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Karnataka 1st PUC History Previous Year Question Paper March 2017 (South)
Time: 3.15 Hours
Max Marks: 100
Note :
- Write SI. No’s of questions correctly
- Visually challenged students need to answer questions No. 31 ‘B’ instead of Map question No. 31 ‘A ’ in Part – D
- Answer the questions according to the instructions given for the questions.
Part – A
I. Answer the following questions in one word or a sentence each. ( 10 × 1 = 10 )
Question 1.
To which country did Herodotus belong?
Answer:
Herodotus belonged to Greece.
Question 2.
What is the Egyptian Writing called as?
Answer:
Earlier Egyptian pictographic writing was called as Hieroglyphics.
Question 3.
What is a Ziggurat?
Answer:
Ziggurats are temples with tall towers, built by the Mesopotamia’s.
Question 4.
Name the battle in which Alexander defeated porus?
Answer:
Alexander defeated Porus in the battle of Hydespes or battle of Jhelum (326 B.C.E).
Question 5.
Who Was the Hannibal?
Answer:
Hannibal was a Carthagean General who had scored brilliant victories, but could not capture Rome.
Question 6.
Who was the founder of Christianity?
Answer:
The founder of Christianity was Jesus Christ.
Question 7.
Who was Cleopatra?
Answer:
Cleopatra was the Queen of Egypt.
Question 8.
Where did the industrial revolution begin at First?
Answer:
Industrial Revolution first began in United Kingdom.
Question 9.
Who Established the Red shirt Army?
Answer:
The red shirts were started by Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Question 10.
What was the Famous policy of Bismark?
Answer:
Bismarck said that ‘The great questions of the time will not be resolved by speeches and majority decisions but by Iron and blood’. This became popular as the ‘Blood and Iron’ policy of Bismarck.
Part – B
II. Answer any ten of the following questions in two words or two sentences each. ( 10 ×2 = 20 )
Question 11.
Which are the two important works of Jawaharlal Nehru?
Answer:
The two important works of Jawaharlal Nehru are ‘Discovery of India’ and ‘The Glimpses of World History’.
Question 12.
Which were the two theories proposed by Charles Darwin?
Answer:
‘The theory of Natural Selection’ and ‘Survival of the fittest’ were his theories.
Question 13.
Write any two important philosophers of Ancient China?
Answer:
Mencius, Confucius and Lao-tse were the important philosophers of ancient China.
Question 14.
Name any two historians of ancient Rome?
Answer:
Livy and Virgil.
Question 15.
Who were the parents of Mohammad?
Answer:
Abdullah and Ameena were Mohammed’s parents.
Question 16.
From which word is Feudalism derived? What is its meaning?
Answer:
The word Feudalism is derived from the German word ‘Feud’, which means a piece of land.
Question 17.
Who occupied the city of Constantinople? and when?
Answer:
The Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453.
Question 18.
Name any two Geographical Explorers?
Answer:
Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan.
Question 19.
What was Zoillvarein?
Answer:
In 1834, Prussia worked for an economic union of the German States, namely the Customs Union called ‘Zollverein’ which allowed free trade amongst the States. The member states agreed to abolish the custom duties in their borders for each other for easy movement of goods. This was the first step towards the political unity.
Question 20.
What is “Veto Power”
Answer:
Any permanent member can ‘Veto’ any decision of the Security Council. ‘Veto’ is a special power given to the five permanent members to negate any resolution of the United Nations.
Question 21.
Name the President of America and Russia who ended the cold war.
Answer:
George Bush (Sr.) and Boris Yeltsin were the Presidents of America and Russia respectively who ended the cold war.
Question 22.
When was the first summit of Non – Aligned countries held? who president over it?
Answer:
The first summit of Non- Aligned Countries was held at Belgrade in 1961. Josip Broz Tito, the President of Yugoslavia presided over it.
Part – C
III. Answer any six of the following questions in 15-20 sentences each. ( 6 × 5 = 30 )
Question 23.
Explain the important factors of Human.
Answer:
Hominoids lived on tress. The trees provided them protection from the predators. The Hominoids were food gatherers. They procured food by gathering seeds, nuts, fruits, berries, tubers, etc. They were not meat eaters. Hominids adapted to land dwelling. They began to use caves and extended stone boulders as shelters. These shelters on land provided them with considerable safety from the predators and from rain, wind and the sun. The Neanderthal man was the earliest cave dweller.
The shortage of food made them to scavenge for food. They covered long distances to forage or scavenge for naturally dead animals or leftovers of animals killed by predators. The above activities made them gradually develop an upright posture and consequently the bipedal motion. This was required for survival.
Hominines and the archaic human species added planned hunting and fishing to the already existing gathering, foraging and scavenging techniques. Planned hunting and making tools stimulated the growth in the brain size. The growth in brain size in turn helped them to plan and make better tools.
Domestication of animals was followed by the commencement of agriculture. Humans who were food gatherers and hunters till then, now became food growers or food producers. They were prepared to overcome the effects of the climate changes like the ice age by adapting to domestication of animals and agriculture. Dogs are believed to be the first animals to be domesticated as they were continuously hanging around the hunters’ camps to pick up bones and scrapes of meat.
They developed a bond and dogs were domesticated. This was followed by sheep, goat, cow, cat, camel, and horse. Dogs helped humans in hunting and guarding their shelters. The rearing of animals made humans, nomads. Commencement of agriculture is considered as a revolutionary change in the history of human evolution. This was an important aspect of the Neolithic age.
