Question : The multiple contradictions that quickly undermined the new edifice had been expressed even before the meeting of the Estates General in France. The internal conflict among Estates had manifested itself
(2015)
Answer : In France under the Old Regime, the Estates General or States-General was a legislative and consultative assembly of the different classes (or estates) of French subjects.
It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king. It had no true power in its own right-unlike the English parliament it was not required to approve royal taxation or legislation-instead it functioned as an advisory body to the king, ....
Question : The whole episode that is known as the July Revolution 1830 was fought and won not for the establishment of an extreme democracy but to get rid of the aristocratic and clericalist attitude of the restored Bourbons
(2015)
Answer : Charles X came to power in 1824 after the death of Louis XVIII. He was the younger brother of Louis XVIII, who, upon the defeat of Napoleon I, and by agreement of the Allied powers, had been installed as King of France. Louis XVIII had adopted moderate policy to balance different factions but when Charles X came to power, the reactionary policy prevailed.
He decided to restore the old regime by undoing the work of Revolution. ....
Question : Discuss the nature of American overseas expansion in Asia and explain the consequences
(2014)
Answer : By 1890, the United States had by far the world’s most productive economy. American industry produced twice as much as its closest competitor–Britain.
But the United States was not a great military or diplomatic power.
Americans resisted expansion for two major reasons. One was that imperial rule seemed inconsistent with America’s republican principles. The other was that the United States was uninterested in acquiring people with different cultures, languages, and religions. But where an older generation of ....
Question : American Revolution seems to have come with remarkable suddenness A roster of talented leaders emerged during 1763 to 1775 to make it happen Elucidate.
(2014)
Answer : The American Revolution was a political upheaval that took place between 1765 and 1783 during which colonists in the Thirteen American Colonies rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy, overthrew the authority of Great Britain, and founded the United States of America.
Two ideas in particular had taken root in American colonists by the mid-18th century
Question : If we were to define our conception of the State our answer would be that the State is the banker of the poor. The government would finance and supervise the purchase of productive equipments and the formation of social workshops In light of the above statement of Louis Blanc throw light on the Pre-Marxist Socialist Thought in Europe
(2014)
Answer : Blanc believed that the competitive capitalism then developing in France tended to stunt the human personality, pitting one man against another and driving the weaker to the wall. The first step toward a better society would be to guarantee work for everyone by establishing “social workshops” financed by the state. These workshops, controlled by the workers themselves, would gradually take over most production until a socialist society would come into being. Blanc did not believe ....
Question : Change in Britain came comparatively peacefully through democratic process in the first half of the nineteenth century and a model of a functioning democracy through ballot box was successfully put in place Elaborate
(2013)
Answer : Today, if there is one thing that all politicians from the major political parties agree upon it is that democracy is the best form of government. The idea that every adult should have the right to vote is taken for granted. In the mid-nineteenth century Britain was not a democracy and the majority of politicians did not support democratic values.
Voting was not seen as a universal right but as a privilege for the wealthiest class ....
Question : Six hundred thousand men had died. The Union was preserved the slaves freed. A nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal had survived its most terrible ordeal
(2013)
Answer : This is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, one of the best-known in American history.
It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War in 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg.
In just over two minutes, Lincoln reiterated the principles of human equality espoused by the Declaration of Independence and ....
Question : How did Napoleon fuse the France of the ancient regime with the France of the post-revolutionary era
(2012)
Answer : Napoleon’s administrative reform received special attention as like French revolution, his reform speeded the development of the modern bureaucratic state. On one hand giving it an ideological base while on the other traded its administrative superiority across Europe. French administrative reform seemingly had transformed the shaky administrative apparatus of the ancient regime into Napoleon’s efficient instrument. The administration of ancientregime was probably better than it was made out to be and the post revolutionary administration ....
Question : The impact of the French revolution 1789 was initially confined to Europe but that of the Russian Revolution 1917 was global Critically review
(2012)
Answer : The French revolution (1789-1799) was a period of ideological, political and social upheaval in the Political history ofFrance and Europe as a whole, during which French polity, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and catholic clergy, underwent radical change to a form based on enlightenment principles of republicanism, citizenship and rights. These changes were accompanied by violent turmoil including executions and repression during the Reign of Terror and warfare involving every ....
Question : The connection between the philosophers ideas and the outbreak of the French revolution 1789 is somewhat remote and indirect
(2012)
Answer : The French philosophers of the Enlightenment era did not play an active role in the events of the revolution but their ideas inspired the revolutionary movement. The main philosophers were Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot and Montesqeiu. Diderot, was the editor of a ground breaking encyclopedia which brought awareness of the inequality in France by describing some of the injustices of the ancient regime. Its promotion of individual rights influenced the revolutionaries.
Montesqeiu proposed the idea of a ....
Question : Explain how American imperialism in Philippines differed with European imperialism in Indonesia and Indo-China
(2011)
Answer : The nineteenth to early twentieth century is known as the age of imperialism. During this time, European nations carved empires for themselves. It was a time of social Darwinism. During this time, US had just finished setting up its frontier and building up its economy. Although America did end up entering into imperialism, it was imperialism of a far different form and method than that of the European nations. European imperialism in Indonesia and Indo-China ....
Question : To what extent did Napoleon economic war with England become his undoing
(2010)
Answer : Continental system is the term commonly applied to economic warfare waged by Napoleon on England during 1805-12.
Napoleon argued that England’s economy was predominantly based on manufacture and trade. To strike the British commerce is to strike England in heart.
With Decree of Berlin 1803, Napoleon made efforts to close the sea board from tranto (South Italy) to Hamburg (Germany). With Milan Decree he brought England under complete blockade. Initially the Napoleon’s continental system met with some ....
