The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

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Nationalism

• Nationalism is a feeling of belonging and loyalty that causes people to think of themselves as a nation.

• During the 19^th Century, nationalism was a powerful force that could :
  • Create a nation from several different states or countries. Examples are Italy and Germany.
  • Break a nation into many countries. Examples are Austria-Hungary and Turkey.

Sorrieu’s Utopian Vision

• Frederic Sorrieu was a French Artist. In 1848 he visualised his dream of a ‘world made of democratic and socialist republics’ in his painting.  

• The painting shows people of Europe and Americas forming a long line and paying homage to the statue of Liberty as they pass it by. The nations are represented by their flags. 

• This painting is also known as Sorrieu’s Utopian Vision. The people of the world are grouped as distinct nations which are represented by their flags.

European Society

• The Upper Class
  • The people who owned land were aristocrats and they were the dominant group of the society.
  • They owned large estates and townhomes.
  • They had the same kind of lifestyle.
  • They made connections through marriage alliances and marriage ties.
  • Most of them spoke French. 
• The Lower Class
  • Majority of the people were peasants.
  • Most of them were landless and worked as serfs

The French Revolution 

• The first clear expression of nationalism came from the French Revolution in 1789.
• France used to be a under the absolute control of the Monarch before 1789.
• Political and Constitutional changes led to the transfer of sovereignty from the monarch to the French people.

New Concepts

• The French revolution gave new ideas.
• The ideas of La Patrie (The Fatherland) and Le Citoyen (The Citizen) were revolutionary.
• The French tricolour, The National Assembly, The Hymn and Oaths and commemoration of martyrs gave a new meaning to nationalism.
• France set up a new form of Government, Administration was centralised and Laws were equal for everyone.
• They abolished internal duties and dues.
• Unform system of weights and measures was introduced and use of Parisian French became official.
• The rest of Europe however, had yet to experience the wave of Nationalism.

French Impact On Europe

• Students in different countries across Europe started setting up Jacobin Clubs.
• These clubs helped the French to Invade their countries.
• A mission to liberate European nations from Despotism began.

The Napoleonic Code

• Monarchy returned to France when Napoleon took over the throne in 1804.
• Administrative divisions simplified. Common national currency was adopted.
• Privileges based on birth were removed.
• Equality before law and Right to Property were enforced.
• Abolished Feudal system by freeing peasants from serfdom and manorial duties.
• Guild restrictions in towns were removed.
• Improvements were done in transport and communication systems.
• Uniform Laws, system of weights and measures were released and enacted nationwide.

Hatred Against Napoleon

• People of Europe lost political freedom, this made them hate Napoleon’s rule and France.
• Taxes had been increased, which made it burden some for European people.
• News and views were censored by the government, this had an adverse effect on the image of napoleon.
• People of different states, which were conquered by Napoleon were forced to Fight for France in wars. They were forcefully recruited in the army. 

European State Affairs

• 1797 Napoleon invades Italy; Napoleonic wars begin. 
• 1814-1815 Fall of Napoleon; the Vienna Peace Settlement.
• 1821 Greek struggle for independence begins. 1848 Revolutions in Europe; artisans, industrial workers and peasants revolt against economic hardships; middle classes demand constitutions and representative governments; Italians, Germans, Magyars, Poles, Czechs, etc. demand nation-states.
• 1859-1870 Unification of Italy.
• 1866-1871 Unification of Germany.
• 1905 Slav nationalism gathers force in the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires.

Aristocracy and New Middle Class

• Socially and politically, Aristocracy was the dominant class in the society. 
• They owned estates in the countryside and also owned town-houses. 
• They spoke French for purposes of diplomacy and in high society.
• Their families were often connected by marital ties.
• This was a small group of people, most of the population were peasants.
• he majority population of Europe were peasants.
• In the west, a large chunk of land was tilled by tenants and small owners.
• In Eastern Europe, the vast estates were cultivated by serfs.
• Due to industrialisation, a new group of people emerged. Industrialists, Businessmen, Professionals etc. these people were the new middle class people.

What was Liberal Nationalism?

Liberal Nationalism

• The term Liberalism derives from the Latin word liber  which means free.
• For the new middle class, it stood for freedom for the individual and equality before law.
• Politically, it emphasized on government by consent.
• Nineteenth century liberals also stressed for inviolability of private property.
• However, equality before law doesn’t mean universal suffrage. 
• Women and non-propertied men had no right to vote. 
• Napoleonic code reduced women from passive citizen to minors.
• Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries women and non-propertied men organized opposition movements demanding equal political rights

Conservatism After 1815

• Napoleon was defeated, the conservatives in Europe saw this as a chance to re-establish monarchy.
• Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria entered a treaty called “the Treaty of Vienna” in 1815.
• Their main motive was to undo the changes made by Napoleon and restore monarchy.

The Vienna Treaty

Return of Monarchies

• After the treaty of Vienna, Bourbon dynasty was restored in France by the conservatives.
• In many neighbouring countries, monarchs were re-established which were overthrown by Napoleon.
• German confederation of 39 states that had been set up by Napoleon was left untouched.
• The main intention of doing this was to set up a new conservative order in Europe.
• The new regimes did not tolerate criticism and dissent.
• Most of them imposed censorship laws that forbid the spread of Ideas of the French revolution. 

The Revolutionaries

• Due to the return of monarchies, many liberals went underground.
• Secret societies were formed to fight and acquire freedom and equality.
• The revolutionaries wanted to establish nation-states.

