Rise of Nationalism in Europe

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Rise of nationalism in Europe


Nationalism- Nationalism is a feeling that becomes the vehicle of unity
among the people living in a particular geographical, cultural or social
environment.

that is

Nationalism is the belief of a group of people that they consider themselves


united on the basis of shared history, tradition, language, ethnicity or
casteism and culture.

Meaning of Nationalism - The principle of loyalty or determination towards


the nation or the rise of national consciousness, its progress and
maintaining all the rules and ideals towards it.

that is

The feeling of love for one's nation is called nationalism.

Seeding- The seeding of the spirit of nationalism had already taken place
in Europe since the Renaissance period (between 14th and 17th century).
But with the French Revolution of 1789, it appeared in an advanced form.

The French Revolution and subsequent Napoleonic invasions contributed


significantly to the development of the feeling of nationalism in Europe.

The French Revolution took politics out of the elite (class of the highest
people, which included landlords, nawabs, moneylenders and nobles)
environment and made it a matter of newspapers, streets and common
people.

What is Vienna Congress?

There was a conference of ambassadors of European countries which was


held in Vienna , the capital of Austria from September 18 to June 14, 1815
.

Who was Napoleon?

● Napoleon was a great emperor who influenced the history of


entire Europe with his personality and actions.
● On the basis of his ability, he became a commander at the age
of 24.
● He led the French army to victory in many wars and gained
immense popularity. Then he did not look back and became the
ruler of France.
What do you understand by liberal?

● Libertarian is based on the value of the Latin word meaning


'free'
● Liberalism gives priority to rapid change and development.

What do you understand by orthodox?

● Such political philosophy emphasizes tradition, established


institutions and customs and gives priority to gradual
development.

Vienna Conference- After the fall of Napoleon, the victorious powers of


Europe gathered in Vienna, the capital of Austria in 1815 AD, which is
known as the Vienna Conference. Its main objective was to re-establish the
ancient system. This conference was hosted by Chancellor Metternich of
Austria.

Metternich era - Through the Vienna Conference, the Napoleonic era


ended on one hand and the Metternich era began on the other. To establish
its influence on Italy, it divided it into many states. The union of 39
princely states remained in Germany . Restored the old system in France
too.

Ideology- A set of ideas indicating a particular type of social and political


viewpoint is called ideology.

Nationalist consciousness in Europe begins from France.

napoleon's reign

When Napoleon started ruling France, he removed democracy and


established monarchy. He established the Civil Code in 1804, also known
as the Napoleonic Code.
civil code or code of napoleon 1804

1. Everyone was kept equal before the law.

2. The right to property was protected.

3. Freed from serfdom and jagirdari charges.

Jagirdari- Under this, some part of the goods produced by farmers,


landlords and industrialists had to be paid to the government as tax.

Structure of European society- Before the 16th century, European


society was divided into two classes.

1. Upper class elite class

2. Lower class farming class

Another class was added in between. Which was called middle class .

The rise of nationalism in France

● In France, under the Vienna System , the Bourbon dynasty


was restored to establish the pre-revolutionary order and Louis
XVIII became the King of France.
● Its main objective was to re-establish the ancient system.
● This conference was hosted by Chancellor Metternich of
Austria.
● Apart from Italy and Germany, Metternich also restored the
ancient system in France.
● But this arrangement did not prove to be permanent and soon
the feeling of nationalism spread in Europe which affected all the
countries.
● Louis XVIII understood the changed circumstances of France
and did not try to impose the ancien régime on the French
people.
● He issued constitutional manifestos on 2 June 1814 with the
aim of establishing harmony between the reactionary and
reformist forces, which continued in France till 1848.
● Some changes were made during the reign of Charles-X but
the result was the Revolution of 1830.

Revolution of July 1830: Charles X was an autocratic and reactionary


ruler. He worked to suppress the feeling of nationalism emerging in France.
He made Polignac the Prime Minister. Polignac tried to establish a powerful
elite class in place of a uniform civil code and to endow it with privileges.
The House of Representatives and other liberals expressed deep
dissatisfaction against Polignac. In response to this opposition , Charles
In protest against these ordinances, a wave of revolution broke out in Paris
and civil war started in France on 28 June 1830, this is called the
Revolution of July 1830 .