Question : How far is it correct to say that every feature of American constitution was ultimately of English origin
(2010)
Answer : The American constitution was borrowed from various sources. It also contains elements that were of English origin. The American constitution reflect the elements of liberties guaranteed by Magana Carta and English Bill of Rights. Political Philosophy and outlook developed in English were adopted. It largely followed the pattern of British constitution. However it is not correctly to say that American constitution was entirely of English origin. Certain other elements are also visible. Most of the ....
Question : How did Napoleon Bonaparte fuse the old France with the new
(2009)
Answer : It was Napoleon’s function in history to fuse the old France with the new.Napoleon declared that he wanted to cement peace at home by anything that could bring the French together and provide tranquility within families. Like Mirabeau, Napoleon didn’t see an incompatibility between the Revolution and monarchy.
Napoleon did what the Bourbon King could not do. He reconciled the elements of the monarchy with elements of the Revolution which was the failed goal of Mirabeau ....
Question : “No event as encompassing as the French Revolution occurs in an intellectual vaccum”.
(2007)
Answer : The French Revolution was one of the world shocking events of the world history. The material revolution of 1789 was preceded by a revolution in the realms of ideas.
This intellectual revolt was brought about by a group of French philosophers of whom the most prominent were Montesquieu, Voltaire & Rousseau. Their writings gave expression to the discontent and indignation which lay latest in the hearts of the French people Montesquieu was an ardent advocate of ....
Question : “No taxation without representation.”
(2006)
Answer : No taxation without representation was the ringing slogan of the American War of Independence and captured the very core issue involved in the historic event. It basically connoted the people’s right to representation and their struggle to get it enforced.
Britain had been treating the American colonies to serve her own needs. Britain had imposed severe economic restrictions upon the colonies.
The Navigation Acts ensured that the colonies could trade only in British shops and with Britain ....
Question : “The writings of the philosophers had a tremendous influence on the minds of people and created a revolutionary awakening in their minds and formed the intellectual creed of the French Revolution.”
(2005)
Answer : The French Revolution of 1789 was one of the path-breaking events in the modern history of the world,
however, it was the material revolution in the realm of ideas. In this connection, the writings of the philosophers had a tremendous influence.
The intellectual revolt was brought about by a group of French philosophers of whom the most prominent were Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau. Their writings gave expression to the discontent & indignation which lay latent in ....
Question : “Though reform was inevitable, the Act (1832) by which it was accomplished was open to grave criticism!”
(2005)
Answer : The first half of the 19th century constitutes an important landmark in the history of Europe. For during this period, Europe saw many attempts at liberalism and democracy. The centre of such movements was France.
But it was England where the movements for liberalism got their solid foot hold. This was in form of the Great Reform Act of 1832. But the Act, landmark though it may have been, on hindsight it became subject of grave ....
Question : What were the factors that worked in the drafting of the American Constitution? Do you agree with Bread’s view of the Constitution being an Economic document?
(2005)
Answer : The American Revolution and the US Constitution drafter after the defeat of imperial Britain at the hands of thirteen colonies constitute epoch making events in the political history of the world and in the constitutional development of modern times. Several factors worked in the drafting of the American constitution.
In drafting the constitution of America, the representatives of the 13 colonies met at the
Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776 and made a declaration.
In ....
Question : Review the background of the Chartist Movement. Despite its failure how had their demands been met in the succeeding years?
(2004)
Answer : Radical British democratic movement, mainly of the working classes flourished around 1838 to 1848. It derived its name from the People’s Charter, a six-point programme comprising universal male suffrage, equal electoral districts, secret ballot, annual parliaments, and abolition of the property qualification for, and payment of, members of Parliament. The movement grew out of the London Working Men’s Association, formed in 1836 by William Lovett. Two petitions were presented to Parliament (in 1839 and 1842), ....
Question : ‘Napoleon was the child of the Revolution, but in many ways he reversed the aims and principles of the movement from which he sprang...’
(2004)
Answer : There is no denying the fact that the French Revolution created Napolean (1769-1821). It was this man who, in 1799, combined a passion for power with his genius for leadership. Although much of what Napoleon accomplished over fifteen years seemed to undermine the principles of 1789, the end result was that many of the achievements of the Revolution were made French realities. Indeed, these realities were also made manifest across Europe. Napoleon was born in ....
Question : “The French Revolution” attacked privileges and not property.
(2003)
Answer : French society was divided into classes or estates. There were two privileged classes—the elergy and the nobility. These were known as the first estate and estate respectively. These two classes together owned about 40 per cent of the total land of France. They were exempted from taxes and controlled most of the administrative posts and all the high ranking posts in the army. Their income primarily came from their large land holdings. A minority of ....
Question : “If monarchical misrule ignited the French Revolution, lofty ideas both inspired and sustained it.”
(2002)
Answer : The monarchial misrule as well as brain storming ideas of the great thinkers and philosophers had ignited the French revolution. The despotic rule in France had been highly exploitative and the income of the state in France was considered as the income for the ruler. Rulers also claimed that they had divine right to rule over France. Lui XIV claimed that he himself was the state. Lui’s XVI had an opinion that whatever he said ....
Question : ‘The Napoleonic empire was doomed because of its inherent and self-defeating contradictions! Elucidate.
(2001)
Answer : The Napoleon’s Empire was doomed because of its inherent and self-defeating Contradiction. Its programme of conquest ensured remorseless British resistance. There was no truce from May, 1803 until Napoleon’s abdication in 1814. The failure of his attempt to invade Britain and the battle of trafalgar made it clear that Britain remained superior at sea. So Napoleon had to resort to the continental system in an effort to undermine the naval power by economic weapons.
Napoleon’s continental ....