Humans began to grow various crops like wheat, rice, millets etc. The practice of agriculture is not more than 13,000 years old. It made them lead a settled life. This resulted in the formation of human settlements termed villages and later towns. Villages and towns were the foundations of civilizations.
The Hominoids were quadrupeds. They walked on all four limbs, but, their forelimbs were flexible. The Hominids gradually adapted an upright posture. Hominines further adapted to bipedalism. The skeletal structure and the muscles also adjusted over a period of time to the upright posture and the bipedal motion, which freed the forelimbs.
The forelimbs developed precision grip and power grip and evolved into hands. This greatly helped in hunting and defending from predators as hands could be used to make tools and also use them. Walking on two legs also provided a greater long distance vision and helped them to cover long distances without spending much energy.
The use of tools is not confined to only humans. For e.g. some monkeys and apes use stones as tools to break nuts. But use of tools by humans is far more advanced compared to the monkeys and apes. Wood, bones and stones were used to make tools. They were mainly used for hunting or defending from predators. The use of stone tools is studied as the Stone Age in history. The making and use of stones tools were responsible to the evolution of forelimbs into hands and also the growth in brain size.
The oldest known stone tools are the ‘Oldowan stone tools’ from Ethiopia which are dated to a period 2.6 million years ago. The skill and advancement in making stone tools have made historians to classify the Stone Age as Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic stone ages. In course of time, humans began to produce metals from ores and make copper, bronze and iron tools which are studied in history as the respective metal ages.
The Australopithecus species is said to have first used the naturally available stones as tools. But, the making of stone tools from naturally available stones and using them is positively identified to have begun with Homo habilis.
Question 24.
Why is the periclean age called as the Golden – age?
Answer:
Athenian democracy reached its greatest height, under the leadership of Pericles. He was a great radical in politics. It was he who completed the work of laying the foundation for democracy in Athens. He deprived the ‘Areopagus’ of its political powers and transferred the same to the council of five hundred. This body suggested measures to the Acclesia- the assembly. It was freely discussed by all the citizens of Athens and laws were passed.
Another important feature of the Periclean age was jury system. Every year about 5000 jurors were elected for a term of one year. Being a great lover of democracy, he wanted even the poorest citizen to take interest in political affairs. This is what we call today, the Direct Democracy.
Athens which was destroyed during the Persian war was rebuilt by Pericles. Athens became a centre of progress in art and architecture. Very large public buildings were constructed, which beautified Athens. The famous Parthenon or the temple of Virgin was built of coloured marble stones. It was the most beautiful temple.
Pericles also patronized music. To protect his beautiful city from foreign invaders, he built Tong walls’ connecting the city with the port Piraeus. The age of Pericles produced great Philosophers like Socrates and his pupil, Plato. Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were the dramatists of Periclean age.
Hippocrates is regarded as the ‘Father of Medicine’. Herodotus is regarded as ‘The Father of History’. Thucycidides was another famous historian of the Periclean age. Sappho and Pindar lived duringthis period. Periclean age of Athens is regarded as the ‘School of Hellas’ and ‘The Golden Age’ .
Question 25.
Which were the important causes of the spread of Christianity?
Answer:
The import causes for the spread of Christianity were:-
1. Personality of Jesus:- The simplicity of Jesus attracted common people to him. His appeal towards poor, sinners and sufferers and his spiritual power helped in the spread of religion.
2. Simple principles:- Jesus’ principles like fraternity, compassion, forgiveness and faith in the Kingdom of Heaven – all these made Jesus popular among the poor and the slaves.
3. Role of Apostles:- The 12 apostles played a dominant role in spreading Christianity by popularizing the principles of Jesus. Among them St. Peter and St. Paul are important. St. Peter founded a Church at Rome and became the first Pope to spread Christianity in Rome and Asia Minor. St. Peter was executed by Nero – the Emperor of Rome which made him a martyr. St. Paul became the second Pope.
4. Role of Church:- The Church became the chief institute for the preservation and propagation of the faith. People believed in Church as a way to Heaven and Pope as the representative of God. Despite persecutions, Christianity gained popularity.
5. Role of Constantine:- The persecution of the Christians stopped when Constantine became the Emperor of Rome. He built a new city called Constantinople and dedicated it to Virgin Mary. He issued the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity a legal religion in the Roman Empire and gave permission to the Christian missionaries to spread Christianity in the East. Under Emperor Theodosius in the 4th century C.E., Christianity became the state religion.
Question 26.
Explain of the Martin Luther in the reformation movement.
Answer:
Reformation began in Germany and its leader Martin Luther was born at Eiselben in 1483 A.D in a poor German peasant family. Luther studied theology, law and humanism at the University of Erfurt in 1508 A.D. He was always haunted with the question, “how to please God?”.
He seriously studied the Bible and the works of St. Paul and St. Augustine. He became a Professor of Theology in the University of Wittenberg. Luther strongly believed that man could get salvation only through God’s mercy but the Church preached that it possessed the means of salvation. He rejected the doctrine of good work.
