Professional Documents
Culture Documents
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Write a note on the process through which the European powers conquered
the entire world.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Write a note on the imperialist rivalries that developed in the late 19th and the
early 20th century.
13.
Define nation. What is the process through which nations have emerged in
the world?
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
After 1757 there grew up a State of Bengal which was a sponsored state as
well as a plundered state.
22.
Assess critically the economic impact of the British rule in India till the end of
the nineteenth century.
23.
At the end of the battle of Sedan (1870), Europe lost a mistress and gained a
master.
24.
By 1914, the sick man of Europe was no longer just Turkey : it was Europe
itself. Explain.
25.
26.
Colonies are like fruits which cling to the tree only till they ripen.
Critically examine the culture system in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)
during the nineteenth century. Why was it dismantled?
27.
28.
29.
Discuss the view that the British rule brought about economic changes in
India to serve the needs of the imperial economy and establish a dependent form
of underdevelopment in this country.
30.
31.
Explain the British policy of Subordinate union of Indian States with British
India from 1858 onwards? How did the Government of India implement this
policy during this period?
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
Mercantilist philosophy was based upon a belief that private & social
interests are not necessarily in harmony.
37.
38.
One great effect of the geographical discoveries of the 15th century was the
growing belief that America, Asia and Africa were to be used extensively for the
benefit of Europeans.
39.
40.
41.
Portugal and Spain, the pioneers in world exploration, were also first in the
race to conquer overseas countries
42.
43.
The British conquest of Sind was both a political and moral sequel to the first
afghan war. Comment.
44.
The British industrial policy in the nineteenth century ruined the Indian
handicrafts.
45.
The British Raj had a deeply racist aspect and it ultimately existed to protect
colonial exploitation.
46.
47.
The countries in the Middle East became, after 1919, the scene of constant
effervescence and some striking changes.
48.
The Crimean War was the most useless war ever waged.
49.
The discovery of the new world, coinciding with the swift diffusion of printed
books, taught the Europeans that Truth is the daughter not of authority, but of
time.
50.
The educated middle class in the 19th century often found the domain of
reason to be oppressive, as it implied the historical necessity of civilizings
colonial rule.
51.
The forces of free trade and the British determination to create a political and
administrative environment conductive to trade and investment had shaped the
British policy towards India in the first half of the nineteenth century. Elucidate.
52.
53.
The Indian Middle Class firmly believed that Britain had imposed a colonial
economy on India which had impoverished the country.
54.
The Montague Declaration (20 August 1917) was observed more closely in
the realm of imperial relations than anything else.
55.
The period 1919 to 1945 is important in the history of Egypt for the
explanation of its resources by Great Britain and rise of strong nationalism.
Discuss.
56.
57.
The rise and expansion of British empire was an accident rather than the
result of a deliberate policy and design. Critically examine this statement.
58.
59.
60.
The treaties made at the Paris Peace conference in 1919-20 were replete with
unstable compromises, reflecting more materialism than idealism.Elucidate.
61.
Trace the stages in the partition of Africa after 1870. How did it affect
international relations?
62.
63.
What do you understand by Imperialism? How did it affect the people of Asia
in the nineteenth century?
64.
65.
What was the culture system in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) during the
19th century? Why was it dismantled?
66.
Write a critique on the partition of Africa from 1870 to 1914, with particular
reference to Germanys imperial designs in the Continent.
67.
Describe the steps, giving examples, by which the imperialist countries took
over most of Africa.
68.
Why were Asian and African countries so easily dominated by the Western
powers?
69.
70.
71.
72.
Prepare maps of Asia and Africa showing the colonies and spheres of
influence of the various imperialist powers before the First World War
73.
Write an essay on Slavery and Slave Trade and the Struggle for their
Abolition
74.
How did the empires of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries differ from the
empires of ancient times for example, those of the Mauryas, the Romans and
of Alexander?
75.
76.
Name and discuss some of the big problems faced by newly independent
countries Why are their problems also the problems of all countries?
77.
78.
Industrial Revolution
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
How did the industrialisation of Russia take place in the period prior to the
Russian Revolution?
How was Russia industrialized during the 19th century? Examine.
7.
8.
The Industrial Revolution brought about great changes in the social and
economic life of Europe. Explain.
9.
10.
11.
