(a) "The first clear expression of nationalism came with the French Revolution in 1789." Evaluate the statement.

(a) “The first clear expression of nationalism came with the French Revolution.” Evaluate the statement. The measures introduced by the French revolutionaries to create a sense of collective identity amongst the people during the people during the French Revolution were

(i) France was a full-fledged territorial state in $\displaystyle 1789$ under the rule of an absolute monarch.

(ii) The political and constitutional changes that came in the wake of the French Revolution led to the transfer of sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French Citizens.

(iii) The revolution proclaimed that it was the people who would henceforth constitute the nation and shape its destiny.

(iv) French revolutionaries created various practices to create a sense of collective identity.

(v) A new French flag was designed, new hymns were composed and martyrs commemorated.

(vi) Regional dialects were discouraged and French spoken and written in Paris became the language of France.

(b) “Following the defeat of Napoleon in $\displaystyle 1815$, European governments were driven by a spirit of conservatism.” Evaluate the statement.

(i) Conservatives believed that established, traditional institutions of state and society should be preserved.

(ii) Most conservatives, however, did not propose a return to the society of pre-revolutionary days.

(iii) However, they realized from the changes initiated by Napoleon, that modernization could in fact strengthen traditional institutions like monarchy.

(iv) It could make the state power more effective and stronger

(v) A modern army, an efficient bureaucracy, a dynamic economy could strengthen the autocratic monarchies of Europe.

(vi) The conservatives did not tolerate dissent and criticism and sought to curb the activities that questioned the legitimacy of an autocratic government.

(vii) Censorship laws were introduced, curtailing freedom of speech and expression