Result : Charles _

Impact of the Revolution of 1830

● This revolution revived the principles of France and proved the


objectives of the Vienna Congress baseless.
● It had an impact on the entire Europe and the way the feeling of
nationalism and patriotism blossomed, it paved the way for
political integration of all the European nations, constitutional
reforms and development of nationalism.
● Due to this revolution, movements arose in Italy, Germany,
Greece, Poland and Hungary due to the influence of nationalism
against the then existing system.
● Later, voices started being raised in France against Louis
Philippe, which led to the Revolution of 1848 in France .
revolution of 1848

● Louis Philippe was a liberal ruler, he appointed Guizot , who


was a staunch reactionary, as prime minister.
● Prime Minister Gizo was against any kind of legal, social and
economic reforms.
● Louis Philippe preferred to side with people from the
bourgeoisie, who were in the minority.
● He did not have any kind of reform program and was not getting
any success in foreign policy.
● During his rule, hunger and unemployment started spreading in
the country, due to which Gizo started being criticized.
● The reformists organized a huge banquet under the leadership
of Thiers in Paris on 22 February 1848 .
● Blockades were put in place and Louis Philippe was forced to
abdicate the throne.
● On February 24, Louis Philippe abdicated the throne and went
to England.
● The National Assembly then declared a republic, granted
suffrage to all adults above the age of 21, and guaranteed the
right to work.

Impact of the Revolution of 1848

This revolution not only ended the old system but Italy, Germany, Austria,
Holland, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, Poland, Ireland and England were
affected.

Unification of Italy

● Apart from the geographical problem, there were many other


problems in the establishment of Italy as a nation. For example,
there was interference of foreign nations like Austria and France
in Italy.
● Therefore their opposition to integration was inevitable.
● The Pope wanted Italy to be unified under his own leadership
from a religious point of view and not under the leadership of
rulers.
● Apart from this, economic and administrative anomalies also
existed.
● Napoleon formed it into three republics such as- Cespine,
Republic, Ligulian and Transpaden.
● Napoleon also streamlined the transportation system and
brought the entire region under one rule.
● Apart from the geographical problem, there were many other
problems in the establishment of Italy as a nation. For example,
there was interference of foreign nations like Austria and France
in Italy.
● Therefore their opposition to integration was inevitable.
● The Pope wanted Italy to be unified under his own leadership
from a religious point of view and not under the leadership of
rulers.
● Apart from this, economic and administrative anomalies also
existed.
● Napoleon formed it into three republics such as- Cespine,
Republic, Ligulian and Transpaden.
● Napoleon also streamlined the transportation system and
brought the entire region under one rule.
● After the fall of Napoleon ( 1814 ), the Congress of Vienna (
1815 ) unified the two Italian states of Piedmont and Sardinia
with the aim of bringing Italy back to its old form.
● In this way the direction of the unification of Italy began to be
decided.
● In Italy, from 1820 onwards , civil movements for constitutional
reforms started taking place in some states.
● A secret group, the 'Carbonari' , was formed by the nationalists,
whose objective was to destroy the monarchy and establish a
republic through guerrilla warfare.
● The famous nationalist leader Joseph Mazzini also belonged to
this group.
● Italy also could not remain untouched by the influence of
the Revolution of 1830 and civil movements started here too.
● Mazzini also tried to establish a unified republic in northern and
central Italy using civic movements.
● But these nationalist civil movements were suppressed by
Austrian Chancellor Metternich and Mazzini had to flee Italy.

Mazzini's contribution to the unification of Italy

Mazzini :

● Mazzini was a litterateur, supporter of republican ideas and a


capable commander.
● Mazzini had more idealistic qualities and less practical qualities.
● In 1831 he founded 'Young Italy' , which played an important
role in the creation of New Italy.
● Its objective was to end foreign interference from the Italian
peninsula and establish a united republic.
● By forming an organization called 'Young Europe' in 1834 ,
Mazzini also encouraged the national movement going on in
Europe.
● In 1848 , when revolution broke out across Europe including
France, Metternich had to leave Austria.
● After this, Mazzini came again in the politics of Italy.
● Mazzini wanted to unify the whole of Italy and make it a republic,
while Charles Albert , the ruler of Sardinia-Piedmont, wanted
the merger of all the provinces under his leadership.
● The Pope was also in favor of making Italy a religious state.
● In this way, the path of unification of Italy was blocked due to
conflict of ideas.
● Later, some parts of Italy started being attacked by Austria, in
which the ruler of Sardinia, Charles Albert, was defeated.
● The democratic movement in Italy was crushed due to Austria's
intervention.
● Thus Mazzini was defeated again and he fled.