He visited Rome in 1511 A.D and was shocked at the worldliness of the Pope and the corrupt and immoral life led by the clergy. He did not to tolerate the corrupt practices of the Church. In 1517, Pope Leo-X sent out several agents to dispense indulgences in order to collect funds to complete St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. They spread the belief that indulgences were passports to heaven. One of these agents, John Tetzel was selling indulgences as passports to Heaven.
Luther’s opposition: Luther wrote his objection against the Church practices and Pope’s authority in Latin. He prepared his objections in the form of ‘95 Theses’ and posted them on the door of the Church in Wittenberg. Thereupon Luther started a rebellious Movement against the abuses of the Church. This popular revolt came to be known as Protestant Movement. Luther questioned the authority of Pope and challenged the concept of infallibility.
As a result of these activities, the Pope ordered Emperor Charles-V to take action against Luther. In 1521 Charles-V summoned the Diet of Worms and ordered Luther to appear before the Diet to justify the charges made against the Pope. In the Diet of Worms, Luther was excommunicated by’the Pope. He was expelled from the Church and was branded a heretic.
Martin Luther established the ‘Lutheran National Church’ which rejected indulgences and worship of Saints. Bible was regarded as the sole source of religion. The struggle between Catholics and Protestants ended with the ‘Peace of Augsburg’ treaty in 1555. Lutheranism spread to many countries of Europe and Calvinism and Anglicanism also rose against Roman catholic Church.
Spread of Protestant (Lutheranism) faith.
1. Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531): He was an eminent Protestant Reformer and leader of the movement in Switzerland. He was called as the Swiss Luther. He also denied Papal authority and insisted that the Bible was the only guide to faith and morals, he popularized Protestantism in Switzerland.
2. John Calvin (1509-1564) and Calvinism: John Calvin was a French reformer. His teachings are to be found in his book ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion’. He popularized the ideas of Luther. In Geneva, he set up the Calvinist Church and insisted on the strict enforcement of moral discipline. He advocated that the Church and the State must be separated. His followers in France came to be called Huguenots.
3. King Henry-Vin (1509-1547) and Anglicanism: He established an independent Church in England. He became the head of both the Church and the State. He proclaimed himself as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Question 27.
Explain why the industrial revolution process first began in England?
Answer:
The Industrial revolution (1750-1850) witnessed changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation and technology. It had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times. In the second half of the 18th century, a new revolution gripped’ the world that it was not ready for.
This was neither political nor social or cultural in nature. But it led to many implications later in its existence. It was an economic one. It began in the United Kingdom and then subsequently spread throughout Western Europe, North America, Japan and eventually the rest of the world.
Industrial revolution marked a major turning point in history. Almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. Most notably, average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented growth. After 18th century, the World’s average per capita income increased over tenfold while the world’s population increased over six times in the next two centuries.
The industrial revolution changed the way by how the world produced its goods. It also changed our society from being mainly an agricultural society to industrial and manufacturing one. It began in the field of textiles because there was more demand for cloth. Great Britain provided the legal and cultural foundations that enabled entrepreneurs to pioneer the industrial revolution.
Britain was the first country in Europe to begin the process of industrialization. It had a lead over the rest of the European nations.
Factors contributing to Britain’s lead were as follows:
- It had achieved Political stability after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
- National Banking system was the first of its kind in Europe, to invest with low interest rates.
- The availability of Natural resources like coal and iron in Britain.
- There was increase in population due to better health facilities, low mortality rate, better diet etc. This excess population gave rise to a larger work force, ready to work at low wages and there was also an increase in the number of consumers.
Question 28.
Write a note causes for the French Revolution.
Answer:
Social Causes: Social inequality was one of the main causes for French revolution. On the top of the social hierarchy was the King and the Royal family, next came the Clergy the I Estate and Nobility the II Estate, and below them the Commoners the III Estate. The first two Estates were the privileged classes and the Third Estate was the unprivileged one consisting of Peasants, Workers, Teachers, Lawyers, Doctors and Philosophers, etc.
The people of I and II Estates were in minority who were less than 2% of the French population. The first two Estates monopolized all the highest offices in the Army, Church and the Government. They were also exempted from paying taxes and free from the authority of the court. They were the owners of enormous wealth and exploited the peasants and workers. On the other hand, the conditions of the commoners were deplorable. They had to pay all taxes and were not eligible for any higher government services.
“The Nobles fight, the Clergy pray and the Commons pay”, was a popular statement in France. Thus the majority of the French people were disgusted owing to their social inferiority and discrimination, which paved the way for the outbreak of this revolution.
Economic Causes: The policy of taxation in France was defective and unfair. The burden of tax mostly fell on the Commoners, because the Clergy and Nobles were exempted from all kind of taxes. Commoners had to pay ‘Tai lie’(Property Tax), ‘Gable’ (Salt Tax), ‘Tithe’ (Religious Tax) and other cesses to the Government.
The peasants and workers after paying all these taxes were left with only 18 to 20% of their earnings. Even during the famines they had to pay their taxes and were suffering from untold miseries. Thousands of people died due to starvation. “If 10 people died in France, 9 would have been due to the starvation and the tenth one due to indigestion” was the condition of France on the eve of French Revolution. This kind of economic exploitation and discontent among the common people made them to revolt against the discriminative taxation policy of the French Government.
Many great Philosophers during 18th century in France, criticized about the political tyranny, social inequality and economic exploitation in France and also insisted for reforms. Montesquieu, Voltaire, J.J. Rousseau and Diderot were the important philosophers of France who lived much before the out break of French Revolution.