Giuseppe Mazzini

• He was an Italian Revolutionary
• A member of Carbonary, he also was the founder of Young Italy and Young Europe.
• He believed that God intended nations to be the natural units of mankind
• Conservatives often described him as “the most dangerous enemy of any conservative social order.”

The Age of Revolutions(1830-1848)

• Constitutional Monarchy returned to France under Louis Philippe in 1830, after the July revolution.
• This was the end of Conservatism and return of liberalism.
• Soon, following the example of France, Belgium obtained its freedom from Netherlands.
• The Greek revolution began in 1821, with the support of exiled Greeks, Western European Nations and other groups. Greece was then a part of Ottoman Turkey. Greece obtained its independence in 1832 after signing the Treaty of Constantinople. 

Romanticism and Nationalism

• Romanticism was a cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of nationalist sentiment. 

• It criticised the glorification of reason and science and focused on emotions intuition and mystical feelings.

• Their effort was to create a sense of a shared collective heritage, a common cultural past, as the basis of a nation.

• Johann Gottfried Herder gave the ideas of Das volk and Volkgeist  in Germany.

• The Grimm Brothers collected German Folk tales.

• The Polish movements kept alive Polish Nationalist feelings through ethnic dances, music, poetry and folk dances while under Russian rule.

Hunger, Hardship and Revolt

• Great economic hardship befell Europe in the 1830s.
• There was an enormous growth in population in the first half of the 19^thcentury.
• People migrated from villages to cities, which created a job shortage.
• There was a stiff competition between hand made goods and machine made goods.
• Peasants were burdened with feudal dues in the countryside and aristocracy enjoyed power.
• The rise of food prices and bad harvest spread poverty across the streets.
• Peasants and weavers revolted and this forced Louis Philippe to flee.

Revolution of the Liberals-1848

• French monarchy was again uprooted in 1848 after a revolt and Republic was established.
• There was a demand for constitutionalism and National Unification.
• In Germany, the commoners decided to vote for an All German National Assembly.
• Franckfurt Parliament was organised in Church of St. Paul, a constitution was drafted which made provisions for a nation headed by a monarchy which was subjected to the constitution.
• The Parliament offered the crown to Friedrich Wilhelm IV, He rejected the offer and joined the other monarchs to oppose the parliament.
• The social base of the parliament shifted to middle class dominance.
• It lost the support of workers and artisans.
• Women also started forming political associations and demanded political rights.
• Conservative forces tried to suppress the Liberals.
• Fearing a further revolution, the monarchs introduced some changes.
• Serfdom and bonded labour were abolished.

Unification of Germany

• In May 1848, the liberal attempt to set up a constitutional monarchy was suppressed by monarch military.
• After the failure of German National Assembly, the Prussian Chief Otto Von Bismarck took the job of German unification in his hands. 
• Three wars which lasted 7 years against Austria, Denmark and France completed German unification.
• Prussian Emperor, Kaiser William – I became the king of United Germany.
• Currency banking and Judicial Systems were legalized.

Unification of Italy

• Italy was divided in 7 states of which only one, Sardinia – Piedmont was ruled by an Italian dynasty.
• Ideas of Italian unification was first given by Giuseppe Mazzini through his Secret Society called Young Italy.
• After his failed revolutions in 1831 and 1848 , the lead was taken by the King of Sardinia , Victor Emmanuel -II. 
• Chief Minister of Sardinia, Count Cavour led the unification process by diplomatic alliance with France to defeat Austria and unify its northern territories. 
• In the southern part, Giuseppe Garibaldi led the movement by involving local peasant support to drive out the Spanish rulers. 
• With the help of many revolts, the process of unification was completed with the crowning of Victor Emmanuel-II as king of Italy in 1861. 

The Strange case of Britain

• There was no British nation before 18^th century.
• Ethnic groups like English, Welsh, Scots were living in the British Isles, they had their own cultural and political traditions.
• The English parliament took over monarchy in 1688.
• The act of union between England and Scotland resulted in the formation of United Kingdom of Great Britain.
• The British Parliament was dominated by the British, this made the majority suppress the culture and traditions of Scotland.
• Ireland suffered the same fate, it was a state deeply divided between Catholics and Protestants.
• The English helped the Protestants to gain an upper hand over the Catholics in a Catholic country.
• Catholic revolts against the British were suppressed.
• In 1801, Ireland was also forcibly included into the Kingdom of Britain.

Visualizing a Nation

• Nations began to be portrayed as female figures known as Allegory.
• Ideas like Liberty, Justice and Republic were too personified as female figures.
• Allegories were erected at town squares to symbolize national unity.
• Coins and stamps too carried their images.
• Marianne represented France while Germania represented Germany.

The Balkan Issue

• Balkans become the source of Nationalist Tension in Europe after 1871
• It also was region of ethnic and political diversity.
• Majority population were slaves, this region was controlled by the Ottoman Empire.
• Ideals of Nationalism swept over the Balkan Region.
• One by one, different nations declared their independence after many struggles.
• It became an area of constant conflicts and later became the reason for First World war.
• Each state in the Balkan region was ready to sacrifice others in order to expand its own influence.
• During this period, there was intense power struggle between European nations, They were struggling to prove their trade & military might over the others.
• Countries like Russia , Germany, England, Austria-Hungary, extended their control over Balkan Area.