The period 1500 to 1700 in Europe has been called the heyday of the
Commercial Revolution. Explain the causes that led to this Revolution examine
its impact on society.
12.
13.
What was the extent of industrialization in western Europe by the end of the
nineteenth century?
14.
15.
16.
17.
Give examples to show that the Industrial Revolution with its demand for raw
materials and markets made nations more dependent on one another.
18.
Describe the conditions which prevailed in industrial cities and factories as the
Industrial Revolution spread. How these conditions were slowly improved?
19.
20.
21.
How does industrialization help in raising the level or the standard of living?
22.
Would you say that industrialization was a natural step in mans progress?
Why or why not?
2.
What were the features of the lower middle classes and the working classes
in Europe in the 18th century?
3.
4.
5.
Explain the views of Rousseau, Karl Marx and Mahatma Gandhi on the nature
of State.
6.
How did a nation state system develop among the countries of Europe in the
19th century?
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Analyse the factors that helped the growth of nationalism in Eastern Europe.
24.
25.
Review the background of the Chartist Movement. Despite its failure how had
their demands been met in the succeeding years?
26.
The roots of Chartism are partly political and partly economic. Elaborate.
27.
Discuss some features of the socialist Europe in the post war world.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
What was the nature of the liberal democratic regimes that developed during
the period after the First World War?
37.
What was the process through which a modern class society emerged in
Europe?
38.
39.
40.
41.
Write a note on the emergence of new social groups in 19th century Europe.
42.
43.
44.
45.
How did the landed classes in England respond to the changes in the
economy?
46.
How did the Ottoman Empire break down and make way for the emergence of
a nation-state system?
47.
Revolutions of 1848
48.
49.
Was the British state able to develop a notion of liberty between 1780 1850?
50.
51.
52.
What are the main features of the modern state and polity?
53.
54.
55.
What is class society? Discuss the transition to the modern class society.
56.
57.
What is socialism? Why did the first socialist revolution occur in Russia?
58.
What led to the Revolutions of 1848 in Europe? What were its consequences?
59.
What was the demographic pattern in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries?
60.
Account for the growth of Liberalism in Britain in the nineteenth century. How
far did it influence the contemporary social and economic issues-in the country?
61.
62.
63.
France was more fertile than Britain in producing new Socialist theories and
movements, though they bore less concrete results in France than in Britain.
64.
65.
66.
President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal had the wish to start the political
economy in a fresh, more promising direction. Do you agree?
67.
68.
69.
The Bill of Rights (1688) set the seal on Parliamentary supremacy in England.
70.
The capitalism which gave the European empires their apparent solidarity and
permanence also hastened their downfall.
71.
72.
The Communist international and the League of Nations both announced the
end of the Balance of Power.
73.
74.
The perpetuation of the economic malaise was the main cause of the political
instability of Europe during the next two decades (1919-39). Explain.
75.
The promptings of the heart are more to be trusted than the logic of the mind.
Rousseau.
76.
77.
78.
Trace the rise and growth of the New European Society in the inter-war
period.
79.
80.
What are the main features which distinguish capitalism from feudalism?
81.
How did the growth of trade unions help to put on end to the idea of laissez
faire?
82.
83.
84.
85.
When was the First International formed? What were its main contributions to
the growth of the socialist movement?
86.
When was the Second International formed? For which other great event is
that year important? What were the main aims of the Second International?
87.
88.
89.
90.
France
1.
2.
How did Napoleon Bonaparte heal the wounds of France inflicted by the
Revolution and correct the errors perpetrated by its leaders?
3.
How did Napoleon fuse the French of the ancient regime with the France of
the post-revolutionary ear?
4.
How did Nepoleon Bonapart fuse the old France with the new?
5.
If monarchical misrole ignited the French revolution, lofty ideas both inspired
and sustained it.
6.
Napoleon was the child of the Revolution, but in many ways he reversed the
aims and principles of the movement from which he sprang
7.
8.
The connection between the philosophers and the outbreak of the French
Revolution (1789) is somewhat remote and indirect.
9.
The French Revolution (1789) really achieved far less than what it intended to
effect. Do you agree?
10.
The French Revolution (1789) sought to remove both the religious and
secular props of the existing social order. Elucidate.
11.
12.
The most important single factor in the years following 1919 was the
French demand for security.
13.