Second phase of unification of Italy

Victor Emmanuel:

● Until 1848, attempts at unification in Italy were unsuccessful.


● In Italy, the new ruler of Sardinia-Piedmont, 'Victor Emmanuel'
was of nationalist ideology and with his efforts the work of
unification of Italy continued.
● To implement his policies, Victor appointed 'Count Cavour' as the
Prime Minister.

Count Cavour:

● Kavoor was a successful diplomat and nationalist. He


considered Austria to be the biggest obstacle in the unification of
Italy.
● Therefore, he extended his hand of friendship to France to
defeat Austria.
● In the Crimean War of 1853-54 , Cavour announced his
participation in the war on behalf of France, although France had
not even made any request for it.
● Kavur got direct benefit from this.
● After the end of the war, at the Paris Peace Conference, Cavour
declared Austria's intervention in Italy illegal.
● Cavour also made a treaty with Napoleon III under which France
promised to provide military support to Piedmont against Austria.
● In return, Cavour agreed to give two princely states named Nice
and Sevoy to France.
● The unification of Italy was not possible in Cavour's view.
● Meanwhile, in 1859-60 , war broke out between Austria and
Piedmont over a border dispute.
● France landed its army in support of Italy in the war, due to
which the Austrian army started getting badly defeated.
● Piedmont was captured in Lombardy, a big state of Austria.
● On the one hand, the war was becoming longer and on the other
hand, Napoleon was becoming afraid of Italian nationalism
because the people of Northern and Central Italy were agitating
in large numbers in support of Cavour.
● Napoleon was not prepared for this situation.
● So soon after the conquest of Venetia, Napoleon called back his
army.
● After withdrawing from the war, Napoleon III agreed to mediate
between Austria and Piedmont.
● In this way, according to the treaty, Piedmont's right on
Lombardy and Austria's right on Venetia were considered.
Eventually Italy emerged as a large state. But Cavour's focus
was on the unification of central and northern Italy.
● Therefore, he took the assurance of France's passiveness in the
Austria-Piedmont war and not opposing the merger of Italy's
states in Piedmont by tempting Napoleon to give service
territory.
● In return, Napoleon put a condition that plebiscites would be held
in the states which would be merged.
● Since the people of those princely states were with Piedmount,
so Cavour accepted it by introducing diplomacy.
● In 1860-61 , Cavour merged all the princely states of North and
Central Italy (Parma, Modena, Tuscany etc.) except only Rome
and also confirmed it by plebiscite.
● Austria also could not take any step for fear of support to
Piedmont by France and England. On the other hand, Austria
was also grappling with the problem of German unification.
● In this way, by 1862 AD , South Italy, except Rome and Venetia,
the rest of the princely states merged with Rome and everyone
considered Victor Emmanuel as the ruler.

Garibaldi :

● Meanwhile, the great revolutionary 'Garibaldi' was trying to unify


the principalities of Southern Italy and establish a republic
through armed revolution.
● Garibaldi was a sailor by profession and was a supporter of
Mazzini's ideas but later came under the influence of Cavour and
became a supporter of constitutional monarchy.
● Garibaldi created an armed army of his employees and
volunteers.
● He attacked the Italian provinces of Sicily and Naples with his
soldiers. Most of the people of these princely states became
supporters of Garibaldi, fed up with the autocratic rule of the
Bourbon dynasty.
● Garibaldi established the republic here and took power there as
the representative of Victor Emmanuel.
● In 1862 , when Garibaldi planned to attack Rome, Cavour
opposed this campaign of Garibaldi and sent Piedmontese army
to protect Rome.
● Meanwhile, Garibaldi met Cavour and abandoned the plan of
campaigning for Rome. Garibaldi handed over the conquered
territory of southern Italy to Victor Emmanuel without any treaty.
● Garibaldi was also proposed to become the ruler in the southern
region by Victor Emmanuel but he rejected it.
● Dedicating all his wealth to the nation, he moved towards living
life like an ordinary farmer. Due to this spirit of renunciation and
sacrifice, Garibaldi's character was widely publicized during the
Indian freedom struggle and Lala Lajpat Rai wrote his
biography.
● Unfortunately, Cavour died in 1862 AD and thus he too could
not see the unification of the whole of Italy. Victor Emmanuel
himself unified the rest of Italy in the form of Rome and Venetia.
● In 1870-71 war broke out between France and Prussia due to
which it was not possible for France to provide protection to the
Pope. Victor Emmanuel took advantage of this situation. The
Pope locked himself in the fortress of Vatican City. Emmanuel
annexed the rest of Rome to Italy except the papal palace and
made it his capital.
● This new position was not immediately accepted by the Pope.
This problem was finally resolved by Mussolini when he
compromised with the Pope and accepted the Vatican's position.
● Thus, by 1871 AD, the unification of Italy was completed due to
the contributions of nationalist leaders like Mazzini, Cavour,
Garibaldi and rulers like Victor Emmanuel. Nationalist
consciousness was paramount in the background of all these
incidents.

