance During theperiod;all beliefs werebased on reason.If it did not appeal the mind, the idea was not accepted.As a result every idea was re-examined.Earlier society had believed insuperstitions and blind beliefs.People were told to obey, the elders andtheir thoughts.Man was not supposed to question existing knowledge.Hehad to accept it as it was.There were some scholars who refused to acceptsome ideas but they were punished for theirbehavior.The Renaissance meant that old ideas had to be doubted.If proved right,then they had to be accepted.Man was given the opportunity to test theexisting knowledge. This made man alert. It led to the discovery of newknowledge. No longer, was man convinced with what was told to him.This feature, in human beings, led toprogress.Men even questioned God and religion.In the beginning, the churchdeclared such people as heretics.Church could not tolerate any criticismagainst religion.Average man was god-fearing and was afraid to raisequestions about priests and theiractivities.But soon, it became a regularfeature, which led to Reformation.The effect of Renaissance was felt on every aspect of human life.This wasbecause humanism made man superior.Human emotions, which wereearlier hidden, were now in open.Poemson love were written, and amunotes.in

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whole lot of new literature on humanbehaviorsprang up. Dramatists andnovelists, poets, etc. wrote on human actions.William Shakespeare,Petrarch,Machiavellietc. were some of thewell-knownmen. During theRenaissance, subjects like political science, history, geography werestudied with great interest.Renaissance enlightenment influenced arts and crafts. Earlier all paintingand sculpture, was limited to theology.Artists had to depict God only.But with the emphasison humanism, painters took interest in picturingmen and women. Leonardo-da-Vinci created several masterpieces ofwhich Monalisa is world famous.It was no longer a sin to draw pictures ofwomen. Secondly, the period also witnessed nude portraits and sculptures.The period at saw the emergence of scientific knowledge.Astrotiony,mathematics,anatomy becamepopular.Severalduettistsworked in theirlaboratories to discover new ideas.This led to new inventions of machinesAll this improved human life.Discovery of medicines and progress inmedical science made man healthier.Renaissance in the true sense beustrered in the new era in history.1.11UNIT ENDQUESTIONS1.Discuss the factors that caused the renaissance in Europe.2.What do you mean by humanism?3.What was the contribution of Dante, Petrarch and Shakespearetorenaissance literature?4.Write in detail about architecture during renaissance period.5.Write short noteson:(a)Leonardo da Vinci(b)Michelangelo’sPaintings(c)Renaissance in Science*****munotes.in

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MODULE I2GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIESUnit Structure2.0Objectives2.1Introduction2.2Causes of Geographical Discoveries2.2.1Wealth of East2.2.2Fall of Constantinople in 14532.2.3European knowledge of the outside World2.2.4Advancement in Science2.2.5Religious cause2.2.6Patronage from kings2.3Various Geographical Discoveries2.3.1Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)2.3.2Vasco-da-Gama(1469-1524)2.3.3Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)2.3.4Other explorers2.4Consequences of Geographical Discoveries2.4.1Colonization2.4.2CommercialRevolution2.4.3 Rise of Imperialistic Rivalries2.4.4Growth ofMonarchy2.4.5Spread of Christianity2.4.6Cultural effects2.5Summary2.6Unit EndQuestions2.0OBJECTIVESThisunitwill enable you1.To understand the meaning and causes ofGeographicalDiscoveries.2.To study about various voyages undertaken by major explorers.3.To get a knowledge as to how European countries claimed new lands.4.Toanalyzethe consequences of the discoveries.munotes.in

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2.1 INTRODUCTIONIn the last unit of Renaissance, we have studied about new ideas thatgripped mankind. There was a spirit of inquiry. Man wanted to knowmore about the world. People had heard about the Eastern nations. They,however did not have details, due to lack of geographical knowledge.Travellers like Marco Polo had gone to China. They brought stories aboutthe unknown lands. They told about the wealth of the East. There hadbeen some trade and commerce between European countries and MiddleEast. As time passed there was a need to search new lands for trade andother purposes. European kings were interested in funding voyages toEastern nations. They sponsored naval expeditions. Some of these failedbutsome were successful. These discoveries happened due to a number offactors. We shall examine the causes course and effects of thesegeographical explorations.2.2 CAUSES OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIESIn the renaissance period there-was an emphasis on the history ofmankind. There was an interest in the outside world. This led togeographical discoveries. The main reasons are:-2.2.1 Wealth of East:India and China had ancient culture. They were known for their richness.Europeans read accounts of travellers like Marco Polo. Crusaders broughtstrange stories of new lands. Besides, they brought spices with them.Food became tasty and there was a demand for spices. Secondly otheritems like fragrant wood attracted Europeans. All these encouraged themto find routes to the East.2.2.2 Fall of Constantinoplein1453:Europeans brought products from East through Constantinople. In 1453Turks captured it. It was the capital of Byzantine Empire and alsocontrolled main land routes. Turks were notas tolerant as Arabs. Itbecame difficult for European merchants to pass throughConstantinople.They had to pay high taxes to the Turks. Thus the traders needed anotherroute to the Asian areas. Secondly, with the fall of Constantinople Greekauthorsfled with their classics. They gave a new outlook and adventurousspirit. So there were geographical discoveries.2.2.3 European Knowledge of the Outside World:In middle ages,Europeans acquired knowledge of geography andnavigation partly from practical experience and partly from Arabs.Theyread traveller’s accounts.As early as 1307, the Pope hadpatronizedamonk to China and India.Some Italians followed, but the interest wasmunotes.in

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 temporary. In 15thcentury with more geographical knowledge scholarsunderstood that earth was round and so Asia could be reached sailing fromEurope.Different geography books were written by merchants andtravellers.This brought additional interest.2.2.4 Advancement in Science:The discovery of printingpressenabled rapid spread of information.European sailors developed the art of navigation. New inventions helpedthem. The Mariners Compass was the main reason for geographicaldiscovery. The magnetic needle, in the dark, showed the direction towardsnorth. Besides, theAstrolabe-quadrant and accurate maps and chartmaking were useful.At the same time they learnt to make better ships.The telescope made travel easier.2.2.5 Religious Cause:Christianity believed in spreading itself. By 15th Century it had travelledall over Europe. The missionaries were zealous and prepared to risk theirlives. Their attention went to Asia and Africa.Kings, nobles and other richpatronizedmissions, because they felt that conversions could lead topolitical control.Many times merchants, missionaries and adventurerssailed together to new lands.2.2.6 Patronage from kings:Kings had money to support the cause. Spain and Portugal were mostinterested in discovering new routes.These countries wanted to break themonopoly of Italian City states of trade with East.Prince Henry ofPortugal wanted to find a route to India.He established a school fornavigators.Prince (The Navigator), encouraged making of new charts,maps,equipment’setc.Every year he sent expeditions of brave navigators,merchants and missionaries.TheycolonizedMadeira and Azores Islands.They moved further into the African continent.He was mainly responsiblefor the discovery of new routes to Asia and Africa.Check Your Progress:1.What were the major causesof geographicaldiscoveries?2.3 VARIOUS GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIESDue to the patronage of Henry, Portugal ranked first in the field of navalexpedition.The Prince died in 1460, but the spirit of explorationmunotes.in

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continued. Subsequent kings also took interest in sponsoring seamen. In1486 a sailor called Bartholomew Diaz sailed to the southern coast ofAfrica. He named it the Cape of Storms, because he was caught in a storm.However, the king of Portugal gave it the name of Cape of Good Hope. Hesaid that it would bring hope and luck to sailors, who were trying to find aroute to India.Name of the ExplorerDiscoveries1.Bartholomew DiazPortugalCape of Good Hope Southern coast ofAfrica.2. ChristopherColumbusAtlantic route to AmericaVenezuela.Central America3. Vasco da gamaThe Cape route to India.4. Amerigo VespucciAtlantic route to South America.5. MagellanCircumnavigation of the earth. CrossedAtlantic and reached North America6. CabotParama route to east coast of America7. BalboaBays and mouths of ricers from NorthCaroling to New York8. VerazenBrazil.2.3.1 Christopher Columbus (1451-1506):He was one of the greatest explorers. He was from Genoa in Italy. It issaid that he discovered America, but in reality, America had been exploredearlier. He studied the globe and concluded that Far East could be reachedthrough Atlantic Ocean also. He was financed by queen Isabella of Spain.He left Spain in August 1492 with 87 men and 3 ships called Nina, SantaMaria andPinta. It was a long and tedious voyage. For weeks the sailorsdid not see land. Finally on October 12, 1492, they were happy to seeland. Columbus said it was some island of Indies. Actually he was wrong.He had reached West Indies, but continued to call the people Indians. Hewent further and explored central America.He rounded the islands ofCuba and Haiti.Some men were left at Haiti to form a colony, whileColumbus went back.He was received with honour in Spain.Later he went for three morevoyages. He carried merchants, missionaries and colonists with him. Hewent to North America and northern coast of South America.A regularcommunication began between Europe and America. Columbus died in1506, after discovering a new world.2.3.2 Vasco-da-Gama (1469-1524):He was aPortuguesesailor and explorer.He was the leader of the group ofseamen, who were sent to find a route to India.He started his journey withmunotes.in

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four ships and 170 men in July 1497.He then proceeded to Mozambiqueand Malindi.Theyfaced some opposition from Arab traders, but theycontinued their journey.In May, 1498, Vasco-da-Gama reached the port of Calicut. He was givena warm welcome by the king called Zamorin. He stayed for some daysand collected precious stones, spices andother items of trade.It was abeneficial trip.The cargo he carried was 60 times the cost of journey.However, the journey was difficult.Many sailors died of disease. Only 55reached Lisbon.ThePortugueseking was happy to greet Vasco-da-gama.In 1502, Vasco-da-Gama made another voyage to India.Soon Portugalbecame an important trader, in Indian Ocean.In 1524, he went asPortuguese Viceroy to India.Portugal sent Christian missionaries andmerchants with voyages.They established themselves on African coast.ThePortuguesecaptured Goa in 1510. Missionaries spread their religionin the west coast. Later thePortugueseoccupied naval posts Ceylon, Javaetc.2.3.3 FerdinandMagellan (1480-1521):In 1519 he sailed from Spain with five ships. He crossed the AtlanticOcean and went to Southern tip of South America. He saw a new oceanand named it Pacific. It was peaceful compared to Atlantic. It was adifficult journey. The ocean was large for 98days;he did not see any land.Many sailors died on the way. Finally he reached the Philippine islands.He stayed there for a number of days. Unfortunately, he developed enmitywith the local people and was killed by them.The other seamen proceeded further. They loaded the ships with spices.However, dueto disease, rivalry and other misfortunes only one shipreturned to Spain, via the Cape of Good Hope. Thus, Magellan’s wassuccessful in proving that the earth is round. He started from Spain and theship returned to Spain after completing a round of theearth. It is one ofthe best sea voyages.This successful exploration inspired other sailors. One of them was anItalian adventurer called Amerigo Vespucci. He travelled to the new worldi.e. America. He explored the interior of the land. He suppliedgeographical and other details. He wrote about the people. This provedthat an entire unknown world existed. To honour Vespucci for his work,the new world is called America.2.3.4 Other explorers:The English also took interest in geographical explorations. In 1547, JohnCabot was financed to discover new islands and provinces, which wereunknown to the world. Cabot crossed the Atlantic and went to North Eastmunotes.in

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North America. He claimed the land for England. Thus the British werefirst to capture mainland America. Later they claimed Canada.The Portuguese explorer Cabral wanted to travel to India. But due tostrong winds, he lost his way and reached eastern coast ofSouthAmerica.He landed in Brazil and claimed it for Portugal.In 1513 a Spanish adventurer Balboa, led an expedition in the hope to findgold from new lands. He went to Panama and from there to eastern coastof America.The French too sent some expeditions.Verrazanoexplored bays, riversand other areas of eastern coast of North America. Cartier went to Canada.These explorations continued in the 16th century. The countries whichfound new lands claimed those.Regular trade began. Secondlymissionaries spread religious faith in the new lands. Thus explorationsproved to be profitable politically, economically and for religion also.2.4 CONSEQUENCES OFGEOGRAPHICALDISCOVERIES2.4.1Colonization:Geographical discoveries led to colonialism, imperialism and exploitation.In 15thcentury Spanish andPortuguesewere involved incolonization.There was rivalry between the two, so Pope Alexander VI divided theworld between the two.Roughly Asia, Africa went toPortugueseandNorth America andSouthAmerica to Spain. Later they increased theirhold. Portugal had a vast overseas empire. It gained great wealth fromspice trade and gold. It also traded in slaves. SpanishcolonizedSanDomingo and thereafter captured large area in South America.2.4.2Commercial Revolution:Colonizationled to rising trade between Europe and Eastern nations.Trade was basically in Mediterranean area earlier. For the first time shipsof maritime powers sailed in all big seas. Italy lost its monopoly of tradewith East. European traders brought spices and other luxuries from Asia.They traded in potatoes, cocoa, quinine maize etc. from South America.From Africa they got ivory, ostrich feathers and slaves. Slavery haddisappeared from Europe, but now it was revived. Colonists acquired hugetracts of land in America.They needed people to cut dense forests, digmines, and make roads.Besides slaves were needed in plantations.Spanish andPortugueseenslaved West Indians and “South Americans andforced them into work. They were even converted to Christianity.munotes.in

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2.4.3 Riseof Imperialistic Rivalries:In the 15thand16thcentury, new sea routes were discovered. New landswere found.The country which sponsored thenavigationclaimed the land.It could establish commercial relations in the colonies.It was profitableposition.Naturally there was a rush to acquire newlands.Most of theAmerican lands were rich in gold and silver. There were colonial wars, foracquiring newer areas.2.4.4 Growthof Monarchy:This was an effect of geographical discovery.There was an increase intrade and communication.A new class ofmerchants and manufacturersemerged. A new middle class became strong.These classes needed thesupport of rulers. They were ready to contribute money for the kingdom.Thus strong and stable monarchies were found in Europe.Secondly, wefind a decline inthe position of landlords and clergy.2.4.5 Spread of Christianity:Missionaries had helped in the discovery of new routes.Popespatronizedthe movement. Missionaries went with navigators and merchants onvoyages. They risked their lives in the process.Therefore, when new landswere found, they started spreading Christianity.Roman Catholics startedactivities in Spain andPortuguesecolonies, which was the religion inSpain and Portugal.This was the period of Reformation and CounterReformation.Catholics were losing people due to Reformation. So theJesuits tried to be quick in gaining new members in colonies.2.4.6Cultural Effects:Europeans destroyed ancientcivilizationand cultures in Mexico, Peru andBrazil, in the zeal of spreading Catholicculture.However a positive effectwas that European culture was thereby enriched.Europeans learnt to usenew things of luxury, brought by merchants.The explorers and navigatorshelped in bringing knowledge of Mankind.This encouraged study of newsubjects,especiallyScience and Astronomy.European mental outlookbroadened.Check Your Progress:2.Bring out the variousconsequences ofgeographicaldiscoveries?munotes.in

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2.5 SUMMARYWe have examined in the earlier lesson that since the 13thcentury therewas an interest in learning.People were eager to know about the worldunknown.Till then knowledge had been limited to ones surroundingsonly. All literature centered round God. Later in the period of renaissancegetting new ideas was encouraged.This resulted in the study of varioussubjects, besides God.Man had some idea about faraway lands, especially India, China andothers. However, people were not having proper details. There was somecommercial contact with the East.Traders and adventurerstold storiesabout the Eastern nations. They described the wealthy lifestyle of Asians.European monarchs were influenced. They wanted to expand their powerfar and wide. Missionaries wished to spread Christianity.Due toencouragement to learning, scientific and technological progress wasachieved.Various new tools and machines were discovered. This madetravel easier.The fall ofConstantinople, closed land route to Europeanmerchants and others. Thus there was a strong need to find sea route toIndiaand the Eastern nations.Monarchs in Europe were ready to sponsor travellers and explorers. Therewerepolitical, economic and religious motives behind. The mostwell-knownpatronage came from Henry, king of Portugal Due to his activeinterest in explorations, he was calledthe Navigator. The rulers of Spain,Italy, France and England also followed. A large amount of money wasspent on these geographical adventures.Columbus discovered the east coast of America. He took a tiring journey,in the hope of finding a route to India. It was Vasco-da-gama who sailedround the southern tip of Africa and safely reached India in 1498. Thereafter a regular trade began, between India and Portugal A few otherexplorers like Magellan, Amerigo Vespucci and Balboa didnoteworthysailings. As lands were found, they were claimed for the king whosponsored the sailing. Soon missionaries went to the new lands andspread their faith.Although, these discoveries achieved a lot for the study of geography,Science and otherareas, they produced consequences, which disturbedmany. There was widespreadcolonization;Local people were illiterateand backward. Europeans had better weapons and knowledge. So theysuppressed the inhabitants of the newly claimed areas. Secondly, theseareas were economically exploited Race for acquiring colonies led to warsamong European nations. Last, but not the least, Europeans destroyed theculture of the acquired land. Theyimposed Europeanculture and religionon the colonies.munotes.in

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2.11UNIT ENDQUESTIONS1.Examine the factors that led to geographical discoveries?2.Why did the Europeans discover the new world?3.Comment on the voyages of Vasco-da-Gama and ChristopherColumbus.4.Critically evaluate the explorations sponsored byPortugal, Spain andEngland?5.What were the consequences of geographical discoveries?6.Write short notes on:(a) Ferdinand Magellan(b) Amerigo Vespucci




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MODULEI3REFORMATIONUnit Structure3.0Objectives3.1Introduction3.2Causes of the Reformation3.2.1Political Causes3.2.2Economic Causes3.2.3Spirit of Renaissance3.2.4Religious Causes3.2.5Attack by Priests3.3Role of Martin Luther in Reformation3.3.1Luther and the issue of Indulgences3.3.295 Thesis-15183.3.3Luther’s excommunication3.3.4Peasants’ revolt3.4Rise and Spread of Protestant Church3.4.1Zwingli3.4.2Calvin3.5Counter Reformation3.5.1TheEarly phase3.5.2The second stage3.5.3The third stage3.5.4The Inquisition3.5.5The Society of Jesus3.6Results of the Reformation3.6.1Division in the Christian world3.6.2Religious wars3.6.3Religious intolerance3.6.4Rise of nationalism3.6.5Rise of Absolutism3.6.6Rise of Individualism and capitalism3.6.7Change in morals and art3.7Summary3.8Unit EndQuestionsmunotes.in

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3.0 OBJECTIVESAfter reading this unit the students will be able:1. To understand the religious conditions in Europe in theMiddle Ages.2. To examine the revolutionary change brought about by theProtestants.3. To know about the consequences of reformation in Europe.3.1 INTRODUCTIONReformation was basically a religious movement which was contemporaryto Renaissance. The Leaders of the Reformation movements were sincereand devoted. They realized that there were many evil practices existed inChristian Church. The clergy of the church was followed a corrupt andimmoral life. The leaders in Reformation movement understand thesituation and wrong practices and revolted against the evil practices inreligious matter in church.The Leaders of reformation movementorganized themselves into groups; collectivity they are known asProtestants. The organized group ofprotestantsstarted protest against theestablished Roman Catholic Church for the reformation in Religion.3.2CAUSES OF THE REFORMATION3.2.1Political Causes:Before the 16thcentury the church was religious and political body. It haditsorganizationin all states.Popeand clergy were independent from thegovernment.They could not be tried in state courts.Clergyhad no civilduties, but could enforce spiritual matters on all.In those days, the HolyRoman Emperor was the head of kings other. Kings were below him. Butin 16thcentury we find that kings were increasing their power.Monarchsin UK, Spain and France, tried to be free from church interference.Theyregarded Pope as a foreigner and opposed his authority.It was the rise ofnational states.Kings dreamt of being autocrats, and increased their wealthand prestige.In fact, since 13thcentury there werefrictions between the church and thestates.There was a conflict between UK and France and Pope BonifaceVIII, over the right to tax church property, which was exempted. ThePope declared that if a king taxed the church he would beexcommunicated. But the Pope lost the battle and kings taxed the church.The Babylonian captivity 1309-1377, is an example when nationalgovernments challenged pope’s intervention.The Papacy lost its prestige,when three Popes were elected instead of one.munotes.in

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3.2.2 EconomicCauses:Europe had an agricultural economy till the 12th century.But since thenwe find a change.This was due to rise in trade and communication.Urbanizationfollowed.This led to a rise in capitalism.Germany becamethe leader of capitalist world.In 16th century there was a growth of towns,trades and crafts.With the discovery of new routes, merchants sent goodsto various parts of the world.As a result they accumulated wealth.Besides, trade, Germany also had mining and metal industries.All this ledto rise in education and learning.Commercial activities and educationmade people practical.They questioned about the wealth of the church.They wanted to use church property for noble causes.At the same time,kings also tried to confiscate church property.The new business andlearned classes were willing to support politicians, in their struggle withreligion.3.2.3 Spiritof Renaissance:Renaissance led to a revival of learning.Art and literature contributed inbroadening the attitude of people.Before renaissance people neverquestioned the church.They were afraid of the clergy, because, it had themeans and powers to punish people.In 13th century when peoplecriticizedthe Church, in Albi, the Pope suppressed those. But therenaissance sawas upsurge of the spirit of humanism. People wanted toquestioneverything thatwas kept a taboo.Earlier, also, clergy led acorrupt life, butfewasked. In the 16thcentury the spirit of rationalismcould not suppress the inquiring mind.Many scandalswere exposed atthat time. Renaissance brought in a study of ancient languages like Greekand Hebrew. People could read Holy Scriptures.They understood thatChristianity had changed a lot.Evilshad entered in the middle ages.3.2.4 Religiouscauses:The authority of the church was accepted as the final. It was called sacred,because it was founded by Christ. By the 16thcentury the church becameabsolute and uncompromisingtheclergy, werenot educated. They wereunaware of true religion.The head of the Christian world was the Pope.He was regarded as thesuccessor of St. Peter. He was elected for Life by cardinals, fromchurches in Rome Besides there were clerks, lawyers and officers.Together they were called papal court or papacy.By renaissance thepapacy was regenerating.Many popes indulged in the immorality.Nepotism was another evil of those days. For ages Italians noble familieswerefavored.Popes showered benefits on these families.Many Europeankings objected to the luxurious life the Pope led.Naturally, the Bishops and other people in church also enjoyed life.Theyneglected their duties.They did not even stay in monasteries.Someinvolved in politics.They amassed huge wealth, and lived in comfort.Tomunotes.in

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 obtain more money, theysold important positions in the church.Therewere many financial scams in those days.Except a few priests and nuns, who involved in spiritual guidance, otherswere not sincere.They were in different to new learning and classicalstudy.Indulgenceswere means to salvation.If a person did a sin and was sorry,he could buy an indulgence, to be free of the sin.The Pope claimed thatthe right to grant indulgence, was given by Christ to St. Peter, the firstPope. To get an indulgence the person had to sayprayers, visit the churchor do same good deed.At the time of Luther good work meant payingfunds to rebuild St. Peters church at Rome. Besides, the money also wasused for increasing the dignity of the church authorities.Luther wasespeciallyagainstthe practice of selling indulgences.3.2.5 Attack by Priests:When Alibigenesesopposed church practices, they were suppressed. Inthe 14th century John Wycliff of UK rebelled against the Pope, by callinghim antichristian, evil, ineffective.He said that a Christian should considerthe Bible as the only guide.He translated it into English.Followers ofWycliff increased in UK. They were called Lollards.Wycliff wasexcommunicated.He died in 1383.John Huss followed Wycliff, in his state Bohemia.Hebecame verypopular, so the Pope excommunicated him.He burnt the Papal bull ororder. He was called to Constance Switzerland and burnt alive.Erasmus a Dutch priest.In his ‘Praise of Folly’, he exposed the immoraland corrupt practices of the church and the Pope.This book decreased thehold of papacy on peoples’mind.Erasmus, attacked superstitions.Hehated open revolt.He did not want to separate from the church.What hewantedwas a reformed church, without evils. Besides these there werepeople like Reuchlin, Savonarola, who abused church evils.They werecalled heretics.Albigenses and Waldeness were societies of people whoopposed religious dogmas.They all were persecuted. Luther, Calvin andZwinglis’arewritings were influential.They laid the foundation of theProtestant movement.Check Your Progress:2.Discuss briefly the major causes of Reformationmunotes.in

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3.3THE ROLE OF MARTINGLUTHER INREFORMATIONMartin Luther was born in 1483, to a German peasant of Saxony. He wentto nearby schools. In 1501 he registered to the University of Erfurt.Hethen studied law, but he was inclined towards the study of theology.Hedecided to become a priest.He entered the monastery of Augustinianmonks at Erfurt.He gave his first mass in 1507.He was sent toWittenbergfor delivering lectures in theology.He went to Rome in 1510.He was disillusioned to see the level ofcorruption in the papacy.He developed a dislike to Italian practices.Hereturned and carried his research and got his doctoratein 1512.He wasappointed Chairman of Biblical study atWittenberg.3.3.1 Lutherand the issue of Indulgences:It was the first controversy that he got involved in. It was a commonpractice to grant pardon by taking money.Indulgence hadbecomethemajor financial income of the Papacy.A management house calledFugger’slooked after the system.Luther marked that the Pope was richenough to rebuild the church.It was wrong to collect public money.Luther was angry, because according to him, redemption was by acts ofgoodness and clear thoughts and not by buying pardon.3.3.2 95Thesis-1518:Luther wrote his objection in the form 95 Thesis. On October 31, AllSaints Eve, he nailed the thesis to the door of Castle Church at Wittenberg.He challengedthe indulgences.Secondly, he wrote that his ideas were tobe discussed as it was a public call. 95 Thesis were translated intoGerman.Due to printing press, they were printed, so they reached a largeaudience.He sent it to his superior, who further senta copy to Rome.Initially the Pope did not intervene, but the head of Dominican Order,issued instructions that Luther should not be allowed to preach.However,he got political support from the ruler of Saxony.In 1518, he was called atAugsburg to discuss, with Dominican head. He was told to be silent infuture, but Luther argued. In 1519 Luther had a debate with John Eck, atheologian;Luther said that he believed in direct relation with God,without the mediation of the church.He denied the Supremacy of thePope.Luther brought out several articles and books, where he challenged thechurch and the priests.He laid down the basis of a new theology.He cutdown 4 of the 7 sacraments.In the end of the year, he broke church lawsand orders.munotes.in

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3.3.3 Luther’sExcommunication:It was too much of a revolt to tolerate.Pope Leo X excommunicatedLuther in 1521. Luther publicly burnt the Papal Bull or Order. In April1521 he was called by Charles V Holy Roman Emperor to a diet orcouncil. It was attended by princes, nobles,and clergy.This diet ofWorms asked him, if he was sorry and wanted to renounce his writings.He was not ready.He had to flee because the diet accused him as anoutlaw.King Fredrick gave him protection and so he stayed inWittenberg.Luther translated the New Testament and then the whole Bible, inGerman.His Bible became as effective weapon, in Reformation and theinfallibility of the church.Wittenbergbecame acenterof the reformationmovement.However Luther lacked the force tolead revolutionarytendencies.His friendCarlstadthelped him by attacking clerical celibacy,and demanding compulsory marriages for secular priests.3.3.4 Peasants’Revolt:Peasants in Germany got influenced by his writings.Peasants had suffereddue to tax burdens and exploitation by the Kings and Clergy. When hepreached the doctrine of equality of all men before God, the peasantsinterpreted the words for their convenience. In 1524, they rebelled.Theydemanded abolition of serfdom, free rights offishing’sand hunting andabolition of arbitrary punishments. Luther was sympathetic till they wereagainst the church. But soon, the revolt, spread all over Germany.Peasants targeted landlords and nobles.They appealed to Luther.He urgedthem to be peaceful, but they did not. So he told nobles to suppress therevolt.It was severely put down.Some 50,000 peasants were killed.Luther immediately became unpopular in South Germany.3.4RISE AND SPREAD OF THE PROTESTANTCHURCHThe clash of Luther, with the church began, when he nailed his 95 thesis.He was told to be quiet and not challenge the Papacy. But Luther deniedacceptingthe supremacy of the Pope.He found it difficult to remain amember of the church.Separation from it was the only courseleft.Secondly the Pope found him too aggressive and excommunicated him.Luther no longer was a Christian.Thus Luther was the person to lay foundation of a new church-Protestant.He said that papacy had deprived the Christians of a true religion.Therewere too many unnecessary sacraments, which he cut down.Lutherbelieved that true teachings could be found only in the Bible. The Bible isinfallible but not the Pope.He said that every person could get salvationby following the Bible.The clergy had emphasized on sacraments toexploit the people.munotes.in

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Luther was well read. He got the support of his King Fredrick.There wasa rise of nationalism in Germany.People felt that the man did somethingbeneficial for Germany.Soon his ideas spread to commoners.Clergy hadalready known his sayings.He also got support from the educated.InGermany, they put many pictures ridiculing the clergy.The motive was toeradicate the evils, thanorganizinga separate church.The reformation wasmainly abourgeoismovement, but the ideas spread rapidly to Germantowns.In many cities the struggle between old and new faith wasindecisive.Councils maintained neutrality.Clergy retained control ofchurches, so Lutherans preached in open air.German patriots wereinfluencedand wished to put an end to Roman and Italian influence.Princes confiscated church properties.Commoners accepted Luther’sideas.The movement then spread to other countries of Europe and toAmerica.The main reason for its success was the sincere exploitation ofevils.It was not only discontent of religious but also social, moral andpolitical condition of the church.Luther’s personal energy, courage andintelligence, were major causes for its spread.On the other hand the forcesthat opposed Luther were weak.Clergy were aware of the weaknesses.Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther and blocked chances of compromise.A reformist Pope could have averted a schism.By the time Luther died in 1546, he wasrecognizedas a major figure inthe Christian world.He was the main force for the split within Christians.His reforms, were carried forward byZwingliand Calvin.3.4.1Zwingli:In the 16thcentury Protestant ideas spread to other parts of Europe.Theleaders spread beliefs somewhat different from those of Luther.Theywereforerunners of PresbyterianChurchthough it was influenced by Luther.As a group it is called Calvinism.Calvin and Knox became exponents ofthe thought. It was influenced by an earlier reformer calledZwingli.Zwingliwas bornin 1484 in Switzerland. He became a priest in 1506. Hebecame a follower of Dutch priest Erasmus and Luther. He studied thewritings of renowned theologians and worked out a theology of himself.The civil magistrates called a public meeting to choose betweenCatholicism andZwingli’sProtestant faith. People voted forZwingli.Soon, the country abolished religious images and, closed monasteries.Rural areas remained Catholic.He preached salvation by faith andsupremacy of the Bible.He disagreed with Luther on the issue ofsalvation.For Luther individual salvation was most important.Zwingliwas more concerned with Renaissance ofChristianity, which was rebirthof humanity and society.Zwinglihad to lose life, during a war with theCatholics.3.4.2 Calvin:Calvin was born in 1509 in France.He did M.A. at University of Paris.He studied law and theology in Latin.In his extensive tours, he metmunotes.in

