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School Social Studies Gap Book (Classes VI-X themes) · Chapter 10

Modern World History: Revolutions, Wars, Cold War and Decolonisation

What to remember

  • The French Revolution (1789) spread the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity; the Russian Revolution (1917) created the first socialist state; Nazism in Germany led to dictatorship and the Holocaust.
  • Two world wars (1914-18 and 1939-45) changed the map of the world. After the second, the USA and USSR led a Cold War, and the colonies of Asia and Africa became free.
  • International bodies were created to keep peace: the League of Nations after the first war and the United Nations in 1945 after the second.

1. The French Revolution (1789)

Causes. Before the revolution, French society was divided into three Estates: the clergy (First), the nobility (Second) and everyone else (Third). The Third Estate, which included peasants, workers and the middle class (the bourgeoisie), paid most taxes while the first two enjoyed privileges. Wars and royal spending had emptied the treasury, and bread was costly. Thinkers such as Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu questioned the king's absolute power.

Events.

  • 1. King Louis XVI called the Estates-General in 1789 for new taxes. The Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly.
  • 2. On 14 July 1789 the people stormed the Bastille prison, a symbol of royal tyranny. This day is celebrated as France's national day.
  • 3. The Assembly ended feudal privileges and issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789).
  • 4. France became a republic in 1792. The king and queen Marie Antoinette were executed in 1793.
  • 5. The Reign of Terror (1793-94) under Robespierre and the Jacobins put many people to death.
  • 6. Napoleon Bonaparte took power in 1799 and became Emperor. He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815.

Napoleon. He rose from the army, restored order and issued the Napoleonic Code (1804), which gave equality before law and protected property. His wars spread revolutionary ideas, but his empire fell after his defeat by a coalition of European powers.

Results. The slogan Liberty, Equality and Fraternity inspired later movements. Ideas of national sovereignty, equal rights and a written constitution spread across Europe and to colonies, including India.

2. Socialism and the Russian Revolution

The Industrial Revolution brought factories, long hours and poor living for workers. Socialism is the idea that the means of production should be owned by society, to reduce inequality. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote the *Communist Manifesto* (1848) and argued that workers should unite and overthrow capitalism.

Russia before 1917. The empire was ruled by Tsar Nicholas II as an absolute monarch. Peasants were poor, workers were badly paid, and Russia suffered heavy losses in the First World War.

RevolutionMonth (1917)Result
February RevolutionMarch by the modern calendarThe Tsar abdicated; a Provisional Government took charge
October RevolutionNovember by the modern calendarThe Bolsheviks under Lenin took power
  • Lenin's slogan was "Peace, Land and Bread". Russia left the war and land was given to peasants.
  • The Soviet Union (USSR) was formed in 1922.
  • After Lenin, Joseph Stalin led it. He introduced Five-Year Plans for fast industrial growth and collectivisation of farms. The state controlled the economy, and political freedom was limited.
  • The Russian Revolution inspired workers' and independence movements in many countries.

3. The First World War (1914-18)

Causes. Four main causes are remembered as MAIN: Militarism (arms race), Alliances (secret blocs), Imperialism (rivalry over colonies) and Nationalism.

  • Europe was divided into the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia).
  • The immediate cause was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria at Sarajevo in 1914.
  • The war was fought between the Allied Powers (Britain, France, Russia, later the USA and others) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and others). It was the first war to use tanks, aircraft and poison gas on a large scale.
  • The war ended in 1918 with the defeat of Germany. By the Treaty of Versailles (1919) Germany lost land, had to pay heavy compensation and had to limit its army. The League of Nations was formed in 1920 to keep peace, but it was weak, and the USA never joined it.

4. Nazism and the Second World War

Rise of Nazism in Germany. Germany was humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles. The new Weimar Republic was unstable, and the Great Depression of 1929 brought mass unemployment. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party promised jobs, national pride and revenge. Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, ended democracy, banned other parties and ruled as the Fuhrer.

Nazi beliefs and rule. The Nazis preached extreme nationalism and racial hatred. They persecuted Jews, Roma, disabled people and political opponents. Under the Holocaust, millions of Jews were killed in camps. The state used propaganda, the secret police (Gestapo) and censorship to control people.

Causes of the Second World War. Bitterness over the Treaty of Versailles, the Great Depression, the rise of dictators (Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy and military rulers in Japan), aggression that the League of Nations could not stop, and the policy of appeasement by Britain and France, which gave in to Hitler's early demands.

The Second World War (1939-45).

