Question

Which one of the following statements is INCORRECT about the new middle class that emerged in France during the eighteenth century? (a) They supported the privileges of the nobles and the clergies which they received by birth. (b) They believed that a person’s social position must depend on his merit. (c) Most of them were uneducated. (d) They included merchants, manufactures, professionals such as lawyers, doctors and other administrative officers. 1​

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct option is C Both the statements are correct.

Statement 2 is the correct explanation of Statement 1.

England was industrialized in the eighteenth century, and the waves of this change reached the shores of the rest of Europe gradually. New occupations emerged. So, one could choose to be a lawyer, or a banker, or a factory worker.

This change was mostly seen in western and a few parts of central Europe, where industrial production and trade flourished. Many towns came up, and within them, new commercial classes grew.

It is in the minds of the educated middle class that the idea of liberty emerged; and with it, the idea of ‘liberal nationalism’.