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humanists, writers and philosophers.He himself wrote a lot.The mostinfluential was “The principles ofChristian tradition”.Will Durant speaks of Calvin as Godintoxicatedman. For him churchand theology were important. God was thecenterof the cosmos and manwas nothing. In 1529, he experienced conversion.In France there was norevolt against thechurch, but there were criticisms.Calvin believed thatGod himself had told him to be an exponent of pure Christianity. Headopted Protestant religion.He went to Basel and wrote Institutes ofChristian religion.He became well known and his book is considered amasterpiece of.In his work, he says that God is ultimate authority. The Bible is infallible.He also encourages prayers.But he was against, mass, priests,communion, images, sculptures, crucifixes etc.He said that nothingshould remain in the church, which was not expressed in scriptures.Thetrue church is made up of those who have faith in god, lead a good life,and participatein baptism.All of Calvin’s ideas were not original.Most of those were stated before,but he spoke elegantly andput those in practice.From Luther he took thedoctrine of faith, and fromZwingliSpiritual interpretation.In 1536 he was made leader of Geneva’s first group of Protestant pastors.He thus entered the arena of politics, by getting a key position ofmanaging the affairs of the town. He thus acted as a political and religiousdictator. Church and state were not separate.Theocratic laws were to berespected. He banned begging and encouraged charity.He changed thelife of people, fun was reduced but crime too, reduced.Awell-organizedcity came into existence. For his stern activities and work, he was called‘Protestant Pope’. He wrote a lot on theology.He translated the Bible inFrench. He established Protestant schools and the University of Geneva.His ideas spread throughout-France, Scotland, Holland, Germany, U.K.and USA. It was known by different names in different countries.InHungary and Poland, Calvin spread among nobles and middle class.Luther had lost support in peasant dominatedSouth Germany where.Calvin became popular. The Protestant Reformation in Scotland was ledby John Knox.The cause for rise of Protestants in U.K. was refusal of the Pope ClementVII to allow the divorce of King Henry VIII to his wife Catherine.Hewanted to marry Anne Boleyn hoping to get a male heir.In 1534, theProtestants passed the act of Supremacy, which made the Monarch head ofthe Church. Though Henry remained Catholic, Protestantism becamepopular under his son Edward VI. His successor QueenMary restoredCatholicism and suppressed Protestants. Elizabeth I established moderateProtestant faith called Anglicanism.Those who followed Calvin werecalled Puritans. Catholicism declined in England.munotes.in

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Check Your Progress:2.Write a short noteon therole of Martin Luther inreformation?3.5COUNTER REFORMATIONThe Protestant Revolution was one phase of the great upheaval calledReformation.Counter Reformation was another.But Counter Reformationshould not be viewed only as retaliatorymovement or measures to controlthe rise of Protestants.Thechurchhad already started the reformationmovement; before Luther nailed 95theses.The Counter Reformation can be divided into 3 phases.3.5.1 The Early Phase:The early phase, dates before Lutheranism,up to1534. With theaccession of Pope Paul Ill the second phase begins and The CounterReformation gained momentum.It is rigid and dogmatic.The third phaseis from 1559, with the accession of Pope Paul IVup to1610.In this periodCounterReformationis offensive and rigid.Counter Reformation was the movement to reform the Papacy.CardinalXimenes and Savonarola had sincerely tried to get rid of church evils. InItaly also there were attempts to revitalize and purify the church.Priestswere instructed to have a pure and moral life.However the task wasdifficult. Evils continued andProtestantismwas established.By the middle of 16th centuryProtestantismbecame popular.Catholicswereshockedby the increase in heresy.In retaliationthe church rallied itsforces and prepared an offensive called Counter Reformation. SoProtestants never got complete success. In all areas there remained aconsiderable number of Catholics.It was because Luther’s ideas wereaccepted at intellectual level.He raised theological controversies, whichwere difficult to understand.Hediscardedsacrifices, penance, imageworship, saints.He said people should interpret the Bible for guidance.For a layman, it was difficult to understand.Those who agreed withLuther that reform wasnecessarysupported reform from within. Therewas no need to break away from the existing Church.3.5.2 The Second Stage:The abuses under PopeToeV had made Luther protest.The first Pope toinitiate reform was Pope Adrian VI(But the movement became vigorousin 1534 with Pope Paul. New monastic orders infused with crusading zealmunotes.in

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wereorganized.Hereorganizedpapal finances made appointment onmerit, punished the idle and evil clergy).Counter Reformation in Germany was launched, to answer Luther. Tofight Luther, a man of equal status was needed. John Eck was chosen. Hewas an eminent theologian He argued with Luther.In U.K. Catholicswrote against Luther. Sir Thomas More was oneofthem.From 1530s the Leadersrealizedthat they had to be more aggressive,because Lutheranism was becoming popular.In 1534,IgnatiusLoyolafounded the Society of Jesus, better known as Jesuit Order which played avital role inCounter Reformation.TheCounter Reformationreached anew erain 1534 with the accession of Pope Paul.On his initiativeThe Council of Trentwas called in 1545.By the timethe Catholics wanted to control Protestants at local level.But with the newPope, theCounter Reformationbecamecentralized.Actually the councilwas a series of meetings called to discuss reformation in the church.Hundreds of church officials were invited. Manycriticismsand debateswere initiated. Even Protestants were called, but they did not attend. Thework of the council was both dogmatic and reformation at the same time.The council did not compromise with Protestants.The dogmas of thechurchwere reaffirmed. Clear authority of the Pope wasrecognized.Hewasrecognizedas The Supreme interpreter of the Canons. However, thecouncil agreed that reform was necessary.There had to be a check onpersonalbehaviorof the church officials.The sale of church offices wasprohibited. Thepriestshad to abandon worldly pursuits and lead a simpleand spiritual life.They had to learn theology in seminaries.Church servicebooks were revised. Priests had to know Latin, but could give sermons inlocal languages.Favouritism, corruption etc. were to be punished.All Roman Catholics had to agree to the discussions, accepted at Trent.The Council was ended in 1563, by Pope Pius IV.3.5.3 ThethirdStage:In 1566, with Pope Pius V, theCounter Reformationreached its finalstage. The aim was to win all that was lost to the Protestants.It was anaggressive phase.The Pope took the lead and leda simple and frugal life.On the other hand, he was strict to heretics.Nobodywas forgiven,including Queen Elizabeth I. All Roman Catholics were told to keep norelations with her. Merit and fitness were the criteria to enter papacy.The next Pope Gregory XIIIwas mild man.He was a good administrator.He chalked out an ambitious plan to reform the church. He financed Jesuitschools, but he overspent church money and so wascriticized. PopeSixthsI was effective and dynamic. He was iron willed and determined.He spread terror to a certain extent.Being highly educated he encouragedmunotes.in

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theological activities.Thus by the end of the 16th century the church hadcarried various activities ofCounter Reformation, from which somemovements are noteworthy.3.5.4The Inquisition:It was an institution of middle ages. It was popular in Spain.Kings used itto suppress heretics and also deal with political enemies.It was an organ,used as a pretext of protecting religious orthodoxy. Since Inquisition werea success in Spain, its exponent CardinalCarafe, suggested it to the PopePaul Ill. He was alarmed at the rising tide of Protestants.So he establishedRoman Inquisition.This strict method, checked heresy, but it was not assuccessful as in Spain.3.5.5The Society of Jesus:In the 16th century, there were a number of new orders, to checkProtestants and revive Catholic religion.But the most powerful wasSociety of Jesus founded byIgnatiusLoyola. He was a Spanish soldier,but got interested in theology. He went to Paris University and studiedmore of Christianity. There he founded the Society, with a few followers.In addition to the vows of chastity, obedience and poverty, the Jesuits tooka special vow, of allegiance to the Pope.By means of preaching andeducating the Jesuits intended to win back the converts. They weresuccessful in Poland, Belgium and Bavaria.Due to their efforts, Italy,Spain and Portugal remained loyal to Pope.In France,Protestantismwaschecked. In addition, they didexcellent missionary work in North andSouth America, China and India.The Jesuits became effectiveeducationists.Theyrealizedthat teaching institutions formed key points inspreading ideas.By their wide learning and purity, they got respect fromCatholic clergy.Check Your Progress:2. Writea short note on Counter Reformation3.6RESULTS OF THE REFORMATION3.6.1 Division in the Christian World:Since Protestant church was founded, it meant that there was schism inChristianity.There wasno compromise between the new and old faiths.Germany, Denmark, became Lutheran, U.K. had her own form ofProtestantism.Scotland, Denmark, Switzerland followed Calvinism.munotes.in

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Spain Portugal, Italywasmainly Catholic, but there too, there were anumber ofProtestants.3.6.2 Religious Wars:A lot of bloodshed and battles happened in Europe due to theReformation.The first was waged by Holy Roman Emperor againstGerman Protestants princes.Though he won the war, he could not forcethe people back to Catholicism. Peace of Augsburg was signed by whicheach prince was free to choose his faith.Lnspiteof it 30 years wars tookplace between Holy Roman emperor and King of Bohemia. Sweden andFrance supported Bohemia.The war left the Holy Roman Empire weakandexhausted.3.6.3 Religious Intolerance:Religious intolerance was an obvious result. Both groups believed thatthey were correct. While Catholics said they defended traditionalChristianity, Protestants said that they removed evils. Monarchs sought tostrengthen their political power.They forced the people to accept onefaith.Kings of Catholic countries used all means to keep Protestants away.They used inquisition, spies, and police to suppress Protestants. QueenMary of U.K. massacred Protestants.She was known as Bloody Mary.Similarly Catholics were tortured under Edward VI and Elizabeth I. InFrance Protestants were called Huguenots.They were in a minority, butwere influential in financial field. When a powerful Catholic governmentcame into force, it persecuted Huguenots.Finally in 1598, freedom wasgranted to people to follow any faith. The birth of a Dutch Republic was aresult of religionin toleration.When Spain forced Catholic faith inNetherlands, the people revolted.The war established a newFreeState ofDenmark. Belgium remained Catholic.3.6.4 Rise of Nationalism:It was a cause and effect of Reformation Protestants appealed to nationalthoughts. They objected to foreign influence in their country.So we findnational churches being established in England and elsewhere Lutheranchurch was regarded as national church in Germany.Similarly in Catholiccountries the Catholic churches were looked as national churches.3.6.5 Rise of Absolutism:Protestantsweakened the Papal hold on many areas.Kings tookadvantage.Already they had an eye on church property.They disobeyedchurch orders, confiscated church property, and checked the clergy.EvenCatholic Kings, enjoyed the difficultiesof the Pope and asked forconcessions at the expense of the church.Instead of Divine Right of Pope,Divine right of Kingship was asserted.Thus Reformation gave rise tostrong monarchies in Europe.munotes.in

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3.6.6 Rise of Individualism and Capitalism:Protestants liberated man from the clutches of the church.They set anexample of challenging exploitation.It led to rise of several isms-socialism, communism,Nazism, fascism etc.Protestants challenged the wealth of the church and demandedconfiscation of church property.Bankers, traders etc. who wanted capitalsupported this view.Thus the monopoly of church in economic matterscame to an end.Protestantismbecame popular in commercial andeconomically development countries.3.6.7 Change in Morals and Arts:Protestants had exposed moral degradation of the church. Luther andothers emphasized on moral values.Naturally, they had to have highermoral standards.To defend themselves the Catholics too had be highlymoral.Thus there was rise of Puritan thought.Theycriticizeddancing,blasphemy, bull fights, theatre and immoral literature.In 16thcentury there was Christian art.Popespatronizedart andarchitecture and continued so after reformation. But Protestants did notbelieve in huge structures and decoration of buildings.They supportedsimplicity.They denounced painting, sculpture, religion images, glasswindows, altars etc. They believed more in secular art.Check Your Progress:3.Discuss the main results of the Reformation3.7SUMMARYThe Renaissance instigated the people toquestion ideas.People startedinquiring about religion and the church in particular.The church had astrong hold on the people.As a result the church officials hadbecomepowerful. Soon evils crept in, in the church.There were learned peoplewho spoke against church evils.These people were severely punished.Still Martin Luther,criticizedthe evils. He targeted the Pope.He putforward his ideas, opposing the office of the Pope.He got many followers,and this led to the new Protestant faith.Theybelieved in Christ, the Bibleand the scriptures.But they were against the Pope and his officials.munotes.in

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 Some people were loyal to the Pope and supported him.This led to thedivision of the Christian Church. Both churches wanted to prove that theywere pure.In defense and later offense, the Catholics launched theCounter Reformation.The movement created an ill feeling among the twogroups, many times leading to serious clashes.The Reformation broughtin revolutionary changes in the religious life of Europe.3.8UNIT ENDQUESTIONS1.Discuss the causes of the Reformation.2.Illustrate the role of Martin Luther in the Protestant movement.3.What is meant by CounterReformation?4.Explain the consequences of Reformation.5.Writes short notes on:(a)Zwingli(b) Calvin




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MODULE II4THE AMERICAN,FRENCH ANDINDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONUnit Structure4.0Objectives4.1IntroductionA. American Revolution4.2Causesfor The American Revolution4.2.1 Political Causes4.2.2 Social Causes4.2.3Economic Causes4.2.4 Influenceof Ideas4.2.5 Conclusionof The Seven Years War4.3Immediate Causeand Course Of The War4.4Effectsof The American Revolution4.5George Washingtonand American Revolution4.6ConclusionB. French Revolution4.7Causesfor The French Revolution4.7.1 Political Causes4.7.2 Economic Causes4.7.3 Social Cause4.7.4 The Ageof Enlightenment4.7.5 Other Causes4.8Beginningand Courseof The Revolution4.8.1 Summoningof The Estates General4.8.2 The Openingof The Estates–General4.8.3 Tennis Court Oath4.8.4 The Fallof Bastille July 14th17894.8.5 Workof The Assembly4.8.6 Reignof Terror 1792-954.8.7 The Directory and The Rise of Napoleon4.8.8 Domestic Policy of Napoleonmunotes.in

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4.8.9 Napoleons Codes4.8.10 Foreign Policy4.9Outcomeof The French RevolutionC. Industrial Revolution4.10Main Features4.11Introduction4.12Great Britain4.13Courseof The Revolution4.13.1 Textile Revolution:4.13.2 The Steam Engineand Transportation4.13.3 Revolutionin Agriculture4.14 Effectsof The Industrial Revolution4.14.1 Social Effects4.14.2 Economic Effects4.14.3 Political Effects4.15Conclusion4.15.1 Summing Up4.16Summary4.17Unit End Questions4.0 OBJECTIVESThe objectives of this lesson are asfollows:1To understand the factors responsible for the cut-break of theAmerican Revolution.2To examine the main events that culminated in the revolution.3To briefly survey the course of the revolution.4To assess the consequences of the revolution and itsimpact on thehistory of the world.5To introduce to the students the Importance of the French Revolutionas a landmark in the history of the world.6To understand the courses for the outbreak of the Revolution.7To study the course of the Revolution.8To evaluateNapoleonBonaparte role in history.9To assess the effects of the French Revolution10.To understand the meaning of the Industrial Revolution.11.To examine the unique features of the Revolution.12.To survey the circumstances of why the Revolution started inEngland.13.To briefly study the course of the Revolution.14.To critically assess the impact of the Revolution in thelivesofmankind.munotes.in

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4.1 INTRODUCTIONThe 16thcentury was the great age of conquest and cultural diffusion onthepart of the Europeans. The continent of America was discovered by anItalian sailor ChristopherColumbusin 1492. From then on great strideswere made especially by the French and English in colonizing America.Amongall the Europeans, theBritishwerethe most successful.Theygained control of all 13 Colonies in North America stretching fromMassachusetts and New Hampshire to South Carolina and Georgia.Over the period of time, a new world economy no longer dependant on themother country and a new social pattern from the integration of manygroups emerged. Population grew, and a new American spirit and culturebegan to emerge.Traditional European values were now questioned inAmerica.This led to a fight for ‘freedom’ from traditionalism andexploitation from the mother country in England.For years before theactual outbreak of the revolution, feelings of discontent began manifestthemselves. During the year 1759-1796, grievances culminated into thefirst wave of concerted colonial opposition to the crown.The American Revolution helped to spark the French Revolution of 1789.Which proved to be the most violent and for reaching of all the liberalupheavals.Not only were liberal ideas ushered in, but also drastic changesin the legal, social andeconomic order was introduced in France the mostpopulous country in Western history.As Tocqueville later wrote;‘TheFrench Revolution had no territory of its own; indeed, its effect was toefface, in a way all old frontiers.If brought men together, divided them, inspite of laws, traditions, character and language–turningenemiessometimes into compatriots and kinsmen into strangers…..’.All throughout the 19thcentury, revolutions aimed at political and socialreform engaged the attention of Europe. These were sporadic movementsthat arose and declined at varioustimes andvarious places. Less noticed,but more important was the technological revolution that was taking place.The chief actors in this never stirred anything. On the contrary theirattention was concentrated upon the homely operations of everyday life.They made discoveries destined to alter the habits ideas and prospects ofthe great mass of the people.munotes.in

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A. AMERICAN REVOLUTION4.2 CAUSES FOR THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION4.2.1 Political Causes:1.Dissatisfaction with the System:The English colonists had brought political ideas and institutions fromEngland to the colonies. In each colony, the legislative was modelled onthe House of Commons. However the colonists went astepfurther thanthe mother country. They claimed that no tax could be imposed and no lawpassed without the consent of the assembly. English leaders argued invain, that the colonies enjoyed ‘Virtual’ representation since members ofthe Parliament, in theory represented not individual constituencies, butnational and imperial interests as a whole. However this argument did notimpress the colonists. They began to demand self-government and assertedthat there can be ‘No taxation without Representation’.2.Character of King George III and Lord North:In the moment when discontent was manifesting itself, there was a needfor a sound and sane leadership. However both the monarch king GeorgeIII and his prime-minister lacked the qualities of sound leadership.3.Distance from England:The colonies were geographically for away fromBritain, andcommunications were slow. If was bit easy forBritainto control thecolonies. British politicians did not understand thecolonist;hence therewas ignorance, indifference and at times misunderstanding concerningcolonial affairs and sentiments.4.2.2 Social Causes:HeterogeneousCharacter of the Colonies:The Colonies could be divided into 3 categories:(1)The Northern coloniesvie New Hampshire,Massachusetts,Connecticut and Rhode Island werejarredwith a burning desire forpolitical independence and hatred for any kind of external control andinterference. They had migrated to the ‘America’s’ to seek theirdestiny away from restrictions.(2)The Middle Coloniesviz. New York,Pennsylvania, New Jersey,Maryland and Delaware were Catholic and resented control fromProtestant England.(3)The Southern Coloniesviz. North Carolina, South Georgia andVirginia were mostly loyal to the British government.munotes.in

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4.2.3 EconomicCauses:The Colonies were considered valuable chiefly for economic reasons–asa source of raw materials and as a market for exports. But the cost to themother country for defence and administration probablyequalledorexceeded the commercial returns. After 1750, therefore Parliamenttightened up the regulation of trade and the collection of duties.Until this time, the colonists had part with more than the local takes leviedby their colonial legislatures. They had achieved this ‘immunity’ by meansof wholescale smuggling and a flagrant disregard of the British Navigationacts. At the same time they showed little interest to provide for their ownmilitary defence.The English therefore began to impose a number of new taxes, and also tocollect existing taxes more strictly. This was resented by the colonists.Some of them are as follows:(a) The Navigation Acts:These contained 3 main provisions (i) all goods were to be exported onlythrough British Ships (ii) Certain goods and commodities were tobe soldonly to British merchants (iii) Commodities were first to be shipped toBritainand from there to any part of the world. The made the process ofshipping long and increased the prices of goods and commodities.(b) Prohibition of Manufacture of Certain Goods:The manufacture of certain commodities like cloth was disallowed in thecolonies. This was done to boost industrial production in England.However it was a death blow to industries in the colonies.(c) The Sugar act of 1733:This act imposed a prohibitive duty on the import of foreign colonialmolasses. The enforcement of this act would cripple if not destroy theextremely important trade of the Northern British colonies with theforeign, colonial possessions in the West Indies and South America(d) The stamp act of 1975:Under this act, every document in order to be ‘legal’ should carry a‘stamp’.The legislatures of the leading North American coloniespetitioned against this act, but it was of no use. The colonist realised theonly wayto halt further encroachments on colonial self-government wasto resist this act even at the risk of war.(e) The American Act of 1764:This act imposed new restrictions on colonial trade and levying taxes inthe colonies to support an enlarged British standing army in Americawithout consulting the colonial governments as to the number orcomposition and distributors of the troops and without offeringmunotes.in

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commissions to any former colonial officers many of whom had servedcreditably in the recent French andIndian wars.This was distasteful to the colonists specially when the army miserablyfailing to protect the colonial frontiers from the ravages of the westernIndian in an uprising caused mainly by the blunders of the Britishcommander in chief in North America, General Sir Jeffery Amherst.(f) Writs of Assistance:This empowered British officers to search the house for smuggled goodsas well as ships for taxable goods. This was viewed by the colonists asviolation of their basic human rights.(g) English officers to be tried in England:English Officers accused of violations of the law were tried in England.This was viewed by the colonists as an act ofacquittalof the criminals,because the English courts would naturally favour the accused.(h) TheQuartering Act:This act authorized the stationing of soldiers on American soil to overseethe enforcement of the various laws of parliament.4.2.4Influence of Ideas:The American Revolutions was influenced by philosophers and thinkers ofthe period. John Locke in 1690 published his work ‘Two treatises ofGovernment’. The first treatise rejected the ‘theory of divine right’, whilethe second defended the ‘right of rebellion’. This turned a landmarkhandbook for liberal revolutionists everywhere.Thomas Paine did much to advance the cause of rebellion in America. Inhis work ‘Common sense’, declared that America’s subjection to Englandwas ‘contrary to reason’. He therefore advocated his fellowmen to fightfor total independence from England.There were other writers like, Thomas Jefferson,FranklinBenjaminAlexander Hamiltonetc.whose writings led to the rise of Americannationalism4.2.5 Conclusion of the Seven Years War:By 1763 the sevenyears’war ended with England emerging victoriousover France. With French power on the Northern American continentbroken, there was no longer a serious foreign thereat to the 13 Colonies.Feeling more secure than before, the Americans grew even more defianttowards their absentee rulers.On the other handBritainwas determined to make the colonies pay a partof the war expenditure by imposing new taxes on them. Empowered bymunotes.in

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the removal of the French threat, the American turned bolder and thisenabled them to resist the alarming British innovations.4.3 IMMEDIATE CAUSE AND COURSE OF THE WARThe colonies by 1765 began to entertain thoughts of completeindependence from the ‘mother country’.They began to commit acts ofviolence to resist the unjust laws. If needed only a spark to set the processin motion.This was provided in the form, of what came to be known asthe ‘BOSTON TEA PARTY’.The antecedent leading to thiseventwas the imposition of the Tea Act of1773, to facilitate the sale of surplus tea that was lying in Englishwarehouses.This was metwith resistance.In the year 1773 when a cargoof tea arrived at the Boston port, a group of colonist disguised as ‘RedIndians’ boarded the ship and threw away the 342 chests of tea into thesea. This event was popularly known as the “Boston Tea Party’.TheBritish government instantly closed down the Boston port and broughtswift punitive measures in what the Americans called the ‘IntolerableActs’.The British may have thought that their tough policy would bringthe colonists to their senses but it hadthe opposite effect.County assemblies were convened in Massachusetts, to protest againstthese acts. Shortly thereafter, representatives from all the coloniesassembled at a continental congress in Philadelphia. There they drew up astatement of grievances and formed an association to cut off all trade withBritain. The conflict of words had given way to ‘direct action’.When the British governor at Massachusetts ordered for the dissolution ofthe Legislature, the legislators defiantly reconvened and proceeded to raisea defence force.This was illegal and brought into existence a state of‘armed rebellion’.The first clash of armsaccruedin April 1775 atConcord where the British lost heavily. The War of Independence’ hadstarted.The continental congress reassembled shortly after this. The minutemenamong Boston were enlisted as the nucleus of a continental army, andGeorge Washington was named as commander-in-chief of the army.The congress also appointed a committee of Thomas Jefferson. BenjaminFranklin and others to draw up a ‘Declaration of Independence; which wasadopted by the congress on July 4th1776. This document aimed to justifythe resort to force againstBritainand to win support abroad as well athome.The ringing paragraph that linksthe American Revolution with universaltruth has been taken from Locke, butJefferson’s versionis marked byincomparable simplicity, clarity and power. It is asfollows:“We holdthese truths to beself-evident; that all men are created equal; that theyaremunotes.in

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endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among theseare Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–Thatto secure theserights. Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powersfrom the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of governmentbecomes destructive of these ends it is the Right of the people to alter orabolish it ………With this Jefferson set forth a view of man, government and revolutionthat remains an inspiration to believers in human dignity. Liberalprinciples and progressive social change.The war dragged on for six years. In spite of the skill and heroic self-sacrifice of Washington the Americans lost more battles than they gained.Fortunately for the Americans.Britainthough a leading European power,was hampered by long lines of communication, poorgeneral ship, andtroubles in other parts of the empire.The colonials on their side had many difficulties.They faced internaldifferences non availability to provide sufficient troops supplies or money.Although they fought bravely and endured severe hardships, theycouldhardly have won, without the aid of foreign power. The French monarcheager to even the score with the British after their humiliating defeat of1763 decided to aid the rebels.Spain and Holland followed, swinging theEuropean balance in the American favour.The surrender of LordCornwallisin 1781 at Yorktown virtually ended theBritish military effort.It was forced by a French fleet controlling thewaters of Yorktown.Two yearslater, by the ‘Treaty of Paris’, the UnitedStates of America won recognition as a sovereign territory stretching fromthe Atlantic to the Mississippi.Check Your Progress:1.Discuss theimportant causesof American Revolution?4.4EFFECTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONThe American emerged from the ‘War of Independence’ with relativelyfew scars. However it is one of the greatest landmarks in the history ofmankind. The effects are as follows:(1)Birth of a New Nation:This was acknowledged by England underthe ‘Treaty of Paris’ in 1783. The territory was to extend to theMississippi River.munotes.in

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(2)French and Spanish gains:France recoveredTobaccoin the WestIndies and Senegal inWestAfrica. Spain regainedMinorca andHorrid. However Holland proved to be a loser.(3)Losses to France and Spain:French and Spanish fleets werepractically smashed by British naval forces. The French tunedvirtually bankrupt after the war which in turn set the ball of theFrench Revolution rolling.(4)Lesson to the English:Britainrealised that she could not rule andexploit the colonies arbitrarily. With the loss of America she beganto concentrate all her attention on India.(5)A New Experiment of government:The Americanwasthe first toexperiment in a federal type of government. They were also the firstto introduce a written constitution. Their example was followed byother countries.(6)Liberty and Democracy:The Declaration of Independence assertedthat ‘all men are created equal; thatthey are endowed by theircreator with alienable rights, that among the are life and liberty andthe pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments areconstituted among men deriving their powers from the consent of thegoverned.(7)A Right toRevolt:If affirmed the birth-right of all people who areoppressed to resold and overthrow tyrannical governments.Check Your Progress:2. Whatwere the major effects of American Revolution?4.5GEORGE WASHINGTONAND AMERICANREVOLUTIONRecognition of the true greatness of George Washington, as a man and ageneral, has somehow been diminished over the years. Born in 1732 in thestate of Virginia, Washington was a self-made man, though he came froma background of being a plantation owner.At the age of 27 he marriedMartha Curtis, a rich widow with children. He was found of socializingand was also a champion for the fights of the colonist.In recognition of his great patriotism, and his qualities of leadership, theCongress elected him as it’s Commander-in-Chief. This he acceptedmainly as “a kind of destiny,” as he told his wife.munotes.in

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 When Washington reached the American camp at Cambridge on July 2,1775, the problems that he faced were practically impossible to solve. Heneeded to create anarmy from a mixture of forces raised by the four NewEngland states-Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and RhodeIsland-and the southern regiment yet to come. These soldiers werevolunteers, rugged individuals, resentful of discipline, ignorant of militaryprocedure, lacking clothing, weapons, ammunition and other supplies withwhich to wage a prolonged war. As Washington wrote to his brother thatthe officers in general were “the most indifferent kind of people I eversaw”.Washington also faceda crisis in the form of finance for the army. Yetalong with the help of Robert Morris, Washington was able to inspire hismen in the field and also to raise money to finance the army.He spent six years in the field with his troops, without once returning tohis beloved Mount Vernon. His labour bore fruit with the triumph of theColonist armies over the British forces led by Lord Cornwallis. The finalvictory of Washington at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, vindicatedWashington’s fundamental strategy—to harass the enemy at every point,but never to allow them the opportunity of crushing his army.The British evacuated New York on November 23,1783. Washingtonmarched in leading his ill-clad, ragged army.It was there he bid farewellto his officers and soldiers.In recognition of his leadership capabilities, the new ConstitutionalGovernment that was formed elected George Washington as the firstPresident of the United States of America.Check Your Progress:3. Writea short note on role George Washington in American Revolution?
4.6 CONCLUSIONThe American Revolution brought about the first expulsion of a Europeancolonial power replacedmonarchicalgovernment with a viable republicand established the practice of popularsovereignty(democracy).As aresult of those achievements, the American Revolution seed as a hope anda model to latter revolutions round the world.munotes.in

