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THE RISE OF NATIONALISM IN EUROPE

Nation: * A country considered as a group of people with the same language, culture and
history, who live in a particular area under one government.

** A nation is the culmination of a long past of a endeavors, sacrifice and devotion and a
common will in the present and perform great deeds together in the future

* Frédéric Sorrieu – A French artist who prepared a series of four prints (in 1848) visualising his dream
of a world made up of ‘democratic and social Republics’,

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IDEA OF THE NATION.

The first clear expression of nationalism came with the French Revolution in 1789.
Describe the steps taken by the French revolutionaries to create a sense of collective identity
amongst the French people?
The French revolutionaries introduced various measures and practices that could create a sense
of various measures and practices that could create a sense of collective identity amongst the
French People.

 The ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizen) emphasized the notion of a
united community.

 A united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.

 A new French flag replaced the former royal standard.

 The Estate General was elected by the body of active citizens and renamed the National
Assembly.

 New hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated, all in the name
of the nation.

 A centralized administrative system was put in place and it formulated uniform laws for
all citizens.

 Internal custom duties and dues were abolished

 A uniform system of weights and measures were adopted

 Regional dialects were discouraged and French became the common language of the
nation. They helped other peoples in Europe to become unified nations.

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NAPOLEON AND THE IDEA OF NATIONALISM: Napoleon had destroyed democracy in France.
But in administrative field he had incorporated revolutionary principles in order to make the
whole system more national and efficient.

 Introduced the Civil Code of 1804

 The code abolished all privileges based on birth, established equality before law and
secured the right to property.

 He simplified administrative divisions

 Abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom.

 Guild restrictions were removed to ensure the free flow of goods

 Transport and communication system were improved.

 Peasants, artisans, workers and new businessmen enjoyed a new found freedom.

 Introduced common national currency and uniform weight and measures. All the
measures facilitated the movement and exchange of goods and capital from one region
to another

In the areas that Napoleon conquered, the reactions of the local population to French rule were
mixed. New administrative arrangements did not go hand with political freedom.

Increased taxation, censorship, forced conscription into the French armies required to conquer
rest of the Europe, all seemed to outweigh the advantages of the administrative changes.

THE MAKING OF NATIONALISM IN EUROPE.

Q: Explain the important political characteristics of mid-18th century Europe.

Germany, Italy and Switzerland were divided into kingdoms, whose rulers had their
autonomous territories. Eastern and Central Europe were under autocratic monarchies with
diverse people. They did not see themselves as sharing a collective identity or a common
culture. They speak different languages and belonged to different ethnic groups. Eg. The
Habsburg Empire in Austria- Hungary was a patchwork many different regions and peoples. The
Empire includes Alpine regions, where the aristocracy was predominantly German speaking and
in the province of Lombardy and Venetia people speak Italian. In Hungary, half of the
population spoke Magyar while the other half spoke a variety of dialects. Polish was the
language in Galicia. Bohemians, Slovaks, Carniola Croats, Roumans etc. were other important
groups. Such differences did not easily promote a sense of political unity. The only tie binding
these diverse groups together was a common allegiance to the emperor.

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Aristocracy and the New Middle Class: The middle class owned estates in the countryside and
towns. They spoke French for purposes of diplomacy and in high society. This powerful
aristocracy was numerically a small group. The majority of the population was made up of the
peasantry.

Industrialization in France and German states occurred only during the nineteenth century. In
its wake, new social groups came into being --a working class population, and middle classes
made up of industrialists, businessmen, professionals. It was among the educated, liberal
middle classes that ideas of national unity following the abolition of aristocratic privileges
gained popularity. It was among the educated, liberal middle classes that ideas of national unity
following the abolition of aristocratic privileges gained popularity.
Liberal Nationalism
What did liberalism mean to different classes and people?
The term liberalism is derived from the Latin root ‘liber, meaning free

For new middle class, liberalism stood for the individual freedom and equality of all before law

Politically, it emphasized the concept of government by consent of the people (democracy)

For French revolutionaries, liberalism stood for the end of autocracy and clerical privileges a
constitution and representative government through parliament.

