Question

"The formation of the British Nation-State was different from the rest of Europe." Justify the statement with suitable arguments. OR "Ideas of…

Accepted Answer

(i) In Britain the formation of the nation-state was not the result of a sudden upheaval or revolution. It was the result of a long-drawn-out process. There was no British nation prior to the eighteenth century. (ii) The primary identities of the people who inhabited the British Isles were ethnic ones- such as English, Welsh, Scot or Irish. (iii) The English parliament, which had seized power from the monarchy at the end of a protracted conflict, was the instrument through which a nation-state, with England at its centre, came to be forged. (iv) The Act of Union between England and Scotland that resulted in the formation of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’ meant, in effect, that England was able to impose its influence on Scotland. (v) Ireland suffered a similar fate. It was a country deeply divided between Catholics and Protestants. (vi) The English helped the Protestants of Ireland to establish their dominance over a largely Catholic country. (vii) After a failed revolt led by Wolfe Tone and his United Irishmen, Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801. (viii) The symbol of the new Britain-the British flag (Union Jack), the national anthem (God Save Our Noble King), the English language were actively promoted and the older nations survived only as subordinate partners in this union. OR (B) “Ideas of national unity in the early nineteenth century Europe were closely allied to the ideology of liberalism.” Justify the statement with suitable arguments. (i) Liberalism derived from the Latin word Liber, means free. (ii) For the new middle classes liberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law. (iii) Politically, it emphasised the concept of government by consent. (iv) Since the French Revolution, liberalism had stood for the end of autocracy and clerical privileges, a constitution and representative government through parliament. (v) In revolutionary France, the right to vote and to get elected was granted exclusively to property-owning men. (vi) Men without property and all women were excluded from political rights. Only for a brief period under the Jacobins did all adult males enjoy suffrage. (vii) In the economic sphere, liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of state-imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital. (viii) These ideas resulted in the formation of institution called Zollverin or a custom union. It was a symbol of economic liberalism.

"The formation of the British Nation-State was different from the rest of Europe." Justify the statement with suitable arguments.

Marking-scheme solution

More from The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

(A)OR(B)"The formation of the British Nation-State was different from the rest of Europe." Justify the statement with suitable arguments."Ideas of national unity in the early nineteenth century Europe were closely allied to the ideology of liberalism." Justify the statement with suitable arguments.

Marking-scheme solution

More from The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

"The formation of the British Nation-State was different from the rest of Europe." Justify the statement with suitable arguments.