  • Hitler's attacks on neighbours and the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 led Britain and France to declare war.
  • Axis Powers: Germany, Italy and Japan. Allied Powers: Britain, France, the USSR, the USA and others.
  • Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor (December 1941) brought the USA into the war.
  • Germany surrendered in May 1945. The USA dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, and Japan surrendered.
PointFirst World WarSecond World War
Years1914-181939-45
SparkAssassination at SarajevoInvasion of Poland
Peace treaty / bodyTreaty of Versailles; League of NationsUnited Nations (1945)
Main costMillions killed; empires collapsedEven greater loss; use of atomic bombs

The United Nations was founded in 1945 to maintain peace and promote cooperation. India was a founding member.

5. The Cold War

The Cold War (c. 1945-1991) was a period of tension, not direct war, between two blocs: the USA and its allies (capitalist, democratic) and the USSR and its allies (socialist, one-party rule).

  • Features: arms race, nuclear weapons, spying, propaganda and proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam.
  • Military alliances: NATO (1949) in the West and the Warsaw Pact (1955) in the East.
  • The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) brought the world close to nuclear war.
  • India, with Nehru, Tito of Yugoslavia and Nasser of Egypt, led the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), whose first summit was held in Belgrade in 1961. It refused to join either bloc.
  • The Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and the break-up of the USSR (1991).

6. Decolonisation

Decolonisation means the end of colonial rule. After the Second World War, Britain, France and other powers were weak and nationalist movements were strong.

  • India and Pakistan became free in 1947; Indonesia, Vietnam and others followed in Asia.
  • Ghana (1957) led by Kwame Nkrumah was the first sub-Saharan colony in Africa to become independent. Many African states followed, especially around 1960.
  • The Bandung Conference (1955) of Asian and African nations opposed colonialism.
  • Algeria won independence from France in 1962 after a long struggle.
  • Apartheid, the system of racial segregation in South Africa, ended in the 1990s, and Nelson Mandela became president in 1994.
  • New nations faced poverty, borders drawn by colonial powers and the task of building democracy. When former rulers keep economic control over a free country, it is called neo-colonialism.

Classroom angle. Use timelines on the board, role play of the Estates-General, map work for the two blocs and discussion of peace and war. Teach about conflict with a focus on peace, human rights and understanding.

IdeaMeaning
CapitalismPrivate ownership of industry, run for profit
SocialismSocial ownership to reduce inequality
CommunismClassless society; the state ultimately withers away (Marx)
Fascism / NazismExtreme nationalism, one-party dictatorship, no individual rights

Exam traps

  • Bastille Day: 14 July 1789, not the Declaration of Rights (August 1789).
  • February vs October Revolution: Tsar's fall vs Bolshevik seizure of power.
  • Lenin vs Stalin: Lenin led the revolution; Stalin led Five-Year Plans.
  • Triple Alliance vs Triple Entente: Germany-led vs Britain-France-Russia.
  • League of Nations vs United Nations: 1920 vs 1945.
  • Treaty of Versailles: ended the first war, not the second.
  • NATO vs Warsaw Pact: 1949 West vs 1955 East.
  • Hiroshima vs Pearl Harbor: USA bombed Hiroshima; Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

One-liners

  • 1. The French Revolution began in 1789.
  • 2. The Bastille fell on 14 July 1789.
  • 3. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity was the slogan of the French Revolution.
  • 4. Waterloo (1815) ended Napoleon's rule.
  • 5. Marx and Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto.
  • 6. Lenin led the Bolsheviks in the 1917 revolution.
  • 7. The USSR was formed in 1922.
  • 8. The First World War began after the Sarajevo assassination in 1914.
  • 9. Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933.
  • 10. The Second World War started with the invasion of Poland in 1939.
  • 11. The United Nations was founded in 1945.
  • 12. The Cold War ended with the break-up of the USSR in 1991.

Practice questions

  1. The French Revolution began in the year

    1. 1776
    2. 1789
    3. 1815
    4. 1799
    Answer

    B. 1789

    The Bastille fell on 14 July 1789.

  2. The slogan of the French Revolution was

    1. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity
    2. Workers of the world, unite
    3. Swaraj is my birthright
    4. Peace, Land and Bread
    Answer

    A. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity

    The trio inspired later democratic movements.

  3. Which prison was stormed by the people of Paris on 14 July 1789?

    1. Louvre
    2. Versailles
    3. Tuileries
    4. Bastille
    Answer

    D. Bastille

    The Bastille was a symbol of royal tyranny.

