Question

"The political and constitutional changes that came in the wake of the French Revolution led to the transfer of sovereignty from monarchy to a body…

Accepted Answer

(i) The French revolution proclaimed that it was the people who would henceforth constitute the nation and shape its destiny. (ii) From the very beginning, the French revolutionaries introduced various measures and practices that could create a sense of collective identity amongst the French people. (iii) The ideas of ‘la patrie’ (the fatherland) and ‘le citoyen’ (the citizen) emphasized the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution. (iv) A new French flag, the tricolour, was chosen to replace the former royal standard. (v) The Estates General was elected by the body of active citizens and renamed the National Assembly. (vi) New hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated, all in the name of the nation. (vii) A centralized administrative system was put in place and it formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory. (viii) Internal customs duties and dues were abolished and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted. (ix) Regional dialects were discouraged and French, as it was spoken and written in Paris, became the common language of the nation. (x) The revolutionaries further declared that it was the mission and the destiny of the French nation to liberate the people of Europe from despotism. (xi) In other words, to help other people of Europe to become nations. (b) “During 19th century, in the economic sphere, liberalization stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of state-imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital.” Explain the statement. (i) Napoleon’s administrative measures had created out of countless small principalities a confederation of 39 states. (ii) Each of these possessed its own currency, and weights and measures. (iii) Duties were often levied according to the weight or measurement of the goods. (iv) As each region had its own system of weights and measures, this involved time-consuming calculation. (v) Such conditions were viewed as obstacles to economic exchange and growth by the new commercial classes, who argued for the creation of a unified economic territory allowing the unhindered movement of goods, people and capital. (vi) In 1834, a ‘customs union’ or ‘zollverein’ was formed at the initiative of Prussia and joined by most of the German states. (vii) The union abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two. (viii) The creation of a network of railways further stimulated mobility, harnessing economic interests to national unification. (ix) A wave of economic nationalism strengthened the wider nationalist sentiments growing at the time. (x)

"The political and constitutional changes that came in the wake of the French Revolution led to the transfer of sovereignty from monarchy to a body of French Citizens." Explain the statement.

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