The Napoleonic Empire was doomed because of its inherent and selfdefeating contradictions. Elucidate.
14.
15.
To what extent did Napoleons economic war with England become his
undoing?
16.
What were the ideals of the French Revolution of 1789? How far is it correct
to say that it overthrew mercantilism and the surviving relics of feudalism and
contributed to the political supremacy of the middle class?
17.
18.
Explain why the following documents were revolutionary when they were
written : Declaration of Independence, Declaration of the Rights of Man and
Citizen, Communist Manifesto,
19.
20.
21.
What is the legacy of the French Revolution for the modern world?
22.
23.
What was the impact of the French Revolution on the social and political life of
France?
Discuss some aspects of agriculture in France during the 18th century.
24.
Write a note on Bonapartism. What led to the failure of the Second Empire in
France?
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
America
1.
2.
3.
4.
Discuss the important factors responsible for the American Revolution. What
were the effects of the Revolution?
5.
How did the peculiarity of being a new society affect the American
Revolution?
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
The American Revolution was a natural and even expected event in the
history of colonial people who had come of age.
11.
12.
The American War of Independence deprived Great Britain of one empire, but
it strengthened the foundations of another .
13.
14.
15.
16.
What were the factors that worked in the drafting of the American
Constitution? Do you agreee the US constitution being an Economic Document?
17.
How far is it correct to say that every feature of the American Constitution was
ultimately of English Origin?
18.
Explain briefly the conditions that brought about the American and French
revolutions.
19.
20.
Examine the issues involved in the American Civil War. Was it a contest
between two separate nations?
Russia
1.
2.
Bolsheviks
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Analyze the causes of the Russian Revolutions of 1917. Why was the second
Revolution significant in more than one way?
10.
Examine the causes of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and indicate its
significance in world history.
11.
In Russia, Lenin was the father of socialism, organizer of the revolution and
the founder of the new Russian society. Examine the statement.
12.
13.
The impact of the French Revolution (1789) was initially confined the Europe,
but, that of the Russia Revolution (1917) was global. Critically review.
14.
15.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a single revolution which developed two
phases. Elucidate.
16.
What were the causes for the success of Bolshevik Revolution of 1917?
Discuss its significance in the history of the world.
17.
18.
19.
Describe the social and economic conditions in Russia before the Revolution
of 1917. How did Russias participation in the First World War help create
conditions for the fall of the Russian autocracy,
20.
21.
22.
Explain the attitude of the USSR. towards the movements for independence in
Asia.
23.
24.
China
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Discuss the internal problem of China after the First World War and account
for the establishment of Communist rule in the China in 1949
7.
Divided into spheres of influence by foreign powers, China in the 19th century
presented a sorry spectacle. How did China react to it?
8.
Examine the circumstances in china in the years 1945-49. What did the
United States do to resolve the conflict between the Nationalists and the
Communists there?
9.
How did the Treaty Port System in China develop between 1840 and 1860?
What was its inference on Chinese attitude to foreigners?
10.
Importance of the Opium War in the history of China. Give a critical account of
the progress of merchantalism in the 17th century. How far is it correct to say that
it paved the way for the Industrial Revolution?
11.
12.
The Treaty of Nanking is the basic act in the imposing but unstable structure
of international relations which governed China for a hundred years.
13.
14.
The years 1840 to 1860 confronted the Ching dynasty and the people of
China with unprecedented crises due to imperialist designs of western powers.
Discuss critically.
15.
To what extent did the Western powers bring China under their domination
without annexation?
16.
Trace the distinct phases of the Sino-Japanese War. Assess its political
economic and cultural impact on China, both occupied and free.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
Boxer Rebellion
23.
Canton system
24.
25.
Critically analyse the factors responsible for Boxer Rebellion. What was its
significance?
26.
27.
Discuss the agrarian programme of the Taipings. Why did the uprising fail?
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
Discuss the factors which led to the Boxer Uprising. Explain the Boxer
Protocol.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
What led to the emergence of the New Culture movement in China after the
revolution of 1911? What was the role of intellectuals in this movement?
39.
Discuss the role of Sun Yat Sen in the anti- imperialist struggle in China.
40.
Discuss the role of the communist party in the success of the Revolution of
1949 in China.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
Manchukuo
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
What were main reasons for the failure of the Taiping Rebellion?
