(a)OR(b)

Explain the process of unification of Germany.

(i) Failure of the middle-class Germans to unite the different regions of the German confederation into a nation-state in the year $\displaystyle 1848$ failed.

(ii) Then Prussia took on the leadership of the movement for national unification. The chief minister Otto von Bismarck, the architect of this process, carried it out with the help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy.

(iii) Three wars were fought over a span of about seven years against France, Austria and Denmark.

(iv) It ended in Prussian victory and completed the process of unification

(v) In January $\displaystyle 1871$, the Prussian King William- I was proclaimed German emperor in a ceremony held at Versailles.

(b) How were the years of $\displaystyle 1830$’s of great economic hardship in Europe? Explain.

(i) The half of the 19th century saw an enormous increase in population all over Europe.

(ii) In most countries there were more seekers of jobs than employment.

(iii) Population from rural areas migrated to the cities to live in overcrowded slums.

(iv) Small producers in towns were faced with stiff competitions from imports of cheap machine made goods from England.

(v) In regions of Europe aristocracy still enjoyed power, peasants struggled under the burden of feudal dues and obligations.

(vi) The rise of food prices or a year of bad harvest led to widespread pauperism in town and country.