Chapter-1

The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

Frederic Sorrieu’ dream on Nationalism

1. In 1848, FrédéricSorrieu, a French artist, prepared a series of four prints visualising his
dream of a world made up of ‘democratic and social Republics’.
2. It shows the peoples of Europe and America marching in a long train, and offering homage
to the statue of Liberty as they pass by it.
3. On the earth in the foreground of the image lie the shattered remains of the symbols
of absolutistinstitutions.
4. United States and Switzerland, which by this time were already nation-states. France has just
reached the statue.
5. Following the French people, peoples of Germany, Austria, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies,
Lombardy, Poland, England, Ireland, Hungary and Russia are marching in the long train.
From the heavens above, Christ, saints and angels gaze upon the scene.

Nation-state

Nation-statewas one in which the majority of itscitizenscame to develop a sense of

commonidentity and shared history or descent.

The French revolutionariesintroduced various measures and practices thatcould create

a sense of collective identity amongstthe French people.

1. The ideas of la patrie(thefatherland) and le citoyen(the citizen) emphasized the notion of a

united community enjoying equal rights under a new constitution.
2. A new French flag, the tricolour, was chosen to replacethe former royal standard.
3. The Estates General was renamed as the National Assembly and its members were elected by
thebody of active citizens.
4. New hymnwas composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated, all in the name of the
nation. (Marseillaise,composed by the poet Roget de L Isle was sung
for the first time byvolunteers from Marseillesas they marched
into Paris and so got itsname. The Marseillaise is now the national
anthem of France)
5. A centralized administrative systemwas put in place and it formulated uniform laws for all
citizenswithin its territory.
6. Internal customs duties and dues were abolishedand a uniform system of weights and
measures was adopted.
7. Regional dialects were discouraged and French, as it was spokenand written in Paris, became
the National language of the nation.

Napoleon introduced various reforms in France

1. Napoleon had, no doubt, destroyed democracy in France and reintroduced Monarchy.

2. Inthe administrative field he had incorporated revolutionary principlesin order to make the
whole system more rational and efficient.
3. TheCivil Code of 1804 – usually known as the Napoleonic Code was introduced.
4. The Civil Code did away with all privileges based on birth.
5. The Civil Code established equality among all the citizens before the law and secured the
right to property.

Napoleon introduced various reforms in of territory that came under his control

1. TheCivil Code of 1804 – usually known as the Napoleonic Code –did away with all
privileges based on birth, established equalitybefore the law and secured the right to property.
This Code wasexported to the regions under French control.
2. In Dutch Republic,Switzerland, Italy and Germany, Napoleon simplifiedadministrative
divisions, abolished the feudal system and freedpeasants from serfdom and manorial dues.
3. In the towns guildrestrictions were removed. Transport and communication systemswere
improved.
4. Peasants, artisans, workers and new businessmenenjoyed a new-found freedom.
5. He introduced uniformlaws, standardised weights and measures, and a common
nationalcurrency would facilitate the movement and exchange of goodsand capital from one
region to another.

What were the reactions of the local populations to Napoleonic rule in the newly
captured territories?

1. Initially, in Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Poland, the French armies
were welcomed asharbingers of liberty.
2. But the initial enthusiasm soon turned to hostility,as it became clear that the new
administrative arrangements did notgo hand in hand with political freedom.
3. Because Napoleon increased taxation in these regions.
4. Napoleonintroduced censorship
5. Napoleonintroduced forced recruitment of people into the French armies which required
conquering the rest of Europe.

The Habsburg Empire that ruled over Austria-Hungary was a patchwork of many
different regions and peoples- Discuss

1. Austria-Hungary included the Alpine regions, Tyrol, Austria, Sudetenland and Bohemia
where the aristocracy was predominantly German-speaking.
2. Austria-Hungary alsoincluded the Italian-speaking provinces of Lombardy and Venetia.
3. In Hungary, half of the population spoke Magyar while the otherhalf spoke avariety of
dialects.
4. In Galicia, the aristocracy spokePolish.
5. Besides these three dominant groups, there also lived withinthe boundaries of the empire, a
mass of subject peasant peoples –Bohemians and Slovaks to the north, Slovenes in Carniola,
Croatsto the south, and Roumans to the east in Transylvania.
 How did nationalism and the idea of the nation-state emerge in Europe?