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B.FRENCHREVOLUTION4.7CAUSES FORTHE FRENCH REVOLUTIONTo understand the mainCauses, phasesand consequencesofthemovementthat began in 1789. Asurvey of the background of the rebellionis necessary.4.7.1Political Causes:(1) The Bourbon Monarch and the Old Regime:The Monarch in France claimed to rule by the will ofGod thatis by‘Divine Right’ and not bythe consent of the people. He was an absolutemonarch andresponsibleonly to ‘God’. French monarchs fromLouis XIVcontinued to sit in the grand manner at Versailles. However the monarchywhile clinging to its divine claims proved to be ineffectual duringthe 18thcentury. Louis XV was capable but a pleasure loving ruler. His successorLouis XVI was well meaning but indecisive.Humiliating military defeats and the loss of the French overseas empireunderminded royal prestige, while wars, waste and extraagencybroughtthe monarchy to the edge of bankruptcy.(2) The Government:The only large administrative units of any significance in France in thecentury and halfprecedingthe Revolution were the generalities orintendancies. Historical provinces which had been independent kingdomsordullerbefore their absorption into the French state, still retained theirown laws and customs. The intendants were selected from the ranks of thebourgeoise. But under Louis XIV they were raised them to the rank ofnobility.These intendants enjoyed absolute authority in theirintendancies. This ledall thinking men of the 18thcentury to denounce the ’30 tyrants of France’.(3)The Central Administration:The French administration had no unity in 1789. The chiefadministrativesubordinates of the king were the Chancellor the controller general offinance, the 4 secretaries of state and the members of the royal counsel.The chancellor was the chief judicial and legislative officials of the state,presiding when the king was absent. He was also in charge of secondaryand higher education, all bookstores, publications and royal censors whomhe appointed to office. Of all the high officials, he alone was notremovable.The controller–general of finance had many responsibilities while eachof the 4 secretaries had certain clearly defined specializedfunctionary, asmunotes.in

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well as administrative authority over certain. Specified territorial districts.There were four more or less definite sections of the royal council whichdetermined the general internal policy of the administration.An examination of this system shows only its inefficiency.There wasconflict of jurisdiction and rivalries among the administrators, as well asan absence of an executive head intheirmidst to formulate long termplans andpolicies.All this taxed the strength of even the mostconscientious and determined servant of the state.(4)Administration of Justice:According to the absolutist theory all justice in France came from themonarch, whoseofficials administered it in his name in the many royalcourts of justice that were established throughout the entire country.Below the 13 parliaments of the realm, which were the supreme courts ofappeal in civil and criminal case there were a number ofcourts of primaryand appellate jurisdiction. In the country districts there were simple policecourts; in the towns and cities, courts of the bailiffs and courts of thepresidencies that were rapidly being merged with the tribunals. There werealso administrative courts, military courts, admiralty courts, commercialcourts, inferior and appellate courts that had jurisdiction over casesinvolving specified taxes, salt tax etc.France had no single code of laws either for civil or for criminal cases.There was also noattempt to codify the law. This lack of uniformitycaused confusion.The administration of justice was arbitrary as it wasslow and costly for litigants.Also the king could issue ‘WRITS’ called ‘LETTRES DE CACHET’ bywhich he could imprison any subject without inquiry or trial so long as itpleased the royal will.4.7.2 Economic Causes:1.Finance and Taxation:The taxation system functioned in confusion and disorder and at a highcost to the treasury and at a cost still greater to the economic activities ofFrance. Taxes tell unequally on hismajesty’ssubjects. The privilegedclasses were for the most exempt from taxation. It was the peasantry whomostly bore the brunt of the burden. The methods of collection werefinancially wasteful andcorrupt, socially offensive and economicallyindefensible. In the case of indirect taxes the methods were brutal as well..There were two types of taxes in France.munotes.in

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2.The DIRECT TAXES and the INDIRECT TAXES.DIRECTTAXES:Among the direct taxes, were the taille, the capitation and the vingtimes.Thetailed was a lawfor military purposes, and it fell exclusively on thepeasantry. It was not assessed uniformly ma was there uniformity in itscollection.The capitation was a poll tax, and the Vingtimes wasan incometax on allrevenue whether from the land, commerce, industry or the liberalprofessions. Thepayment of these taxes wasevaded by the privilegedclass. Hence the burden fell on the third estate.In addition to these, there was the ‘ROYAL CORVEE’ a tax payable inlabour.This tax feelsexclusively on the peasantry.3.Indirect Taxes:The principal indirect taxes were the salt tax (Gabelle), the excise tax(AIDES), the custom duties (TRAITES and DOUANES), the governmenttobacco monopoly, andthe income from royal domains.Of these taxes the abuses connected with the administration of the salt taxwas the worst. Of all the fiscal agents the saltcollector (GABELOUS)wasthe most detested. They made house to house searches for smuggledsalt.Thousandsof arrests were made. The victims were sent to the galleysin punishment.4.7.3 Social Causes:Society in France was made up of 3 ESTATESFIRSTESTATE:This group consisted of the clergy. Itwas the most influential corporatebody in the kingdom. If exercised an extraordinary influence ingovernment administration. The clergy took charge of the education andthe relief of the sick and the poor. They were wealthy and were supposedto have owned one-fifth of all the land in France. They claimed that theirproperty being dedicated toGodwas not subject to taxation. Theyconsented however to help the king from time to time by donating a‘FREE GIFT’ as they called it. The church collected tithes from thepeople. Also their vast possessions madeit very independent.A great part of this enormous income of the church went to the higherclergy–the bishops, archbishops and abbots. Since they were appointedby the king, often from among his courtiers, they tended to neglect theirduties as officers of the Church and became like a great ‘LORDS’ with ahundred thousand Francs income.While they were spending their time in Versailles the real work wasperformed by the lower clergy, who often received scarcely enough tomunotes.in

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keep body and soul together. Hence when the revolution began, the parishpriests sided with the people rather than with their superiors.SECONDEstate:Itwas the nobilitythat madeup this group. The privileges and duesenjoyed by the nobility varied greatly in different parts of France. If wasquite common for the noble landowner to have a right to a certain portionof the peasants crops. Occasionally he could collect a toll on sheep andcattle driven past his house. Sometimes he maintained the only mill, winepress on oven with ina certain district and would require any one using itto pay him a share of the product.They also enjoyed the exclusive privilege of hunting. This did a lot ofdamage to the crops of the peasants. Many manors had great pigeonhouses built which were hated by the peasants since the pigeons ate thesown seed.The rank of nobility was acquired by birth, by military service, by thepurchase of patents of nobility or by the possession of certain publicoffices.However many wealth commoners were able to purchase wasteestates and buy their way into this estate.Once they tuned nobles. Theyclaimed all the rights andprivilegesthat went with it. This was even moreodious to the people at large than they otherwise would have been.THIRDESTATE:Everybody whodid not belong to either the clergy or the nobilitywasregarded as being from the 3rdestate. The estimated number in 1789 beingabout 25 millionsoles.A great part of the 3rdestate lived in the countryand tilled the soil. They were oppressed by theburdens of taxation anddues to be paid to the lords. They also suffered from the famines that wereincreasing frequently.Only a small percentage of the population lived in cities, and the Citieseven the largest were thinly populated.The inborn population was dividedinto two groups.Thebourgeoisielived on their income or else from therevenue of a trade, “a profession thatrequiredlittle manual labour.Allother citydwellersbelonged to an urbanproletariat.Many wealthybourgeoisieswere able tobuytheir way into the nobility,but tradition and royal edicts excluded them, from the-highest positions.Theywanted achange in the system, but they were disallowed to work forit.On the other and, the hardships of the petty craftsmen and workmenincreased. They were subjected more closely than ever to the authority ofthe individual employer in particular and to that of the government ingeneral. Prices of commodities increased, but wages did not. This causedimpoverishment.Those thrown out of employment were reduced to anti-munotes.in

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social activities.Thus labour of the 18thcentury voiced their protestthrough revolution.4.7.4 The Age of Enlightenment:The age of Reason, that is the period roughly from 1715-1789 has beencredited to be the main cause for the outbreak of the revolution. The menwho effected this change called themselves ‘PHILOSOPHES”. They werenot conscious advocates of violent revolution, but were enemies of ancientabuses.Of all these ‘PHILOSOPHES’,3 names standout MONTESQUIEU,VOLTAIRE AND ROUSSEAU1.MONTESQUIEU(1689-1755):He was a polished and an eminent lawyer. He was well versed in historyand a Student of human institutions.His writings were the result ofsystematized and careful thought. He stood for a constitutional form ofgovernment and believed in the supremacy of law. He believed that libertycould be achieved only if there was a separation of power. He wrote the‘SPIRIT OF LAWS’, which was a product of 20 years of labour. This wasa study of political philosophy, an analysis of various forms ofgovernments and their merits and demerits.2.VOLTAIRE (1694-1778):He was the foremost champion of reason and tolerance during the 18thCentury. His name is permanently associated with the campaigns whosemotto was“CRUSH THE INFAMOUS THING”, which was againstreligious authority. He is famous for his “Essay on the Manners and spiritof Nations”. In his ‘Treatise on Tolerance’, in thousands of letters hedenounced the ‘Infamous thing’. He fought intolerance with deeds as wellas words.3.JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU (1712–1778):The best guide to this extraordinary individual is his ‘CONFESSIONS’which tell the story of his life experiences, upon which his entire programof thought and action was largely built.Rousseau advocated a “Return to NATURE’.It washis most famouswork. ‘THE SOLIAL CONTRACT’ he argued that all men had certainnatural rights and liberties, which were life, liberty and property and thatmen no longer owned obedience to any government that failed to protectthem, in those rights and liberties.In this book, he also outlined the tenets of a civil religion which directlyinspired the revolutionaries of 1793-94. But his greatest contribution ishis doctrine of popularsovereignty, with its attendant corollaries of“LIBERTY EQUALITY AND FRATERNITY”.munotes.in

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4.7.5 Other Causes:The French participation in American Revolution was a majorcontributing factor to the revolution in France for various reasons :•The French treasury turned bankrupt in a war which yielded noreturns. This precipitated a financial crisis in France.•The French were inspired by the Americans and ‘The DeclarationINDEPENDENCE”.They received justification to revolt against thecorruption and exploitation of their government.•They gainedexperience in matters pertaining to Revolution.Failure of Reforms in France:The monarch Louis XVI realised that finances in France was at adeplorable level.Something had to be done to save the situation.Hetherefore attempted to reform the economy by appointing good and soundfinancial advisers, but no change was able to be effected.Turgot (1774-1776):Louis XVI appointed Turgot as controller general of finances.The kingalso re-established theabolishedparliament as an act of reconciliationbetween the government and its powerful critics.Turgot’s views onfinances can be summarised in the phrase ‘No Bankruptcies, no new taxesand no loans’.By rigid economy Turgot didaffectgratifying savings forthe treasury.However his example did not influence the monarch, hencewasteful expenditure continued.Turgot’s measures corned him thehostility of the privileged class who along with the Queen MarieAntoinette, prevailed on the king to dismiss him.NECKER (1776-1781):After several months, Louis XVIappointed the most famous of bankersNecker to take charge of the finances of trance. His administrative reformswere sound, though hardly sufficient as a remedy to the problem. Neckerhad many friends, but he also had many foes. In order to strengthen hisposition, he published the ‘CompeteRENDU Au Roi’. This gave detailsof his public administration, and well as details of expenditure of the king.This brought him unpopularity, and led to an attack by the kings brothers,courtiers etc.Nackademandedthe title of ‘Royal Minister’ from the king. When hewas refused, he resignedCALONNE (1781-83):The immediate successor was Calonne, an intendant and a highlyintelligent and resourceful person. This solution to financial ailments wasthe restoration ofpublic confidence.The best way of doing this accordingto him was to give the appearance of prosperity. Therefore he threw theeconomy to the winds and expanded the credit of the government byborrowing heavily from the capitalist.munotes.in

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However deflation soonset in, and the confidence of the capitalistvanished more rapidly than it had been restored.Necker’spublication in1785, of 3 volumes on the Administration of Finances was a ruderevelation to hard headed business men who had imagined that prosperitycould be maintained permanentlyby inflating the purchasing powerinstead of balancing thegovernment’sbudget.Calhounwas ultimately dismissed by the king. He fled to England.Check Your Progress:4.What were the major causes of French Revolution?
4.8 BEGINNING AND COURSE OF THE REVOLUTION4.8.1 Summoning of the Estates General:Though a revolutionary situation existed in France in the 1780’s, it took aspecial chain of circumstances to precipitate the revolution.Having failedto raisethe revenues, he wanted by means of existing laws, Louis XVIwas compelled to at last seek additional taxing authority according tohistoric precedent,and suchauthority could be granted only by the EstatesGeneral.This body represented the 3majorEstates of France, and had notmet since 1614.Theking’scall for the election of delegates in 1788created a stir of anticipation, for if the king wanted new taxes, he wouldhave to make concessions to the assembled representatives.Unfortunately right from the beginning, differences between the estatesbegan to appear.The 3rdestate demanded more ‘Representation’, as theyformed the bulk of the French population. Also they demanded that votesbe taken by count of heads in the total body of representatives.They wonsatisfaction of the first demand, but failed in the second. Thus even beforethe opening of the session problems appeared.4.8.2The Opening of the Estates–General:After the session had opened, matters soon came to a head. Unable topersuadetheupper two estates to sit and vote with them as one body, therepresentatives of the 3rdestate decided to ‘walk out’ of the meetingStating that they were the only true representatives of the people, theydeclared themselves to be the ‘National Assembly’ of France (June 17thmunotes.in

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1789). This proclamation was the first act of revolution a crisis0wasbrewingup.4.8.3 Tennis Court Oath:Louis XVI was forced to take a decision. He sided with the upper twoEstates. Thus when the deputies of the 3rdestatearrived for the meetingon June 20ththey found that the doors of the assembly were closed tothem. Itwas a twominutes’ walkto thenearbyindoor tennis court, a barelittle building with only a floor space and galleries for spectators. Therethedetermined deputiestook the ‘TENNIS COURT OATH’ which statednever to separate and to reassemble wherever circumstances demandeduntil the constitution of the realm was established and affirmed upon asolid basis.Within a few days, the National assembly was joined by many priestsfrom the first estate, as well as some nobles from the 2ndestate. The kingtried to intimidate this body by now calling for his troops (20,000 soldiers)to Versailles.4.8.4 The Fall of Bastille July 14th1789:The National assembly was rescued by the people of Paris.Lawand orderbegan to break down. Men everywhere began to arm themselves fordefence, against theking’sforces. The excitement in Paris, fed byRumours of troop movements rose higher and higher.Crowds began toroamthe streets in search of weapons and on July 14ththey demandedarms from the Bastille.Bastille was a fort where arms and ammunition was stored. It was also aplace where political prisoners were kept. It was hated as it was a sign ofdespotism. When its commander refused to turn in the arms, the mobattempted to push theirway in. After an exchange of gunfire, in which ahundred of the insurgents were killed, the commander agreed to surrender.The mob then rushed in and took over the fort. This was the starting pointof the revolution.4.8.5Work of the Assembly:After the fall of the Bastille, the king had no option but to yield to thedemands of the Paris mob and the 3rdEstate.Troops were recalled. Theking recognised a self-appointed citizen’scommittee as the newmunicipalgovernment of Paris and directed the representatives of theprivilegedestates to sit in the National Assembly.Thus the revolution was saved forthe time being.Meanwhile violence broke out in the country side asrumoursoflandlordsattacking peasants was spread. This was known as the ‘GREAT FEAR’.As a result peasants organised themselves and began to destroy and lootmunotes.in

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the manors–the assembly had to appease the peasants, so they declared‘feudalism as abolished. The assembly now turned to the task of draftinga ‘constitution for France’.The preface to this had ‘The Declaration ofRights of Man and Citizens’.Toserved as a guide to the new order.The king, however was not willing to accept these changes. At the sametime food was turning scarce. Confusion once again began to manifestitself. On October 5thangry mobs consisting mainly of women marched12 miles from Paris to Versailles demanding ‘BREAD’.They forced theking and thequeensto return back to Paris.The constitution was ultimately completed in 1791.It reflected itsextremist trend. It provided for a unicamerallegislatureand a suspensiveVeto for the king. France was thus declared as a ‘ConstitutionalMonarchy’Unfortunately Louis XVI sealed his fate byattempting toescape from France. He was however caught and brought back inhumiliation. Ultimately the king and his family were put on trial.Theywere found guilty of conspiracy against the Assembly. They were thenguillotined!4.8.6 Reign of terror 1792-95:The nest phase of the French Revolution was known as ‘The ReignofTerror’.During this period, there was a ‘counter–Revolution’ as war wasdeclared by other European powers against the French. While this was on,in France members of the aristocracy and their sympathizers wereguillotined.Fortunately by 1794, French Forces were able toovercomethe coalitionforces.Robespierre the chief dictator of the ‘Reign of Terror’ was put todeath.Thus the 2ndphase of the French Revolution ended.4.8.7The Directory and the Rise of Napoleon:The 3rdphase of the French Revolution saw the rise of the Directory whichtook place on October 27, 1795. The French were worn out with all itsproblems. The revolutionary fevere had exhausted itself. People wantedrest and order since enthusiasm bad given way to disillusionment.The 5 directors worked with zeal and courage to satisfy the demands ofthe country. Their first concern was with the restoration of politicalstability. “To wage active war upon royalism, stimulate patriotism,vigorously tocrush allfactions,extinguish partisanfeelings and desire forvengeance, to make concord reign.Unfortunately the Directory lacked effective leadership. A brilliant younggeneral,NapoleonBonaparte, was quick to grasp the facts of the politicalsituation. He had first defended the government in 1795,against theattacks by the royalistmobs. Two years later his troops were called on tomunotes.in

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 enforce illegal measures that had been taken by the directory.In 1799, heplotted with some of itsown leaders to take over the state bya suddenseizure(coup d’etat).The conspirators believed that onlya stronggovernment headed by a general could fend of royalism, establish internalorder, and defeat France’s foreign enemies. Napoleon after taking over,proclaimed himself as the ‘FirstCounsel’ of France. Later on heproclaimed himself as the Emperor of France (1804).4.8.8 Domestic Policy of Napoleon:Napoleon was more than a general. Born on the island of Corsica in 1769,heturned a fervent French nationalist.He declared himself as the ‘SONOF THE REVOLUTION’ since it was the revolution that gave him theopportunity to rise.His first task on assumption of power was to securedomestic peace and order. He arranged to have his opponents silenced bymeans of selective deportations etc.He removed Catholic disaffection bysigning the ‘CONCO RDAT’ with the Pope in 1801.He re-organised the educational institutions in France, which till todayremain the bases of French education.He was responsible for reorganisinglaw and administration.He appointed commissions to cut throughcenturies old accretion of rules and regulations and brought to completionthe ‘CODE NAPOLEON’.The Code was to become the basis of law inmajor portions of Europe and America.4.8.9 Napoleons Codes:The Civil Code was profoundly national.It was at once “a summary and acorrection of the Revolution”.If gave the unity of legislation that Francehad long desired. The state was made secular.Attempts to restore familylife was also made.A code of civil Procedure was also formulated. The code of CriminalProcedure and the Penal code was also formulated.These codesperpetuated many of the changes that were introduced during theRevolution.‘Equality beforelaw’ was recognised by having the samepenalties for all citizens. The commercial code also served as a model formany countries in Rurope, being in force at the present day in Belgiumand Italy.Thetotality of these codes representsthe most comprehensive effort madein France to achieve legal unity.If has been rightly said that these codeswere Napoleons most ‘DURABLE ACCOMPLISHMENT’.4.8.10 Foreign Policy:His first move I foreign affairs was to break the second coalition ofEuropean powers which had come together against France.By swiftmilitary strokes andskilfuldiplomacy, he achieved his goal by 1802.Hismunotes.in

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ambition however drove him toinauguratingwhat came to be known asthe continental system with a view of conquering the continent, as aprelude to conquering the world.Napoleon therefore set out to conquer Spain, Portugal, Italian State,Prussia and other German states etc. Unfortunately he was unable to gainvictoryover England.Ultimately a coalition of European powers wasformed againsthim.He was defeated in 1814 and banished to the island ofElba. However he escaped from there. Shortly afterwards he was able toraise on army.However,onceagain a coalition of European powers wasformed against him.Napoleon was ultimately defeated at Waterloo in1815.He was expelled to the island of ST.Helena, where he ultimatelydied.Napoleon however planted the seeds of a new order in Europe, and thecontinent would never again be the same.Check Your Progress:5.What is the Importance of Napoleons code?4.9OUTCOMEOF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION•The French Revolution was not just a local event. It effected the wholeof Europe and the world.The Revolution stood for the principles of‘LIBERTY, EQUALITY AND FRATENITY’.Thus these ideal,inspired and dominated European ideals and politics throughout the19thcentury. If also sealed the fate of monarchs in the world•The Declaration of the Rights of Man by the National assemblyemphasized the fact thatsovereigntyresided in the people and the lowis the expression of general will.•The Revolution asserted that all men are equal before law andabsolutely no justification for the maintenance of privileges whetherbased on birth or wealth. The result was that serfdom, feudalrestrictions and limitations were removed.Religioustoleration wasassured. Freedom of the press was established and the right of theindividual to education was maintained.•The principle of ‘Nationality’ was also asserted by the revolution.•Humanitarianism was given aStimulusby the revolution, as efforts toabolish slavery and to improve the conditions of prisons were made.munotes.in

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Legislation was passed in many countries to improve the conditions ofpeople in general.•The French revolution helped in the revival of ‘Romanticism’by theassertion ofindividualism, the defiance of tradition and theestablishment of human life on the basis of pure feeling.•Napoleons conquests paved the way for the growth of nationalism.This led to the processesof Unification. Italy and Germany.Nationalism also grew in the Balkans and Denmark.His codes were copied by almost all European countries. Due to him ageneral recognition that religion was apersonal matter and not thereduction of the role of the Church in state affairs now turned theorder ofthe day.Check Your Progress:6.Bring out the results of French Revolution.munotes.in

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C. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION4.10MAIN FEATURES•The Industrial Revolution was unplanned.•Machinery replaced manual labour; small output in cottage industriesgave place to large scale production in factories.•With increased production, there was a need to reach a wider marketfor the finished goods as well as markets to bay the raw materials.This necessitated important changes in the transport andcommunications systems.•Wealth and population began to increase. Population began to migratefrom the rural areas to urban centres in search of employment. Thisresulted in a growth of cities and towns and along with it social andeconomic changes.•The IndustrialRevolution featured on ‘capitalism’ as a way of life.Those who possessed the means of production emerged in favourablepositions and were the new masters of society.•It led to an increasing application of science to industry.4.11INTRODUCTIONThe era of 19thCentury was aimed at political and social reforms engagedthe attention of Europe. The socio-political was happening in the variouscountries in Europe but the more important focus in Europe was theRevolution in Science and Technology. Therefor the whole scenario ofEuropean nations was changed because of the great Impact of theIndustrial Revolution.The Industrial Revolution has changed the entire Socio–Economic life ofthe European peoples. The evolution and discoveries in various fieldandafter Industrial Revolution has greatly influence on the European Society.The term ‘Industrial Revolution’ refers to series of invention where by theprocess of manufacture, in cotton industries first, then in others weregreatly improved and speeded up.4.12GREAT BRITAINThe Industrial Revolution wasbegunin GreatBritain;many technologicalinnovations were ofBritish origin.Great Britain was the main center ofIndustrial Revolution because the revolution was inverted inBritainin 18thcentury. Later on it was spread to other countries.munotes.in

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4.12.1 Causes:(1) Preceding and accompanying the Industrial Revolution weresignificant changesin agriculture.New farming implements, betterfertilizers, scientificbreeding etc.were tried. The result wasa sharpincrease in output.However it also created a large pool of displacedworkers who desperately sought employment. Some hired themselves outto successful farm operators, others turned to spinning and weaving. Theywere ready to go wherever they could earn better wages. Hence they wereunafraid of hard work, and they provided the economy with abundantlabour.4.12.2During this period, British traders were discovering lucrative newmarkets.By 1750Britainhad built up a globe–circling empire supportedby a large Navy and merchant fleet. Rich profits beckoned to traders whocould increase their exports.4.12.3Rich deposits of coal and iron close to one another helped theprocess of Industrial progress inBritain.4.12.4Britainas an island kept herself free from the continental politicalentanglements. Also her strong central government gave political stabilityto the country.4.12.5England had strong traditions in encouraging literary andeducational activities as well as free enterprise.4.12.6England’s fortunes rested partly on her advantageous geographicalposition, as well as partly on the character of her people.4.12.7There were large scale migrations from other nations to Englanddue to religious persecution.The migrants were skilled artisans.Theymigrated with their skills and their money.They gave a fresh impetus toEnglish industry.4.12.8Finally,in spiteof the existence of all these favourable factors, theIndustrial Revolution could not have taken place in England, hadtherebeen no inventive genius.End and war fortunate in producing greatscientists and inventors like sir Humphry Davy, George Stephenson etc.4.13 COURSE OF THE REVOLUTION4.13.1 Textile Revolution:The Revolution started in the textile industry. A series of inventions gavethe textile merchants what they were looking for and led to the generalmechanization of industry in England. The first breakthrough, about 1767was a hand-powered multi-spindled spinning wheel (JENNY). It wasinvented by James Hargreaves, an English spinner. If enable a singleworkman, by turning a wheel to spin 8-10 threads at once, and thus do thework of 8-10 spinners. If was named after his wife, and it increased themunotes.in

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production of yarn. A year later, abarberRichard our wrightPatentedadevicefor drawing out thread by means of rollers. He made a large fortunefor himself by establishing a great factory filled with power drivenmachines. In 1779, Samuel Crompton made a happy combination ofHargreaves’sspinning Jenny and Arkwright’s roller machine which wascalled the ‘Mule’.Beforethe end of the 18thcentury, machines spinning 200 threadssimultaneously had been invented.Such inventions produced the factorysystem of manufacture.In 1784, Dr. Cartwright, a clergyman of Kent, patented a new loom, whichautomatically threw the shuttle and shitted the weft.This machine wassteadily improved during the 19thcentury.The timerequiredfor bleachingwas reduced by several months to a few days by the use of acids, insteadof relying principally upon the sunlight.In 1782, Eli Whitney in the United States invented ‘POWER GIN’, whichenabled one man to take the seeds out ofover1000 pounds of cotton aday, instead of 5 or 6 pounds which had been the limit for the handworker. Theeffect of these inventions in increasing the amount of clothmanufactured was astonishing.4.13.2 The Steam Engine and Transportation:The Steam Engine, initially, was a practical response to a problem in coal-mining. Fordeep shaftsto be operated efficiently there had to be someway to pump out water that drained into them. THOMAS NEWCOMENinvented the first working machine for this purpose around 1700. Later inthe century, JAMES WATT and others made radical improvement onNewcomen’s invention. By 1800, the steam engine had become the chiefsource of power in the new factories and was being adapted to both waterand land transportation.The heroic ‘age of railways’ waslaunched in1830 when GEORGESTEPHENSON’S framed locomotive the ‘ROCKET’, made its first runon the Liverpool and Manchester line. Within a generation thousands ofmiles of tracks, had been laid in Europe and America.An effort to build better roads was started in England when John McAdam (1756-1836) built a type of hard surfaced road called by his name.He used a mud-binder between stones to produce the hard surface. Theonly change made in this method was the substitution of tar for mud as abinder.France copied the English method, and under the patronage of thegovernment manyhighways were built.4.13.3 Revolution in Agriculture:The revolution in the agricultural sector must also be considered as a partof the Industrial Revolution. In the 18thcentury, new methods ofmunotes.in

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production and new food plans had been introduced only bya fewindividuals. The earliest of these reformers was JETHRO TULL (1680-1741). He applied himself mainly to the prevention of waste and to givingthe plant a ‘free field’.He invented a drill and a machine for sowingclover, which reduced the amount ofseed required from 10 lbs to 2 lbs onacre.His successor Lord Townshend, adopted his method of drilling andhoeing, and made extremely important experiments on the rotation ofcrops. BAKEWELL (1725-95) introduced scientific breeding of farmanimals.The British governmentintroduceda Board of agriculture to encouragefarming. Many new ideas were popularized by ARTHUR YOUNG (1741-1820) through his writings and public activities.Meanwhile new implements were introduced. Machines for harvesting andthreshing grain were invented and improved.The horse drawn rake,multiple ploughs and dairy appliances also revolutionised farming.Check Your Progress:7.Explainthe major causes and course of theIndustrial Revolution?4.14 EFFECTSOF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONHaving briefly reviewed how machinery was introduced into England inthe latter half of the 13thcentury, and how the steam engine came to beutilized as a motive power, we have now to consider the important resultsof these inventionsin changing the conditions under which people livedand worked. They can be viewed asfollows:4.14.1 Social Effects:(1) Social Problems of Urbanization:Upto the time of the Industrial Revolution the term ‘manufacture’ stillmeant as it did in the original Latin (Manu Facere) ‘to make by hand’.Artisans carried on trade with their own tools in their own homes, or insmall shops. He was able to give some attention to a small garden plot,from which he derived a part of his support. However,the factory systemput an end to all this. The workmen now had to live near their workplace.Long rows of houses without gardens or evengrass plotswere hastily builtmunotes.in

