Question

aristocracy and the 11. Before the 18 century, society in Europe was divided into church controlled the economic and social power
a. Caste and classes
b. Estate and orders
c. Catholics and Protestants
d. None of the above​

Answer 1

Q.1. How did French territory undergo changes due to the Treaty of Vienna in 1815?

Ans. Representatives of European powers, i.e. Austria, Britain, Russia and Prussia, met at Vienna in 1815 after having defeated Napoleon. The Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich was the head of the Congress. Here the Treaty of Vienna of 1815 was drawn up to undo the changes after the Napoleonic wars. Thus the Bourbon dynasty, deposed during the French Revolution, was put back in power even as France lost the territories it had annexed under Napoleon. To prevent every future expansion of France, many states were set up on France’s boundaries. So the kingdom of Netherlands including Belgium came up in the north, while Genoa came together with Piedmont in the south. Prussia received some important new territories on its western frontiers. Austria gained control of northern Italy. The 39 states in the German Confederation as set up by Napoleon underwent no changes. In the east, Russia received a part of Poland and Prussia received a part of Saxony.

The objective was to restore the monarchies overthrown by Napoleon and create a new conservative order in Europe.

Q.2. Discuss the lives of the aristocrats and the new middle class in 19th century France.

Ans. In the 19th century Europe, the landed aristocracy dominated all social and political spheres. They were united by a common lifestyle. They owned huge estates in the countryside and some had large town houses too. Their spoken language was French, both in high society and in diplomatic circles. Most of the aristocratic families were connected by marriage. The aristocrats formed a small group but held a lot of power.

Peasantry comprised the larger group of the population. To the west, most of the land was farmed by small owners and tenants. In Eastern and Central Europe, the pattern of landholding was characterised by vast estates cultivated by serfs. In the western and some part of Central Europe industrial production and trade was on the rise and with them towns grew and the commercial classes emerged. Their existence was based on the production for the market.

Industrialisation took birth in England in the 1850s but France and Germany experienced it only during the 19th century. This caused emergence of new social groups — working class and middle class. The latter comprised industrialists, businessmen and professionals. These groups were not many in Central and Eastern Europe. So it was the liberal, educated middle-class which encouraged national unity after aristocratic privileges were abolished.

Q.3. What views did the conservatives hold?

Ans. Napoleon was defeated in 1815 and soon European governments adopted the idea of conservatism. The conservatives held the belief that established, traditional institutions of state and society like monarchy, church, social hierarchies, property and family must be protected and preserved. They never proposed a pre-revolutionary period to return to but they knew that as Napoleon had carried out changes, modernisation would in fact contribute to a strong monarchy. They believed that it would strengthen power of the state and make it much more effective. For them it was a firm belief that aristocratic monarchies of Europe would gain much from a modern army, an efficient bureaucracy, a dynamic economy, the abolition of feudalism and serfdom.

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Answer By shreyas