a) Growth of New Middle Class

1. In Western and parts of Central Europe the growth of industrialproduction and trade led to
the growth of towns and cities.
2. This led to the emergenceof commercial classes and new social groups such as middle
class. (middle classes made up of industrialists, businessmen, professionals)
3. In Central and Eastern Europe these groups were smaller in numbertill late nineteenth
century. It was among the educated, liberal middleclasses that ideas of national unity
following the abolition ofaristocratic privileges gained popularity.

b) Liberal Nationalism

1. The term ‘liberalism’ derivesfrom the Latin root liber, meaning free. For the new middle
classesliberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of allbefore the law.
2. Politically, liberalism emphasisedthe end of autocracy and clerical privileges, a constitution
andrepresentative government through parliament.
3. In the economic sphere, liberalism stood for the freedom of marketsand the abolition of
state-imposed restrictions on the movementof goods and capital.

c) New Conservatism

1. Conservatism – A political philosophy that stressed the importance of tradition, like

themonarchy, the Church, social hierarchies, property and the family – should be preserved
2. Following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, European governmentswere driven by a spirit
of conservatism. Most conservatives did not proposea return to the society of pre-
revolutionary days. Rather, they realized that from the changes initiated by Napoleon
(Modernization) we can strengthen traditional institutions like the monarchy.
3. Modernizationcouldmake state power more effective and strong. A modern army, anefficient
bureaucracy, a dynamic economy, the abolition of feudalismand serfdom could strengthen the
autocratic monarchies of Europe. This is called new Conservatism.

d) Changes introduced in Vienna Congress

1. In 1815, representatives of the European powers – Britain, Russia,Prussia and Austria – who
had collectively defeated Napoleon, metat Vienna to draw up a settlement for Europe. The
Congress washosted by the Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich.
2. The delegatesdrew up the Treaty of Vienna of 1815 with the object of undoingmost of the
changes that had come about in Europe during theNapoleonic wars.
3. The Bourbon dynasty, which had been deposedduring the French Revolution, was restored to
power, and Francelost the territories it had annexed under Napoleon.
4. A series of stateswere set up on the boundaries of France to prevent French expansionin
future. Thus the kingdom of the Netherlands, which includedBelgium, was set up in the north
and Genoa was added to Piedmontin the south. Prussia was given important new territories
on its westernfrontiers, while Austria was given control of northern Italy.
5. But theGerman confederation of 39 states that had been set up by Napoleonwas left
untouched. In the east, Russia was given part of Polandwhile Prussia was given a portion of
Saxony.

e) The Revolutionaries

1. After 1815, the fear of repression drove manyliberal-nationalists underground. Secret

societies sprang up in manyEuropean states to train revolutionaries and spread their ideas.
2. Tobe a revolutionary one has to have a commitment to oppose monarchical forms, fight for
liberty and freedom. Most of theserevolutionaries also saw the creation of nation-states as a
necessarypart of this struggle for freedom.
3. Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini was born in Genoa in 1807and became a member of
the secret societyof the Carbonari. As a young man of 24, he was sent into exile in1831 for
attempting a revolution in Liguria.
4. He subsequently foundedtwo more underground societies, first, Young Italy
inMarseilles,and Young Europe in Berne, whose members were like-mindedyoung men
from Poland, France, Italy and the German states.
5. Mazzini believed that Italy had to be forged into a single unifiedrepublic and this unification
alonecould be the basis of Italian liberty. Metternichdescribed him as ‘the most dangerous
enemy of our social order’.

Period from1830-1848 was described as the Age of Revolutions

1. The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830. The Bourbonkings, who had been
restored to power during the conservativereaction after 1815, were now overthrown by liberal
revolutionarieswho installed a constitutional monarchy with Louis Philippe at itshead.
2. The July Revolution of France sparked an uprising inBrussels which led toBelgium breaking
away from the UnitedKingdom of the Netherlands.
3. Greece hadbeen part of the Ottoman Empire since the fifteenth century. Thegrowth of
revolutionary nationalism in Europe sparked off a strugglefor independence in
1821.Nationalists in Greece got support from other Greeks living in exileand also from many
West Europeans. Finally, the Treaty of Constantinople of 1832recognized Greece as an
independent nation.
4. In 1848 food shortages and widespreadunemployment brought the population of Paris out on
the roads.Louis Philippe was forced to flee. ANational Assembly proclaimed a Republic,
granted suffrage to alladult males above 21, and guaranteed the right to work. France became
a republic.
5. Earlier, in 1845, weavers in Silesia had led a revolt against contractorswho supplied them
raw material and gave them orders for finishedtextiles but drastically reduced their payments.