Economically, liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and abolition of state imposed
restrictions on the movement of goods and capital (free flow of goods and services). During the
19th century this was a strong demand of the emerging middle classes

ZOLLVERIEN:
Q: “Zollverien tried to overcome the problems that the liberal nationalists wanted to
overcome” - Explain

In 1834 a custom union was formed at the initiative of Prussia. Napoleon’s measures had
reduced the countless small principalities into a confederation of 39 states .Each of these
possessed its own currency, and weights and measures. It was viewed as obstacles to economic
exchange and growth by the new commercial classes, who argued for the creation of a unified
economic territory allowing the unhindered movement of goods people and capital. Zollverein
abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over 30 to 2. A wave of
economic nationalism strengthened the wider nationalist sentiments growing at time.

Conservatism: Following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 (Battle of Waterloo); European

governments were driven by a spirit of conservatism. It was a political philosophy that stressed
the importance of tradition, established institution and customs and preferred gradual
development to quick change. But they did not propose a return to the society of pre-

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revolutionary period. They realized from the changes initiated by Napoleon. They believed in
efficient bureaucracy, a dynamic economy, the abolition of feudalism and serfdom etc to
strengthen traditional institutions like the monarchy.

Vienna Congress:
How did the Treaty of Vienna change the map of Europe?
In 1815, Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria who had collectively defeated Napoleon met at
Vienna .It is known as Vienna Congress .The congress was hosted by the chancellor Duke
Metternich .The delegates drew up a settlement for Europe. The old Bourbon dynasty was
restored to power. France lost its territories annexed under Napoleon. A series of states were
set up on the boundaries of France to prevent French expansion in future. Prussia was given
important new territories on its western territories while Austria was given control of Northern
Italy .But the main intention of the congress was to restore the monarchies that had been
overthrown by Napoleon, and to create a new conservative order in Europe

THE REVOLUTIONARIES.

During the years following the Vienna Congress the fear of repression drove many liberal
nationalists underground. Secret societies sprang up in many European states to train
revolutionaries and to spread their ideas. To be a revolutionary at this time meant a
commitment to oppose mechanical forms and to fight for liberty and freedom .One such
individual was the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini He was a member of Carbonari, a
secret society. Later, he founded 2 underground societies - first is Young Europe and a second is
Young Italy. Mazzini believed that God had intended nations to be the natural units of mankind.
Duke Metternich described him as ‘the most dangerous enemy of our social order’.

THE AGE OF REVOLUTIONS 1830-1848 ( Q: How did the Greek war of independence mobilse
nationalist feelings among the educated elite across Europe ?)

Liberalism and Nationalism were associated with revolutions in many regions of Europe
especially in Italian and German states. These revolutions were led by the liberal nationalists
belonging to the educated middle class elite.

The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830(July Revolution). The Bourbon king was
overthrown by liberal revolutionaries and installed a constitutional monarchy with Louis
Philippe as its head .The July revolution soon spread to other regions of Europe.

GREEK WAR OF INDEPENDENCE: Greece was a part of the Ottoman Empire. The growth of
revolutionary nationalism in Europe sparked off a struggle for independence amongst the
Greeks which began in 1821 .Nationalists in Greece gained support from other Greeks living in
exile. West Europeans who had sympathies for ancient Greek culture also supported them

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.Poets and others lauded Greece as ‘A Cradle of Civilization’ and mobilized opinions to support
its struggle against a Muslim Empire .Lord Byron organized funds and later went to fight in the
war. The treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognized Greece as an independent nation

ROMANTICISM: Culture played an important role in creating the idea of the nation.
Romanticism is a cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of nationalist's
sentiment.

Romantic artists and poets generally criticized the glorification of reason and science. They
focused on emotions, institution and mystical feelings. Their effort was to create a common
cultural past (collective heritage) as the basis of a nation. They popularized nationalism through
folk songs, folk poetry and folk dances. German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder, a
romantic writer, who claimed that true German culture, was to be discovered among the
common people.

ROLE OF LANGUAGE: Language too played an important role in developing nationalist

sentiment. National feeling was kept alive in Poland through music and language. E.g. Karol
Kurpinsski celebrated national struggles through his music and opera.

After Russian occupation, the polish language was forced out of schools and the Russian
language was imposed everywhere. Many members of clergy in Poland began to use language
as a weapon of national resistance. The use of polish was a struggle against Russian dominance.