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around the factory buildings. This ultimately led to the development ofslums with all its social problems.(2) Change in the lives of women and Children:The introduction industrialisation had also a revolutionary effect upon thework and lives of women and children.Employers preferred to employwomen and children as they could be exploited by paying them lesswages. Working conditions were miserable.Often workers had to workfor 18-20 hours a day in unhealthy surroundings.This led to healthproblems as abuses grew. Homes were neglected as women were outworking all day.Prostitution and smoking and drinking among womenincreased.Children neglected education. Physical and mental deformitiesturned common, as children worked hard and did not get to enjoy the joysof childhood.(3) Change in class structure:For several centuries improvements in military technology and methods ofgovernment caused the position of the aristocrat to deteriorate.TheIndustrial Revolution brought an end to their position. Newly richcapitalist and entrepreneurs demanded a raise in their social status.Theyalsodemanded and won power in government which had been partlysubservient to the mobility.4.14.2 EconomicEffects:(1) Rise of a Capitalist Crass:The revolution in the methods of production produced a sharp distinctionbetween two classes of men involved. There were on one hand, thecapitalists who owned the buildings and all the mechanism and on theother hand, the workmen who they hired to operate the machines. Theworkingmen necessarily became dependent upon the capitalist whoexploited him with low wages and long hours of work.(2) Introduction of StandardisationinProducts:Under the old system, the entire product was hand crafted by the artisan.But in the factory system different labourers did different jobs. Action thusturned repetitive and tedious. On the other hand ‘creativity’ was lost.(3) Imperialism:The Industrial Revolution gave rise to Imperialism. European countrieswho had turnedindustrialisedbegan to look for markets for raw materials.They also began to look for markets where they could dump their finishedproducts as well as for markets for investment of surplus’s capital. Thisthey found in the markets of Asia and Africa. Hence a race for colonieswas started by every European power.(4) Increase in Wealth:The increase inindustrialisation led to greater production of wealth, goodsand services, thereby raising the standard of living. At first thesemunotes.in

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benefittedonly a small section of society, but latter on more peoplebenefittedfrom this.4.14.3 PoliticalEffects:(1) New Political Ideologies:European politics and theories of government and industry were given anew direction.The two great classes created by the revolution namely thecapitalist and the working class each entered politics on its own accordand each hada theory of government.Trade Unions were established by the working class to protect theirinterest.New concepts like socialism,communism wasalso born out ofthe need of the working class to put an end to exploitation from thecapitalist class.To this end revolutions like the ‘Russian Revolution’ of1917 was fought and communism a dictatorship of the working class wasestablished.Check Your Progress:8. Bringout the majoreffectsof the Industrial Revolution?4.15 CONCLUSIONThe French Revolution was the inspiration for all revolutions of the 19thcentury. If opened a new epoch in the history of mankind. It paved theway for individualism as it proclaimed equality for mankind.4.15.1 Summing up:The French Revolution was an important landmark in the history ofmankind.The causes for this revolution can be traced to the social,economic and political conditions of the old Regime. Along with these theInfluence of the American Revolution failure of reforms also Contributedits sharein bringing about revolution in France.The beginnings of the Revolution can be traced to the summoning of theEstates–general in 1789. The confusion that ensured in the processes ofelections to this body and thevotingprocedures to be adopted led todisturbances and turmoil.This was especially because the king Louis XVIrefusedto listen to the voice of the 3rdestatedespitethe fact that theyrepresented the bulk of the population in France.munotes.in

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This led to expulsion of the 3rdestate from the proceedings in the estate–general Angered by this the 3rdestate took the ‘Tennis Court Oath’Vowing to establish a ‘Constitution for France’.Theyalso constitutedthemselves into a National Assembly.Fortunately the National Assembly was able to survive due to Paris Mobwhowasable to capture the ‘Bastille’, thus foiling the attempts of the kingto overthrow the National Assembly with the help of his troops.From here there was no stopping the revolutionaries.A constitution wasestablishedfor Francein1791 with the king as a constitutional Monarch.Unfortunately, theking along with his family wascaught trying to escapeFrance.They were caught and put to the guillotine.The next phase was the ‘Reign of Terror’ when Robespierre was thedictator of France.Ultimate by Robespierre was put to death thus endingrevolution in France.The 3rdphase was that of the directory.The 5 directors sincerely tried tobring order out of the turmoil but were unsuccessful. They were usurpedfrom power ultimately by Napoleon Bonaparte who established himself asthe first consul of Franc and then the Emperor (1804).The most enduring of Napoleon’s achievement was to make France‘secular’ and his ‘codes’ These were copied by the many countries ofEurope.Unfortunately Napoleon’soverambitioncaused his downfall. Hetried conquering the continent. But a coalition of European powers wasformed against him.He was defeated in 1814 and expelled to the Island ofElba.He escaped and once again was able to raise an army forwar.Hewas again defeated by the coalition at Waterloo. He was banished to theisland of ST. Helena (1815) where he ultimately perished.The French Revolution had to impact all over the world especially as thewords ‘Liberty Equality and Fraternity’ turned the keywords, engineeringthe right to revolt against exploitation, and establishing a new world order.Check Your Progress:9.Discuss the conditions in the ‘Old Regime’ that brought about theFrench Revolution.munotes.in

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 4.16 SUMMARYThe American continent was discovered by Christopher Columbus in1492.Itwas however named after America Vespucci.Soon after hisdiscovery,America was colonised by the Europeans who came in searchof better prospects of all the Europeans.The British soongot mastery ofall the 13 colonies that were established.Over the period of time the colonists turned hostile to British rule. Thiswasmainlydue to the fact thatBritainbelieved in the ‘MercantilistPolicy’.According to the policy, Colonies existed only for the benefit ofthe‘mother country’.As a result rules were framed and taxes imposedwhich were against the interest of the colonies.As grievances of the colonies grew,Britaindid not to change.As a resultone event led to another, and in 1776 the war for Independent started.The war dragged on for 7 years, till help from the other European powershelped in bringing toan end in 1781.By the treaty of Paris’ 1983 Americawas at last recognised as an Independent nation with the right to chooseher owndestiny.American established a democracy which was a concept that was toextend not only to Europe but to the rest of the world.To conclude, it can be said that the Industrial Revolution is one without anend.It has gone side by side with science and technology.Whiletechnology is used in industrial development, incentives given by industryhave healed in scientific research.•In this lesson, we have studied the meaning of the IndustrialRevolution which was the application of machine power to production.•We have also seen the features of the Industrial Revolution whichmake it unique event in the history of mankind.•We have also examined critically why the Revolution Started inEngland and not in any other country.•We have briefly gone through the course of the revolution and changesthat were brought in the different fields of main’s life .•Lastly we have seen the impact of the Industrial revolution onhumankind.4.17UNIT ENDQUESTIONS1.Give the chief events leading to the revolt of England’s colonies inAmerica?2.Summarize the effects of the American War of Independence?munotes.in

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3.Describe England’s navigation and trade laws?4.Discuss the conditions in the‘Old Regime’that brought about theFrench Revolution.5.What were the causes, and consequences of the French Revolution?6.Form an estimateof Napoleon Bonaparte?7.What do you understand by the ‘Industrial Revolution’?What were thefeatures of this Revolution that made it different from otherRevolutions?8.Why did the Industrial RevolutionStart in England?What were theeffects of it?9.Briefly review the course of the Industrial Revolution?*****munotes.in

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MODULE III5FORMATION OF NATION-STATES INEUROPEUnit Structure5.0Objectives5.1Introduction5.2Concept of state, nation and nation-state5.3Factors responsible for formation of nation–state in Europei) Growth of strong monarchyii) The emergence of merchant classiii) The result of Reformationiv) Emergence of towns and city–statesv) Centralised authority of monarchsvi) The Peace of Westphalia (1648)vii) The French revolution of 1789 and the role of Napoleonviii) Role of philosophersix) The Eastern Question5.4Growth of the modern nation–states5.5Summary5.6Questions5.7Additional Reading5.0 OBJECTIVESAfter the completion of this unit the student will be able to1.Understand the meaning of the concepts of state, nation and nation–state.2.Explain the factors responsible for the formation of nation-state inEurope.3.Perceive the historical background of theevolution of nation-states4.Analyse the characteristics of nation-states5.1 INTRODUCTIONThe world ‘Nation’ is derived from the Latin word ‘natio’ which denotes‘birth’. This meaning represents racial character to the word nation. Themunotes.in

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more preferred definition is given by scholars like Burgess. He definesnation, as a population of an ethnic unity inhabiting in a territory ofgeographic ‘unity’. Nationalism is a consciousness of belonging togetherin a group which possess sine common characteristics. It is apsychological concept, a state of mind difficult to define. Nationalism canalso be defined as ‘a force binding together a community in a definedterritory for the maintenance of rights against tyrannical power of the stateand also repulse any attempt of outside aggressor to subjugate the state’.In European context the period between renaissance and industrialrevolution is known as the early modern period. This period witnessed thescientific and rational thinking, the emergence of nation-state and growthof trade and commerce to a great extent.5.2 CONCEPT OF STATE, NATION AND NATION-STATEA State is a government administered, Politically, organised territory andis recognised by the international community. Its Characteristics include:i)Apermanent populationii)An organised economyiii)A viable infrastructure to coordinate with various organsA State can be internally divided in different independent political units.The term State and country can be used interchangeably.A nationis a feeling of one ness among the group of population in apluralistic society having multicultural attributes.A nation-state is a recognised country having sovereignty and is inhabitedby a population who are united and are indivisible in spite of pluralistic innature such as Portugal, Denmark, Poland etc.The existence of state is a natural and derived from basic human instinctsand impulses and evolved further in gradual manner. According toAristotle, who is considered to be the father of political science, man is bynature a social and political animal. The very growth of villages, city orcity–state are the best example of organisation and obedience toauthority.According to Dr. Eddy Asirvatham the establishment of city-state is aworkof nature and is as natural to man as the air, which he breathes. Hebelieved that a state can reappeared even if it was destroyed. We did notchoose a state and can’t dissociate from it as we are born in to the state.According to Aristotle, the state isoutcome of basic needs of life and it’spurpose is the continuous improvement in the standard of living i.e.quality of life. This is achieved through social co-operation and untiringendeavour throughout the life which is a unique characteristic of a state.munotes.in

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We use the term state in context of federating unit such as state ofMaharashtra, West Bengal, Punjab in India or the state of Prussia inGermany or the state of New York in the United States of America, istechnically wrong but it has been in practicewhich is acceptable.Aristotle has defined the state as A union of families and villages, havingfor it’s end, a perfect and self-sufficing life, by which, we mean a happyand honourable life . But this definition refers to an ancient Greek city–stateand not to modern nation-stateThe beginning of the modern nation state is traced in western Europewhich over the period of time spread in other parts of Europe andsubsequently the major parts of the world. The nation-state word iscomprised of two words ‘Nation’ and ‘State’. The word nationcorresponds to feeling of oneness among a group of people based oncommon elements. It may be idealistic in nature without any geographicalor political territory. A ‘state’ always has four essential characteristics–(i) Population (ii) Geographical Territory (iii) Government (iv)SovereigntyA nation-state is always based on nationalism and it includes all thecharacteristics of state as well.Check Your Progress:1. Explain the concepts of state, nation and nation-state.5.3 FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR FORMATION OFNATION-STATE IN EUROPEPrior to 16thCentury the people in Europe were confined to theirrespective villages and the local element in their identity was very close tothem. The rulers also had a very vague control leading to a strongfeudalistic society, making feudal lords enjoyed a great deal of power. Theperiod between 16thand 18thcentury was marked by the rise of‘Nationalism’. The feeling of oneness was influenced by the factors suchas shared race, objectives, religion, culture, territory, past, origin etc. Themain spirit of feeling of oneness was to protect their rights and freedomagainst tyrannical power or to get freedom from foreign power. The ideaof nationalism led to the principle of National Self-Determination.Various nation-states came in to being at different intervals and in duecourse of time there were rivalries among them for supremacy.munotes.in

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The major factors responsible for the formation of nation-states:i) Growth of strong monarchy:With the beginning of modern era there was rise and growth of strongmonarchies in the different countries of Europe. The monarchs weakenedthe feudal lords and their administrative structures. They providedstability, peace and economic progress to the emerging commercialclasses. The new class of merchants preferred monarchs over feudal lords.This process was full of coercion and conciliation. The monarchs appealedto their subjects to be and feel loyal towards their states and it resulted inthe establishment of various integrated nation-states in Europe. Theconsolidation of monarchy in Russia under Ivan IV, popularly known as‘Ivan the Terrible’ who was crowned as the first Czar of Russia in 1547 isthe best example of strengthening ofmonarchy through a blend ofdiplomacy and war which resulted in death of thousands of people, foundto be ascendency of the first Czar.ii)The emergence of merchant class:The decline of feudalism in Europe the rising merchant class had a strongsense ofsecurity under centralised national power. The periods sincerenaissance brough about the commercial revolution through maritimetrade between the Europeans and the Eastern countries as well as theAmericans. The material progress attracted various strategies for thedevelopment of capitalism in Europe. It was either through militaryplunder, as in the cases of Mexico, Peru and East-Indies or by force andunequal trade and by the imposition of taxes and tributes.iii)The result of Reformation:In the beginning of the sixteen century the Pope enjoyed greaterimportance and authority in the church. He had declared himself as anItalian Prince, but over a period of time the church authorities wereinvolved in moral decline and controversies. The catholic church was notonly a religious body but also a political power. Later the monarchsstrengthened their power and were aspiring to be absolute monarchs. Thereformation led to the declining of Papal authority and strengthened theforces of nationalism and monarchy. The establishment of nationalchurches in Germany and England reflected the spirit of nationalism, Thereformation was instrumental in growth of modern nation-state. Monarchsin U.K, Spain and France regarded Pope as foreigner and opposed hisauthority. The monarchs became powerful autocrats and wealthy.iv)Emergence of towns and city–states:The decline of feudalism resulted in to the more powerful towns whichwere the centre of attraction for the serfs. They found it as a place wherethey couldbecome free men after a time. These towns were politicallymore powerful and wealthier as a compared to feudal territories. Thecitizens of the cities and towns were ready to pay higher taxes in exchangeof protection of their life and properties. The merchants preferred amunotes.in

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powerful monarch over the petty fiefdoms to whom they had to pay thetolls and fees for the safe passage from respective territories of feudallords. The monarchs collected revenue from the citizens and consolidatedtheir power by controlling more land under their control.v) Centralised authority of monarchs:Centralisation of power and policy decisions were instrumental in thedevelopment of nation-states. The central authorities’ laws and practiceswere obligatory for the entire nation. It facilitated a well-coordinatedeconomic environment and merchants could travel the across the statewithout any restriction and disparity in toll taxes. The rulers had welltrained, strong military providing better security and stability to thecitizens and merchant class. It led to the emergence of powerful nation-state in Europe.vi)The Peace of Westphalia (1648):The war between the Catholics states and the Protestant states of centralEurope lasted for thirty years (1618-48). It involved many nations ofEurope, many small German states, the Austrian Empire, Sweden, Franceand Spain. The Westphalia area of the north western Germany gave itsname to the treaty which was signed on 24thOctober, 1648. The protestantcould not be defeated by the Catholics in the war. The treaty establishedthe authority of sovereign ruler of a state over all elements of nation andthe state, including the religion. The treaty was originator of the idea ofsovereign state giving rise to several nation state.vii)The French revolution of 1789 and the role of Napoleon:The end of French revolution led to the removal of discriminatory old lawsand establishment of truly national law codes, under Napoleon Bonaparte.He established the national military which intervened and dominated thefeudal neighbours in Italy and Germany. The united efforts of the peopleresembling the character of a nation to defeat Napoleon was a turningpoint in the European history. The French revolution established theprinciples of nationalism and liberalism. The people got aware with theirnatural rights and the right to govern themselves. They were convinced tooverthrow any foreign domination The Vienna Congress under theinfluence of Russia and Austria tried to supress the idea of liberty andnationalism but it was futile attempt.viii) Role of philosophers:Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), a great English Political Philosopher in hiswork ‘Leviathan’ (1651) stated that a ruler should not be under anysuperior authority (God) because he was absoluteruler in his domain. TheWalter Berns, a political theorist argued on the basis of Hobbes statementthat anti-religious government could be established, as ruler was sovereignwithout any higher appeal against his authority. In the modern timessovereignty as a central concept is rested in the legislature, as in theUnited Kingdom or in the people as in the United States of America.munotes.in

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ix) The Eastern Question:The decline of Ottoman (Turkish) empire in the nineteenth century and atthe beginning of twentiethcentury gave rise to a very complex problem inthe European region popularly known as Eastern Question. The vacuumcreated by the decay of Ottoman Empire in the Balkan peninsula, asOttoman Turks existed there from the middle of fifteenth century. Theyhad their ruling over the Balkan peninsula, Asia Minor, Syria,Mesopotamia, Arabia, Egypt and the north coast of Africa. Then centralauthority of sultan started declining during the eighteenth century resultedin to the control of distant regions was very minimal and the provinces inBalkan peninsula and Africa remained only nominally subject to theSultan. The Turks were ruling the Balkan peninsula which included theSerbs, Greeks, Bulgars and Roumans for nearly five centuries purely onmilitary might, never absorbed them as Turkish. Balkan people survivedthe oppression by the Ottoman Turks but it was the nineteenth centurywhen they re-emerged and re-established independent kingdoms insuccession until the first quarter of twentieth century.Check Your Progress:2. Describe the factors leading to emergence of nation-states in Europe.5.4 GROWTH OF THE MODERN NATION-STATESThe modern nation-state is a long drawn historical process of more thanthousand years. The state was the product of the interplay of severalfactors such as kinship. religion, property, war, scientific advancement,technical development, political consciousness and cultural developmentover a period of time. The state of savagery culminated in to the institutionof family which brought sense of attachment, security andinterdependence of the members in a family. The institution of familygave rise to a larger social organisationreflecting the interdependence ofindividualsand groups at larger scale. There was the emergence ofcustoms and authority to regulate the social life. The advancement andexpansion of the social life led to the evolution of the state. The forms ofthe state in the course of historical evolution have been identified namely,the tribal state, the oriental empire, the Greek city state, the Roman worldempire, the feudal state and the modern nation state.The end of feudal system, the decline in the authority of the church, thespirit of reasoning, logic, freedom, equality, liberty and individualismwarranted a new political set up, resulting in to the formation of modernnation-state. The nationalistic feelings led to the emergence of France,Spain, England, Switzerland, the Netherland, Russia, Germany and Italymunotes.in

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as the nation-states. There was a gradual transition from absolutemonarchy to constitutional monarchy and democracy in large parts ofEurope since the eighteenth century.The nineteenth century Europe reflected a very strange paradox: a nation-state with liberty, equality and rule of law at homeand imperialisticexploitation in their respective colonies. Political consciousness andnational movements emerging in the colonies under the European powergained momentum after the first World War (1914-1918) and by the endof the second World War (1939-1945), the people of Asia and Africastarted the national movement to get rid of colonial powers leading toemergence of new nation-states such as India, Pakistan, Burma, Egypt,Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana, Fiji, Vietnam, Indonesia, Libya, Syria,Zimbabwe andNamibia. The new nations along with Latin Americancountries are known as ‘Third World’ or the developing nations.The international organisation and agencies such as United Nations,International court of justice, International Labour Organisation,International Monetary Fund, World Bank and International laws evolvedto address global problems and facilitating equitable resource mobilisationand secure the human values, freedom equality etc. without any prejudice.Check Your Progress:3. Appreciate thegrowth of nation-states in modern times.5.5 SUMMARYThe establishment of nation-state was influenced by various factorsranging from renaissance, reformation, counter-reformation, weakening ofpapal authority, emergence of town and city-states, spirit of liberty,equality and sovereignty.The concept of nation-state emerged from the eighteenth century onwardsand the period between the two World Wars was a turning point for theemergence of Third World countries as nation-state through a longdrawnnational movements.Expansion in the number of nation-states led to the founding ofinternational organisation and bodies including U.N.O., I.M.F., WorldBank etc.munotes.in

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5.6 UNIT END QUESTIONSI) Fill in the blanks:1.The treaty of Westphalia was signed in the year-------------.2.The Balkan peninsula was ruled by--------------empire.3.In the modern nation-states--------------was strengthened.4.The decline of feudalism led to the strengthening of-------------------.5.According to---------------the sovereignty of ruler was supreme.II) Answer the following questions:1.Describe the factors responsible for the formation of nation-state inEurope.2.Give an account of emergence of nation–states in Europe.3.Write a short note on theconcept of nation-state.5.7 ADDITIONAL READING1.Eugene J. D’souza, Landmarks in World History (1300 A.D.-1945A.D.),Manan Prakashan, Mumbai, 20182.Manohar R. Wadhwani, An Introduction to Politics, ShethPublishers Private Limited, Mumbai, 20063.Monika S. Verma, Subhraj P.Buwa, Priya S. Mital, Political Theory, Sheth Publishers Private Limited , Mumbai, 20184.M. V. Kale, E.J.D’souza, K.M. Joshi, M.C.Dias, History of ModernEurope (1848-1960) , Chetana Prakashan, Bombay5.O.P.Gauba, An Introduction to Political Theory, MacmillanPublishers India Ltd., Delhi, 20116.O.P.Gauba, Western Political Thought, Macmillan Publishers IndiaLtd., Delhi, 20117.Pukhraj Jain, Unified Rajniti Vidnyan (Political Science), (Hindi),Sahitya Bhavan Publications, Agra, 20108.Suresh Chandra Pant, History of Western Political Thought (FromPlato to Present Day),Prakashan Kendra, Lucknow,19949.Shyam M. Sayanekar, Landmarks in World History from 1300 to1945, Sheth Publishers Private Limited, Mumbai.*****munotes.in

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MODULE III6NATIONALIST MOVEMENTIN ITALYAND GERMANYUnit Structure6.0Objectives6.1Introduction6.2Unification Of Italy6.2.1 Background:6.2.2 Napoleon’s Contribution To The Unification:6.2.3 Leaders Of The Unification Movement:6.2.3.1 Joseph Mazzini:6.2.3.2 Count Cavour:6.2.3.3 Garibaldi:6.2.3.4 Victor Emmanuel Completes The Unification:6.4Unification Of Germany6.4.1 Effects Of Napoleon’s Conquest On German States:6.4.2 The Zollverein Or Customs Union:6.4.3 The Revolutions Of 1830 And.18486.4.4 The Rise Of Bismarck:6.4.5 Bismarck’s Policy Of Blood And Iron:6.4.6 War With Denmark 1864:6.4.7 Austro-Prussian War 1866:6.4.8 The Franco Prussian War 1870-71:6.5Summary6.6Unit End Questions6.0 OBJECTIVES1.To analyse the national and unification movement in Italy.2.To understand the significance of German Unification movement.3.Understand the contribution of Napoleons towards the Unification ofItaly.4.Discuss therole of various leaders in the Unification of Italy.5.Describe the contribution ofBismarck’stowards the UnificationofGermany6.Review the importance of Denmark, Austria and FrancoPrussianWars.munotes.in

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6.1 INTRODUCTIONThe Nationalistic sentiments that gained traction in the 19thcentury inEurope led to the unification of Italy and Germany.Both the states were dividedinto small independent city states.The unification of Italy and Germany was differently.The unification of Germany was relatively easier as compare to Italy. TheGermans has aconfederationparliament and custom union which broughtsome form of political and economic unity. But for the Italians there wasno form of such kind of unity but were instead directly and indirectlydominated by Austria. The unification of Italy took longer period ascompare to unification of Germany. Although theMazzini, CountCavourandBismarckplayed an important roles in the unification of Italy andGermany.6.2 UNIFICATION OF ITALY6.2.1Background:Italy was known for its ancient greatness. However this was lost in themiddle ages. By the 17thCentury, Italy was reduced to a meregeographical expression. She became the cockpit of Europe where foreignpowers contended for mastery. The country became divided into smallstates. Some states were just one town e.g. Florence, Venice. These townscontrolled trade and commerce and this led to rivalries. Another problemin the unification was the temporal power of the Pope. He had religiousand political power over Rome and neighbouring areas. Popes discouragedunity, so as to maintain their control over the Papal state. Foreign nationslike Austria and France had virtual control over some Italian statesthrough their own princes acting as kings of those states. There were someItalian patriots, but either they were not united or they were weak, to bringout the unificationprocess.6.2.2 Napoleon’s Contribution to the Unification:A new epoch began, when Napoleon Bona parte conquered the kingdomsof Austrian and French princes. He even annexed the Papal State.Hebrought together the city states. Napoleon gave Italyauniform system ofadministration.The Italians learnt the French ideas of Liberty, Equalityand Fraternity. They were introduced to concepts likeself-governmentandfreedom of press.This intensified their sense of patriotism.After Napoleon’s defeat, the Congress of Vienna was called in 1815, torearrange the map of Europe.The national sentiments of Italians wereignored and ‘status quo’ was maintained.Italy was once again divided asmunotes.in

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she was before the annexation of Napoleon. Austrian and French kingscameback to Italian states.The patriots exclaimed “We have no flag, nopolitical name,no rank among European nations.We have no commoncentre, no common market, we are dismembered”The division of Italywas1)Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, under French prince.2)Lombardy and Venetia, which were parts of Austria.3)Parma, Tuscany, Madena, under relatives of Austrian King.4)Papal state under Pope.5)Piedmont, Sardinia and Savoy, under Italian dynasty called House ofSavoy.6.2.3 Leaders of the Unification Movement:The patriots of Italy formed secret societies, to revolt against despotickings.Their aim was unity.The mostwell-knownof these was theCarbonari or charcoal burners. Its origin was in Naples.All discontentedelements joined, it.They wanted to expel foreigners from Italian soil.The Carbonari led a revolt in Naples in 1820 against the king Ferdinand I.People asked for a liberal constitution.The king agreed, but secretly askedhelp from Austria.The Austrian army came and suppressed the revolt.While one revolt was put down, another lit in Piedmont.The kingabdicated the throne in favour of his brother Charles Albert.Again Austriaintervened and put down the revolt.The French revolution of 1830 affected Italian states.There were revoltsin Modena, Papal state and Parma, but Austria suppressed all theuprisings.This taught the patriots a lesson-that the common enemy in allstates was Austria.It was therefore necessary to get ridofAustria.6.2.3.1Joseph Mazzini:He was bornin 1805 in Genoa. His father was a professor at theUniversity of Genoa. In his young days Mazzini had joined the Carbonari.He actively participated in the revolt of 1830, for which he was exiled.After his release in 1831, he founded a Society called “Young Italy”.Hisaim was to mobilise the youth to the national movement.He had immensefaith in youth power.He told the young men to speak to artisans, labour,workers and farmers, and make them aware of their rights.He wanted tomake Italy a nation.He lost faith in Carbonari way of action, which led toweak revolts.He aimed at a strong national action.His pioneerpropaganda broadened the political horizon of the Italians.The other schools of thought were-Federalists who believed that Popeshould take the leadership and establish an Italian confederation andmunotes.in

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secondly the Royalists who believed in the leadership of House of Savoybecause it was Italian dynasty and the king Was liberal.Impact of the revolution of 1848:By the year 1848 theRisorgimentomovement had stabilised. It meantthat all Italian classes believed in resurrection or revival of ltaly’s glory.The revolution of 1848, resulted in a liberal constitution in Sicily.InPiedmont, the king granted several rights to the people.Heeven marchedon Lombardy, and challenged the Austrians. However he wasdefeated inthe battle of Custoza. He abdicated in favour of his son.Italian patriots staged an uprising in Papal state.The Pope fled and arepublic was proclaimed under Mazzini’sleadership. But the French Kingsent troops to help the Pope.Mazzini’s army was defeated. The Pope cameback to power.Thus the revolts failed to achieve the unification.The process failed because Austria and France were strong.It wasimpossibleto defeat them without foreign help.Secondly,exceptPiedmont,all states opposed unity,because they would lose theirautonomy.The patriots too were disunited.They lost hope in Mazzini’smethod. This was the condition when Count Cavour entered the nextphaseof the unification movement.6.2.3.2Count Cavour:Count Cavour was the chief architect of Italian unification.He was born in1810 in a noble family of Piedmont.He was student of modernparliamentary government. He believed that westernisation was needed forprogress.He was a practical man and studied the Italian question, itsproblems and possible remedies.He served Piedmont as a member of the parliament and rose to theposition of Prime Minister.He brought liberal reforms.He developedtransportand communication. He lowered tariffs and taxes.He developedmining, agriculture and industry.He linked Piedmont toWesternEuropethrough commercial treaties.Thus Piedmont emerged as a model state.People agreed that she shouldlead the unification movement. Piedmont was the only state which had astrong army, to accept the challenge of enemy nations.Cleverly, Cavourgrasped the condition of his success-isolation of Austria.Piedmontneeded strong allies, to match Austria.He decided to seek alliance withFrance.The French King Napoleon Ill had been a Carbonari earlier andwas supposed to be sympathetictoward Italian states.He took adiplomatic step in 1855 by joining the Crimean war at the side of Englandand France. He had noenmitywith the other belligerent-Russia, but hewanted to take some interest in international politics.When Italian troopsmunotes.in

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complained about the war, he said “out of this mud of Crimea, a new Italywill be made”.After the war, Cavour was called to the Paris Peace Conference. He wentthere and put forward the problems of Italian states.Napoleon Ill agreed tohelp Italy. He met Cavour and discussed the details.He promised to helpPiedmont to drive Austria from Lombardy and Venetia.In return Francewould get Savoy andNice. France would continue to hold Naples. At thisjuncture Austria declared war on Sardinia-Piedmont.To antagonise Austria, Cavour deployed troops along the border ofLombardy. Austria asked Piedmont to retreat but Cavour refused. Austriatherefore declared war.According to the agreement Napoleon IIIpersonally,commanded French armyto the war to help Cavour.Lombardy was occupied by Sardinia. When it appeared that Austria wouldlose Venetia, Napoleon Ill halted suddenly and retreated. He signed treatyof Villafranca with Austria.Cavour was disappointed and resigned. By now Italians took destiny intotheir hands. They rejected the rulers of Parma, Modena and Tuscany. Inthis task they got moral support from England.The British Prime Ministersaid that the people had the right to change their kings.People from thethree kingdoms wished to join Piedmont.This was an important step.Sardinia-Piedmont became a large state.6.2.3.3Garibaldi:Giuseppe Garibaldi was born in Nice in 1807.He was a true supporter ofMazzini and became a member of Young Italy. He participated in a revoltagainst Piedmont and ran away to America.There he organised amovement of his followers calledRed Shirts. He came back and helpedMazzini, to abolish the authority of the Pope. French forces came toPope’s rescue. Garibaldi lost the battle and fled again to America. Hereturned to Italy and spent a farmer’s life in a small island. In 1854 Cavourcalled him and sought his help to complete the unification under theleadership of Victor Emmanuel, the king of Piedmont. Although Garibaldisupported republicanism, he accepted Emmanuel’s leadership, for the sakeof his country’s unification. He brought his followers to fight the waragainst Austria in 1859.In 1860 the patriots of Sicily rebelled against the French king Francis I.They requested for Garibaldi’s help. He immediately sailed to the shoresof Marsala with thousand followers. He defeated the king and occupiedthe whole of Sicily, in the name of VictorEmmanuel.Encouraged by the victory, he entered the main land of Italy, and reachedNaples. The king had fled. Without giving a fight, Garibaldi, capturedNaples in 1860. He then began to prepare for a march on Rome. ToCavour, the situation seemed full of danger. Rome was under the Pope. Itmunotes.in

