The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

Social Science | Class 10

The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

1. The French Revolution and the Idea of the Nation

Introduction: Frederic Sorrieu’s Utopian Vision

In 1848, a French artist named Frederic Sorrieu created four special prints.
He imagined a world with “Democratic and Social Republics”. This was his utopian vision, an ideal society that was unlikely to exist in reality.
His first print showed people from Europe and America, both men and women, of all ages and social classes.
They were marching in a long line, honoring the Statue of Liberty.
The Statue of Liberty held the torch of Enlightenment in one hand and the Charter of the Rights of Man in the other. This symbolized freedom and human rights.
At that time, USA and Switzerland were already independent nation-states and were leading the procession.
Many other European nations, like Germany, Austria, and Poland, were still behind, hoping to become free.
Sorrieu’s vision was “utopian” because, in reality, most of these nations were still part of empires. Also, women and many others did not have voting rights or full equality, even after revolutions.

The French Revolution in 1789

The French Revolution in 1789 was the first clear expression of nationalism.
It marked a big change: power moved from the King (monarchy) to the French citizens.

Steps taken to bring a sense of Collective Identity:

Revolutionaries promoted ideas like “la patrie” (the fatherland) and “le citoyen” (the citizen). These ideas emphasized a united community where everyone had equal rights under a constitution.
A new French flag, the tricolour, replaced the old royal flag.
The Estates General, which was an old assembly, was elected by citizens and renamed the National Assembly.
New songs (hymns) were composed, people took oaths, and martyrs (heroes who died for the nation) were remembered, all for the nation.
A centralized administrative system was set up, creating uniform laws for all citizens.
Internal customs duties and taxes were removed, making trade easier within France.
A uniform system of weights and measures was adopted, bringing consistency.
Regional dialects were discouraged, and French, as spoken in Paris, became the common language of the nation.

Objective and Effect of the French Revolution in Europe:

The French revolutionaries declared their mission was to liberate the peoples of Europe from oppressive rulers (despotism).
They wanted to help other European peoples become nations.
As a result, Jacobin clubs (political groups) started forming across Europe.
French armies carried the idea of nationalism abroad as they moved into places like Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy in the 1790s.

Napoleon Controls France

Napoleon ended democracy in France by returning to a monarchy.
However, he made the administrative system more rational and efficient by introducing revolutionary principles.

Napoleonic Code or Civil Code of 1804:

This code abolished all privileges based on birth.
It established equality before the law.
It secured the right to property.
Napoleon also simplified administrative divisions and abolished the feudal system.
He freed peasants from serfdom (being tied to the land) and manorial dues (payments to landlords).
In towns, guild restrictions (rules by trade associations that limited entry) were removed.
Transport and communication systems were improved.
Peasants, artisans, workers, and new businessmen enjoyed a new sense of freedom.

Reaction of People to French Rule:

Initially, in many places like Holland, Switzerland, Brussels, Mainz, Milan, and Warsaw, the French armies were welcomed as “harbingers of liberty” (bringers of freedom).
But this early enthusiasm quickly turned into hostility.
People realized that the new administrative changes did not come with political freedom.
Things like increased taxation, censorship (controlling information), and forced conscription (being forced into the French army) for Napoleon’s conquests seemed to outweigh the benefits of his reforms.

2. The Making of Nationalism in Europe

Europe before 19th Century:

Europe was not made of nation-states as we know them today. Instead, it was a mix of kingdoms, duchies, and cantons.

Habsburg Empire:

The Habsburg Empire ruled over Austria-Hungary.
It was a “patchwork” of many different regions and peoples.
It included German-speaking aristocrats in Alpine regions and Bohemia.
It also had Italian-speaking areas like Lombardy and Venetia.
In Hungary, half the population spoke Magyar, and the other half spoke various dialects.
The aristocracy in Galicia spoke Polish.
Beneath these groups, there was a large population of subject peasant peoples.

The Aristocracy and the New Middle Class

Aristocratic Class:

This class was socially and politically dominant across Europe.
They had a common way of life, owning estates in the countryside and townhouses.
They often spoke French for diplomacy and in high society.
Their families were connected through marriages.
However, this powerful group was small in number.
Most of the population was peasantry. In Western Europe, land was farmed by tenants and small owners, but in Eastern and Central Europe, vast estates were cultivated by serfs (peasants tied to the land).

New Middle Class:

The Industrial Revolution led to the growth of towns and the rise of commercial classes.
This led to the emergence of a working-class and middle classes.
These new middle classes included industrialists, businessmen, and professionals.
It was among these educated, liberal middle classes that ideas of national unity became popular. They wanted to abolish aristocratic privileges.

What did Liberal Nationalism stand for?

The word ‘Liberal’ comes from Latin ‘liber’, meaning ‘free’.
For the new middle classes, liberalism meant freedom for the individual and equality before the law.