THE REVOLUTION OF 1848

Social and Economic conditions in Europe

 Enormous increase in population all over Europe

 More seekers of job than employment

 Overcrowded slums in cities due to migration

 Small producers faced stiff competitions from import of cheap machine made goods
from England where industrialization was more advanced

 Aristocracy enjoyed power and peasants struggled under the burden of feudal dues and
obligations

 Bad harvest and rise of food prices led to wide spread pauperism

REVOLUTION IN FRANCE (FEBRUARY 1848)- Hunger , Hardship and Popular Revolt

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 Food shortage and widespread unemployment brought the population of Paris out on
the roads

 Louis Philippe was forced to flee

 National assembly proclaimed a republic

 It granted suffrage to all adult males above 21

 Guaranteed the right to work

*National workshops to provide employment were set up

REVOLT OF WEAVERS IN SILESIA: In 1845, weavers of Silesia had a revolt against contractors.
The weavers supplied them raw materials and gave them orders for finished textiles. But the
contractors drastically reduced payments. On June 4th a large crowd of weavers marched in
pairs up to the mansion of the contractor demanding higher wage. He was forced to flee

REVOLUTIONS OF THE LIBERALS:

Parallel to the revolt of the poor, peasants and workers, a revolution led by the educated
middle classes started in many European countries in 1848. Men and women of the liberal
middle classes combined their demands for constitutionalism with national unification. They
demanded for the creation of a nation state on parliamentary principles- a constitution,
freedom of the press and freedom of association.

Frankfurt Parliament:
A large number of middle class professionals and liberals came together in the city of
Frankfurt and decided to vote for an all-German national assembly. On 18th may, 1848,
all elected representatives marched in a festive procession to take their places in the
Frankfurt parliament convened in the church of St.Paul. They drafted a constitution for a
German nation to be headed by a monarchy subject to a parliament. They had offered
the crown of Germany to the King of Prussia. He rejected the offer and joined other
monarchs to oppose the assembly. The aristocracy and military strongly opposed the
parliament. They, also, lost the support of workers and artisans as the Parliament was
dominated by the middle classes who resisted the demands of workers.

Role of Women in the Liberal Movement:

Large numbers of women had participated actively.
Women had formed their own political associations, founded newspapers and taken part in
political meetings and demonstrations.
Despite this they were denied suffrage rights during the election of the Assembly.
The issue of extending political rights to women was a controversial one within the liberal

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movement. Women were admitted only as observers to stand in the visitors’ gallery of the
Frankfurt Parliament

Results of the Revolt 1848:

 Conservatives failed to restore the old order.

They realized the need of granting concessions to be liberal nationalist.
Abolished serfdom bonded labour.
Austria granted more autonomy to the Hungarians

The Making of Germany and Italy

Nationalist sentiments were often mobilized by conservatives for promoting state power and
achieving political domination over Europe

UNIFICATION OF GERMANY

Nationalist feelings were widespread among the middle class Germans .They tried to unite the
different regions of the German confederation into a nation state governed by elected
parliament. This liberal initiative to nation-building was repressed by the combined forces of
the monarchy and the military, supported by the large landowners (called Junkers) of Prussia

EFFORTS OF FRANKFURT PARLIAMENT:

Frankfurt Parliament offered the throne of Germany to the King of Prussia with an intention of
making a unified country. But the King turned a deaf ear.

UNIFICATION UNDER PRUSSIA

Prussia’s chief minister Otto Von Bismarck was the chief architect of the unification of
Germany. He carried out the process with help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy. He
followed a policy of the blood and iron .He carried out 3 wars over 7 years to unify Germany.
William I, King Prussia was proclaimed the king of united Germany at Hall of Mirrors in the
Palace of Versailles on 18 January 1871.

UNIFICATION OF ITALY

Like Germany Italy was to a divided house. Italians were scattered over dynastic states. During
the middle of the 19th century Sardinia-Piedmont was the only one state ruled by an Italian
princely house. The north was under Austria, the centre was ruled by pope and the southern
provinces were under the domination of Spain

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REVOLUTIONARY UPRISINGS UNDER MAZZINI:

Giuseppe Mazzini had sought to put together a coherent program for a unitary Italian republic.
He had also formed a secret society called ‘Young Italy’ to achieve his goal .But they were
suppressed

UNIFICATION UNDER SARDINIA-PIEDMONT :