  4. The three Estates of French society were the clergy, the nobility and

    1. the army
    2. everyone else, called the Third Estate
    3. the king's family
    4. the judges
    Answer

    B. everyone else, called the Third Estate

    The Third Estate paid most taxes.

  5. Which French thinker wrote on the separation of powers?

    1. Robespierre
    2. Marx
    3. Napoleon
    4. Montesquieu
    Answer

    D. Montesquieu

    Montesquieu's ideas shaped modern constitutions.

  6. The Reign of Terror in France was led by

    1. Robespierre
    2. Napoleon
    3. Louis XVI
    4. Lenin
    Answer

    A. Robespierre

    Robespierre and the Jacobins ruled in 1793-94.

  7. Napoleon Bonaparte was finally defeated at

    1. Versailles
    2. Waterloo
    3. Sarajevo
    4. Stalingrad
    Answer

    B. Waterloo

    The battle of Waterloo was in 1815.

  8. Which document of 1789 proclaimed the rights of all citizens in France?

    1. Treaty of Versailles
    2. Magna Carta
    3. Communist Manifesto
    4. Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
    Answer

    D. Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

    It stated that all men are born free and equal in rights.

  9. The Communist Manifesto was written by

    1. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
    2. Hitler and Mussolini
    3. Rousseau and Voltaire
    4. Lenin and Stalin
    Answer

    A. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

    It was published in 1848.

  10. Socialism aims at

    1. private ownership of all factories
    2. social ownership of the means of production to reduce inequality
    3. rule by a king
    4. rule by the army
    Answer

    B. social ownership of the means of production to reduce inequality

    Socialists criticised capitalism's inequality.

  11. The Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution of 1917 were led by

    1. Lenin
    2. Nicholas II
    3. Kerensky
    4. Stalin
    Answer

    A. Lenin

    Lenin led the October Revolution.

  12. Lenin's slogan during the revolution was

    1. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity
    2. Blood and Iron
    3. Peace, Land and Bread
    4. Quit India
    Answer

    C. Peace, Land and Bread

    It promised an end to war, land for peasants and food.

  13. The Russian Tsar overthrown in 1917 was

    1. Alexander I
    2. Peter the Great
    3. Ivan the Terrible
    4. Nicholas II
    Answer

    D. Nicholas II

    He abdicated in the February Revolution.

  14. The USSR was formed in

    1. 1917
    2. 1922
    3. 1939
    4. 1945
    Answer

    B. 1922

    The Soviet Union lasted until 1991.

  15. Five-Year Plans and collectivisation of farms were introduced in the USSR by

    1. Lenin
    2. Gorbachev
    3. Trotsky
    4. Stalin
    Answer

    D. Stalin

    Stalin used planning for rapid industrialisation.

  16. The immediate cause of the First World War was the assassination of

    1. Archduke Franz Ferdinand
    2. Napoleon III
    3. Kaiser Wilhelm
    4. Tsar Nicholas II
    Answer

    A. Archduke Franz Ferdinand

    He was shot at Sarajevo in 1914.

  17. Which of the following was a long-term cause of the First World War?

    1. The discovery of America
    2. Invention of the telephone
    3. Rivalry among powers through secret alliances and arms races
    4. The French Revolution
    Answer

    C. Rivalry among powers through secret alliances and arms races

    Militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism were the main causes.

  18. The Treaty that formally ended the First World War with Germany was the Treaty of

    1. Tilsit
    2. Paris of 1763
    3. Vienna
    4. Versailles
    Answer

    D. Versailles

    It imposed harsh terms on Germany.

  19. The League of Nations was formed in

    1. 1955
    2. 1933
    3. 1920
    4. 1945
    Answer

    C. 1920

    It was set up to keep peace but proved weak.

  20. Which country's leader came to power in Germany in 1933 as Chancellor?

    1. Adolf Hitler
    2. Otto von Bismarck
    3. Benito Mussolini
    4. Joseph Stalin
    Answer

    A. Adolf Hitler

    Hitler ended democracy and ruled as dictator.

  21. The Nazi persecution and mass killing of Jews is known as the

    1. Apartheid
    2. Holocaust
    3. Reign of Terror
    4. Collectivisation
    Answer

    B. Holocaust

    Millions were killed in camps.

  22. The Great Depression of 1929 helped Nazism grow in Germany because

    1. it caused mass unemployment and anger
    2. it made Germany rich
    3. it gave Germany colonies
    4. it ended the war
    Answer

    A. it caused mass unemployment and anger

    Hitler's promises appealed to the jobless.