France was prepared mentally and morally for a revolt against the old regime because of the writings and speeches of these brilliant thinkers of that age. They strongly criticized the Church and social inequality and provided the intellectual justification for the revolution. Montesquieu advocated the ‘Theory of Separation of Powers’ as per which, Legislative, Executive and Judiciary should function independently to safeguard the liberty of the people.
Voltaire asked people to apply ‘Reason’ in every field. Rousseau gave the watch word of the revolution ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’. Diderot condemned the privileged classes.Political causes: France Was ruled by the ‘Bourbon Dynasty’ for many centuries.
The French monarchy was absolute. Louis XIV, the King of France, who was called the ‘Grand Monarch of Europe’ went to the extent of saying “lam the state, I am the Government”. He believed in the ‘Divine Right Theory of Kings’. He neglected the interests of the people and ruled according to his whims and fancies.
His successor Louis XV had no ability to rule the nation. During his reign, France fought many wars viz., the War of Austrian Succession, the Seven Years War and others. In these wars it was defeated and it was a great financial burden, j The administrative system of France was highly flawed and the Rulers neglected their responsibilities and welfare of the people and were addicted to women, wine and wealth.
The officials were highly corrupt and there was no uniform legal system. This type of political anarchy, absolutism and misrule increased the dissatisfaction of the people and led to the revolution.
Immediate cause: The financial condition of France was deplorable by about 1789. National debt increased owing to the costly wars and lavish life style of the King and his family. There was no difference between the state and the King’s personal expenditures. Unprivileged class was paying all the taxes.
The Finance Ministers of France, such as Turgot, Neckar and Colonne, suggested the reduction in unnecessary expenditures and to impose some taxes on the privileged classes to solve the financial crisis. This was not acceptable to the privileged classes and the deterioration continued.
Question 29.
Discuss the Continental system of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Answer:
England’s strength was in its trade and commerce. Hence Napoleon decided to attack England by destroying its trade. He issued two decrees from Berlin in 1806 and Milan in 1807 as per which, British goods were fully excluded from the whole of Europe. This was called the Continental System. Since Europe was dependent on England and its imports, the application of this system harmed France more than England.
The European nations which depended on imports from England suffered a lot. As a result, Spain and Portugal were attacked for not observing the Continental System. When there was a civil war in Spain, Napoleon installed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne against the wishes of its people. There was a national revolution in Spain and England sent its Army which defeated the French Army.
Question 30.
Write a note on the organs of the U.N.O.
Answer:
The U.N.O. consists of six principal organs. They are General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat.
General Assembly: It is a consultative body of U.N.O. It consists of representatives of all member nations. Each member nation has one vote, but may send five representatives. It is empowered to discuss any matter relating to the maintenance of international peace and security. The Assembly meets once in a year in September. But special sessions can be held at the request of majority of the members of the Security Council. Its resolutions require 2/3 majority.
It elects the Secretary General, non permanent members of the Security Council, members of Economic and Social Council and Judges of International Court of Justice, and also discusses budgetary questions. Entry of any new members requires 2/3 majority of the General Assembly.
Security Council: The Security Council is the executive body. It consists of 15 members- 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent. The permanent members are U.S.A., England, France, Russia and China. The non-permanent members are elected for a term of two years. Any measure to be carried out in the Security Council has to be accepted by 9 members including all the 5 permanent members.
Any permanent member can ‘Veto’ any decision of the Security Council.‘Veto’ is a special power given to the five permanent members to negate any resolution of the United Nations. The Security Council is responsible for the prevention of aggression and to the maintenance of international peace and security.
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): The Economic and Social Council consists of 54 members, who are elected by the General Assembly for 3 years, i/3 of them retire every year. The Council meets at least twice in a year. Its main function is to promote welfare around the world, and to improve the economic, social, cultural, educational, health and other related matters.
Trusteeship Council: The Trusteeship Council consists of 14 members. All permanent members of the Security Council are the members of Trusteeship Council. Its duty is to investigate the conditions of Trust Territories and to advice the General Assembly. In 1994 all the Trust territories were detached from Japan and Italy and became independent. Since then, its operations are formally suspended and will meet as and when required.
International Court of Justice: The International Court of Justice is located at The Hague in Netherlands. It consists of 15 Judges, who are elected by the General Assembly. Its main function is to settle the international disputes and to act as an advisory body. The tenure is 9 years and no country can have more than one representative at a time.
Secretariat: It is headed by the Secretary-General. It carries on the day-to-day administration of the U.N.O. Its headquarters is in New York. The term of the Secretary-general is five years. It is the duty of the Secretary General to ensure that all the branches function properly, and to submit annual reports.
Part – D
IV. Answer the following questions as indicated. ( 5 + 5 = 10 )
Question 31.
(A) Mark any five of the following Historical places on the outline map of the world provided to you and write an explanatory note on each marked place in two sentences.
(a) Babylonia
(b) Rome
(c) Jerusalem
(d) Venice
(e) Constantinople
(f) London
(g) Mascow
(h) Nagasaki
Answer:
(a) Babylonia: It is in present Iraq. It was the capital of Mesopotamian Civilization. The famous law-giver Hammurabi ruled from here. Nebuchadnezzar built the ‘ Hanging Gardens’, which was one of the Wonders of the Ancient World.