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was occupied by a French garrison. Napoleon Ill was a Catholic and didnot want the Pope to be disturbed. Cavour understood that an attack onRome would mean a war with France.Cavour decided to checkGaribaldi’sadvance. He wanted to keep Garibaldi away. He assured toNapoleon Ill that Rome would not be attacked, but other areas of Papalstate would be captured by Victor. He marched on the Papal areas andcaptured those.People accepted him as their king. Garibaldi saluted theking, gave him all the areas under him and retired to his home town.Herefused the gifts, Victor offered him. He took only a bag of potato seedswith him.6.2.3.4 VictorEmmanuel completes the unification:Vector Emmanuel was the son of Charles Albert the king of Sardinia-Piedmont. He was fortunate to get the services of Count Cavour. He gavefull authority to Cavour to direct the course of the unification.By 1861, all areas except Venetia and Rome were out of the unification.Venetia was held by Austria and Rome by the Pope, with the help ofFrench army, Cavour thought that without Rome, there was no Italy. Overwork and extra stress brought his death in 1861.Victor decided to wait foran opportunity to conquer the two areas.In 1866, a war broke out between Austria and Prussia.Victor made analliance with Prussia that Italy would fight against Austria and in returnPrussia would help Victor to capture Venetia. Prussia won the war andcompelled Austria to surrender Venetia to Italy.Rome alone was out of Italy. In 1870 a war broke between France andPrussia. Napoleon Ill was compelled to withdraw French troops, fromRome, to be sent for the war.Victor seized the opportunity. Italian troopsmarched on Rome in September 1870.Poperetreated into the Vatican.The citizens of, Rome voted for joining the unification.Rome wasdeclared the capital of the new and United Italy. Victor Emmanuel wasaccepted as the king.Thus the unification of Italy was complete. It was due to long efforts ofItalian patriots.Check Your Progress:1.Discuss the role ofMazzini, Cavourand Garibaldi in the unification ofItaly.munotes.in

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6.3UNIFICATION OF GERMANYGermany was in a bad shape at the time of French Revolution of 1789.She wasdividedinto almost 300 petty states, each under a despot.Most ofthe kings were controlled by Austria.Nominally the kings were under theHoly Roman emperor.Austrian Prime Minister,Metternich ruthlesslycrushed all attempts at liberalism and reform.Besides Austria, Englandand Denmark had some influence on German states.The Diet was a body which had representatives from all states. The Dietnever worked for the interests of the masses.The rulers preferred tomaintain status-quo.They did not bother about theunification. TheGerman patriots tried for the unity, but in vain. Prussia was the strongestof the states and patriots hoped that she would take the reins of unificationmovement.6.3.1Effects ofNapoleon’sConquest on German States:Napoleonwas thecreator of modern Germany. He conquered most of theGerman states.He reorganised the states by abolishing petty principalitiesand free cities.German states had a common language and culture.Napoleon’sadministrativeunityencouraged the forces of nationalism andunity. He abolished feudalism and serfdom and taught the Germansequality before law.However,Napoleon’sdefeat crushed all hopes of patriots.The PeaceSettlement atViennamade Germany a loose confederation of 39 states,with the Diet.Itwas presided over by Austria.All the 39 rulersreintroduceddespotism.For a generation, the states remained stagnant.Sacrifices made by patriots were forgotten. The reasons were Lack ofUnity among nationalists and superiority of Austria.A characteristic feature of German history is the influence of scholars andthe learned. The University of Jena served as the centre of radical thought.Austriacomplained that the universityencouragedrevolutionarytendencies.Lnspiteof it, students formed secretsocieties.To put down theyouth, Austria passed theCarlsbadDecrees in 1819.Committees wereappointed to supervise student and teacher activities.The press wascensored.Suspicious persons were taken into custody.6.3.2The Zollverein or Customs Union:Different German states had different regulations for trade.Tax posts wereset up at borders and interstate trade was taxable.This arrangement wasdetrimental to trade.Prussia gave the lead in bringing economicunification of German states. She announced the Zollverein or 12 states.Free trade was established within the 12 states. All internal customs wereabolished.On the other hand, those states which did not join theZollverein had to pay, transport duties on goods passing through themunotes.in

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customs union. This policy was fatal to small nations. Therefore, finally,all states joined the union. Austria was also invited, but she did not jointhe Zollverein. Thus Prussia became the commercial leader. This issupposed to be the first step towards unification.6.3.3 The Revolutions of 1830 and.1848:Encouraged by the French revolutionaries, German patriots raised revoltsagainst their Kings in July 1830.Most of the rulers were forced to acceptliberal reforms.The Prussian monarch did not give constitutional reforms.He put down the rebellion.Later, Metternich crushed all revolts inGerman states.He reintroduced despotism in Germany.It was a period when peopleorganised a two-fold agitationone forUnification and othersfor Liberalism.In 1847 a meeting of variousintellectuals and radicals was held. It was decided to unite and opposedespotism.In Berlin the people selected their representatives and formed aFrankfurt Parliament, to discuss about the future government.Meanwhile the 1848 revolution began in Europeanstates.In Austria,people overthrew Metternich. There were revolts in German states also.The Prussian king Fredrick William IV was forced to adopt liberalreforms.He also promised to become the leader of the unificationmovement.However, the king did not keep his promise. Soon he resorted back to hisautocratic rule. He revived all rules and restrictions. A ban on freedom ofpress was imposed.People were not allowed to meet and hold discussions.Feudal Laws were restored. It was one of the most shameful periods inthe history of Prussia. Yet, there was economic and intellectual progress.Prussia was linked to foreign countries for trade purposes.Thesedevelopments brought in prosperity.It gave rise to a new capitalist class,which wanted to widen markets.This could be done by a strong and stablegovernment.This new economic class was ready to strengthen the rulingclass.Side by side there was a great intellectual awakening, which arouseda wave of nationalism and patriotism. People realised that a strong armywas needed to humiliate Austria. In this task the king got help from OttoVan Bismarck, the foremost leader of the unification.6.3.4 TheRise of Bismarck:He was born in 1815 in a noble family of Prussia. After education hejoined the civil service, but was dismissed due to lack of discipline. Hehad no sympathy for liberals and supported monarchy. Due to this supportthe king took him into diplomatic service. First he served in the Diet.There he studied the administration of Austria. Later he became Prussianambassador to Russia and France. He was able to assess the weaknessesand strengths of both countries. He made use of this knowledge in his latercareer.munotes.in

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A majority of the members of the Parliament were Liberals. Theyopposed the king, when he tried to increase his military strength.Bismarck supported the king and assured him that he would put the king’splan into action. The king gave Bismarck all reins of the unification.6.3.5 Bismarck’sPolicy of Blood and Iron:Bismarck had two aims.1) Prussia should assume the leadership ofGerman unification. 2) Prussia should not merge her identity intoGermany. Instead she should conquer Germany and propagate Prussianculture and civilisation. He knew that his aims could not be achieved bypeaceful means. Therefore he initiated the policy of blood and iron. Thepolicy demanded that first Prussia should build a strong army. Secondlyall danger of foreign intervention in the German question should beeliminated. He did not want France, England or Russia to help Austria.His aim was to isolate Austria. For this purpose he played his cardstactfully. He offered Prussian help to Russia in 1863 at the Polish revoltand earned the Czar’s gratitude and assurance of neutrality in case of aconflict between Austria and Prussia, in future.He then built up the army, ignoring the opposition. He set about to achievethe aim i.e. Unification. It could not be achieved without the eliminationof Austria. But before challenging Austria he fought a war with Denmark.6.3.6 War with Denmark 1864:Bismarck fought a war with Denmark for two reasons. He wanted to putPrussian military to test. Secondly, he wanted to find an opportunity towage war against Austria, in the Dutchies ofSchleswigand Holstein.Both Dutchies were German, but were governed by the ruler of Denmark.People of Holstein were German, but inSchleswigthere were manyDanes. According tothe treaty signed in 1852, the Dutchies could not beannexed by Denmark.Lnspiteof it, the Danish king declared theannexation ofSchleswig. At the same time Austria took Holstein.Bismarck declared war on Denmark. The Danes were defeated. PrussiacapturedSchleswig. In a diplomatic manner, Bismarck came in contactwith Austria because of her presence in Holstein. Next Bismarck preparedhimself and his army for the war with Austria.6.3.7 Austro-Prussian War 1866:Causes:1.The Zollverein proved beneficial.Austria wanted to join it, butBismarck refused to letAustria in it.2.The ruler of a German stateHessengave a new Constitution, butpeople opposed because it was not liberal.Austria supported thepeople, while Bismarck sided with the ruler ofHessen.munotes.in

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3.Diplomacy of Bismarck brought the war. He wanted to isolate Austriaand, built an opposition against it.England favoured Prussia’s freetrade and hated Austria’s reactionary policies. Bismarck secured theCzar’s admiration by helping him in Polish revolt.The Czar wasalready angry on Austria, because she did not help the Czar during theCrimean war.Napoleon Ill the king of France wanted a war betweenAustria and Prussia, so that both countries would becomeweak and hewould get a chance toextend his empire.Bismarck secured hisneutrality.Then he made an agreement with Italy and promised to helpItalians capture Venetia in return of military aid to Prussia.ThusBismarck diplomatically isolated Austria.4.The immediate cause of the war was provided by theduchyofHolstein which was under Austria.Bismarck alleged that Austria didnot administer the area properly.The Germans there had to beprotected and so Bismarck declared war on Austria.The war lasted for seven weeks.Some dutchies helped Austria, but noEuropean state came to her help.The Prussian army which wasreorganised,was commanded by VonMolten.Italian participation dividedAustria’s forces into two.Within first three days Prussia defeated thedutchies, and annexed North Germany.Moltenthen moved further.Themain battle was fought atSedonaon July 3, 1866. Bismarck and thePrussian king watched it from a hill top.Austria fought bravely, but finallylost the battle. She lost almost 40,000 soldiers in the campaign.In France,Napoleon Ill was criticised for not helping Austria.A strong Prussia wascreated after the war.The Treaty of Prague:It was the master diplomacy of Bismarck. He kept the terms not harsh, orelse France was likely to intervene. The terms of the treaty were-1.Confederation of German states was abolished;thereby endingAustria’s influence in Germany.2.Austria had to pay war indemnity.3.Austria had to give Venetia to Italy and Holstein to Prussia.4.Prussia annexed German dutchies which helped Austria and combinedthem into a union.5.Other states were kept independent.As a result of the treaty the North German Confederation was created.Prussian king became its President. Thus half of the unification processwas done. The war was highly beneficial to Prussia. Her internationalprestige increased. Her military power was acknowledged in Europe.6.3.8The Franco Prussian War 1870-71:A war with France was necessary for the unification.The causes of thewar are as follows—munotes.in

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1.16 German states were out of the unification.They had to bepersuadedor conquered.In either effort, there was danger of Frenchintervention.Bismarck’s diplomacyworked once again.He gotEnglish neutrality by creating bitterness between England and France.Bismarck persuaded Russia and Italy to remain neutral.Austria hadbecome weak and would not help France. These developments angeredNapoleon Ill.2.Napoleon Ill had failed in his Mexico campaign of 1864. He had losthis prestige and wanted to revive it by a war against Prussia. He wasfrustrated after the Austria Prussia battle, because Prussia had becomestrong, against his expectations.This created enmity between the twocountries.3.Napoleon Ill was ambitious. Bismarck had promised him someterritory during Austro Prussian war. But he did not keep his word.The French decided to settle the dispute by a war.4.The immediate cause was given by Spain.Both countries interfered inthe Spanish succession issue. In both countries there was public hatredagainst each other. Finally war was declared in July 1870.During the war the 16 states helped Prussia. The army invaded France.Prussia won many battles and captured large areas in France.The mainbattle at Sedan was led by Napoleon Ill.He was defeated and forced tosurrender.The people in Paris continued to fight for 4 months. Then theysurrendered to Prussia. The treaty of Frankfurt was signed according towhich France had to surrender the rich provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.France agreed to pay a huge war indemnity.A part of German army had tooccupyFrance till the money was paid. France was declared a republic.The Southern States joined Prussia during the war.A compromise wasmade and the states agreed to join the union.Before the end of the Franco-Prussian war the task of German unification was completed on January18, 1871.A German empire came into being.TheKingof Prussia wasdeclared the king of Germany.The federal government was announced.Berlin was made the capital.It was the clever and ruthless diplomacy ofBismarck which broughtabout the unification of Germany.Check Your Progress:2.Describe the Austro Prussian war of 1866 and The Franco Prussian warof 1870-71.munotes.in

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6.4 SUMMARYIn the above pages, we have examined the evolution of democracy inEngland.The Britishfirst realised the significance of democracy.It was aprocesswhich lasted for centuries.Today England boasts of itsdemocracy.Later many countries followed its example and adopteddemocratic constitutions.We have also taken an account of the unification of Italy.The efforts ofItalians patriots were successful, when the numerous Italian states werebrought together under one Italian flag.Bismarck was the main force of German unification.He followed aruthless policy to achieve the task.With sheerdiplomacy he made thingseasier. His country Prussia spread its culture in the new Germany. In away Germany wasprussianised.In all the above mentioned countries thetasks were lengthy and difficult.However the efforts of people made thosepossible.6.5UNIT ENDQUESTIONS1.What were the various stages in the unification ofItaly?2.Discuss the contribution of the four major leaders of the unificationprocess in Italy.3.How did Bismarck achieve Germanunification?4.Write short notes on:a)MagnaChartab)Oliver Cromwellc)Zollverein5.Trace the rise and growth of democracy inBritain6Discuss the various Acts passed in evolution of Parliamentarydemocracy inBritain.7.Access the role of Glorious Revolution in thedevelopmentofParliamentary democracy inBritain.*****munotes.in

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MODULE III7IMPERIALISTEXPANSION IN ASIAUnit Structure7.0Objectives7.1Introduction7.2Meaningand Nature7.3Causesfor Imperialist Expansionor Imperialism7.3.1 Economic Causes7.3.2 Political Causes7.3.3 Religious Causes7.4New Imperialism7.4.1 Conquestand Colony7.4.2 Concessionand Franchise7.4.3 Lease-Hold:7.4.4 Sphereof Influenceand Sphere Of Interest7.4.5 Protectorate:7.4.6 Financialor Tariff Control7.4.7 Extra-Territoriality7.4.8 Mandate System:7.5Imperialist Expansionor Imperialismin Asia7.6Impactof Imperialist Expansionor Imperialism7.7Summary7.8Unit End Questions7.0 OBJECTIVESAfter the study of this module student will be able to1.Understand the meaning and nature of the Imperialist expansion orImperialismin the modern world.2.Explain causes / factors that led to nations following this policy.3.Describe the different forms of Imperialist expansion.4.Tell the Imperialist expansion in Africa / Partitioning of the DarkContinent.5.Understand the Imperialist expansion in Asia.6.Assess the Imperialist expansion in the Far East.7.State the Impact / Effects of Imperialist expansion.munotes.in

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7.1 INTRODUCTIONImperialist expansion or Imperialism was a policy followed by Europeannations in the late 19thcentury and early 20thcentury. It involved conquestof underdeveloped countries and the use of their natural resources.Modern Imperialism or Imperialist expansion made a sudden reappearanceand was one of the most important policies of the Great Powers.Surprisingly till 1870 public opinion in most European countries wasagainst colonies. Adam Smith had stated that the benefits ofImperialisticwere far less than it’s burdens. Disraeli of Great Britain had describedcolonies as “millstones around our necks”. The sudden change of opinionwas brought about by both economic and political considerations. Thesearch for raw materials and new markets to sell manufactured goods wasas important as the need to find new outlets for the excess capital. It was amatter of pride for a country to have colonies and ambitious politicianswere determined to conquer as much land as possible. In their efforts tospread Christianity, the missionaries supported the Imperialist policies oftheir countries.What was strikingly new of this movement wasitsintense concentrationin AFRICA and ASIA. The white man seized every opportunity toconquer and colonise or to at least extend “spheres of interest / influence”over these two continents. It seemed like the history of Europe was livedin Asia and Africa.The imperialist policy normally involved the use of force against itsvictims and hence this ruthless policy of European expansion has beencondemned by many.The results of this policy were varied.The economic and social effects hadboth positive and negative aspects.Though industrialisation wasintroduced, economic exploitation continued.Western education helpedmany and it led to the socio-religious reform movement.Finally all thecolonised countriesinAsia and Africafought for and won their freedom.7.2 MEANING AND NATUREImperialist expansion and Imperialism can best be described as the policyof the developed nations of the world to rule over and control theunderdeveloped nations of the world. An imperialistnation used militaryforce to establish her control over the new territory and maintained it byuse of force. The purpose of this political control was economicconcessions.Science and Industry had undergone amazing development after 1750. Theprogressive application of science to industry in the development ofmanufacturing methods and new modes of transport and communicationmunotes.in

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changed the world. The steamship, telegraph shortened space—resultingin trade and commerce expanding to every corner of the world. The moreindustrialised the European nations became, the more dependent they wereon other countries for raw materials. So there came the necessity ofcontrolling those regions which produced the raw materials.Unfortunately, the people of the underdeveloped nations could not opposethe Europeans and they collapsed before European military power.The nature of European politics during this period was one of intensepatriotism and national pride. It became a status symbol to have colonies.The rivalries between European nations led to wars being fought in othercontinents. There was no international organization, which could exerciseany kind of control over the European Powers who were scrambling forterritory.It was this combination of new economic conditions with anarchicpolitical relations, which explains the nature of imperialist expansion ornew imperialism.P.T. Moon in his book “Imperialism and World Politics”, explained thatwestern imperialism followed a set pattern. First the European missionarywent in search of souls. He was followed by a merchant who went insearch of trade. He was followed by a soldier who conquered the land andestablished a colony.7.3CAUSES FOR IMPERIALIST EXPANSION ORIMPERIALISMThe extension of European control over the rest of the world was one ofthe chief features of the late 19th century. The causes were varied.7.3.1 EconomicCauses:The British economist J.A. Hobson attributed the Imperialist expansion ofthese years to new economic forces at work inthe industrialised nations.Need for raw materials:The special attractions of Asia and Africa were that they offered many ofthe raw materials needed by the factories of Europe.Besides thetraditional raw materials like cotton European industries now needed silk,rubber, vegetable oil and rare minerals like manganese, zinc etc.Therewas also a great demand for petroleum. Large scale production needed asteady and huge supply of these raw materials. As the standard of livingimproved, the Europeans imported food products like coffee, cocoa, teaand meat.Need formarkets:The search for markets in which to sell the manufactured goods wasequally important.As each European nation industrialised, they producedmunotes.in

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a surplus.The European markets were saturated and so they all began tolook for new markets abroad. Due to competition, political and economicin Europe, the industrialists found their Governments ready to undertakepolitical conquest of underdeveloped territories.Once they established acolony, they could monopolise its markets and did not have to share thebenefits with other countries.Excesscapital:It was also in these circumstances that the urge to exploit backwardterritories by investing surplus capital also began.In their own countriesthe opportunitiesfor capital investment were few.The vastunderdeveloped areas of Africa and Asia offered the most opportunities,provided that they could be made safe enough for investment.Againgovernments proved responsive and provided securityby taking over thelands.David Thomson also points out, “the urge to find new outlets for the glutof capital and fresh markets for industrial output were in general moreimportant than either the quest for raw materials or the factor ofoverpopulation.”Improved means of transport and communicationalso contributed toimperial expansion.Land and sea transport was revolutionised with theapplication of the steam machine. Steam boats made bulk ocean transportpossible and those ships, which had refrigerators, could also carry foodarticles,which the European world desired.Railways connected theinteriors with the ports and raw materials could be taken to the factoriesfaster. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the Panama Canal in1914 helped to speed up trade considerably. In the 20thcentury this wasfollowed by the growth of the automobile and aviation industry, which inturn encouraged imperialism.Surplus population:The expansion of Europe after 1815 involved the export of people also.By the early 20thcentury, the pressure of population on Europe’s limitedresources was great.Many migrated to United States and Australasia, andsome to Africa and East Asia. The migration out of Europe reached it’speak in 1914.7.3.2Political Causes:AmbitiousLeaders:Most often it was ambitious politicians orbusinessmen who decided whether a nation became an imperialist nationor not. These men wanted their nations to be economically self-sufficientand powerful.Rulers like William II of Germany and Nicholas II of Russia were keen toexpand their empires.King Leopold of Belgium achieved both personaland national glory with his imperialist policy.Some like Cecil Rhodes ofmunotes.in

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Great Britain amassed personal fortune and power.In 1875, Disraelicommitted his party to a policy of imperialism and purchased shares in theSuez Canal Company.Aggressive nationalism:The spirit of national pride and prestige wasanother factor driving European nations.People happily bore the burdenof maintaining overseas empires by paying more taxes.Fascist Italy andNazi Germany followedanexpansionist policy to promote national glory.There was no international agency or mechanism to prevent theeconomicallyadvanced and militarily powerful countries fromconquering, dominating and exploiting backward regions in Asia andAfrica. Imperialism took the form of ‘might is right’.Naval Bases:In order to help maintain these empires, the ports of Africa and the FarEast were valuable as naval bases.The navy requiredthe ports for repairwork, as well as to guard the sea routes.Each nation thought of it’s ownsecurity and grabbed strategic naval bases e.g. Cyprus.7.3.3 Religious Causes:Christian missionaries too played their part in the spread ofImperialism.Themost famous was Dr. David Livingstone; sent to Africa by TheLondon Missionary Society. The missionaries tried to solve the problemsof poverty, illiteracy and diseases in these regions.While serving thesepeople many were converted to Christianity.Intheir zeal to spread theGospel,themissionaries supported the Imperialist policy of theircountries.Yet another element in the growth of imperialismwas theADMINISTRATOR and SOLDIER, the man with a mission, who was nota missionary but who welcomed anopportunity to bring order andefficient administration out of confusion.Without such men as Karl Petersin German East Africa, the consolidation of European control would havebeen impossible.The sources and nature of imperialism were many and differed fromcountry to country. It was not just that trade followed the flag, but the flagfollowed the adventurer, the Bible and the politician, along with the,banker and the businessman.The unexploited regions provided numerousadvantages, which the competitive countries seized.7.4 NEW IMPERIALISMThe forms of modern the Imperialist expansion or imperialism werenumerous and the Europeans used various techniques to establish theirempires.munotes.in

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7.4.1 Conquest and colony:The colonizing country used the force of their military to overpower thenative ruler and to annex the conquered land as the British did with India.This method proved to be expensive and burdensome.7.4.2 Concession and Franchise:When a powerful and ambitious agency got the exclusive right to exploitsome economic resources in a “backward region”, it was known as aconcession or franchise.E.g. A group of German bankers and engineersgot a concession to build a railroad, later known as the Berlin-BaghdadRailway in Turkey.7.4.3 Lease-Hold:When an exclusive right to exploit some economic resources isaccompanied with the lease of land and the actual political control over it,it is called a lease-hold.E.g. France got the lease of Kwangchow fromChina.7.4.4 Sphere of Influenceand Sphere of Interest:When a country acquires an exclusive right to exploit and develop abackward region economically, and no other country has the right toestablish any form of control over it, it is called a ‘sphere of influence’.E.g. Russian sphere of influence in northern Persia.But, if a country enjoys the right only to economically exploit a backwardregion, without the right to political control, it is known as a sphere ofinterest.7.4.5Protectorate:According to this method, a powerful country exercises political controlover a backward region, through a native puppet ruler.The native ruleronly has nominal control.E.g. Germany established a protectorate overCameroon’s, south of the Congo.7.4.6 Financial or Tariff Control:Herea powerful country may take over the complete charge of thefinances or the tariff system of a weak country e.g. U.S.A. took control ofcustom houses in Central American countries.7.4.7 Extra-Territoriality:This was a privilege given to the Europeans.They were subject only toWestern law or Western law courts, even if they committed crimes in non-European countries.munotes.in

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7.4.8 Mandate System:This form came about at the end of World War I, at the Paris PeaceConference’ It was decided that all the German colonies would be given tothe League of Nations, which would delegate its authority to other statesasitsagents or ‘mandatories’.The mandatories had to submit an annualreport to the League on the progress of the mandate.Check Your Progress:1)Describe briefly the various forms and techniques of Imperialistexpansion?7.5 IMPERIALIST EXPANSION OR IMPERIALISMINASIADuring the era of geographical discoveries and explorations in the early16thcentury, the Europeans had already begun to conquer territory in Asia.However, during the second half of the 19thcentury, the Europeans in avery aggressive manner took control of practically the entire Asiancontinent. Rivalries in the Far East also involved U.S.A., Russia andJapan. Until 1900 gains were chiefly made in the southern Pacific. Whilethe British moved north into Burma, and the Dutch strengthened theirempire in the East Indies, new empires were built up by the French inIndochina, the Germans in New Guinea, and the PacificIslands, theAmericans in the Philippines, and the Japanese in Formosa.After thattensioncentredonChina, where the Russians and the Japanese fought forcontrol of Manchuria and Korea.All countries wanted economicconcessions and trading privileges atthe expense of China. Thesetensions produced the Sino-Japanese Warl895, the Russo-Japanese War1905, the Boxer revolt 1899 and the Nationalist Revolt in China 1911.British Imperialist Expansion or Imperialism:India had attracted all the Europeans, the Portuguese, the Dutch, theFrench, and the British. Though they came to trade only at first, they soonsettled down in different areas.When they finally understood how wealthyIndia could make them, they fought for supremacy over India. The Britishdefeated the Portuguese at Bassein in 1739, and the Portuguese lost allhopes of creating an empire for themselves in India.Once again theBritish defeated the French at the BATTLE OF WANDIWASH in 1760.This shattered the French dreams of an Indian Empire.munotes.in

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The foundation of the British Empire in India was laid by LORD CLIVEwhen he won the BATTLE OF PLASSEY in 1757. The work of annexingthe territory of the Native Indian Rulers was completed by LORDWARREN HASTINGS, LORD WELLESLEY, and LORDDALHOUSIE. In 1858 after the SEPOY MUTINY political control overIndia passed from the East India Company to the British Crown. Indiaformed a vital source of wealth for Britain. Safeguarding her empire inIndia became an important basis of British foreign policy.In 1880’s Britain added BURMA and BALUCHISTAN to her IndianEmpire.In south-cast Asia, Britain got control over SINGAPORE andMALLACA, as well as a part of the island of BORNEO.In southwest Asia, Britain acquired a series of PROTECTORATES fromADEN nearthe RED SEA, to KUWAIT in the PERSIAN GULF. In 1907she got a sphere of influence in the southern half of PERSIA.In 1842 Britain secured HONG KONG from China besides otherprivileges she enjoyed in the rest of China. By the 20 century, consideringallthis territory, it would be safe to say that Britain ruled over the largestEmpire in Asia.French Imperialist Expansion or Imperialism:In the mid 19thcentury, France had acquired a part of ANAM. In 1864France took over CAMBODIA, in 1861 KOCHIN-CHNA,in 1873TONKIN and finally the whole of ANAM was annexed by the French.This territory was called FRENCH INDO-CHINA. In 1896, Franceobtained a sphere of influence over a small part of SIAM. In INDIAFrance continued to hold on to CHANDRANAGORE, PONDICHERRY,and KARIKALAND MAHE. By 1899, France had secured privileges inCHINA, in the provinces of KWANGSI and HAINAN.Check Your Progress:2. Discussthe Imperialist expansion ofEnglandinAsia?
Dutch Imperialist Expansion orImperialism.TheDutch like the British had formed an East India Company and cometo Asia as traders.The Empire that they established was mainly in south-cast Asia.They conquered the islands of SUMATRA, JAVA andCELEBES, a part of BORNEO, and a part of GUINEA.munotes.in

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 Portuguese Imperialist Expansion or Imperialism:Though the Portuguese had been defeated by the British, they still retainedthe territories of GOA, DAMAN and DIU in India till 1961.German Imperialist Expansion or Imperialism:In 1880, Germany had taken the north-eastern part of GUINEA, and in1898, leased from CHINA the KIOCHOW BAY.Imperialism in the Far East took a different shape.The Europeans weremore interested in commercial concessions and trading privileges ratherthan conquest. Both CHINA and JAPANcontinued to remain aloof for aslong as possible, but when western pressure became too much, they had torespond. However, the response of the two countries was different, withCHINA lettingherbe sliced up between the imperialist powers andJAPAN becoming an imperialist power herself.China:By the mid-19thcentury, China failedvictim to imperialist powers, inspiteof being one of the oldest civilisations of the world.Considering herself tobe superior, China had very little contact with the outsideworld. Tradewas permitted with great reluctance at one port (CANTON) only. Thispolicy of China only made the Europeans even more eager to extract fromthe weak MANCHU DYNASTY concessions of port facilities andterritories. The general aim was not toannexe land but to establishimportant centres of trade on the coastline, which would give them, accessinto the underdeveloped interiors of China.Britain had been conducting trade in cotton, tea and opium.Soon theChinese officials were addicted to opium and became more corrupt andinefficient. The Government decided to put an end to the import ofopium. When opium was prohibited, it resulted in smuggling, and finallya war.In the FIRST OPIUM WAR 1839-1842,China was defeated.THETREATY OF NANKINGwas signed by which China had to open upFIVE PORTS,—SHANGHAI, CANTON,and AMOY. FOO CHOW andNINGPO, for trade. Soon FRANCE, U.S.A. and other powers succeededthe same trading privileges. In 1842, China gave EXTRA-TERRITORIALRIGHTS to Britain, followed by other countries.Realizing that China was weak, the Europeans demanded furtherconcessions.When French missionaries were murdered, they seized theopportunity to declare war.THE SECOND OPIUM WAR 1854-1858,ended in the same way, with China being defeated. China was forced tosign the TREATY OF TIENTSIN and open ELEVEN PORTS for trade,legalise the opium trade, welcome Christian missionariesandrepresentatives of foreign governments.The MANCHU DYNASTY wasgradually loosing powers of administrationoveritsown territory and theforeigners were dictation their terms.The Europeans had secured freedommunotes.in