The Romantic Imagination and National Feeling( Role of culture for the
growth of Nationalism in Europe)
1. Romanticism, a cultural movement in which culture played an important role increating the
idea of the nation. Such as art, poetry, stories and musichelped express and shape nationalist
feelings.
2. Romantics such as the German philosopher Johann GottfriedHerder claimed that true
German culture was to bediscovered among the common people throughfolk songs, folk
poetry and folk dances that the true spirit of thenation was popularized. So collecting and
recording theseforms of folk culture was essential to the project of nation-building.
3. Romantics of Polandemphasized on vernacular language and the collection of localfolklore
to recover an ancient national spirit. National feelings were keptalive through music and
language in Poland.
4. Karol Kurpinskicelebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turningfolk
dances like the polonaise and mazurka into nationalist symbols.Language too played an
important role in developing nationalistsentiments.
5. After Russian occupation, the Polish language was forcedout of schools and the Russian
language was imposed everywhere.In 1831, an armed rebellion against Russian rule took
place. Following this, Polish was used for Church gatherings and all religious instruction.The
use of Polish came to be seen as asymbol of the struggle against Russian dominance.

Silesian Revolt (The journalist Wilhelm Wolff described the events in a Silesian village
as follows)

1. In Silesian village cotton weaving is the most widespread occupation. The misery of the
workers isextreme. The contractors reduced the prices of the goods they order.
2. On 4 June 1845 a large crowd of weavers emerged fromtheir homes and marched in pairs up
to the mansion of theircontractor demanding higher wages. They were treated withscorn and
threats alternately.
3. Following this, a group of themforced their way into the house, smashed its elegant
windowpanes,furniture, porcelain … another group broke into thestorehouse and plundered it
of supplies of cloth which they tore to shreds.
4. The contractor fled with his family to aneighbouring village which, however, refused to
shelter such aperson.
5. He returned 24 hours later having requisitioned the army.In the exchange that followed,
eleven weavers were shot dead.

1848 was described as the Revolution of the Liberals

1. In 1848 food shortages and widespreadunemployment brought the population of Paris out on
the roads.Louis Philippe was forced to flee. ANational Assembly proclaimed a Republic,
granted suffrage to alladult males above 21, and guaranteed the right to work. France became
a republic.
2. In Germany, Italy, Poland, the Austro-HungarianEmpire – men and women of the liberal
middle classes combinedtheir demands for the creation of a nation-state on
parliamentaryprinciples – a constitution, freedom of the press and freedomof
association.
3. On 18 May 1848,831 elected representatives of German Confederation marched in a
festive procession to taketheir places in the Frankfurt parliament convened in the Church ofSt
 Paul. They drafted a constitution for a German nation to beheaded by a monarchy subject to a
parliament.
4. When the deputiesoffered the crown on these terms to Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King ofPrussia,
he rejected it and joined other monarchs to oppose theelected assembly.
5. Women had formed theirown political associations, founded newspapers and taken part
inpolitical meetings and demonstrations. After 1848, the autocraticmonarchies of Central and
Eastern Europe began to introduce some changes like abolition of serfdom, bonded labouretc.

Unification of Germany

1. In 1848Germans tried to unitethe different regions of the German confederation into a

nation-stategoverned by an elected parliament. This liberal initiative to nation-buildingwas,
however, repressed by the combined forces of the monarchy andthe military, supported by
the large landowners (called Junkers) of Prussia.
2. Prussia’s chief minister, Otto vonBismarck, was the architect of unification process the help
of the Prussian army andbureaucracy.
3. Three wars over seven years – withAustria, Denmark and France – ended in Prussianvictory
and completed the process of unification.
4. In January 1871, the Prussian king, William I,was proclaimed German Emperor in a
ceremonyheld at Versailles.
5. The nation-building process in Germany haddemonstrated the dominance of Prussian
statepower. The new state placed a strong emphasison modernising the currency, banking,
legaland judicial systems in Germany. Prussianmeasures and practices often became a model
forthe rest of Germany.