(b) Rome: It is the capital of Italy. It was also the capital of the Roman Empire. Vatican City in Rome is the centre of Pope, who is the religious head of the Catholics. According to a Roman legend, Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus in 8th century B.C.E. According to another version the name is derived from the Greek word Rome which means ‘strength’.
(c) Jerusalem: It is in Israel. It is a holy city of three major religions- Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Jesus was crucified here in 30 C.E.
(d) Venice: It is in Italy. It was one of the centres of Trade and Commerce during Medieval Period. Famous travellers Marco Polo and Nicolo Polo belonged to this city. It is called as ‘The City of Canals’, as this beautiful city is basically a group of a lot of islands connected by bridges.
(e) Constantinople: Presently called as Istanbul is in Turkey. Its original name was Byzantium, which was founded in 7th Century B.C.E. by a Greek King Byzas. Constantine the Great, made it the new capital of the Eastern Roman Empire in 4th century C.E. Then it came to be known as Constantinople which means ‘The City of Constantine’. Ottoman Turks captured it in 1453, which led to the need to discover new sea routes to India.
(f) London: It is the capital of U.K located on the banks of the river Thames. It was the main centre of Industrial Revolution. It is the famous centre of learning.
According to one origin, London meant the place belonging to a man called ‘Londinos’. As per another view, it is derived from the word ‘Lowonida’ meaning ‘river too wide to ford’ referring to river Thames, which flows through London.
(g) Moscow: It is the capital city of Russia, located on the banks of river Moskva and named after the river. It was one of the centres of Russian Revolution of 1917 and was made the capital of USSR.
(h) Nagasaki: It is in Japan. Nagasaki means ‘Long Cape’. On 9th August 1945, US Air force dropped the second Atomic bomb called ‘Fat Man’ on Nagasaki. As a result of this, more than 70,000 people died. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in 16th Century.
B. (For Visually Challenged Students only) ( 1 × 10=10 )
Question 31.
Describe the contributions of Egyptian civilization.
Answer:
Nile River flowing northward has formed the most fertile plains of 15-20 kms on either side of it. Because of Nile, plenty of food, fodder and uninterrupted supply of water was possible. The food security provided sufficient leisure for the growth of civilization. But for the Nile, Egyptian civilization would not have developed. Therefore Egypt is called ‘The Gift of Nile’.
The early people settled into villages, which developed into cities and later City States were formed. They were ruled by Kings in this pre- dynastic period. The inter City- State quarrels made way to the birth of Kingdoms. About 30 dynasties have ruled Egypt for more than 3000 years but none could survive for more than 6-7 generations.
The rule of dynasties can be divided into 3 parts: The Period of Old Kingdom, the Period of . Middle Kingdom and the Period of New Kingdom. Old Kingdom is also known as the Period of Pyramids. The Pharaohs of this period were very strong. They had a good administrative system. There was a council of elders to advise the King, which was not binding on him. Pharaohs appointed Vizirs, the Prime Ministers who headed the Administration, Justice and Treasury.
The Local officers maintained the records and the accounts. Middle Kingdom is known as the Period of Feudal Lords. During this period, Lords became more powerful than the Pharaohs. It led to many internal wars and Anarchy. During the new Kingdom, the Kings raised powerful armies and built a very strong Empire and conquered new territories and expanded the Empire.
Egypt had a well organised society. There were three strata of people. The Upper class included the Royal family, Priests, Nobles and Military Officers who led a life of comfort and luxury. The Middle class included Physicians, Scribes, Craftsmen, Merchants and Farmers. Slaves formed the Lower class or the last strata of the society and lived a very hard and toiling life. It was an agrarian economy. They built Canals and Shadows for efficient irrigation purpose. They redesigned the hoe and fixed it to the yoke of oxen and transformed the hoe culture into plough culture for better yield.
They developed a variety of crafts and manufacturing. Brass, bronze, gold and iron were the metals used for making tools, utensils, ornaments and weapons. They had developed both internal and external trade. They had perfected the art of ship building to navigate the seas and smaller boats and vessels to sail the rivers. Collection of taxes on agriculturists, traders and craftsmen were introduced to augment the state’s income.
Egyptians developed pictographic writing called Hieroglyphics. These signs represented both sounds and some complete words. Papyrus was used for writing. They had a fair knowledge of Medicine, Geometry, Calendars, Astronomy and Mathematics. The construction of huge Pyramids and the Sphinx are fine examples of their outstanding technical knowledge and sound administrative ability. They had invented the Shadow clock to mark the time of the day. Their education was controlled by the State.
OR
Describe the administrative reforms of Nepolean Bonaparte.
Answer:
Administrative reforms of Napoleon Bonaparte:
Napoleon centralized the entire system of local Government in France. The entire country was divided into Provinces, Arrondisments and Communes. The powers were vested in Prefects and Sub-Prefects who were responsible to only Napoleon. It assured that the decrees of the Central Government should promptly and uniformly be carried out. He developed and i empowered the office of the ‘Secretariat of the State’.
His major reforms were as follows:
1. Code Napoleon: The most durable of Napoleon’s work was the introduction of the a legal code which is the base for the French Law. This was known as‘Code Napoleon’ and came into effect in 1804 A.D. He appointed two committees to draft the legal codes and the committees were presided over by Napoleon. He had a good commonsense and a legislative vision.