King Victor Emmanuelle II of Sardinia took the leadership to unify the Italian States. his Chief
Minister Count Cavour had played a pivotal role in the unification of Italy Through a tactful
diplomatic alliance with France , Sardinia defeated Austrian forces freed all northern states

ROLE OF GARIBALDI

A large number of armed volunteers under the leadership of Garibaldi joined the fray. In 1860,
they marched to dive out the Spanish rulers. In 1861, Victor Emmanuelle II was proclaimed king
of United Italy

BRITAIN AS A NATION

Great Britain was considered as the model of the nation or the nation-state. The formation of
Britain as a nation was the result of long drawn out process. There were no British prior to the
18th century. The people who inhabited the British Isles were English, Welsh, Scot or Irish. All of
these ethnic groups had their own cultural and political traditions. The English nation steadily
grew in wealth, importance and power. The English parliament had seized power from the
monarchy in 1688 after the Glorious revolution. The Act of Union (1707) between England and
Scotland that had resulted in the formation of ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain. The British
Parliament henceforth dominated by its members from England. Scotland’s distinctive culture
and political institutions were systematically suppressed.

Ireland was a country deeply divided between Catholic and Protestants. In 1798, a revolt was
Wolfe Tone and his force (United Irishmen) was suppressed. Ireland was forcibly in cooperated
in to the United Kingdom. The symbols of the New Britain-the British flag (Union Jack), the
national anthem (god save our noble king) and English language-were actively promoted.
Visualising the Nation.

In the 18th and 19th centuries countries were personified. Nations were portrayed as female
figures-the female figure became allegory of the nation. The French revolutionaries used the
female allegory to portray ideas such as liberty, justice etc.’ Germania’ became the allegory of
the German nation. In France, statues of Marianne’ were erected in Public Square to remind
the public of the national symbol of unity.

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Nationalism and Imperialism.

The major European powers manipulated the nationalist aspirations of the people to further
their imperialist aims.
Balkan crisis.
The Balkan was a region comprising of Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Greece, Croatia, Bosnia,
Slovenia etc and whose inhabitants were known as Slavs. A large part of the Balkans was under
the control of Ottoman Empire. The spread of the ideas of romantic nationalist in the Balkans
together with disintegration of the Ottoman Empire made the region very explosive. Balkan
countries one by one broke away from the Control Ottoman and declared their independence.

The claim for independence and political rights by the Balkan people was based on Nationality.
As the different Slavic nationalities struggled to define their identity and independence the
Balkan area became an area of intense conflicts. The internal rivalries made Balkan state
destruct and fear. Appearance of big powers on the scene for trade and colonialism made
matters worse. Russia, Germany, England and Austria –Hungary wanted to gain control of the
Balkan region causing a war. This led to a series of wars in the region and finally the First World
War.
The anti-imperial movements that developed everywhere were nationalist, in the sense that they
all struggled to form independent nation-states, and were inspired by a sense of collective
national unity, forged in confrontation with imperialism. European ideas of nationalism were
nowhere replicated, for people everywhere developed their own specific variety of nationalism.
But the idea that societies should be organised into ‘nation-states’ came to be accepted as natural
and universal.

1. Explain the significance of the Frankfurt parliament of 1848.

2. Why is 1848 revolution regarded as the revolution of the liberals?

3. Describe the impact of Napoleonic reforms on the rest of Europe

4. How was the history of the development of nationalism in England different from
the nationalist movement s of the rest of Europe? OR Describe the role played by
liberals in opposing conservatism after 1815.

5. Prove, giving evidence that Habsburg empire was a patch work of many regions and
peoples

6. Analyse the role played by middle classes in the making of new nations.

7. Prove that language played an important role in the rise of nationalism in European
countries.
What were the changes brought about by the congress of Vienna 1815?

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8. What is meant by romanticism? Explain the role played by romanticist cultural

movement in the rise of nationalism in Europe?

9. Bring out the features of the nationalist movements in Europe in the 19 th century.

10. What is meant by Zollverein? How did economic measures accelerate the unification
processes in Germany?

11. Describe the impact of July Revolution on the rest of Europe

12. ‘Emergence of England as a nation state was the result of a long drawn process’-
Explain

13. How did culture play an important role in creating the idea of the nation in Europe?
Explain with examples.

14. Discus obstacles in the way of Italian unification.

15. What were the significant aspects of the nation states in the early 19th century?

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