  23. The Second World War began in 1939 when Germany invaded

    1. France
    2. Poland
    3. Russia
    4. Austria
    Answer

    B. Poland

    Britain and France then declared war.

  24. The Axis Powers in the Second World War were

    1. Russia, China and India
    2. Germany, France and Spain
    3. Britain, France and the USA
    4. Germany, Italy and Japan
    Answer

    D. Germany, Italy and Japan

    The Allies opposed them.

  25. The USA entered the Second World War after Japan attacked

    1. Berlin
    2. Manila
    3. Pearl Harbor
    4. Hiroshima
    Answer

    C. Pearl Harbor

    The attack was in December 1941.

  26. Atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945 at

    1. Kyoto and Nagoya
    2. Hiroshima and Nagasaki
    3. Tokyo and Osaka
    4. Okinawa and Kobe
    Answer

    B. Hiroshima and Nagasaki

    Japan surrendered soon after.

  27. The United Nations was founded in

    1. 1945
    2. 1939
    3. 1920
    4. 1961
    Answer

    A. 1945

    It replaced the League of Nations.

  28. The Cold War was a period of rivalry between

    1. Germany and Japan
    2. Britain and France
    3. the USA and the USSR
    4. India and Pakistan
    Answer

    C. the USA and the USSR

    It was a struggle for influence without direct war between them.

  29. NATO was formed in 1949 by

    1. non-aligned nations
    2. Asian countries
    3. the USSR and its allies
    4. the USA and its Western allies
    Answer

    D. the USA and its Western allies

    The Warsaw Pact was the Eastern bloc's counterpart.

  30. The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance led by the

    1. Britain
    2. USA
    3. USSR
    4. India
    Answer

    C. USSR

    It was formed in 1955.

  31. The Non-Aligned Movement refused to

    1. join either of the two power blocs
    2. accept independence
    3. trade with any nation
    4. attend the UN
    Answer

    A. join either of the two power blocs

    Nehru, Tito and Nasser were its founders.

  32. The first NAM summit was held in 1961 in

    1. New Delhi
    2. Belgrade
    3. Cairo
    4. Bandung
    Answer

    B. Belgrade

    Bandung hosted the 1955 Afro-Asian conference.

  33. The Cold War ended with the

    1. formation of NATO
    2. Cuban missile crisis
    3. Korean War
    4. break-up of the USSR in 1991
    Answer

    D. break-up of the USSR in 1991

    The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the USSR dissolved in 1991.

  34. Which country was the first in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from British rule in 1957?

    1. Ghana
    2. Nigeria
    3. Algeria
    4. Kenya
    Answer

    A. Ghana

    Kwame Nkrumah led Ghana.

  35. Apartheid, the system of racial segregation, existed in

    1. Ghana
    2. Kenya
    3. Egypt
    4. South Africa
    Answer

    D. South Africa

    Nelson Mandela became president in 1994.

  36. Decolonisation means

    1. spread of colonies
    2. trade between colonies
    3. the end of colonial rule
    4. war between colonies
    Answer

    C. the end of colonial rule

    After 1945 many colonies became independent.

  37. Which pair is correctly matched?

    1. Stalin - Jacobins
    2. Hitler - Nazi Party
    3. Lenin - Nazi Party
    4. Robespierre - Bolsheviks
    Answer

    B. Hitler - Nazi Party

    Lenin led the Bolsheviks and Robespierre the Jacobins.

  38. Consider the statements: 1. The Estates-General was called by Louis XVI in 1789. 2. The Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  39. Consider the statements: 1. The Treaty of Versailles was signed after the Second World War. 2. The League of Nations was formed after the First World War. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    Versailles ended the First World War.

  40. Consider the statements: 1. Lenin led the Bolshevik takeover of 1917. 2. Stalin introduced Five-Year Plans. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  41. Consider the statements: 1. The Cold War was a direct war between the USA and the USSR. 2. NATO was formed in 1949. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    The Cold War was a rivalry without direct fighting between the two.

  42. Consider the statements: 1. The Bandung Conference of 1955 opposed colonialism. 2. India became free in 1947. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  43. Consider the statements: 1. Hitler became Chancellor in 1933. 2. The Second World War began with the invasion of Poland. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  44. Consider the statements: 1. India was a founding member of the United Nations. 2. The League of Nations was founded in 1945. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    The League was formed in 1920.

  45. Consider the statements: 1. The Napoleonic Code promoted equality before law. 2. Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

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