The 5 codes were:
1. French Civil Code
2. Code of Civil Procedure
3. Code of Criminal Procedure
4. Penal Code
5. Commercial Code.
The basic demands of the Revolution like Civil equality, religious toleration, emancipation of land etc., were taken care of with these codes. He was hailed as the second Justinian.
2. Education: He introduced a national scheme of education managed by the State which was organized into four types- Elementary, Secondary, Higher and Special Schools. This was to maintain uniformity of standard in Schools and Colleges. He also established the University of France.
3. Religious reforms or the Concordat: He made a code of laws for the Clergy also and to heal up the mistrust with the Papacy, entered into a religious understanding with Pope Pius-VII in 1802 known as the Concordat. He regained the sympathy of the Catholics by improving his relations with the Pope and with this treaty, Catholicism became the State religion.
4. Public works: He built new highways connecting Paris with the other major cities and improved the means of communication. Bridges and Canals were constructed. These helped in solving the unemployment problem also to a great extent. He. encouraged trade and commerce and Paris and other cities were beautified and transformed to modern cities.
5. Economy: Bank of France was established. It supervised the entire financial setup and stimulated trade and industry. Careful collection of taxes and rigid economic measures were carried out. Revenue boards were set up. The national loan was reduced and the Stock Exchanges were regulated. He took stern-measures to root out corruption and gambling.
6. Legion of honour: To honour those who had rendered meritorious Military and Civil services to the State, Napoleon started an award called ‘Legion of Honour’. It was based on principles of equality, without distinction of class and religion.
Part – E
V. Answer any two of the following questions in 30-40 sentences each. ( 2 × 10 = 20 )
Question 32.
Describe the contribution of Chinese civilization.
Answer:
Art of painting:- Chinese had developed wonderful painting. They painted on silk cloth, tomb walls, pots and papers. They believed that tomb painting were means to protect the dead and help their souls to go to heaven.
Sculpture:- Chinese developed the art of casting bronze statues of animals and monsters. This art developed during Shangs and Chous. Buddhism influenced their sculpture and the statues of Bodhisatwa carved in stone are found in large numbers. The Terracotta army assembled in the tomb of the first Kin Emperor consists of life size images of more than 8000 – warriors and horses. Chinese were massive builders.
The Great Wall of China is one of their most impressive and everlasting architectural accomplishment. It was purely built for the ’ utilitarian purpose of protecting the country from Mongolian invasions. They also built Buddhist temples called Pagodas, important among them are the ‘Giant Wild Goose Pagoda’, ‘Jade Pagoda’, ‘Flask Pagoda’ and the ‘Temple of Sleeping Buddha’ outside Peking, the present Beijing.
Writing and Literature:- Chinese had developed the art of writing during Shang period. Chinese script was standardized during Chin Rulers. They have no alphabets and parts of speech. It consists of only characters which are more than 40,000. It started as pictograph and later they developed Characters or Logograms. Chinese characters constitute the oldest continuously used systems of writing in the world. Their writing played an important role in cultural unification. Chinese script also influenced Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese scripts. It is written from top to bottom.
The invention of paper, silk and ink for writing helped the growth of writing and literature. The practice of writing history was also popular in China. The Chinese literature comprised of prose, poetry, philosophy and history. During Han and Tong dynasties, Chinese poetry reached great heights.
Chinese had developed Geography, Geometry, Arithmetic, Calendars, Astronomy and they could predict eclipses accurately. The important inventions of the Chinese are the following. Silk, Tea, Ink, Brushes for painting and writing, Abacus, Acupuncture, Rudder, Gun powder, Glass, Pottery, Porcelain, Rockets, Umbrella, Seismograph and Mariner Compass.
Philosophy and Religion:- Lao tse, Confucius and Mencius were three great Philosophers who influenced the religious ideas of Chinese to a great extent. Lao tse’s philosophy is known . as Taoism. He preached non violence, not to be conservative, to respect the wise, do one’s duty with sincerity and honesty etc., The philosophy of Confucius is known as ‘Confucianism’.
The principles of Confucius had basis in common Chinese traditions and beliefs. He taught loyalty towards family, worship of ancestors, respect to elders and unity among the people of China.
Question 33.
Discuss in detail the different stages of the Germon Unification.
Answer:
Edward Leopold Otto von Bismarck was born in 1815 in an aristocratic Prussian family. He was well educated and when he was appointed as the Prussian Ambassador to Russia and later to France, he gained first-hand knowledge and experience about the European politics. He was appointed as Chancellor of Prussia in 1862 by King William I.
He made up his mind to unify Germany under the monarchy of Prussia as he believed that Prussia alone had the ability to lead the German States. He also knew that Austria was to be defeated to achieve this goal. So he began to re-organize the Prussian military with the help of General Roon and . General Moltke. Very soon, the Prussian army was among the best in Europe.
War with Denmark:
The King of Denmark was also the Duke of the German provinces of Schleswig and Holstein. They were declared to be part of Denmark by Christian IX of Denmark. The people of these provinces and other German states were unhappy at this move. In 1864, Bismarck made an alliance with Austria, attacked and defeated Denmark and captured these provinces back. The Peace Treaty of Vienna was signed in Oct 1864. Later on, Prussia and Austria agreed to administer Schleswig and Holstein respectively according to the Convention of Gastein.
