Essay - causes of the emancipation Flashcards
1
Q
Question
A
“The decision to emancipate the serfs was the result of peasant unrest.” Assess the validity of this view.
2
Q
Judgement.
A
- The main cause of the emancipation was economic factors rather than peasant unrest.
3
Q
The 3 factors to consider.
A
- Peasant unrest.
- Crimean War.
- The economy.
4
Q
Peasant unrest evidence:
A
- Tsar Alexander II used peasant unrest to persuade the nobles that Emancipation was needed.
- Alexander II told the nobility that, ‘It is better to abolish serfdom from above, than to wait for that time when it starts to abolish itself from below’
- Between 1840 and 1844 there had been fewer than 30 outbreaks of disorder per year on privately owned estates, this figure more than double over the next 15 years.
- Alexander get worried - from December of 1857 he ordered weekly reports on the mood of the peasants.
5
Q
The Crimean War evidence:
A
- The trigger to the emancipation of the serfs.
- Left Russia with a 1 billion rouble debt.
- The Crimean War emphasised the backwards nature of both Russia’s economy and their military.
- Military reformers felt that Russia should have a smaller army with better trained men - this could only happen though, after economic development.
- The Crimean War saw Russia lose 450,125 men in battle - despite Russia being the larger force, Russia had the largest number of casualties.
- The image of the Romanov dynasty as one of great military power had been destroyed.
6
Q
The economy evidence:
A
- There was a ratio of 11:1 village to town dwellers.
- The capital (St Petersburg) had a population of 500,00
- The military used up 45% of annual government funding.
- Lower classes provided 90% of revenue through taxation.
- The serf army was made of 1.5 million serfs they had to serve for 25 years.