Explain any four economic hardships that Europe faced in the 1830s.

OR

Explain the views of Paul Bernard regarding the economy of Vietnam.

The 1830s were years of great economic hardships in Europe.

(i) There were more seekers of job than employment.

(ii) Small producers in towns were often faced with tough competition from imports of cheap machine-made goods from England.

(iii) Peasants struggled under the burden of feudal dues and obligations.

(iv) The rise of food prices or a bad harvest led to widespread pauperism in town and country.

OR

Paul Bernard believed that the purpose of acquiring colonies was to make profits. According to him, if the economy was developed and the standard of living of the people improved, they would buy more goods. He identified several barriers to economic growth in Vietnam:

(i) High population levels

(ii) Low agricultural productivity, and

(iii) Extensive indebtedness among the peasants.

To reduce rural poverty and increase agricultural productivity it was necessary to carry out land reforms as the Japanese had done in the 1890s.