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to trade, extraterritorial rights,and controlover the Chinese tariff systemand had reached the interior of China.Soon China was beingparcelledout between the foreigners, or as somehistorians put it, “China was being raped.” In 1860, RUSSIA took the portcity of VLADIVOSTOK and from there exercised influence overMANCHURIA.When Japan defeated China in the SINO-JAPANESE WAR (1894-1895)she took the ISLAND OF FORMOSA.When Japan won the RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR (1904-1905), shesecured a 99 year lease of PORT ARTHUR and the LIAOTUNGPENINSULA (previously Chinese territory).In 1898, GERMANY secured a 99 year lease over KIOCHOW andeconomic concessionsin SHANTUNG.FRANCE secured a lease of KWANGCHOW, and economic concessionsin HAINAN, KWANGSI and YUNNAN.BRITAIN acquired a lease of the port of WEI-HAI-WEI, and theKWOLOON PENINSULA. In the YANGTZE region she had economicprivileges.JAPAN secured railway concessions in MANCHURIA.In 1899, U.S.A. put forward the OPEN DOOR POLICY, by which Chinawas to be kept open for commerce and trade to all foreigners on an equalbasis. Thus, China was saved from total dismemberment.Japan:Known as the “LAND OF THE RISING SUN”, Japan had followed apolicy of isolation.Only once a year it traded with foreigners.The openingof Japan was inevitable due to her position.Damaged ships in that areaneeded a port for repairing their ships, or as coaling stations.In1852COMMODORE PERRY of the U.S.A. sailed into TOKYO to present amemorandum to the Emperor.It was the first time that the Japanese hadseen steamers.Being threatened the Japanese agreed to negotiate.Theyopened three ports for trade, gave the U.S.A. the right of protection forshipwrecked sailors and the right of most “favourednation.”Not wanting to be carved up between the Europeans the Japanese realisedthat they had to change their attitude. It was clear to the important clans ofJapan i.e. SATSUMA and CHOSHU, that they were helpless before thesuperior military power of the foreigners.In 1867, the new Emperor MUTSUHITO inaugurated a new era ofreforms. Japan quickly westernised and modernised itself The Japanesemunotes.in

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armed forces were remodelled on the German pattern; thenavalforceswere organised on the advice of the British.A western system ofeducation and a system of law were also introduced.She rapidlyindustrialised and soon felt the same needs as the European nations.Shetoo turned imperialistic.Early in the 1890’s, Japan began interfering in KOREAN affairs.Koreaasked China for help.This resulted in the SINO-JAPANESE WAR 1894.The world was amazed when Japan defeated China. China agreed to handover FORMOSA and to recognise Koreaas an independent state.Thisvictory gave Japan political stability and national unity.In 1904-1905, Japan fought a war with RUSSIA.Once again Japansurprised the world by defeating Russia.The pigmy of the east haddefeated the giant of the west.TheU.S.A. President Theodore Rooseveltbrought about peace between the two, and the TREATY OFPORTSMOUTH was signed.Accordingly, Japan received the lease ofPORT ARTHUR and the LIAOTLTNG PENINSULA, the southern halfof the ISLAND OF SAKHALIN, and Russia promised to remain awayfrom Korea and Manchuria.In 1910, Japan invaded KOREA, renamed it CHOSEN and added it to theJapanese Empire.Most Asia nations felt that Japan success story was due to her rapidwesternisation, andthese encouraged nationalist movementsin numerousAsian countries.7.6 IMPACT OF IMPERIALIST EXPANSION ORIMPERIALISMIn their determination to increase their political power and to develop theireconomies, the European nations looked towards countries, which wereweak, underdevelopedbut rich in raw materials. By following anaggressive policy of imperialism, they succeeded in controlling practicallythe entire continents of Africa and Asia. Whether the colonies developedor were only exploited is a point that is hotly debated. Thereare some whobelieve that imperialism was a destructive force and the colonies werethoroughly exploited. On the other hand, there are those who feel thatimperialism did have a positive, even though indirect effect on thecolonies. They argue that in thelong run, the colonies were developedindustrially, and benefited from the trade being conducted.The political and psychological effects are equally difficult to determine.Imperialism has proved to be both destructive and constructive.Itdestroyed thetraditional institutions and attitudes, and replaced them withthose of the western world.munotes.in

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Political Effects:By the early 20thcentury, the whole of Asia and Africa had been turnedinto colonies oftheEuropean nations. Great Britain, France, Germany,Russia, Italy,Portugal, Belgium, Holland and Japan had annexed not onlymillions of square miles of territory but were also ruling over andresponsible for millions of people. Great Britain had the largest ImperialistEmpire, and between 1871 and 1900, shehad added 4.25 million squaremiles with 66 million people to her empire.This rapid Imperialist expansion led to frequent IMPERIALISTCONFLICTS. There were conflicting claims over SUDAN betweenFRANCE and BRITAIN, over MOROCCO between FRANCE andGERMANY, over CHINA between RUSSIA and JAPAN.The root causes of thew Imperialist conflicts were political and strategic,rather than economic. Financial benefitshowever strong they were, suchas British oil interests in Persia, were always subordinated to nationalprestige and political necessities. This led to the formation of military andpolitical alliances. The sole purpose of these alliances was to protectnational security and increase national power. The complicated system ofalliances, some of whichwere secret, in turn led to World War I.Not really thinking of the long-term effects, the imperial powersintroduced western political institutions in all their colonies. Through theworking of these institutions and through education, the Imperialist peoplewere exposed to democracy, nationalism etc. which created a strongpolitical consciousness. The desire to be free of outside control led tofreedom movements being started in most of the colonised countries.Economic Effects:The imperialist powersruthlessly exploited their colonies. Raw materialswere bought at cheap rates and natural resources were exploited for thebenefitof the mother country. Any surplus revenue was transferred homethrough various means and the wealth of the countries was drained off.The Asian markets were soon flooded with western factory made goods.Since these goods were cheaper, the local small-scale industries wereeffected and soon had to close down. Many natives were reduced to utterpoverty and bonded labour.Onthe other hand, imperialism led to the development of MODERNINDUSTRY in the colonies. There was also the introduction of newmeans of TRANSPORT and COMMUNICATION and otherinfrastructure. Jobs were available for the educated.Social and Cultural Effects:The westerners introduced radical changes in the social life of theconquered people. With the introduction of WESTERN EDUCATIONthrough western languages, the colonised people adopted a western stylemunotes.in

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of dress, food and mannerisms. Some of the smaller nations lost theirculture due to this, and in the process of westernisation lost their identityas a separate nation.However, in some countries they also developed a rational attitude toreligious and social customs and traditions. Many were inspiredto changeand it led to the SOCIO-RELIGIOUS REFORM MOVEMENT.In India, RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY started the movement for socialreform and in 1829 he was successful in getting the government to banSati.The CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES churches, schools and colleges tospread education. They also worked in the field of health care. But at thesame time they carried on their activity of conversion which was resented.The government was also involved in education and a large amount ofmoney was reserved for this purpose. They encouraged female educationand did much to extend technical education. In 1858 they startedUniversities in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.Thus we see that Imperialism affected all aspects of life as the Europe ancivilisation moved into Asiaand Africa. The European Powers exercisednot only political authority in these regions, but also gave the fruits ofwestern civilisation to them. The twin spirits of “Progress” and“Prosperity” were communicated to all colonised people. Imperialismbecamea catalyst force, which integrated the remote parts of Asia andAfrica into a new World order. Like any other movement Imperialismalso had a negative Impact. The legacy of poverty and exploitation stillcontinues.Check Your Progress:3. Whatwere themajor effects of Imperialist expansion in Asia andAfrica?7.7 SUMMARYImperialist Expansion or Imperialism was a policy followed by theEuropean nations after 1870.According to this policy, the economicallydeveloped nations of the world wanted to rule over and control theunderdeveloped countries.In order to do this, they sometimes used forceand sometimes trickery.Not always did imperialism involve conquest.Itmunotes.in

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took on different forms,e.g.protectorates, spheres of influence andspheresof interest etc.The factors that led to this policy were many.The industrialised nations ofthe west required raw materials and new markets to sell their goods. Astrade increased they acquired more capital which they needed to invest.Besides the economic factor, there was the political.With the rise ofnationalism and the birth of new nations like Germany and Italy allcountries felt that they were more powerful if they had larger Imperialistempires.Pressurising the politicians were the missionaries, who wished tospread the Christian faith.The Manchu dynasty in China was too weak to stop the Europeans fromtaking control of their territory.However as the ‘rape of China’ continued,Japan learnt a lesson.She industrialised and westernised herself and inturn became an imperialist power.The impact of imperialism was both positive and negative. The weakernations were economically and politically exploited.But with theintroduction of western education and western political institutions therewas a gradual rise in nationalism.This finally led to freedom movementsin all Asian countries. The introduction of better means of transport andcommunication also helped in the economic development of the colonisednations.7.8UNIT ENDQUESTIONS1. Examine the meaning and nature of Imperialist expansion orImperialism. Discuss the factors that led to it.2.What is meant by Imperialist expansionor ‘NewImperialism’?Critically analyse the causes of this policy.3.Account for the opening up of China to western Imperialist expansionor imperialism.4.What was the impact of Imperialist expansion or Imperialism on Asiaand Africa?5.Write short notes on the following;(a)Economic causes of Imperialist expansion or imperialism.(b)Forms of Imperialist expansion or Imperialism.(c)Imperialist expansion or Imperialism in China.(d)Japanese Imperialist expansion or imperialism in Asia.(e)Effects of Imperialist expansion or Imperialism.*****munotes.in

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MODULE IV8WORLD WAR-I(1914-1919)Unit Structure8.0Objectives8.1Introduction8.2Causesof The First World War8.2.1 Forcesof Nationalism8.2.2 Systemof Alliances8.2.3 Dual Alliance 1879 (Germany And Austria-Hungary)8.2.4Triple Alliance 1882 (Germany, Austria-Hungary And Italy)8.2.5 The Reinsurance Treaty 1887(Germany And Russia)8.2.6 Russo-Franco Alliance 1890 (Russia And France)8.2.7 Anglo-Japanese Alliance 19028.2.8 Entente Cordiale 1904 (France And Britain)8.2.9 Triple Entente (France, Britain And Russia)8.2.10 Militarismand Race For Armaments8.2.11 Imperialism8.2.12 The Newspaper War8.2.13 Kaiser William Ii8.2.14 International Crisis8.3The Moroccon Crisis 19058.4The Agadir Crisis. 1911. (The Second Moroccon Crisis)8.5The Balkan Crisis 19088.6The Balkan Wars 1911-19128.7Assassinationof Archduke Francis Ferdinand8.8Courseof The War8.9Consequencesof The First World War8.9.1 Lossof Life8.9.2 Economic Impact8.10Riseof Nationalism8.11Spreadof Democracy8.12Riseof Dictatorships8.13Summary8.14Unit End Questionsmunotes.in

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8.0 OBJECTIVESThis lesson seeks to examine the following aspects:•The causes / factorswhich led to the First World War.•The outbreak and course of the war-the collapse of Russia-the entryof USA-the defeat of Germany and the Central Powers.•The consequences/impact of the war on the defeated and the victoriouscountries.8.1 INTRODUCTIONThe 20thcentury may be called an era of conflict, because two great worldwars were fought within a very short space of time.Every part of theglobe was involved in these wars.People of all nations felt the disastrousimpact. Europe the continent that started the war suffered the most.Boththe wars were because of European greed, mutual pride and hatred.Sincethe Europeans had already established colonial empires for themselves inAsia and Africa, these parts of the world were also involved in thewar.This century also witnessed two revolutions—the Russian Revolution in1917 and the Chinese Revolution in 1949—both Communist in nature.Another important feature was the rise of dictatorships in Germany, Italy,Spain and Russia.The spirit of nationalism led to the unification of Italy and Germany on theone hand. On the other hand as it spread in Asia and Africa, it led toconflicts between the colonial powers and the natives.The fundamental and major reasons of the First World War were;nationalism,the system of alliances, militarism and the race forarmaments, imperialism, and a state of international anarchy. As eachEuropean nation tried to proveitssuperiority, in armed forces, coloniesetc. it also brought a certain sense of insecurity.Bismarck the masterpolitician created a whole system of secret alliances to gather friends. Hesucceeded in dividing the world into two camps—the Allies and theCentral Powers. There were many instances when France and Germanyalmost came to war but it was averted at the last moment. Finally when aSerbian assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne ofAustria-Hungary, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in 1914.Germany, Russia, Britain, France and Italy were all drawn into this warbecause of the complicated system of alliances.Germany’s submarinewarfare against unarmed merchant ships led U. S.A. to join the Allies.When the war ended, Germany was defeated as were Austria-Hungary,Turkey and Bulgaria But the war, had no real victors, as all countries lostin different ways.The economic losses, the destruction, the loss of life andmunotes.in

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property were suffered by all.At the Paris Peace Conference, five separatetreaties were drawn up for the defeated countries.The Treaty of Versailleswas very harsh on Germany. She had to pay a huge war indemnity,besides having to pay in the form of coal, gold, livestock, chemicals andbuilding materials.Much of her territory in Europe was taken away andgiven to France, Poland, Denmark and Belgium.Yugoslavia andCzechoslovakia were two new nations formed.Germany was totallydisarmed and what was very humiliating was that the entire war guilt wasplaced on her. Some attempt to bring about permanent peace was made.The League of Nations was established on the basis of Woodrow Wilson’s14 points.The aim of the League was to prevent war and to promote peacein the world.8.2 CAUSES OF THE FIRST WORLD WARThe Great War of 1914 was the culmination of developments in Europefor more than two decades. The Great Powers looked at each other withsuspicion and the rivalry was intense.This attitude was responsible fordividing Europe into two armed camps.Aggressive nationalist colonialconflicts and a system of military alliances increased the dangers. Theassassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand sparked the outbreak of theFirst World War. But the causes were much deeper and more fundamental.8.2.1 Forces of Nationalism:First among the fundamental causes of the war was the force ofnationalism. The victory of nationalism in Italy and Germany in 1870made it a strong force in politics. People supported their country whetherright or wrong.Excessive nationalism increased the rivalry between countries likeGermany and Britain, leading to a competition between them to havelarger and better armies and navies.Aggressive nationalism led to conflicts among the Great Powers overcolonial territory in Asia, and Africa.The French never forgot the loss of Alsace and Lorraine and theyremained bitter enemiesof Germany.The cry of “ITALIA IRREDENTA”(unredeemed Italy) was theexpression of nationalism of Italy which waited for the opportunity to takeback Trieste andTrenton, from Austria and Hungary.The people of the Balkan region were dissatisfied and theSlavs who werenot free looked to Serbia to unite them.In 1908 Austria-Hungary angeredSerbia by annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rivalry for control of theBalkans added to the tensions, prior to the war.munotes.in

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As a matter of fact, excess of nationalism wasat the back of most of theevents that led towards the war.8.2.2 System of Alliances:The second underlying cause of the war was the system of militaryalliances.It owed its origin to the diplomacy of Bismarck, who realisedthat France would never forget the loss of Alsace and Lorraine.Tosafeguard Germany against a French attack, he started a system of militaryalliances.This in turn led to counter-alliances, which divided Europe intotwo hostile camps.8.2.3 Dual Alliance 1879 (GermanyandAustria-Hungary):The withdrawal of Russia from the League of Three Emperors in 1878,and the fear of a French attack, forced Bismarck to sign a treaty withAustria-Hungary.This defensive alliance provided that (a) if Germany orHungarywasattacked by Russia or a third power supported by Russia, theother signatory would aid; and (b) if either of the signatories were at warwith any other power other thanRussia, the other signatory would remainneutral. The terms of the alliance were kept secret.8.2.4Triple Alliance 1882 (Germany, Austria-HungaryandItaly):Bismarck exploited the rivalry between France and Italy overTunis.Afraid of being left alone, Italy was forced to join the dual alliancepartners, thus forming the Triple Alliance.8.2.5The Reinsurance Treaty 1887(GermanyandRussia):Bismarck was determined to isolate France. To avoid Russia and Francecoming closer to each other, Germany signed the Reinsurance Treaty withRussia. It was a defensive alliance, to be renewed after three years andhighly secret.However in 1890, Kaiser William II refused to renew the treaty. Bismarckwas dropped as Chancellor, and Germany’s foreign policy underwent achange.8.2.6Russo-Franco Alliance 1890 (RussiaandFrance):France who had been totally isolated so far, was searching for friends.She entered into a defensive alliance with Russia against the members oftheTriple Alliance.8.2.7 Anglo-Japanese Alliance 1902:Both Britain and Japan were worried about Russia’s imperialist policy inthe Far East.Brought closer together by their mutual rivalries, Britain andmunotes.in

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Japan signed a friendly agreement. Politically strengthened by thisalliance, Japan finally challenged Russia in 1904 and won the war.8.2.8 Entente Cordiale 1904 (FranceandBritain):Britain and France settled the problems they had in Asia and Africa, andthen entered into a defensive alliance in 1904 called the Entente Cordiale.This strengthened the position of France in Europe and Britain was nolonger an isolated power.8.2.9TripleEntente (France, BritainandRussia):Since Russia was an ally of France, it was but natural that she became partof the alliance. It cost Russia and Britain a lot to end their suspicion ofeach other and to settle their differences over territorial claims. Theagreement respected the independence of Afghanistan and Tibet, and bothBritain and Russia got spheres of influence in Persia. This resulted in theformation of the Triple Entente.The Triple Entente was not a military alliance and Britain was notpledgedto support either France or Russia in times of war. It simply formed adiplomatic group that was expected to work in harmony in regard tocertain problems. Its chief significance lay in the fact that both Britain andRussia moved away from Germany and did not trust German policy. Itwas now Germany’s turn to feel isolated and encircled by a ring ofenemies.Thus Europe was divided into two armed camps. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy had signed the Triple Alliance and were called theCentralPowers. Britain, France and Russia had signed the Triple Ententeand were called the Allies.Later Japan joined the Triple Entente andTurkey joined the Triple Alliance.Gradually during the war all othercountries joined the two groups.The worst feature of the alliance system was that the treaties were secret.So the alliances which were meant to preserve peace instead created fearand suspicion.The secrecy of the entire system only intensified the rivalryand made war inevitable.8.2.10Militarismand Race for Armaments:The third fundamental cause of the war was the competitive militarism ofthat time. There was a deep sense of insecurity in the minds of the powers.They felt they had to be prepared for any situation and so concentrated ondeveloping their armed forces.As Prof.Sidney Hays writes,“If onecountry increaseditsarmy, built strategic railways, and constructed newbattleships, its fearful neighbours were straight-away frightened into doinglikewise.”munotes.in

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Germany greatly increased the size of her standing army, and Francelengthened the term of compulsory service from two years to three.Russia also expanded her army.Britain added to her already large navy.Anglo-German naval rivalry was one of the causes of the war.The navywhich Germany constructed was led by huge steel submarines called“dreadnoughts”,armed with 12inch guns of great power. So far Britainhad always possessed the best navy and now she felt challenged. She triedto build more dreadnoughts and better warships. Othercountries notwanting to be left behind also joined the race.As technology improved, so did the destructive power of the weapons.The Great Powers not only increased the size of the armies but theysteadily increased their stockpile of weapons, small arms and artillery.Soon the whole of Europe was one large armed camp waiting to explode.8.2.11Imperialism:To all Europeans the greatness of their nation depended on its position inEurope and the size ofitscolonial empire. The more colonies a countrypossessed, the greater it was. Britain, France and Russia had built up hugeempires for themselves. Germany felt left behind and she sought a “placein the sun.” Her unsatisfied imperialist ambitions were the chief source ofinternational conflicts.In the 19thcentury, Africa was in a short space of time divided among theEuropean Powers. Asia too was colonised and economically exploited. InChina the Europeans carved out spheres of influence for themselves. As anindustrialised nation, Japan joinedthe race for colonies in Asia.These colonial expansions added to the tension in Europe.The British planto construct a Cape-Cairo railway clashed with the interests of Germany,Belgium and France.Russia’s plan to build the Trans-Siberian railwaywas partly responsible for the Russo-Jap war. Kaiser William H’s plan tobuild a railway from Berlin-Baghdad, did not find favour with Britain.TheBritish saw the railway as a threat to their interests in the Far East.As eachcrisis unfolded, it was only diplomatic skill that avoided a war.8.2.12The Newspaper War:The poisoning of public opinion by the newspapers in all the countriescontributed a great deal to the world war. Points of dispute wereexaggerated, and attacks and counter-attacks was a regularfeature beforethe war. The newspapers either misrepresented or suppressed the truth.This spread the atmosphere of mutual hatred and distrust, whichcontributed to the war.munotes.in

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8.2.13 KaiserWilliam II:In 1890 when Kaiser William II took full control over Germany’s policies,he looked beyond Europe.He wanted Germany to be a world power.England, France and Russia had already built hugeempires forthemselves.Kaiser William II could not bring himself to accept asubordinate position and was determined that Germany would have her“place in the sun”. He tried every possible means of expansion. The Kaisermade a tour to Constantinople and Jerusalem and proclaimed hisfriendship with Sultan Abdul Hamid.His actions angered both Britain andRussia.The Kaisernever realised the consequences of his actions becausehe could never understand any other point of view except his own. SoGermany’s ambitions and visions ofWorld Empiremay be looked upon asthe ultimate cause of theFirst World War.8.2.14International Crisis:Germany’s desire to be a world power created many problems for her.Firstly, she clashed with France over Morocco. Secondly, she clashed withAustria and Russia in the Balkans.8.3THE MOROCCON CRISIS 1905When the Entente Cordiale was signed, the British agreed to respect theFrench position in Morocco, while the French accepted the Britishposition in Egypt Kaiser William II challenged the agreement proclaimingthat he was the protector of the Muslims. At the ALGECIRASCONFERENCE in 1906,he received support only from Austria-Hungary,while the British and the Russians supported France. An agreement wasreached which was a victory for France.8.4 THE AGADIR CRISIS. 1911. (THE SECONDMOROCCON CRISIS)In 1911 there was a uprising of unrulytribes in FEZ, the capital ofMorocco, France sent troops to put down the trouble. Kaiser William senthis gunboat “Panther,” to supposedly protect German interests. Thesituation turned ugly when Britain sent her warship to Morocco. Germanywas forced to compromise and accept a French protectorate over Morocco.The Agadir crisis only served to strengthen the friendship between Britainand France.8.5THE BALKAN CRISIS 1908The Bosnian crisis formed a link in the chain of events that led to the war.The annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovinaby Austria aroused a lot ofnationalist feeling in Serbia. She looked upon herself as the champion andmunotes.in

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liberator of all Slavs in Turkish and Austrian territory. Austria on the otherhand, was determined to crush Serbiaand Germany was ready to supporther and defy Europe.8.6THE BALKAN WARS 1911-1912Disappointed in 1908, the Balkan nations-BULGARIA, SERBIA,GREECE AND MONTENEGRO-formed the BALKAN LEAGUE,against Turkey. In the first Balkan War, the Turkish forces werecompletely defeated. By the Treaty of London, Turkey had to surrendermost of her European territory to the victors.Problems arose among the Balkan states, as they could not agree on howto share this territory. Serbia and Bulgaria disagreed about Macedonia.Bulgaria suddenly attacked Serbia. Greece and Romania helped Serbia todefeat Bulgaria. By the Treaty of Bucharest, Serbia received northern andcentral Macedonia, while southern Macedonia was handed over to Greece.Bulgaria had to be satisfiedwith very little.Austria did her best to break up Serbian plans and her anti-Serbian attitudecreated problems. She forced Serbia to give up many of the towns she hadwon from the Turks and prevented her from getting an outlet into the sea.The Austria-Serbian feud continued till the murder of Archduke FrancisFerdinand, who was the nephew of the Austrian Emperor.The importance of the Balkan Wars lay in the fact that they emphasisedthe gains that could be won in short wars. Attention turned to subject raceswho were not yet free. These races looked for supporters among the majorpowers.8.7 ASSASSINATION OF ARCHDUKE FRANCISFERDINANDFinally, when all the European countries were fully armed and ready forwar, a little spark was needed to start thewar. The murder of ArchdukeFrancis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria, and his wife, on 28 June1914, inSarajevothe capital of Bosnia, became the spark of World War I.The assassin wasGavrilPrincipia, a member of the secret society ofYoung Bosnia, and his weapons had been supplied by a secret society ofSerbia.This incident caused a wave of anger to sweep over Austria and the peopledenounced the people of Serbia as a “nation of assassins.” The AustrianGovernment said the crime was due to theanti-Austrianpropagandacarried out by the Serbians and the Government. After consultingGermany, Austria delivered a drastic ultimatum to Serbia which had to beaccepted in 48 hours. Serbia accepted most of the terms but did not agreemunotes.in

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to Austrian officials policing Serbian affairs. She offered to refer thematter to a Conference of Great Powers. Austria was bent on war, and theultimatum was just a formality. Austro-Hungarian troops were mobilizedand war was declared on 28thJuly 1914.Check YourProgress:1. Whatwere the Important causes of the World War I ?8.8COURSE OF THE WARAustria’s action drew Russia into the field, because she was deeplyinterested in the fate of the Slav states in the Balkans. Russia was infavour of a conference but Austria was not. Russia had no other optionbut to mobilize her troops. Since Germany was bound to Austria by theTriple Alliance, she too mobilized her troops.On 1stAugust 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. On 3rdAugust1914, Germanydeclared war on France.The British people on the whole had greater sympathy for France than forGermany and Britain had tried to maintain peace. But Germany’s actionmade her neutrality impossible. In order to strike at France, on 4thAugustGermany marched through Belgium, violating her neutrality. Theneutrality of Belgium had long been an important point in the foreignpolicy of Britain. She requested Germany to withdraw, but Germanyrefused. At midnight 4thAugust, Great Britain declared war on Germany.On 7thAugust, Montenegro joined Serbia against Austria-Hungary.Then Japan became a part of the war, partly tofulfilitstreaty obligationsto Britain and partly to take its revenge on Germany. On 17thAugust,Japan presented an ultimatum to Germany to withdraw all it’s warshipsimmediately from Chinese and Japanese waters and to hand overKiaochow to them. Germany refused and Japan declared war on 23rdAugust 1914.Italy, although a member of the Triple Alliance announced her neutralityon the ground that her allies were not involved in a defensive war. In1915, Italy joined the Entente Powers. Her object was to recover fromAustria some of the provinces which belonged to her.Turkey and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers in 1914.munotes.in

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Thus inthe three months from 28 July to 29 October 1914, a conflictbetween Serbia and Austria Hungary broadened into a world war in whichGermany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire were up againstRussia, France, Great Britain, Japan, Belgium Serbia and Montenegro.Six of the eight Great Powers were immediately involved, and five of thesix continents.The early phase of the war was in favour of the Allies. In 1915, Britaininflicted a crushing defeat on Turkey and captured the Straits of theDardanellesand the port of Constantinople. They also attacked Germancolonies in Africa and took control of her concessions in China. Alarmedby the Allied success, Germany intensified the submarine warfare andsunk a number of British ships. The Allies then launched a counter-offensive.The year 1917 proved to be a turning point in the history of the war. TheRussian army was neither well trained nor well equipped, and was beingdefeated at every stage by the Germans. Completely demoralized, theRussian army revolted against the Czar in March 1917. By October 1917,the Communists had taken control and established a Republic. They askedfor peace and signed the TREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK in 1918.The collapse of Russia made the position of Germany very strong and theystarted a submarine warfare on a large scale. Not only did they destroyBritish battleships, but also attacked American merchant ships. It seemedas if the Allies were on the verge of collapse, but the U.S.A. came to theirrescue. In January 1917, Germany was warned to stop her submarinewarfare. She refused and on 6thApril 1917, the U.S.A. declared war onGermany. The entry of the U.S.A. was a turning point in the war. It greatlystrengthened the Allies by placing at their disposal men, money andmaterial all of which boosted the morale of the Allies.In June 1918, the military successes of the Central Powers stopped.Austria-Hungary was exhausted. Germany was being forced to retreat bythe French and the Americans. Meanwhile in September 1918, an alliedarmy struck at Bulgaria. The Bulgarian army no longer had the support ofGermany and Austria and it fell to the allied army. At the same time, theDual-Monarchy of Austria-Hungary also collapsed. The CentralPowers,who had stood like a rock fortress for four years, were beginning tocrumble. Their armies were defeated and demoralized. Their rulers andstatesmen were panic-stricken. Their people wanted peace. Bulgaria thelast to join thegroupwas the first to quit it. Bulgaria surrendered inSeptember 1918; and a month later, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary also surrendered. Germany was left to end the war as best itcould. After a month of negotiation between the Garman ChancellorPrince Maximilian and President Wilson the Allies agreed tomake peaceon the basis of the “fourteen points.’ An armistice was signed on 11thNovember 1918, between Germany and the Allies and the war finallycame to an end.munotes.in