unification of germany

● The unification of Italy and Germany took place simultaneously.


● In the modern era, Germany was a completely fragmented state,
which had 300 small and big states.
● There were political, social and religious disparities in Germany.
● Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with creating the background
of German unification, because in 1806 AD , after winning the
German territories, he created the Rhine State Union. From here
the feeling of German nationalism started growing slowly.
● Prussia was the most powerful state in the North German states
where the number of Protestant followers was high and was
maintaining its influence.
● On the other hand, the representative assembly of the Catholic
majority states of South Germany - ' Diet' was alive, where all
met. But they lacked the spirit of German nationalism, due to
which the issue of integration was not in front of them.
● During this period, intellectuals, farmers and artists in Germany,
such as Hegel, Kant, Humboldt, Undart, Jacob Greim etc.
promoted German nationalism.
● Educational institutions and students also contributed to the
national movement in Germany. Teachers and students
established an organization called 'Bruchen Shaft' with the aim
of German unification. Jena University of Weimar State was
the center of the national movement.
● In 1834 , mass merchants formed the Zalverein , an
economic association led by Prussia for economic equality ,
which promoted German nationalism.
● The French Revolution of 1830 did give some fillip to German
nationalist sentiments.
● The French Revolution of 1848 once again ignited German
nationalism. On the other hand, this revolution also ended the
era of Metternich.
● At the same time, German nationalists called a meeting of the
old parliament in Frankfurt in March 1848 .
● Where it was decided that the ruler of Prussia, Frederick William,
would lead the German nation and all the German states would
be unified under him.
● Frederick, who was an autocratic and conservative ruler, refused
to accept that system.
● Prussia also believed that the unification of Germany could
happen under its leadership.
● Therefore he started increasing his military power.
● Meanwhile, Frederick William died and his brother William
became the ruler of Prussia.
● William was a supporter of nationalist ideas.
● Keeping the objectives of unification in mind, William appointed
the great diplomat Bismarck as his Chancellor.

Bismarck in unification of Germany:


● Bismarck was a successful diplomat, he was influenced by the
ideas of Hegel.
● He understood the importance of military power for German
unification.
● Therefore, for this he followed the 'policy of blood and iron'.
● Bismarck strengthened Prussia with his policies and due to this,
Prussia was no less than Austria in any sense.
● Bismarck along with Austria invaded Denmark in 1864 on the
issue of Schleswig and Holstein states. Because they were
under the control of Denmark.
● After the victory, Schleswig became subject to Prussia and
Holstein was received by Austria. Since the number of Germans
in these two states was high
● Therefore, Prussia spread the rebellion by inciting German
nationalist sentiments, which was to be crushed by the Austrian
army crossing Prussian territory and Prussia prevented Austria
from doing so.
● Bismarck wanted to prove Austria as an aggressor, so he had
already made an agreement with France that France would
remain neutral in the Austria-Prussia war. For this he had also
promised to give some area to France.
● Bismarck also made a treaty with Victor Emmanuel, the ruler of
Italy, according to which Italy was to attack Austrian territories in
the Austro-Prussian War. At last Austria, angry with its
humiliation, declared war against Prussia in Sedova in 1866 AD
.
● Austria was caught in the war on both sides and was badly
defeated, thus ending Austria's influence on the German
territories and completing two-thirds of the task of German
unification.
● A war with France was necessary for the unification of the rest of
Germany. Because France could intervene in the case of
southern states of Germany. At the same time there arose the
matter of the throne of Spain, on which the Prince of Prussia had
a natural claim. But France openly opposed this claim and
sought a written promise from Prussia in this context. Bismarck
distorted this and released it in the press. As a result, German
nationalists started opposing it openly.
● On June 19 , 1870 , French ruler Napoleon declared war
against Prussia over the succession of Spain and the French
suffered a massive defeat in the Battle of Seddon. Subsequently
, peace was established between the two nations by the Treaty
of Frankfurt on 10 May 1871 . Thus, in the Battle of Seddon
itself, the fall of one superpower led to the rise of another
superpower, Germany. Germany finally found a place on the
political map of Europe as a unified nation by 1871.