58.
What were the causes of the Opium Wars? How did they affect Chinas
relations with the Western powers?
59.
60.
61.
What were the Twenty One Demands? Discuss the reaction of China on these
demands.
62.
63.
Write an essay on Sun Yat Sen and the rise of Nationalism in China.
64.
Kuomintang
Japan
1.
How did Japan develop between 1868 and 1894? Did the Restoration of Meiji
mark a sharp break with the past?
2.
How did the Japanese occupation of South-East Asian countries during the
Second World War give a boost to nationalize in the regions? Explain with
examples.
3.
Show how the presence of a weak and helpless China next door brought
about the rise of militarism and collapse of democracy in Japan.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Militarism in Japan
9.
Analyse the main factors responsible for the decline of the Tokugawa
Shogunate.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Discuss the causes of the Russo-Japanese War. What was its impact on the
nationalism in Asian countries?
Discuss the economic policies of the Meiji government.
Discuss the factors which led to the decline of the Tokugawa shogunate in
Japan.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Discuss the political and economic reforms which contributed towards the
modernisation of Japan.
20.
21.
Explain the developments in the economy of Japan prior to World War II.
22.
23.
24.
25.
What was the political implication of the Allied Forces occupation of Japan
after the Second World War?
26.
What were the main economic reforms carried out in Japan after the First
World War?
27.
What were the political and economic reforms which contributed towards the
modernization of Japan?
28.
29.
What were the various ideologies behind the expansionist policy of Japan?
30.
What was the role of political parties in Japan between the two World Wars?
31.
32.
33.
Account for the rise of militarism in Japan between the two World Wars. How
did it affect the peace of the world?
Write a Note on Zaibatsu
Germany
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Gestapo
11.
12.
Besmirch created a new Germany with the policy of blood and iron.
13.
14.
Comparison of the fascist regime in Italy with the National Socialist regime of
Germany is almost inevitable. The similarities are obvious, but there is one point
of difference which is worth mentioning.
15.
Critically examine the main features of the foreign policy of Nazi Germany.
16.
What were the weaknesses and difficulties of the Weimer Republic? How did
Hitler succeed in establishing his dictatorship?
17.
Hitler did not really want a world War. His intention was only a short war with
Poland.
18.
Hitler was a creature flung to the top by the tides of revolutionary change, or
the embodiment of the collective unconsciousness of a people obsessed with
violence and death.
19.
20.
21.
It is one of the ironies of history that Napoleon was the creator of modern
Germany.
22.
Napoleon kindled the national sentiment, but German unity was achieved by
Bismarck. Discuss.
23.
24.
The Unification of Germany was the one thing Bismarck was determined to
prevent.
25.
There was an element of system in Hitlers foreign policy His outlook was
continental.
26.
Was German unification achieved more by coal and iron than by blood and
iron?
Italy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Italian Nationalism
6.
7.
8.
What led to the rise of fascism in Italy? Discuss the nature of the fascist state.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Trace the course of the movement for Italian Unification from 1848 with
special reference to the contribution of Mazzini.
15.
Trace the various stages that led to the Unification of Italy between 1848 and
1870.
16.
What were the obstacles to Italian unification till 1852? How and with what
methods was the unification of Italy achieved?
17.
18.
What were the main features of the fascist and Nazi movements?
19.
20.
What were the main aims of the foreign policies of Italy, Germany and Japan?
21.
What were the views of Jawaharlal Nehru and the Indian National Congress
on fascism?
World Wars
1.
How did the two World Wars affect politics in the 20th century?
2.
3.
Chemical Warfare
4.
5.
6.
7.
How did the two World Wars affect the politics and economy of Europe?
8.
9.
Analyze the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 and examine the
validity of Germanys objections to the treaty.
10.
Any single explanation for the outbreak of the First World War likely to be too
simple. An amalgam of factors intellectual, social, economic as well as political
and diplomatic contributed to this horrifying conflict of monumental propositions.
Explain.
11.
In the long run, the Locarno Treaty (December 1925) was descriptive both of
the Treaty of Versailles and of the Covenant.
12.
In the post -Second World War scenario friends in war did not remain friends
in peace. Examine the truth of this view in the period of your study.
13.
Show how the Spanish Civil War a prelude to World War II.
14.
15.
16.