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8.9CONSEQUENCES OF THEFIRST WORLD WARThe armistice of 11 November1918brought an immediate sense of reliefto the whole world. The horrible bloodshed of the four and half years, withuntold suffering and misery, was at last halted. In the defeated countriesthe popular hope was that the Allies would be considerate while framingthe peacetreatiesthishope was not realistic. The vast majority of thepeople in every Allied country believed Germany was responsible for andguilty of the war. Clemenceau of France and Orlando of Italy, supportedby their people demanded the punishment of the Central Powers. In GreatBritain the slogan of Lloyd George was, “Hang theKaiserand makeGermany Pay.This war also showed that in an economic sense there are no victors. Bothsides are responsible for and must share the extremely high cost of thewar. Demanding war reparation does not solve the problem.The consequences of the war were numerous:8.9.1 Loss of Life:The First World War was fought by thirty countries. Sixty-five millionmen fought on the battlefield. Eight and half million men were killed.Twenty nine million men were wounded, captured or “missing in action.”Every family in Europe, had lost a member—a husband, a brother, a son.Many of the colonies had sent troops to Europe, many of whom neverreturned. To the list of casualties must be added the millions who died onaccount of civilian massacres, disease and famine which were the directoutcome of the war. The civilians had received a small weekly ration,which had led to malnutrition and sometimes death. The war had beendeadlyand costly.8.9.2 Economic Impact:The cost of the war was equal to the scale of its operations. Those whowon and those who lost, both paid an extremely high price After muchargument, the Reparations Commission fixed the compensation thatGermany hadto pay at 132,000 million gold marks i.e. 33,000 milliondollars or 6,600 million pounds The amount was unrealistic and Germancurrency soon collapsed Finally in 1932, Germany stopped paying thereparation even though she had not paid the amount originally demanded.John Maynard Keynes a British economist rightly predicted that suchreparations would not be paid for more than a few years.The direct financial cost of the war has been estimated at over twohundred billion dollars; its indirect cost at over a hundred and fifty billiondollars; and these figures do not include the additional billions in interestpayments,soldier’spensions and health care, etc.munotes.in

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The total cost of the war cannot be measured only by these astronomicalfigures. The amount of property destroyed, the ships and cargoes whichhad been sunk the wealth which otherwise would have been produced ifraw materials had not been destroyed, all have to be taken into accounttheterritory occupied by the enemy suffered devastation. Machineryandfactories were destroyed. In northern France the destruction was socomplete that the people decided not to rebuild certain towns. The basicnecessities of life-food, clothing,and shelter-were not available formillions of Europeans. Many more died of starvation or malnutrition.Mounting national debt and rising inflation dislocated normal economiclife. Unemployment had reached terrible proportions and crime was onthe rise.World trade wasaffected. During the war, countries which had dependedon Europe for various products, had found ways of dealing with the lackof European goods. They looked to Asia and Africa or started productionthemselves. The European nations found little demand for their goods andthey had to compete with U.S.A. andJapan. Economic reconstruction wasa slow process.Inflation was not a problem experienced by Germany alone, all countriesdid. In 1919 the French franc stood at half its pre-war value. All thenations had borrowed heavily during the war. The whole question ofrepaying those war loans had consequences on international trade as wellas international relations.8.10 RISE OF NATIONALISMOne of the great results of the war was the triumph of the principle ofnationalism. Four hereditary Imperial Dynasties of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Turkey—were swept away. The subject peopleswere given their freedom in most cases.Out of theOldRussian empire, four independent republics were set up,—Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.Poland was recreatedParts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire went to make the new states ofCzechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.The influence of nationalism was not confined to Europe alone. Itawakened China and Turkey. Nationalism received an impetusduring thewar and became assertive.munotes.in

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8.11 SPREAD OF DEMOCRACYThe war which in the words of Woodrow Wilson had been fought “tomake the world safe for democracy”, seemed to have achieveditsaim in1919. New nations, which had got their independence, adopted democracyas their form of government.Germany set up the WEIMAR REPUBLIC withitsParliamentaryconstitution to replace the old empire.Austria too followed the democratic pattern. Greece abolished monarchy.But the greatest triumph of democracy was in Turkey, where the Sultanateand the Caliphate were abolished and a republic set up with Kemal Pashaas the President.Democracy came into vogue and nationalism was its natural ally.8.12 RISE OF DICTATORSHIPSAlmost every country, new and old,underwent a radical change for thegood or the bad. The whole of normal industrial and economic life wasvery badly affected, since most industries were ruined. The end of the warcaused serious problems for the soldiers. It was difficult to rehabilitatethem as employment was scarce. Many countries were on the verge ofbankruptcy, unemployment was rising and inflation could not becontrolled. These and other similar problems created much discontentamong people and most blamed their governments for the problems.Conditions were favourable for the growth of leftistand radical partiesunder different names.Democracy could not survive for long and it received its first blow inItaly, where Fascism under Benito Mussolini emerged. In Germany,under Hitler,Nazism reigned supreme. The Communists were in power inRussia. The individual interest was sacrificed for the national interest.Everybody lived for the state and not for himself.The motto of thedictators was “everything for the state, everything within the state, andnothing outside the state.” The rise of these new political powers led to achange in the “status quo” and a new balance of power in and outsideEurope.1.Social Impact:The First World War brought about tremendous changes in society.Manypeople chose not to return to their old way of life. Agricultural workersmigrated to the cities instead of remaining on their farms.Not only did governments turn democratic after the war, but socially toothere was more democracy. The old socialclasses started to disappear.munotes.in

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The so-called upper classes lost their privileges and power. Russia aimedfor a classless society. In order to lessen the divide between the “haves”and the “have-nots’, land was taken from the upper classes andredistributedamong the landless peasants.In every country thewar had the effect of moving very quickly towardsthe emancipation of women, especially in countries where the process hadalready begun. In 1918 in Great Britain, women over the age of 30 weregiven theright to vote. Since the war had been a total national effort,women had worked in factories and shops, officesand voluntary agencies,hospitals and schools. They took the place of men along men, andnaturally they claimed equality of status and rights.After so many hadexperienced independence socially and economically, there was no reasonto deny them their rights. Women found it so mucheasier to find jobs inindustry and business, since the old ideas against them were breakingdown.Developing technology,improved nutrition and advance in medicinehelped in increasing the standards of living and the quality of life.2.Peace Treaties:The Paris Peace Conference was inaugurated on 18thJanuary 1919, and therepresentatives of 32 nations attended. The most famous among them werePresident Woodrow Wilson (U.S.A.), Lloyd George (Britain), GeorgeClemenceau (France), and Orlando (Italy). The defeated nations were notinvited. Long negotiations and diplomatic activities continued till a broadunderstanding could be reached. The G delegates protested since the treatywas not based on the fourteen points of Woodrow Wilson. The Alliesthreatened war again, and Germany was forced to signthe treaty in theHall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.The Allies held Germany responsible for the horrors of the war and weredetermined to make them pay.THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES was signed by Germany on the 28thJune 1919, and the agony of the war came to an end. Germany wasstripped of large areas of territory.Alsace and Lorraine were returned toFrance.The small districts of Mores net, Eupen andMalmseywere givento Belgium. Poland got Posen and the Baltic Port of Danzig wasconverted into a “Free City.” The Saar basin, rich in coal reserves, wascontrolled by France. Germany lost all her colonies in Asia and Africa asmandates to the League of Nations. In the Far East Japan received thelease of the Kiaochow and control over the Shantung province. She alsoreceived all the islands south of the Equator inthe Pacific.Germany was asked to disarm and maintain a small army of 100000soldiers.Conscription was abolished. The size of her navy was reducedand she had to stop producing war material.The Rhineland wasdemilitarised.munotes.in

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 Germany was compelled to accept her war guilt and had to promise tomake good “for all damage done to the civilian population of the Alliesand their property.” The war indemnity was fixed at a super high level andGermany also had to pay in the form of coal gold, livestock,andchemicalsand building materials.Thus Germany was bled white territorially, militarily and economically byher conquerors.THE TREATY OF ST. GERMAIN 1919 which AUSTRIA signed,witnessed the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Czechoslovakiaand Yugoslavia were the two new states formed. Her size shrunk and herpopulation was also reduced from 31 million to 6 million Germanspeakingpopulations. But to see that she remained always separate fromGermany, a special clause was put into the treaty by whichherindependence was preserved by the League of Nations.TREATY OF TRIANON 1920. By M treaty, Hungary was deprived of hernon-Magyar subjects and also stripped of a lot of territory. She cededCroatia to Yugoslavia, the Banat to Rumania and Yugoslavia and theSlovak districts to Czechoslovakia. As a result her population was reducedfrom 21 million to 8 million.TREATY OF NEUIILY 1919. This treaty was signed by BULGARIA, bywhich she lost territory to Greece, Yugoslavia and Romania. The strengthof herarmy was reduced and she agreed to pay half a billion dollars as warindemnity.TREATY OF SEVRES WITH TURKEY 1920. The Allies were veryharsh in their treatment of Turkey. She stood to lose a lot of land as wellas colonial territory. Nothing remained of the once mighty OttomanEmpire except Constantinople and Anatolia. The war indemnity was veryhigh.However, Mustafa Kemal Pasha who had established a rival governmentat Ankara was not prepared to accept this treaty. Taking advantage of thetired Allied troops, his army pushed back the Italian and French troops.They occupied the whole of Asia Minor and took the capital,Constantinople.The Allies were forced to conclude a new treaty, TheTreaty of Lausanne, in Switzerland in July 1923.This treatywas a great triumph for Mustafa Kemal Pasha and a greathumiliation for the Great Powers of Europe.A careful consideration of the peace treaties will make it clear that thestatesmen failed in their duty.munotes.in

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They made peace but at too great a cost. The humiliation that Germanysuffered made her want her revenge and this led in the end to the SecondWorld War.3.Emergence of GreatPowers.Post war Europe saw the emergence of the Allies as Great Powers.GREAT BRITAIN proved herself to be the leading maritime and colonialpower. FRANCE came to be regarded as a great military power. JAPANincreased its power and prestige in the Far East at the cost of China andRussia. The U.S.A. was the newest Great Power who had both militaryand economic power.4.League of Nations:The founder of this organisation was WoodrowWilson;the President ofthe U.S.A His peace programme was the last of the Fourteen Points.The purposes of the League were four: to prevent war, to organise peace,to perform certain duties according to the peace treaties, and to promoteinternational cooperation.The League started functioning from January 1920, with its headquartersat Geneva. There were 41 members in the beginning. Russia did not jointhe League for a long time and unfortunately, the U.S.A. refused tobecome a member. Thus the League was deprived of the great support shecould have received from this powerful nation in her efforts to maintainpeace.In the twenty years of its career the League dealt with a large number ofpolitical disputes. Many were solved peacefully. However in disputeswhich involved the Great Powers, the Leagues efforts were not sosuccessful. The League successfully looked after members of the nationalminorities living in Central and Eastern Europe. The League managed tocheck the illegal narcotics trade and trafficking in women and children. Italso suppressed Slavery and bonded labour. Although unsuccessful theLeague played a major role in bringing about a general reduction ofarmaments.Check Your Progress:2. Explain briefly the effects of the World War Imunotes.in

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8.13SUMMARYThe war, which began in August 1914 and lasted for four years and threemonths, was in many ways entirely novel in human history. It was the firstgeneral conflict between highly organised nations, who were able tomobilize all their citizens, and also use all their resources of moderntechnology to find new methods of destruction and of defence. It wasfought on land and under land in the trenches, on sea and under the sea.All countries felt the disastrous impact of the war.The reasons for such a conflict weretoohe found in the developments andevents which preceded the war. The growth of extreme nationalist hadpeople believing that only their country was right and they were preparedto die for their country. Once Germany and Italy won their politicalindependence, other people like the Serbs wanted freedom too. The secretalliances which were started by Bismarck in his attempt to isolate. Franceand at the same time gain friends and security for Germany, were a majorcause of the war. The race for armaments and superior military power, andthe race for large colonial empires led to the war.Once, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, all the Great Powersdeclared war on each other.In 1917 two major events took place. Firstly,there was a communist revolution in Russia and the new governmentasked Germany for peace.Secondly, due to Germany’s submarine warfareand her repeated attacks on unarmed merchant ships, U.S.A. joined thewar on the side of the Allies.By 1918, the Central Powers were alldefeated and surrendered.The Great Powers then met at the Paris Peace Conference and attempted tobring about lasting peace.Five separate treaties were signed, but the termsof the Treaty of Versailles which Germany signed, were very harsh.Thedestruction, the loss of lives and property were immense.Old empirescollapsed and new nations were born.However the establishment of theLeague of Nations made it seem like the world could live in peace andharmony.8.14UNIT ENDQUESTIONS1.What were the causes and effects of World War I?2.Discuss the factors and events leading to World War I.3.To what extent were the following responsible for causing WorldWar I:(a)Secret Diplomacy(b)Militarism4.Describe the important consequences of the War I.5.Write short notes on:(a)Secret alliance system,(b)Kaiser William II,(c)Paris PeaceConference.*****munotes.in

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MODULEIV9RUSSIANREVOLUTIONOF1917Unit Structure9.0Objectives9.1Introduction9.2Causesof The Revolution9.2.1 Economic Causes9.2.2 Social Clauses9.2.3 Political Causes9.2.4 Ideological Causes9.2.5 Anti-Semitic Policy (Anti-Jewish Policy)9.2.6 Persecutionof National Minorities9.3Events That Ledto The Revolution9.3.1 Russo-Japanese War 1904-19059.3.2 The Revolutionof 19059.3.3. World War I9.4The Two Phases OfThe Revolution9.4.1 The February / March Revolution, 19179.4.2 Provisional Governmentand The Problems It Faced9.4.3 The October / November Revolution, 19179.4.4 Role Of Lenin In The Bolshevik Revolution9.4.5 Bolshevik Revolution9.5Bolshevik Policies, Programmeand Problems9.5.1 Treatyof Brest-Litovsk9.5.2 Civil Warand Opposition9.5.3. Economic Reforms9.5.4 Reasonsfor The Nep9.5.5 Nep9.5.6 Significanceof The Nep9.5.7 Deathof Lenin9.6Impactof The Russian Revolution9.7Summary9.8Unit End Questionsmunotes.in

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9.0 OBJECTIVESThe objectives of this lesson are as follows;1.To understand the factors/causes responsible for the revolution inRussia.2.To discuss the main events that led to the February Revolution of1917.3.To understandthe nature of the February Revolution and the problemsfaced by the Provisional Government.4.To examine the ideology of Lenin’s Bolshevik Party, and its success incapturing power in the October Revolution 1917.5.To discuss the policy, programme and problems faced by theBolshevik Government.6.To appreciate the significance of the Bolshevik Revolution, and itsimpact on the rest of the world.9.1 INTRODUCTIONThe Russian revolution of 1917 ranks as the greatest revolution in thehistory of mankind.The consequences of the revolution were immense. Itaffected at least two continents, Europe and Asia. The revolution broughtan end of one era in Russia and the beginning of another.World War I had seen the principles of nationalism and democracytriumph in Central Europe. But in Russia it led to a revolution whichshook Russian society to its very foundations. It caused not only thepolitical structure but also the social order to collapse in ruins.The revolution took place in two phases. The political phase took place inFebruary (March) 1917, and it sealed the fate of autocracy: the socialphase or the Bolshevik revolution followed in October (November) 1917,and it brought into existence the first Worker’s Republic.Russia until 1917, was an autocratic and despotic monarchy. Socially,economically, politically and even militarily she was lagging behind allmajor European countries. As regards the cause of the revolution therewere many and similar in many respects to those of the French revolutionof the 18thcentury.9.2 CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION9.2.1 Economic Causes:The seeds of the revolution lay in Russia’s backward economic conditions.Though there was some industrialization, basically Russia remained a poormunotes.in

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country.Though Russia hadvast natural resources they were not properlyutilised.Her economic potential was not exploited which resulted inextreme poverty for the masses.1. Agriculture:Russia’s agricultural conditions remained backward in many respects.The tools that the Russian peasantswere using were outdated andprimitive. Agricultural techniques had not changed for centuries, irrigationmethods had not improved or were non-existent.The position of the peasants was as bad.Most of them were SERFS, tiedto the land. Though in 1861, Czar Alexander III had passed theEMANCIPATION DECREE, in actual practise most of the peasantsremained serfs.Land revenue was very high and the Russian peasant was burdened withvarious indirect taxes too.About 60% of Russia’s agricultural land was owned by the rich landlords,the nobles and the royal family.They represented 10% of the totalpopulation.The peasants formed 70% of the population and ownednothing much. Most had to hire horses to help with theploughing.In 1913, Russia’sagricultural production was atitslowest. The peasantseemed to have no way out of the poverty, hunger, disease and dirt that hesuffered. They remained a discontented group ready to take advantage ofany movement that promised them relief from their misery.2. Industry:After 1890, Russia saw a lot of industrial development. A number of basicindustries like iron, steel and coal were established. CountSergeiWitte aminister was chiefly responsible for the industrial development in Russia.The Trans-Siberian railway line was started, and other transportation andcommunication facilities developed.Unfortunately, to a large extent, the Russian economy was characterisedby foreign capital investmentnearlyhalf the capital was from France andBelgium.Many banks were in the hands of foreign bankers.9.2.2 SocialClauses:Up tothe 19thcentury the Russian society was divided into two classes, thenobles and the serfs.The royal family headed the small group of powerfuland wealthy nobles.The peasantsmade up 80% of the population.Theformer owned land, property, and had wealth and social status, while thelatter owned no property, had no wealth or social status. On the contrary,they were poverty stricken and with the government doing nothing toimprove their condition, it seemed that they would die in that condition.munotes.in

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As the industrial revolution swept into Russia, we have the developmentof another class, i.e. the BOURGEOISE.This class included capitalists,workers and professionals and they soon became a powerful group inRussian society.The term Bourgeoisie refers to the capitalist class, whilePETTY BOURGEOISIE refers to the small merchants, tradersprofessionals etc.The industrial revolution created another large group i.e. the wage-earningworking class also known as the PROLETARIAT.This urban workingclass made up only about 10% of the population.Many were educated andknew how important their labour was for the factories. In order to improvetheir working conditions and living standards,they were keen to organisetrade unions.The government suppressed such efforts. It is no smallwonder that they then supported revolutionary societies.There was another group, which though small in size were still important.They were the professionals like doctors, lawyers, writers, etc.Thoughsome of them had the wealth to be associated with the upper classes, butthey sympathised with the lower classes.They were critical of the policiesof the government and were drawn towards the revolutionary groups.As we have seen the majority of the people lived in horrible conditionswith no education, no health care and no equality before the law. In factthe Czar didnot develop schools, in the hope that the lack of educationwould hamper the growth of revolutionary ideas.9.2.3 Political Causes:A review of the economic and social conditions of Russia, have shown usthe backwardness of the country.What the country really needed was anefficient and capable government, but that is what was lacking inRussia.This vast partly European, partly Asiatic country had been ruled for over300 years by theRomanovDynasty.Most of the Czars had been autocraticrulers. Czar Alexander II had tried to improve, the condition of the serfsbut had not succeeded.The rest of them had depended on a vastbureaucracy to administer the country but had maintained all powers intheir hands.Czar Nicholas II (1894-1917) was not a strong character and was easilyinfluenced by others. Czarina Alexandra and themonkRasputinwere twoof the people who through the Czar interfered in political matters.Hedepended on them instead of the experienced ministersasa result therewas no proper administration.In Russia there were no civil and political rights, and no freedom ofspeech or expression.TheCraziestGovernment dominated every aspect ofman’s life including the Church. Ethnic minorities were subjected totorture methods of punishment were barbarous and political offendersmunotes.in

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were exiled to Siberia.The Russian people were terrorised into silence andobedience.TheCraziestRegime was ruthless autocratic and repressive.Though Czar Nicholas II had granted the people a Parliament called theDUMA, ithad limited powers and was an instrument of the Czar.TheZemstvos (local councils) were restricted to the rural areas only.Russia, in the words of Lenin,“was a military despotism, embellishedwith parliamentary forms”.9.2.4 Ideological Causes:The material revolution inRussia was preceded by a revolution in IDEAS.Though the Czars had tried to keep the Russians away from westernliberal and radical ideas,western thought did filter into Russia andinfluence the people. These new influences first found expression inliterature.The novels of Tolstoy andDostoevskyhad a deepimpact on theminds of young Russians.The liberal and educated people called the“intelligentsia”demanded political reforms. The students even formedrevolutionary organisations.But the Czar did not give in to their demandsand called their ideas ‘senseless dreams.’Some socialist revolutionary groups focussed theirattention on thepeasants.In 1901, the SOCIAL REVOLUTIONARY PARTY wasformed.They wanted to overthrow the Czar and form a new governmentof the proletariat. Their programme included the confiscation of largeestates from the rich landlords and dividing it among the actual cultivators.The party believed in terrorism but did not use it at first.Since the Czar did nothing to improve the situation, the Russians began tolosepatience and the Radical intellectuals, turned to Socialism. They tooktheir inspiration from Karl Marx. This group started the RUSSIANSOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, in 1898. The teachings of Karl Marxwere popularised and spread by radicals likeMIXIM GORKY andrevolutionary socialism made rapid progress among factory workers.As with any other political party, there were differ of opinion here too. Atthe 1903 party meeting, there was a split within the party on the questionof party discipline and tactics.There was adifference of opinion on whocould be admitted into the party.The majority felt that the party shouldadmit only devoted workers, while the minority felt that the party shouldadmit all those who wished to join the party. The majority group known asBOLSHEVIKS (men of majority) were led by VLADIMIR ULIANOVbetter known as LENIN.The more moderate wing of the party came to beknown as the MENSHEVIKS.The Mensheviks were moderate in their views and methods.They werewilling to cooperate with other political parties in order to overthrow theCzar.But they felt that there must be a transitory (temporary) stage of aBourgeois Democratic Republic, before the final stage when a Socialistmunotes.in

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Government would be established. They felt that all people must firstunderstand and accept totally the ideas of Socialism before establishing aSocialist State.The Bolsheviks on the other hand, stood for extreme measures and wantedthe immediate overthrow of the Czar. They were willing to use force toestablish a dictatorship of the Proletariat. They recognised only theworking class and did not wantto join hands with any middle-classpolitical party.Ultimately it was the Bolshevik doctrine, which shaped the character ofdie Soviet State.9.2.5Anti-SemiticPolicy (Anti-Jewish Policy):The Jews had been persecuted by the Czars, for a very long period of time.Czar Nicholas II continued with this policy, partly to divert the attentionof the people from the failure of his foreign policy. Many of the Jews werewealthy, asthey were involved in trade and commerce. They bribed thepolice for protection,theothers were tortured and persecuted, and mostleft the country.9.2.6Persecution of National Minorities:The large Russian Empire included the national minorities fromFINLAND, POLAND, GEORGIA, ARMENIA and LATVIA. They wereagainst the autocratic rule of the Czar. They formed an alliance to work forthe overthrow of the Czar and the establishment of a representativegovernment. They also wished to safeguard the rights and interests of thenational minorities.Though they were given representation in the second and thirdDumas,theirnumbers were very few. This caused resentment. The Czar’sgovernment followed the policy of RUSSIFICATION among nationalminorities. E.g. Education was conducted through the Russian language.In many other ways the minorities were and they were an angry lot, readyto join any movement to overthrow the Czar.9.3 EVENTS THAT LEDTO THE REVOLUTION9.3.1Russo-Japanese war 1904-1905:Russianimperialism suffered serious defeat in the early 20thcentury.Looking towards the cast and partly because of China’s weakness, Russiadeckled she wanted the provinces of Manchuria and Korea.Her ambitionbrought her into conflict with Japan. Japan too was following animperialist policy. Her position and status was recognised by Britain, whosigned a treaty with Japan in 1904.munotes.in

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The real source of conflict between Russia and Japan was warm waterports, in particular Port Arthur. After Japan defeated Chinain 1895, shesigned the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Port Arthur was handed over to Japan.However, Russia, France and Germany forced Japan to return this port toChina. Then Russia secured the port on lease from China. This angered theJapanese. They were also worried about Russian influence in Manchuriaand Korea. Japan therefore demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops.Since Russia did not oblige, Japan was forced to declare war in 1904.The war exposed the inefficiency of theCraziestgovernment and theweakness of the Russian armed tomes. Russia suffered a humiliatingdefeat at of the tiny Asiatic country. The Russians had always thought ofthemselves as big and powerful and were not prepared for the war. Thepeople were shocked and angry at this defeatand blamed the Czar9.3.2 The Revolution of 1905:As the war with Japan was being fought, there was increasing disorder andunrest within the country Czar Nicholas had ignored the demands forliberal reforms. But the middle-class liberals and the industrial workersbecame very vocal in their protests. The head of the police,Plevenwasassassinated. Workers organised strikes and protest marches.In 1905, the industrial workers of ST. Petersburg and Moscow formed theSOVIET—a Council of Workers Deputies—to represent themselves. Ageneral strike was organised in St. Petersburg. A priest named, GAPONtook a big procession of workers to the winter palace to present a petitionto the Czar. The Russian police fearing trouble fired into the crowd, andkilledhundreds of workers. January, 22, 1905 was thus named “BLOODYSUNDAY”. This event shocked the entire country and was followed byriots.Following the advice of his moderate ministers, the Czar issued anIMPERIAL MANNIFESTO which promised liberal reforms.There waspeace for some time,soonthe Czar went back on his word and the peoplereacted with riots.In 1905 there was a December revolution in which thousands of peoplewere murdered in cold blood by the Russian troops. The revolutionaryforce became bolder and demanded the end of autocratic rule. Asconditions began to worsen, the Czar was forced to summon a DUMA (aparliament)thefirst Duma met in 1906, but was dissolved because itdemanded reforms. The second too suffered the same fate, and the thirdsurvived for five years. The Czar continued to rule with an iron hand, thusdriving all revolutionary forces underground.9.3.3. World War I:Before the war began, all countries in Europe had signed agreementsamong themselves pledging to support eachother in times of need. Russiamunotes.in

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 joined Britain and France to sign the ENTENTE CORDIALE, which wasdirected against Germany. When Austria attacked Serbia, Russia rushed tohelp her. This war developed into the World War I.Russian entry into the war was considered an act of foolishness, sinceRussia was not at all prepared. The Government tried to encourage supportfor the war withpatrioticslogans.All German sounding names werechanged in Russia. St Petersburg was changed to PETROGRAD. On thewar front, Russia fared very badly.They were defeated in many battles.Russian soldiers were ill-equipped and ill-trained. Many of the soldierswho went to war had no shoes or ammunition, and thus were no match forthe Germans. There were heavy casualties in thearmy. About 1.7 millionmen were killed and 5 million were wounded.On the home front, the situation was as bad. Industrial production waslow, the transportation system was breaking down, food was scarce, priceswere high, and by 1917 famine threatenedthe larger cities.The Czar took no notice when the Duma protested against the inefficientconduct of the war. In an attempt to boost the morale of his soldiers, CzarNicholas II went to the war front, leaving the government in the hands ofhis wife.Check Your Progress:1.Discuss theimportant causesof Russian Revolution of 1917.9.4 THE TWO PHASES OF THE REVOLUTION9.4.1 The February / March Revolution, 1917:The crisis began in Petrograd in February 1917. On 18thFebruary, (8March, of the new calendar,) the Petrograd workers organised a big strikewhich was soon joined by large crowds. The shortage of food led to foodriots. There were street demonstrations, workers, women and youngpeople joined this strike movement. The Czar asked the commander of thelocal troops to put down the trouble in Petrograd.The order was notobeyed. Instead the soldiers began to mix with the workers and the localpeople.A Soviet of Workers and Soldiers Deputies was set up in thecapital to direct the uprising. On the same day the Duma appointed aPROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT. Within five days of the beginning ofthe revolution, Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate.Finding thatmunotes.in

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everyone had deserted him, the Czar finally resigned. Monarchy had cometo an end,but the revolution continued.9.4.2 Provisional Government and the Problems it faced:The sudden resignation of the Czar had created confusion among thepolitical parties in Russia, as they were unprepared to take over thegovernment. Finally, the Constitutional Democrats, led by a landownerLUVOV, organised the government with the help of ALEXANDERKARENSKY, a social revolutionary. The Provisional Government wasmainly made up of middle class men.They introduced a number of liberal reforms like freedom of speech andthe press, freedom of religion.The Government freed political prisonersand also allowed political exiles to return to the country.One of the mostfamous men who did return was LENIN. It made provisions for theelection of a Constituent Assembly.This Assembly would prepare aconstitution for Russia.At the same time it continued fighting the war andtried to encourage patriotism among the people.However, in Russia the common man was not interested in politicalreforms.What mattered tohim was whether there was food to eat. Whatmattered to the peasant was whether he owned the land he was cultivating.What mattered to the soldier was peace.The people did not want apolitical revolution, they wanted economic and social changes.Thus the revolution which began as a liberal movement slowly movedtowards Socialism.Local Soviets (councils) of working men and soldierswere set up all over Russia.These became centres of popular agitation andpropaganda.Trouble continued as workers demanded higher wages, andpeasants grabbed the land from the landlords. Soldiers refused to obeytheir officers.The war policy of the Cadets and become unpopular andthey were thrown out of the Provisional Government.TheMENSHEVIKS, who were moderate socialists, replaced them.AlexanderKerenskywas the leader.As a leader of the moderate socialists,Kerenskywanted to useconstitutional and moderate methods to bring about socialism in thecountry.The Bolsheviks did not favour this policy.For some time he wasable to convince the army to fight and they were successful against theGermans.But the success was temporary.The soldiers were stronglyinfluenced by the Bolsheviks and soon refused to fight.The landlords andcapitalists supported General Kornilov, the Commander-in-chief of theRussian army. He attempted to overthrow the government but the attemptwas crushed.Meanwhilethe Bolsheviks had increased in numbers. They soon gainedcontrol of the Petrograd Soviet and in November 1917, by a COUPD’ETAT,over the ProvisionalGovernment.Kerenskyfled from themunotes.in