influence of german nationalism

● German nationalism started independence movements not only


in Germany but throughout Europe as well as in Hungary,
Bohemia and Greece.
● Its influence finalized the story of the decline of the Ottoman
Empire. The spread of nationalism in the Balkan region united
the Slavic race and gave birth to Serbia.

The rise of nationalism in Greece

● Greece has its own glorious past. Due to which it was


considered the main source of the West. The literary progress of
Greek civilization, achievements in the fields of thought,
philosophy, art, medical science etc. were the source of
inspiration for the Greeks.
● Greece was under the Turkish Empire.
● The French Revolution gave rise to a wave of nationalism
among the Greeks, because their identity was one on the basis
of religion, caste and culture.
● Established an organization named Hiteria Philaik at a place
called Odessa. Its objective was to expel Turkish rule from
Greece and make it independent.
● England's great poet Viron was martyred in Greece for the
freedom of the Greeks. Due to this, a wave of sympathy started
running throughout Europe for the independence of Greece.
● Russia was also in favor of Greece's independence.
● In 1821 , a rebellion started in Greece under the leadership of
Alexander Chipsilanti .
● In 1827 , a conference was held in London in which England,
France and Russia decided to take joint action against Turkey
and in support of Greece.
● Thus the combined forces of the three countries gathered
against Turkey in the Gulf of Navarino. Only the Egyptian army
came in support of Turkey. The armies of Egypt and Türkiye
were badly defeated in the war.
● In 1829 AD , the Treaty of Adrianople was signed, under which
it was decided to give autonomy to Greece under the nominal
sovereignty of Turkey.
● But Greek nationalists refused to accept the terms of the treaty.
● In 1832 , Greece was declared an independent nation. 'Otto',
the ruler of Bavaria, was declared the king of independent
Greece. In this way, Russia's influence on Greece also went
away.

Rise of nationalism in Hungary

The movement was led by revolutionaries named 'Kosuth' and 'Francis


Dick' . Louis Philippe had a special influence on the Hungarian nationalist
movement in France. Kossuth began to oppose Austrian domination and
demand changes in the system. It had an impact on the people of both
Hungary and Austria. Due to which movements in favor of nationalism
started here. On March 31 , 1848 , the Austrian government accepted
many things of Hungary, according to which the demand for an
independent Council of Ministers was accepted. Thus, these movements
gave national identity to Hungary.

Poland:

Due to nationalist sentiment in Poland also, rebellions against Russian


rule began. The revolution of 1830 had a wide impact on the liberals here
but they could not get the help of England and France. So at this time
Russia crushed the Polish rebellion.

Bohemia:

The developments in Hungary also had an impact on Bosnia, which was


under Austrian rule. The demand for autonomous rule of the majority
Czech community of Bohemia was accepted, but the movement took a
violent form. Due to which the revolutionaries were strictly suppressed by
Austria. Thus, the achievements of the revolutionary movement in Bohemia
could not remain permanent.

Result:

● The development of the feeling of nationalism in Europe began


with the French Revolution, as a result of which many big and
small states emerged.
● For the people and the ruler of every nation, their nation has
become everything. For this they were ready to go to any extent.
● The feeling of nationalism increased in the big European states
like Germany, Italy, France, England.
● Due to the nationalism of Europe, a wave of nationalism arose in
African and Asian colonies for liberation against foreign power.
● The messages of European nationalism had started reaching
India as well. Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore himself was
strongly influenced by the French Revolution of 1789 . In this
effect, he also established the Jacobin Club and himself
became its member.
● It is also said that he had also planted a 'tree' symbolizing
freedom in Srirangapatna itself.
● Later on, elements of nationalism started appearing in India only
from the revolution of 1857 .
● In this way, the feeling of nationalism born in Europe first
affected Europe and eventually the whole world. As a result of
which, along with a big change in the political map of Europe,
many colonies also became independent.

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