17.
The Wars (First World Wars) most permanent contribution to the spirit or the
post-War years was disillusion.
18.
19.
20.
Until December 1941 the battlefield of the Second World War was exclusively
European and Atlantic; thereafter it became also Asiatic and Pacific.
21.
What led to the formation of the Berlin-Rome Tokyo axis? Indicate its impact
on international politics.
22.
Explain the basic reasons for the conflicts between European nations from the
late nineteenth century to the early years of the twentieth century.
23.
What were the countries comprising the Triple Alliance and the Triple
Entente? What were the main aims of these groupings?
24.
What is meant by the Pan-Slav movement? Why did it add to the conflict
between Russia and Austria?
25.
Explain the reasons for the entry of the United States in the First World War.
26.
Why the war that broke out in 1914 is called the First World War?
27.
28.
What were the purposes for which the League of Nations was established?
29.
Why did Russia withdraw from the war after the 1917 Revolution?
30.
On a map of the world, show the areas in Asia and Africa which caused
conflicts among various European countries Also show the European countries
which emerged as independent states after the First World War.
31.
How was the world redivided among the victorious powers? Prepare a map
to show the territories which were taken over from the defeated countries by the
victorious countries.
32.
How far were imperialist rivalries the basic cause of the First World War?
33.
Do you think the peace treaties laid the foundations of a just and stable
peace? Discuss.
34.
How is it that an otherwise minor incident led to the outbreak of a world war?
Discuss.
35.
36.
Describe the main events between 1936 and 1939 which created conditions
for another world war
37.
What did the Western powers do to counter the aggressive acts of Japan,
Italy and Germany between 1931 and 1938?
38.
39.
40.
Explain the terms: Phoney War, Second Front, the Battle of Britain
Do you think Western policy of appeasement of the fascist powers brought
about the Second World War? Why? Or why not?
What was the basic reason for the policy of appeasement?
41.
Do you think the United States was justified in using the atom bomb against
Japan?
42.
Why did the Soviet Union sign the Non-Aggression Pact with Germany? What
did she gain from it? Discuss
43.
What were the immediate consequences of the Second World War in Europe?
44.
For a tired and timid generation Metternich was the necessary man.
45.
The Brussels Treaty of 17 March, 1948 paved the way for the formation of
NATO.
46.
47.
There was not only a difference of principles at Paris (Peace Conference) but
a clash of personalities.
48.
What do you understand by the notion of Total War? How did it affect military
strategy?
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What was the nature of politics and economy in Europe after the Second
World War?
7.
8.
9.
What was the nature of politics and economy in Europe after the Second
World War?
10.
11.
12.
What were the kind of challenges faced by the liberal democratic polities in
the initial years of the 20th century?
13.
14.
Arab nationalism and oil these were the principal Factors in complicating the
relations of Middle Eastern countries with the outside world.
15.
16.
Both freedom and partition were the work of Indian middle classes.
17.
Discuss the aims of the establishment of the Arab League and assess it role
in safeguarding the interests of the Arab nations.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
One of the most important consequences of the Second World War was
division of Europe, eastern and western.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Trace the growth of Arab nationalism after the, First World War. How far was it
a reaction to oil imperialism?
29.
30.
31.
Why did Vietnam go through thirty years of war after the Second World War?
32.
Would you argue that the Non-Aligned Movement played a crucial role in
dismantling the colonialism?
33.
34.
Identify the main strands in the Egyptian nationalist movement in the first half
of the present century and explain the role played in it by Zaghlul Pasha.
35.
36.
Describe the growth of national movements in Asia after the First World War.
Name the Asian countries which won their independence between 1919 and
1939
37.
38.
What were the main aims of the foreign policy of the United States? What was
the reason for the military intervention of the United States in Vietnam? What
were its consequences?
39.
What was the impact of the Portuguese revolution of 1974 on the Portuguese
colonies in Africa?
40.
41.
42.
Describe the changes which have taken place in South Africa after 1989
43.
Trace the developments that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
44.
Describe the main changes which have occurred in Germany and the
countries of Southern Europe since 1989
45.
Discuss the factors which led to the weakening of imperialism after the
Second World War
46.
47.
48.
Do you think the post-Cold War world is a safer place to live in and there is no
danger of any country dominating over other countries unlike the Colonial times?