Austro – Prussian war (1866) Bismarck promised compensation to Napoleon III, the Emperor of France for the French neutrality, in case of a war with Austria. Prussia and Italy also came to a secret understanding to militarily help each other. Prussia proposed a National Constitution and a National Diet for the German States for which some of the States were reluctant to be part of. Prussia and Italy started troop movements near the Austrian borders. Austria responded by full scale mobilization of troops.
The troop movements of the Prussian army near the Austrian borders arranged by Bismarck, made Austria declare war on Prussia and appear as the aggressor. The hitherto reluctant States joined Prussia and the well prepared Prussian army with the support of Italy and the States defeated Austria and in 1866 annexed Scheleswig and Holstein. The decisive battle was fought at Koniggratz near Sadowa, in which Austria was completely routed. This war is also called as ‘Seven Weeks War’. The Austro Prussian war of 1866 ended with the Treaty of Prague. The formation of the North German Confederation resulted in a partial Unification of Germany.
Franco-Prussian war (1870-71):
Bismarck did not keep up the promise of compensation to France for its neutrality. He desired a war with France to complete his scheme of unification. He knew that a war with France would make the remaining German states join the north German confederation. The dispute for the Spanish throne offered a pretext for war. Bismarck supported the claims of Prince Leopold, a relative of the Prussian King. The French were alarmed at the growth of the Prussian power.
The French opposed the claims and were successful in pressurizing Leopold to decline the offer. Bismarck diplomatically managed the situation in such a way that Napoleon III of France declared war on Prussia. France was alone and the South German States also joined hands with Prussia and the French forces were defeated at different fronts and even Paris was captured. The unification of Germany was complete. The Prussian King William was crowned as the Emperor of United Germany with the title ‘Kaiser’.
Question 34.
Explain the causes and Result of the first world war.
Answer:
Introduction: World War I was one of the greatest, largest and most destructive events in the history of the modern world. It was the first time when such a large number of countries from Europe and other parts of the world were involved in conflict and affected either directly or indirectly. It destroyed more human lives and material than ever before. It broke out in 1914 and came to an end in 1918. Nearly 30 countries participated in this conflict between highly organised and well armed countries with modem weaponry.
Causes of world war:
1. Aggressive Nationalism: Nationalistic aspirations have always led to political rivalries. The narrow nationalism which always meant love of their own people, their own nation and culture became a predominant feature. As a result, there began to develop among the Europeans a kind of negligence towards other countries e.g., William-Il the King of Germany declared that “Germany should either rule the world or perish”. Even England was not free from this self- exaltation. This competitive patriotism forced them to jump into military and naval competitions.
2. Economic and Military imperialism: The European powers competed with each other for commercial and colonial expansion in the non-European world. The launching of industrial schemes on a large scale needed raw material and also a ready market for their finished goods. This led to colonial competition among the European countries, which was carried on to other fields as well. Commercial competition led to mutual jealousy and tension.
3. Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente: Bismarck achieved the unification of Germany in 1871 A.D. He fought many wars with the neighboring countries. He’sought to give the Empire stability and security and to achieve that end, formed a Triple Alliance with Austria and Italy. In 1907 A.D, alarmed by the formation of this Triple Alliance, Russia, France and England came together and formed an alliance called the Triple Entente. Thus Europe came to be divided into two hostile blocks.
4. The Arms Race: Triple Alliance and Triple Entente led to a keen competition of manufacturing war materials. Germany had made tremendous progress in the military to produce tanks, machine guns, and submarines etc., Greater number of soldiers Were recruited and equipped with modern weapons. Kaiser William-II of Germany glorified war. He wished to make Germany a world power. His belief that “The German race alone should rule the world” greatly alarmed England.
5. England also began to invest more on Navy and greater effort was undertaken to preserve the title “Queen of Seas” and that “Sun never sets on British Empire”. The militaristic attitude of Germany roused the fear in France which began to strengthen her military. Many European nations introduced compulsory military training. Further, the arms race created fear, suspicion tension and distrust between each other. All the nations of Europe were preparing for war.
6. Attitude of France: France had never forgotten her defeat at the hands of Bismarck in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871. After the war, she had also ceded the Alsace and Lorraine provinces to Germany. France was eagerly waiting for an opportunity to take revenge against Germany besides getting back those provinces.
7. Immediate cause: The Austrian Crown Prince, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in the streets of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia on 28th June 1914. So Austria felt that the Serbian Government was responsible for that and sent an ultimatum to Serbia demanding to handover the perpetrators within 48 hours. Serbia rejected the ultimatum. Austria backed by Germany, declared war on Serbia on 28th July 1914. Russia coming to the help of Serbia, entered the fray and other countries followed suit.
Results of the First World War:
1. Loss of life: The horrors and miseries of the war were plentiful. The total loss of life of all nations put together was some 10 million killed in action, more than 1 crore people wounded and millions permanently disabled. As they were incapable of self support, they remained a burden on their family and their nations.
2. Economic dislocation: A large number of people lost their property (186 billion dollars), millions of civilians died of diseases and starvation. The national loan of the participants in the war was enormous. This financial disorder and widespread suffering led to violent social and political changes.
3. The First World War ended with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The prominent delegates who represented the different nations in the Peace Conference were Woodrow Wilson, the President of U.S.A., Lloyd George, the Prime Minister of England, Cietnenceau, the Prime Minister of France and Orlando, the Prime Minister of Italy.