Unification of Italy

1. Italy was divided into seven states, of whichonly one, Sardinia-Piedmont, was ruled by an
Italian princely house.The north was under Austrian Habsburgs, the centre was ruled bythe
Pope and the southern regions were under the dominationof the Bourbon kings of Spain.
2. During the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini formed a secret society called Young Italy and
organized two revolutions for the unification of Italy but failed.
3. Sardinia-Piedmont underits ruler King Victor Emmanuel II took initiative to unify the Italian
states throughwar. Cavour, the Chief Minister of Sardinia-Piedmont led the movement to
unify the regionsof Italy was neither a revolutionary nor a democrat.
4. Through a tactful diplomaticalliance with France engineered by Cavour, Sardinia-
Piedmontsucceeded in defeating the Austrian forces in 1859 and captured north.
5. Apart from regulartroops, a large number of armed volunteers under the leadership
ofGiuseppe Garibaldi joined the fray. In 1860, they marched into SouthItaly and the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and succeeded in winningthe support of the local peasants in
order to drive out the Spanishrulers. In 1861 Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of
unitedItaly.

Unification of Britain and its strange way for unification

1. There was no British nationprior to the eighteenth century. The primary identities of the
peoplewho inhabited the British Islands were ethnic ones – such as English,Welsh, Scot or
Irish. All of these ethnic groups had their own culturaland political traditions. But the English
nation was wealthy and powerful.
2. The English parliament, whichhad seized power from the monarchy in 1688 at the end of
aprotracted conflict, was the instrument through which a nation-state,with England at its
centre, came to be forged.
3. The Act of Union(1707) between England and Scotland that resulted in the formationof the
‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’. England was able to impose its influence on Scotland.
English members dominated the Britishparliament, Scotland’s distinctive cultureand political
institutions were systematically suppressed, Catholicclans of Scottish Highlands suffered
terrible repression, ScottishHighlanders were forbidden to speak their Gaelic language or
wear their national dress and large numbers were forcibly drivenout of their homeland.
4. Ireland suffered a similar fate. It was a country deeply dividedbetween Catholics and
Protestants. The English helped the Protestantsof Ireland to establish their dominance over a
largely Catholic country.Catholic revolts against British dominance were suppressed.
5. After afailed revolt led by Wolfe Tone and his United Irishmen (1798),Ireland was forcibly
incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801.A new ‘British nation’ was forged through the
propagation of adominant English culture. The British flag,the national anthem, the English
language – were actively promoted and the oldernations survived only as subordinate partners
in this union.

Visualizing or personifying the Nation

1. Artists inthe 18th and 19thcenturies found a way out bypersonifying a nationas female
figures.The female form that was chosen to personify the nation did notstand for any
particular woman in real life.This femalefigure became anallegory (symbol)of the nation.
2. During the French Revolution artists used thefemale allegory to portray ideas such
as Liberty, Justice and theRepublic. These ideals were represented through specific objects
orsymbols.
3. The attributes of Liberty are thered cap, or the broken chain, while Justice is generally a
blindfoldedwoman carrying a pair of weighing scales.Similar female allegories were invented
by artists in the nineteenthcentury to represent the nation.
4. In France female allegory was Marianne, a popular Christian name, which underlined the
idea of apeople’s nation. Statuesof Marianne were erected in public squares to remind the
public ofthe national symbol of unity and to persuade them to identify withit. Marianne
images were marked on coins and stamps.
5. Germania became the allegory of the German nation. Invisual representations, Germania
wears a crown of oak leaves, asthe German oak stands for heroism.

Balkans became the most serious source of nationalist tension in Europe

after 1871 (OR) Nationalism, aligned with imperialism, led Europe to
disaster in 1914
1. The Balkans was a region comprising modern-day Romania,Bulgaria, Albania, Greece,
Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina,Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro whose
inhabitants were broadlyknown as the Slavs.
2. A large part of the Balkans was under the controlof the Ottoman Empire. The spread of the
ideas of romanticnationalism in the Balkans together with the disintegration of theOttoman
Empire made this region very explosive.
3. As the different Slavic nationalities struggled to define their identityand independence, the
Balkan area became an area of intense conflict.The Balkan states were fiercely jealous of
each other and each hopedto gain more territory at the expense of the others.

4. Matters werefurther complicated because the big European powers ( Russia, Germany,
France, Britain and Austria- Hungary)had rivalry over trade and colonies as well as naval
andmilitary might and to hold power over the Balkans and extending their control over the
area.
5. Thisled to a series of wars in the region and finally the First World War.Nationalism, aligned
with imperialism, led Europe to disaster in 1914.