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country. With this second revolution, power passed into the hands of theBolsheviks.9.4.3 The October / November Revolution, 1917:VladimirUlyanovsk, morecommonlyknown by his pen name NikolaiLenin, was born in 1870 at Simbirsk on the River Volga. Ha was the sonof a school inspector. Leninstudiedlaw at the University of Kazan, wherehe was exposed to the writings of Karl Marx.His elder brother wasexecuted for plotting to kill the Czar.This event had a deep effect ofLenin’s mind.He soon turned into a revolutionary.The Russian policewatched his activities and he was caught and exiled to Siberia. While inprison he spent his time in writing a look on Russian capitalism. This bookcaught the attention of many socialists.Between 1900 and 1917 he was inexile in Switzerland, except for two years i.e. 1905-1907.In 1905 there was a lot of unrest in Russia. Lenin returned and preachedMarxism. He also organised Soviets (councils) in towns and cities. Thesesoviets played an important role in establishing the dictatorship of theproletariat in the November revolution.9.4.4 Role of Lenin in the Bolshevik Revolution:After the February revolution, among themanypolitical exiles whoreturned to Russia were the Bolshevik party workers and their leader,Lenin. He returned to Russia from Switzerland, with the help of theGermans, in a ‘sealed train’.The Germans helped Lenin because they feltthe revolution would weaken Russia and that wouldhelp them to defeatRussia Leon Trotsky returned from New York and Stalin from Siberia.The Bolshevik leaders were in touch with what was happening in Russiaand then used to smuggle revolutionary writings into Russia. They had adefinite political and economic programme.Soon after his arrival, Leninbegan to work for the downfall of the Provisional Government and theimmediatetakeoverof the country by the Bolsheviks. His first task was togain the confidence of the peasants, workers and soldiers. Hepromisedthe peasants land, the workers he promised bread, and the soldiers hepromised peace.These promises won him a lot of support. Trotskyorganised the Military Revolutionary Committee to work among thesoldiers.9.4.5 Bolshevik Revolution:Lenin supported by Trotsky won over the party to his view and onNovember 6 and 7 the, Bolsheviks took over the administration of Russiaat gun-point. They took control of posts and telegraphs, telephones andrailway stations, banks and important military depots. The members ofthe Provisional Government were at the Winter Palace, which wassurrounded by troops loyal to Lenin. The Provisional Governmentmunotes.in

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surrendered, andKerenskyfled abroad. The Bolsheviks led by Lenindeclared Russia a SOVIET REPUBLIC.Lenin had a huge job ahead of him. He had to get the support of allRussians. He had to organise a government, which would rebuild thesocial and economic life of Russia on communist Principles.On 7thNovember 1917, Lenin met the all-Russian Congress of Soviets inPetrograd and announced his party plan. The Congress appointed a CentralExecutive Committee and a cabinet called the Soviet of PeoplesCommissars. Lenin was appointed Chairman and Trotsky was theCommissar of Foreign Affairs.Check Your Progress:2.Whatwere the important problems the Provisional Government faced?9.5 BOLSHEVIK POLICIES, PROGRAMME ANDPROBLEMSThe Bolsheviks decided to establish a socialist system. The Congressadopted the following proposals of Lenin (1) to establishpeace, (2) privateproperty was to be abolished and peasants were to use the land, (3) controlof Production to be transferred to worker’s committees, (4) establishmentof dictatorship of the proletariat, and (5) the spread of communist ideas inthe world.9.5.1 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk:The first job that Leninhadwas to secure peace for Russia. This wasnecessary if the Bolsheviks were to concentrate their efforts on theproblems at home. Soon after taking over Control, Lenin openednegotiations with the Central Powers and concluded a separate peacetreaty with Germany and her allies.The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed on18thMarch 1918, was humiliating treaty and Russia lost a lot of territory.9.5.2 Civil war and Opposition:Not all Russians were happy with the changes that were taking place intheir country.Between 1917 and 1930, the Bolsheviks known as theREDS, were defending their revolution against the WHITES who werereactionaries and supported by the western countries.Trotsky organisedthewar against the White Army and forced them to surrender by 1920.munotes.in

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There was opposition also from the nobles and the bourgeoisie, whichLenin was determined to crush. The freedom of the press was limited,political parties were broken up. An organisation tofight this oppositionwas started, popularly called “CHEKA”.Thousands were put to deathwithout a fair trial.This terror tactics broke the spirit of the oldbourgeoisie class completely.The royal family, who was at Yekaterinburg, was shot on 18thJuly1918.Religion and State were separated and religion was discouraged.Churches were closed and festivals could not be celebrated. Leninbelieved that religion was the opium of the people.9.5.3. Economic Reforms:Lenin began the economic reconstruction of Russia by putting intopractise the principle of Marxian Socialism. He abolished all privateproperty and gave land to the peasants to the cultivated for the benefit ofthe state. The landowners were not compensated for the loss of theirlands.Factories and workshops were seized by the state and theirmanagement was handed over to the working men. Here also, the originalowners were not paid any compensation. Lenin allowed the workers tohelp in increasing the industrial output and share in the decision to fixprices. He did not allow them to interfere in the running of the industry.Labour was made compulsory for all citizens.9.5.4 Reasons for the NEP:The Bolsheviks had made sweeping changes in the social and economicsystem of Russia.Theirprogramme of NATIONALISATION ANDSTATE OWNERSHIP produced results, which put Communism to verysevere test. They realised that they had gone too far.The peasants were happy to get ridoftheir landlords but they wanted theconfiscated land for themselves. They wanted to make a profit on thesurplus production, and were not interest in the Communist idea ofhanding over the surplus to the State. When the Government demandedthis surplus, they cut down on production.In 1921, there was a droughtand a severe famine.Millions died of starvation.The industrial picture was not any better. Factories and large industrieswere nationalised and handed over to the workers. The workers were nottrained managers and did not know how to run these units. Productiondecreased and prices rose very high.The railway system almost brokedown. Shortage of food and decreasing industrial production causedterrible economic problems.There was a decline in the state revenue astaxes were not collected properly. The people were not happy with thenew Government.munotes.in

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Lenin realised the danger of the economic situation.He saw thatestablishing pure Communism was not working. As the restlessness of thepeople increased, the possibility of a revolt increased Lenin respondedpositively to the situation decided to retreat from Communism for sometime until the conditions improved.9.5.5 NEP:A change of policy was a crying necessity.Hence he proclaimed the NEWECONOMIC POLICY or the NEP as it was commonly called. It was aretreatfrom pure Marxian Communism and it involved a compromisebetween Socialism and Capitalism.Private enterprise on a limited scalewas to continue side by side with state enterprise.The series of reformswere aimed at bringing political and economic stability to the country.Some of the main features of the NEPwere:(1) The State would not take foodstuff from the peasants.Instead thepeasants had to pay a fixed tax in cash.(2)The peasantwasalso allowed to sell surplus grains in the open market.(3)Private enterprise on a small scale was allowed, since only the bigindustries and public services were nationalised.(4)To secure liquid capital, profit-sharing concessions were allowed toforeign capitalists for large-scale agriculture and engineering projects.However the State retained the right to repurchase the products of suchindustries.(5)The state retained in its hands foreign trade, banks, mines, forests,railways and heavy industries.(6)Private retail trading was permitted under certain restrictions, but theState also set up retail stores of its own. This was in the form ofcompetition and encouraged Consumer Co-operative Societies.(7)Incentives such as higher wages for improved production were offeredto labourers.(8)Strikes in factories were banned.(9)A new currency was introduced on the basis of the gold standard.9.5.6 Significance of the NEP:The NEP was a departure from the Marxian ideas, although it was not acomplete return to capitalism.Lenin and other Communist leadersregarded it as a temporary measure.Lenin described the NEP as taking“one step backward in order to take two steps forward”.There is no doubtthat the NEP helped in economic recovery as the industrial andagricultural production slowly began to rise. The NEP saved the BolshevikGovernment from a great economic catastrophe.munotes.in

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9.5.7 Death of Lenin:Lenin worked so hard between 1918 and 1922 that his health began to fail.He died inJanuary1924, and was unable to see the full working of theNEP. As the Father of the Bolshevik Revolution and the creator of newRussia he will be always occupy a prominent place in the pages of history.He had a strong will and a fanatical faith in Communism, combined with akeen sense of political expediency. To save the revolution he reversed hispolicy and thereby averted a great catastrophe. The Communists haveraised him to the stature of divinity and his tomb in Moscow has become ashrine and an object of public worship.On the death of Lenin two prominentCommunist leaders LEONTROTSKY and JOSEPH STALIN, Stalin, contested for the leadership ofthe party. Trotsky had helped Lenin in the November revolution. He wasin favour of working for world revolution. The peasants did not supporthim and others did not support the idea of world revolution. Stalin was arealist in politics. He wanted to concentrate on national revival instead ofworld revolution. He was a clever politician and worked quietly to removeTrotsky. Trotsky was expelled from the communist Party and exiledfromthe USSR in 1929. Stalin then became the virtual ruler.Check Your Progress:3. Describe the programmes and policies of the Bolsheviks.9.6 IMPACT OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONThe Russian Revolution takes its place in History by the sideof theAmerican and the French Revolutions.It was never before had an attemptbeen made on such a large scale to change the entire political, social andeconomic structure of a community on the basis of a theory of socialthinkers.The interesting features of this experiment were its sphere, its scope andits agency. Its sphere was a population over 200 million occupying 1/6thof the world’s surface. Its scope was the creation of a Communist Society.Its agency was the entire machinery of government. In less than 20 years,the landlord and the capitalist disappeared from Russian society andprivate enterprise was limited.Politically, the cult of the common man, popular in all democracies was acontribution of the Russian Revolution. This was a definite influence ofmunotes.in

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Soviet democracy. Dictatorship of the Proletariat is a different kind ofdemocracy compared to the bourgeoisie democracy of the west. Under theRussian system the government can introduce changes much faster.However, in the Russian system the basic freedom of man is limited.Economically, the Soviet system has influenced a large part of the world.The adoption of five year plans for economic development of a countryhas become popular.India and many other Asia, African and Latin-American countries have adopted Stalin’s idea for economic development.Thirdly, economic planning indicates a definite social policy.Forexample, five year plans were introduced in India with the purpose ofestablishing a socialistic pattern of society. Economic planning is meant toimprove the condition of the masses and it leads to equal rights for allsections of society.The establishment of the COMINTERN encouraged the labouring classesall over the world to stand united against the capitalist class. Thepopularslogan of the time was, ‘Workers of theworldunite.Youhave nothing tolosebut your chains and the world to gain’.Fourthly, Russia became one of the dominant powers of the world. Shewas the leader of the Communist bloc. The Russian nationalpolicy was tohelp spread communism to other parts of the world. Many countries wereinfluenced by communism to other parts of the world. Many countrieswere influenced by communist ideology and opted for a change ofgovernment. After world war II muchof Eastern such as East Germany,Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, turned communist and cameunder the influence of Russia. In fact they were referred to as her‘satellites’.In Asia, China, North Korea and Vietnam chose CommunistGovernments.The Bolshevik Revolution challenged in a very powerful way the variousvalues of western culture, the fundamental principles of trade and industry,the well-established systems of government, the social political andeconomic institutions and the methodsof diplomacy. By challenging theWestern intellectual domination of the world, it forced to re-evaluatewestern values of civilization.Check Your Progress:4. Enumerate the major effects of the Russian Revolution of 1917.munotes.in

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9.7 SUMMARYBeforeWorld War I, Russia was not only one of the largest countries inthe world, but also one of the so-called Powers.Nearly 4/5 of thepopulation consisted of peasants and the people were economically andculturally backward.Economic conditions were unsatisfactory, becauseindustrial development was slow and in agriculture farmers still usedtraditional methods of cultivation. Taxes were very high.The military hadbecome weak due to corruption and inefficient management.Politically, Russia had a monarchical system of government and was ruledby theRomanovCzars. They were despotic rulers and the people had norights.After the defeat of Russia by the Japanese in 1904. The Russiansrevolted but they were ruthlessly put down.Though the Duma wassummoned,in practice it had no power, the conditions prevailing in thecountry inspired revolutionary movements of which the Social Democratsand the Social Revolutionaries were important.The Czar and his advisors, the bureaucracy, the military officers and thefeudal elements were opposed to reforms.So, when the country involveditself in World War I, the weak autocracy collapsed.Two Revolutionsbroke out—the February Revolution and October Revolution of 1917.The February revolution saw the Mensheviks in power with AlexanderKerenskyas the leader of the PROVISIONAL Government. The Octoberrevolution saw the Bolsheviks in power with Lenin as the leader.TheBolsheviks introduced a Socialism system of government.Lenin dealtwith the Civil War effectively andalso withdrew from theFirst WorldWarHowever;his initial economic reforms were not so successful.Hethen introduced theNew Economic Policy with a partial return tocapitalism.The Revolution had a deep impact on many countries of the world. Itchallenged the traditional economic, political and social systems.9.8UNIT ENDQUESTIONS1.Examine the causes of the February Revolution 1917 in Russia.2.Analyse the social, political and economic causes of the RussianRevolution 1917.3.Discuss the working of the Provisional Government. Why did it fail?4.Describe the role played by Lenin in the Bolshevik Revolution 1917.5.Assess the significance and results of the Russian Revolution.6.Discuss the policies and programmes of the Bolshevik Governmentafter coming to power. What reforms did theyintroduce?7.What was the NEP? Assess its impact on the Russian economy.munotes.in

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8.Write short notes on thefollowing:(a)Economic causes of the Russian Revolution.(b)Political causes of the Russian Revolution(c)Ideological causes of the Revolution(d)Revolution of 1905(e)Russia and World War I(f)The Provisional Government.(g)Lenin’s NEP(h)Impact of the Russian Revolution.*****munotes.in

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 MODULE IV10LEAGUE OF NATIONSUnit Structure10.0Objectives10.1Establishmentof Leagueof Nation10.2The Organisationof The Leagueof Nations10.3Aimsand Objectives10.4Membership10.5Main Organsof The League Of Nations10.6Auxillary Organs10.7Achievementsof The League In The Political Field10.8Achievementsof The League In The Social Field10.9Causesofthe Failureof The Leagueof Nations10.10Summary10.11Unit End Questions10.0 OBJECTIVESAfter studying of this module the student will be able to1.Understand the aim and objectives of the League ofNations.2.Comprehendthe membership andorganisationof the League ofNations.3.Describe the achievement of the League of Nations.4.Discuss about the failure of the League of Nations.10.1 ESTABLISHMENT OF LEAGUE OF NATIONIn January 1918, 10 months before World War I ended, PresidentWoodrow Wilson of the U. S.A. proposed a set of war aims called theFourteen Points. Wilson believed that the Fourteen Points would bringabout a just peace settlement, which he called ‘peace without victory.’Eight ofWilson’s Fourteen Points dealt with specific political andterritorial settlements. The rest of them put forward general principlesaimed at preventing future wars. The last point proposed the establishmentof an international association—later called the League of Nations—tomaintain peace.munotes.in

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Wilson believed that as long as each nation was responsible for its owndefence, world wars would continue to take place. He wanted all nationsto join together in the League, and promise to defend the independenceand territory of any member attacked by another nation. Wilson got other,countries to agree to his plan but the U.S.A. refused to join.The League of Nations was established in January 1920. The main organsof the League were the Assembly, the Council and the Secretariat. It alsofunctioned through auxiliary organs like the International Court.10.2 THE ORGANISATION OF THE LEAGUE OFNATIONSThe scale of the war of 1914, the immense losses which it involved, thesuffering of the civilian population, the huge financial burden on thedefeated and victorious countries–all these factors producedhatredin theminds of people for war.The common feeling was that war does not solveproblems.Throughout recorded History, mankind has shown a blind faithin the use of force to eliminate national problems.By substitutingcollective action for individual action, the League of Nations was designedto give all people a sense of security, which would make them think interms of peace and not in terms of conflict as in the past.Thus the Leaguetried to achieve the deepest psychological revolution–to transform thewar mentality of man into a peace mentality.The birth of this international organisation was in the form of aCOVENANT (constitution) which was included in all the treaties signedat the Paris Peace Conference 1919.The founder was President WoodrowWilson of the U.S.A. He realised the necessity of such an organisation as acure for all the problems that the world was suffering. The last point in hisprogramme of 14pointsrefers to a general association which wouldguarantee.“Political independence and territorialintegrity”.During thediscussions at the peace conference, he insisted on the formation of thisLeague.The League when finally established inGenevawas acompromise between two extreme views.It was to work as a world bodywith a strong commitment towards maintaining world peace even if itwere to mean punishing a member which was in the wrong.10.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVESThe main jobs that the League had to performwere:(a) to prevent wars,(b) to maintain peace, (c) to carry out the special duties as stated in thepeacetreaties,(d) to promote international co-operation.Many articles were included within the Covenant to ensure that war wasavoided. Article 10 urged all members “to respect and preserve as againstexternal aggression the territorial integrity and existing politicalindependence.” Article 11 authorised the League to take suitable action tomunotes.in

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safeguard the peace of nations.Article 12 says that members shouldsubmit their disputes to arbitration.Article 15 said that any dispute whichcould not be settled byarbitrationshould be submitted to the League’sCouncil. Secret treaties and agreements were forbidden.The League hadthe power to impose economic sanctions against any nation, which brokethe law.Thus Articles 10 to 16 ensured the prevention of war andMaintenance of peace.The other Articles mentioned the positive role that the League had to play.e.g. Article 23 referred to the promotion of just and humane conditions oflabour for men, women and children. Another referred to the need forbringing about a general disarmament among nations. The Covenantmade provisions for the creation of an International Court of Justice.10.4 MEMBERSHIPThe League started functioning in January 1920 and in November shifteditsheadquarters from Paris to Geneva.Any self-governing country couldbecome a member if two-thirds of the Assembly agreed to themembership.All peace-loving states were admitted.There were two kinds of members of the League: Original and Non-original. The Original members were those states that had signed theTreaty of Versailles and who had joined before 20thMarch 1920. Non-original members were those who were admitted after that date.When the Assembly first met inNovember 1920 there were 41 memberstates.By 1924 the number rose to 50 and by 1934 to 60.The CentralPowers were not admitted for some time because they were guilty ofstarting World WarI. Russia too did not join for a long time.The U.S.A.Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and thus did not become amember.Membership of the League could be lost by the following methods.Anation could withdrawitsmembership of the League by giving a two yearsnotice. Under Article 16 of the Covenant, a nation could be expelled fromthe League if itwent against the Covenant.10.5 MAIN ORGANS OFTHE LEAGUE OF NATIONSThe maim organs through which the League functioned were: (a) TheAssembly, (b) a Council, (c) a Secretariats.10.5.1TheAssembly consisted of representatives of all member nations.Though each country could send three representatives, they only had asingle vote.The meetings were held once a year but special sessions couldbe held.The Assembly controlled the League budget, admitted newmembers, elected the temporary Council members, and made amendmentsmunotes.in

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to the Covenant.On these matters the Assembly could decide by a two-thirds or a majority vote.As a deliberative body, the Assembly could also discuss any matter thatwas a threat to peace foritsrecommendations to be accepted it needed amajority vote in the Assembly.In practise the Assembly worked well andit made real contribution to international co-operation10.5.2 Atthe beginning, the COUNCIL was made up of four permanentmembers, i.e. Britain, France, Italy and Japan. There were four non-permanent members, but the number was increased to six. These seatswere rotated among the small nations of the League. Germany was madea permanent member in 1926.The first non-permanent members wereBelgium, Brazil, Greece and Spain.The Council met frequently.They dealt with any matter affecting peace inthe world. Their duties included drawing up plans to protect membersfrom external aggression.When disputes were brought before them theymade inquiries into the matter and suggested solutions to the problem.They were required to make plans for reduction of armaments.The reportssubmitted by the Mandatones were studied and theadministration ofcertain territories like the free city of Danzig wassupervised.Since the Council enjoyed executive powers, it could impose sanctions onany nation disturbing the peace.This recommendation required anunanimous vote in the Council.10.5.3 TheSECRETARIAT:The administrative staff of the League. A Secretary–General,who wasnominated by the Council and approved by the Assembly, headed a staffof about 600 officials. These officials assisted the peacekeeping work ofthe League. The Secretariat kept records, maintained correspondence andhelped in the work of all the organs. The Secretary–General registeredand published all the treaties signed by the member nations. Thesecretariat provided staff for the various international organisations set upby the League to promote co-operation in international trade, finance,transportation, communication, health and science.The first Secretary—General was SIR ERIC DRUMMOND of GreatBritain from 1920 to 1993. He was helped in his duties by two DeputySecretary-Generals and two Under-Secretaries. The official languages ofthe League were English and French.munotes.in

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10.6 AUXILLARY ORGANSIn addition to the main organs of the League, there were, a number ofauxiliaryorgans in the ofAdvisory Committees and Technical Agencies.The most important were the following:The Permanent Court Of International Justice (World Court):Article 14 of the Covenant provided for the establishment of such a court.The draft for setting up this court was passed by the Council and also bythe Assembly. The Permanent Court was composed of 11 judges and wassituated at the Hague (Netherlands). The Council and the Assembly chosethe judges for a term of nine years. The Court had the power to “hear anddetermine any dispute of an international character which the partiessubmit to it”. The court could also give advisory opinion. The PermanentCourt codified international law and also interpreted the law to decidewhich nation had violated the law. The Court started functioning from1921 till the end.The International Labour Organisation (ILO):This organisation was established by Article 23. It was to be anautonomous body consisting of a General Assembly, Governing Body andan InternationalLabourOffice. The representatives in these bodiesdevoted their time to discuss various problems affecting labour. Theyworked to improve conditions of workers, especially women and children.The League set up other minor agencies tofulfilits obligations. TheMandates Commission effectively supervised the administration ofcolonial territories. Another agency looked after refugees. Yet anotheragency, checked epidemics. Similarly, another dealt with the illegal drugtrade and slavery.Check Your Progress:1. Discuss in brief the organisation of the League ofNations?10.7 ACHIEVEMENTS OFTHE LEAGUE IN THEPOLITICAL FIELDIn the twenty years ofitscareer, the League dealt with a large number ofpolitical disputes between nations. Many of themwere settled peacefully.Disputes between smaller nations were scaled rather quickly. Howeverthe bigger and more powerful nations did not like the investigations of theLeague and said it violated their sovereignty. Sometimes they pressurizedmunotes.in

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the League to decide in their favour. Some of the political disputes will bediscussed below.In 1920, the League settled a dispute between FINLAND and SWEDENover the ownership of the AALAND ISLANDS. The islands were handedover to Finland but the Swedish nationality of the people was to bepreserved.In 1921, a dispute between POLAND and GERMANY over the boundaryline to be drawn in UPPER SILESIA was submitted to the League. Afterinvestigations the League decided that the boundary line betweenGermany and Poland should pass through Upper Silesia and the areashould be an economic unit supervised by the League for a period offifteenyears.In 1921, the League secured the withdrawal of SERBLAN troops fromALBANIA by threatening to impose economic sanctions.In 1923, ITALY attacked and occupied the GREEK ISLAND of CORFUbecause four of her subjects had been murdered there. The Italiangovernment demanded an apology and reparation for the crime. TheLeague brought about a settlement.The League also successfully settled the MOSUL boundary disputebetween BRITAIN and TURKEY. A neutral committee investigated theclaims of the two countries in the oil-rich Mosul area and the League ruledin favour of Turkey.The smooth operation of the MANDATE SYSTEM may be described asone of the greatest achievements of the League. Under Article 22, theLeague was to take charge of the colonies taken away from Germany andTurkey. The League appointed France and Britain as mandatory powersto look after these countries tillthey became independent. In 1920 aMandatory Commission was appointed to review the progress made bythese people. The League received reports from the people concerned andthe governments functioning there. On the basis of these reports theCommission made recommendations to the Council.Check Your Progress:2. Bring out achievements of the League ofNations?munotes.in

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10.8 ACHIEVEMENTS OFTHE LEAGUE IN THESOCIAL FIELDThere was much constructive work done by the League through lesserbodies.Sincethis work wasdramaticand did not involve confrontationbetween nations, not much has been written about it. Some of theachievements are listed below:The League successfully looked after 30,000,000 members of nationalminorities in Central and EasternEurope. A MINORITIES COMMITTEEwas appointed. It supervised the resettlement of Greek refugees from AsiaMinor and Eastern Thrace.The League negotiated for the return ofprisoners of war in Russia.The League did a lot of work to control the illegal drug trade and also toeliminate the trafficking of women and children.It did a commendable job in suppressing slavery and bonded labour. In1932 it set up a permanent Slavery Commission. The International LabourOrganisation was successful in improving the conditions of labour class allover the world, particularly of women and children.The League for the first time, spread the idea of international co-operationamong peoples of the world and tried to make the world a better place tolive in.10.9 CAUSES OF THE FAILURE OFTHE LEAGUE OFNATIONSAlthough the League achieved great progress in the early years of itsexistence, in the long run it failed to achieveitsobjectives. It proved to beweak machinery, unable to prevent a war to make the world safe fordemocracy, and to establish peace based on justice. Finally it wasofficially closed on 19thApril 1946. Naturally the question as to why theLeaguefailedhas been repeatedly asked. Numerous answers have beengiven.The failure of the League couldbe explained in terms of the followinganalysis:1. LEAGUEPART OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES:The Covenant, which gave birth to the League, was part of all the peacetreaties. Since the treaties were one-sided and favoured only the victoriousAllies, the defeated nations felt that the League was a biased body.Though they were forced to join it, they were not admitted for quite sometime. Hence they viewed it with great suspicion and hatred.munotes.in

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2.ABSENCE OF THE U.S.A.:The refusal of the U.S.A. to join this body was a great moral loss. TheLeague had been founded due to the efforts of President WoodrowWilson. He felt that only collective effort on the part of all nations wouldprevent a war and maintain peace. But the U.S.A. Senate rejected theTreaty of Versailles. The participation of the U.S.A. in the League’sactivities could have prevented international lawlessness and the outbreakof the Second World War.3.DOMINATION BY GREAT POWERS:It was felt that the League was dominated by big powers like Britain,France, Italy and Japan. Smaller nations had no role to play. On manyimportant issues the Great Powers could not agree and voted against eachother in the meetings. This made the League ineffective and powerless.The Powers failed to support the League, and so the League failed tosupport the Powers. Germany joined only in 1926 and Russia in 1934.The absence of such powers further weakened the League.4.LACK OF AN ARMED FORCE:The League did not have any armed force to stop any aggressive nation. Ithad to depend upon member-countries to carry out its decision againstaggressor nations. Many times the members failed to give adequatesupport. When economic sanctions were applied against Italy, Britain andFrance continued to supply oil to her.5.FAILURE TO ACHIEVE DISARMAMENT:The League Council had been given the task of making plans for thereduction of armaments. Technical commissions were appointed, but thediscussions did not prove fruitful. France was reluctant to weaken herdefences. The World Disarmament Conference 1932 was a failure and agreat disappointment. At this conference Germany demanded an equallevel of armaments with France. France opposed this request. Hitler usedthe French attitude as an excuse not only to withdraw from the conferencebut also to withdraw from the League itself. .6.RISE OF DICTATORSHIPS AND FAILURE TO CHECKAGGRESSION:The rise of dictators inEuropelessened the chances of the success of theLeague.Mussolini of Italy and Hitler of Germanytreated the League withcontempt.Military dictatorship in Japan and the Communist dictatorshipin Russia proved to be dangerous for the League as they went against theprinciples and objectives of the League. Germany blamed the League forfailing to bring about disarmament and refused to be tied down by theterms of the Treaty of Versailles any longer.Japan also left the Leagueafter invading Manchuria.In 1935,Mussolini invaded Ethiopia(Abyssinia), disregarding the League.The dictators exploited thehelplessness of the League and defiedinternational law.munotes.in

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7.CONFLICTING INTERESTS OF GREAT POWERS:The Great Powers used the League to serve their own ends. They did notagree that ‘collective security’ was the main purpose of the League.Britain lookedupon the League as a means to continue her favouritetheory i.e. the maintenance of the balance of power in Europe. Britishleaders considered it a meeting place for powerful nations to consult incase of a threat to peace.France saw the League mainly asan organisation that would maintain theterritorial settlement imposed on Germany after World War I. She wantedthe League to guarantee her security from a possible German attack.The Soviet Union believed the League was a fake body, becauseCommunism taught that war was inevitable among capitalist nations.As Pitman B. Putter observed, “The ultimate culprits in the failure of theLeague were the Member-States. It was not the League of Nations, butthe nations which failed the League.”Check Your Progress:3.Accountfor the failure of the League ofNations?10.10SUMMARYWilson and other statesmen who designed the League hoped it would leadnations to stop seeking protection through secret alliances.Instead theyfavoured a system of ‘collective security.’ In this system the security ofeach member would be guaranteed by the protection of all. For collectivesecurity to work, it was necessary that all members come to the aid of eachother if any member was attacked. The League could not force nations tohelp each other. It had to be a voluntary action. Each nation had to believethat a threat to the peace of any nation however small, was a threat to it’sown peace.Why the League failed was most dramatically illustrated when Italyattacked Ethiopia in 1935. The League declared that Italy had gone againstthe Covenant and asked members to impose sanctions against Italy.Members agreed to stop all imports from Italy and to send no money orwar materials to Italy. But the U.S.A-, Japan and Germany were notmembers.It was left to Britain, France and Russia to strongly opposeItaly.However Britain and France were not willing to use force to stopmunotes.in

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Italy, as it might lead to war. They did not impose the oil sanctions againstItaly,and finally Italy conquered Ethiopia in May 1936.The Ethiopiancrisis completely discredited the League as an instrument of maintainingpeace.When Woodrow Wilson had put forward his Fourteen Points, he hadhoped it would bring about a peaceful settlement after the war. He arguedthat unless all countries collectively tried to maintain peace, there wouldbe no peace. All countries had to respecteach other’sterritorial integrity.On the basis of these ideas, he proposed the establishment of aninternational association called the League of Nations.The main aim of the League was to prevent war, promote peace andinternational co-operation. The League functioned through the mainorgans of the Assembly, the Council and the Secretariat. There were otherauxiliary organs like the International Court and the World HealthOrganisation.Unfortunately the League failed in its main purpose of preventing war. Itwas the member nations themselveswhofailed the League as they refusedto obey orders. The League did not have any military force with which tocompel members to obey. When the League asked Italy not to coloniseAbyssinia and to withdraw, Italy withdrew from the League instead.But in the field of social and humanitarian work it accomplished much.Itsagencies did much to suppress the illegal drug trade, prostitution ofwomen and children and to abolish slavery. The League was alsosuccessful in promoting educational and intellectual Co-operation and inco-ordinating health and scientific organisationsthroughoutthe world.10.12UNIT ENDQUESTIONS1.What were the aims and objectives of the League of Nations? Howdid the League function?2.Describe the organs of the League and how did they function?3.Describe the achievements and failures ofthe League of Nations.4.Why did the League of Nations fail?5.Write short notes on the following:(a)Aims and objectives of the League.(b)Achievements of the League.(c)Reasons for the failure of the League.*****munotes.in