4. The victors sought to brand Germany as responsible for the war and all the consequences of the war. It had to give up a lot of its territories and colonies. It was imposed a huge war indemnity and its military strength was reduced.
5. The war created a demand for an international organization to protect world peace. As a result, the League of Nations came into existence on 1st of January 1929.
6. France reoccupied Alsace and Lorraine, the two provisions from Germany. Besides, France gained the Saar coal basin.
7. The great Empires of Austria, Hungary, Russia, Germany and Ottoman Turkey came to an end. These were replaced by republics. Poland, Belgium and Czechoslovakia became independent.
Question 35.
Explain the causes and results of Russian Revolution.
Answer:
The causes of Russian Revolution were as follows.
Political causes: Russia was ruled by the Tsars. The Romanov dynasty ruled over Russia, which was the largest country of the world. The Tsars were autocratic and inefficient. They ruled the Kingdom on the principle of Divine Origin. The administration was centralized and very corrupt, which affected the lives of the people.
Duma (Parliament) was a legislative body, but it was not regularly consulted by the Tsars. It was many a times abolished by the Tsars at different points of time. The administration was also troubled by the constant interference by people like the infamous monk Rasputin and Tsarina (Queen) Alexandra.
Social and Economic Causes: The Russian Society was divided into two categories as the privileged and the unprivileged classes. The privileged class included the Royals, the land lords and the capitalists (factory owners). They were rich and also had a high status in the society. Civil, administrative and military posts were reserved for them.
The unprivileged class mainly consisted of the peasants and the workers. Even though they were the majority population, they lived in poverty and also were exploited by the privileged classes. Serfdom was abolished in 1861 but the condition of the peasants did not change for the better.
The Russian economy before the Revolution was primarily agricultural. The Industrial Revolution created a large working class. These workers worked for long hours for low wages and they worked in dangerous and unhygienic conditions. Accidents and deaths were not adequately compensated. The Russian Industries created wealth for the owners but affected the agriculturists. As most of the industrialists were land lords, they neglected agriculture and forced agricultural workers to work in their industries.
Russification: Tsar Alexander III and Nicholas II implemented an oppressive, autocratic and centralized administration. The slogan was ‘One Nation, One language, One Church and One Tsar for Russia. The Poles, Finns, Jews, Germans, etc. in Russia were subjugated to this policy. This was called Russification. The policy was started by Tsar Alexander III and „ continued by Tsar Nicholas II.
The autocratic policies of the Tsar were severely opposed by the Nihilists, who killed the officers and agents of the Tsar. The Government ruthlessly hunted them down and summarily murdered them. Russia encouraged the ‘Pan-Slav’ movement in the Balkans. The Balkan states looked up to Russia as ‘the Big Brother’.
Role of Intellectuals: In the Russian Revolution the role of Intellectuals, that too of writers was immense. The major literary works like Leo Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Anna Karenina’, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s ‘Poor Folk’, Maxim Gorky’s ‘Mother”, and ‘Children of the sun’, Turgenev’s ‘Fathers and sons etc., generated a new sense of awareness among Russians. It made them reflect over questions of human freedom, fate, sufferings and the meaning of life. They began to realise that human beings were not destined to endure silently, the tyranny let loose by a handful of autocrats.
As a result of regular contacts with Germany, many Russian intellectuals were drawn towards Marxism. Prominent among them were Lenin, Kautsky and Trotsky. The writing of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were widely read. Marx’s major works were ‘Communist Manifesto’ and ‘Das Capital’. These writings upheld the principles of socialism based on social and economic equality. The call of Karl Marx to the workers which was “Workers of the world unite: you have nothing to lose but your chains of Slavery”, inspired thousands of young men and women.
Bloody Sunday incident: On Sunday the 22nd January 1905, Father Gapan led a huge rally of workers and wanted to meet the Tsar to express their grievances. Most of them were killed by the army. This is known as ‘Bloody Sunday’ and caused a great resentment among the Russians about the Tsar.
Military Causes: The defeat of Russia by a small country like Japan in 1905 added to the resentment of Russians against the Tsar. The thought that the Tsars were invincible was shattered. Further, Russia entered into the First World War along with England and France. Even though it had strong artillery, Russia’s military was highly disorganized.
Proper strategies of Warfare could not be evolved to suit the needs of the time, in spite of the rich store of arms and ammunition. It faced another military setback when it was defeated in 1915 in the First World War. These debacles exposed the military weakness of Russia to the world.
Results of the Russian Revolution were as follows:
The autocratic rule of the Tsar came to an end and a constitutional Republic based on socialist ideals was formed in Russia.
- The USSR was established, which became a counter-force to the USA. This led to the rise of two power-blocs in the world, whose rivalries gave rise to Cold War after the World War II.
- The conditions of workers and peasants in Russia improved because of the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921.
- Russia achieved tremendous progress under new communist Government and emerged as a powerful nation.
- Communist ideology began to spread to different parts of the World, including Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Part – F
VI. 36. Match the following: ( 05 )
Answer:
37. Arrange the following events in Chronological Order. (05 )
- The Crimean war
- Vascodigama
- Constantinopal Accupaid
- Battale of Jhelum
- End of Second world war
Answer:
- Battale of Jhelum
- Constantinopal Accupaid
- Vascodigama
- The Crimean war
- End of Second world war