Liberalism in the Political Sphere:

It stressed the concept of government by consent, meaning the government should rule with the people’s agreement.
Since the French Revolution, liberalism aimed to end autocracy (rule by one person) and clerical privileges (special rights for the clergy).
It demanded a constitution and representative government through a parliament.
Nineteenth-century liberals also emphasized the inviolability of private property.
However, “equality before the law” did not always mean universal suffrage (the right to vote for everyone). Voting rights were often limited to men who owned property.

Liberalism in the Economic Sphere:

The growing middle classes demanded freedom of markets.
They wanted to abolish state-imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital.
This was because there were many challenges, like differences in weights and measurements (e.g., ‘elle’ for cloth varied in length) and multiple currencies.
These conditions were seen as barriers to economic growth.
They demanded the creation of a unified economic territory.

Creation of Zollverein:

In 1834, a customs union called Zollverein was formed.
It was started by Prussia and joined by most German states.
The Zollverein abolished tariff barriers (taxes on goods moving between states).
It reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to just two.
The development of railways further boosted mobility and economic ties.
This wave of economic nationalism significantly strengthened broader nationalist feelings.

A New Conservatism after 1815

Defeat of Napoleon and Spirit of Conservatism:

After Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, a spirit of conservatism emerged.
Conservatives believed that traditional institutions like the monarchy, the Church, social hierarchies, property, and the family should be preserved.
Most conservatives, however, did not want to return to the pre-revolutionary era completely.
They believed that modernization (like a modern army, efficient bureaucracy, dynamic economy, and the abolition of feudalism/serfdom) could actually strengthen autocratic monarchies.

Treaty of Vienna (1815):

Representatives from the European powers who defeated Napoleon (Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria) met in Vienna.
The meeting was hosted by the Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich.
The main goal was to undo the changes Napoleon had made and restore the monarchies he had overthrown. This would create a new conservative order in Europe.

Changes under the Treaty of Vienna:

The Bourbon dynasty, which was removed during the French Revolution, was restored to power in France.
France lost the territories it had gained under Napoleon.
A series of “buffer” states were set up around France to prevent future French expansion. For example, the Kingdom of the Netherlands (including Belgium) was set up in the north, and Genoa was added to Piedmont in the south.
Prussia received important new territories on its western borders, and Austria gained control of northern Italy.
Russia was given part of Poland, and Prussia received a portion of Saxony.
The German confederation of 39 states, set up by Napoleon, was left untouched.

The New Conservative Regime:

The conservative regimes established after 1815 were autocratic (ruled by absolute power).
They did not tolerate criticism or dissent.
They tried to control activities that questioned their authority.
Most imposed censorship laws to control what was published in newspapers, books, plays, and songs, especially ideas related to liberty and freedom from the French Revolution.

The Revolutionaries:

The harsh conservative regimes forced many liberal nationalists underground.
Secret societies emerged in many European states to train revolutionaries and spread their ideas.
Revolutionaries were committed to opposing monarchical forms of government.
They fought for liberty and freedom.
Many of them also believed that creating nation-states was essential for this struggle for freedom.

Giuseppe Mazzini:

He was an Italian revolutionary, born in Genoa in 1807.
He joined the secret society of the Carbonari.
He was exiled in 1831 for attempting a revolution.
He then founded two more underground societies: Young Italy in Marseilles and Young Europe in Berne.
His main idea was that “God had intended nations to be the natural units of mankind”.
Mazzini believed Italy could not remain a collection of small states.
It had to be unified into a single republic as the basis for Italian liberty.
Duke Metternich, the Austrian Chancellor, famously called Mazzini “the most dangerous enemy of our social order” because of his revolutionary ideas.

3. The Age of Revolutions: 1830-1848

This period saw revolutions led by liberal nationalists.
These leaders were typically educated middle-class elites, including professors, schoolteachers, clerks, and businessmen.

July Revolution in France (1830):

The Bourbon kings, who were restored after 1815, were overthrown by liberal revolutionaries.
A constitutional monarchy was installed, with Louis Philippe as its head.
Duke Metternich famously remarked, “When France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches cold,” highlighting France’s influence on European politics.
This revolution sparked an uprising in Brussels, which led to Belgium breaking away from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Greek War of Independence (1821-1832):

This war significantly mobilized nationalist feelings among educated elites across Europe.
Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the fifteenth century.
A struggle for independence began in 1821.
Greek nationalists received support from Greeks living in exile and from West Europeans who admired ancient Greek culture.
Poets and artists celebrated Greece as the “cradle of European civilization”.
Lord Byron, an English poet, was a notable supporter; he organized funds and even fought in the war, dying of fever in 1824.
The Treaty of Constantinople in 1832 recognized Greece as an independent nation.

The Romantic Imagination and National Feeling:

Nationalism wasn’t just about wars; culture played a crucial role in creating the idea of the nation.
Art, poetry, stories, and music helped express and shape nationalist feelings.

Romanticism:

This was a cultural movement that focused on developing nationalist sentiments.
Romantic artists and poets generally criticized the glorification of reason and science.
Instead, they focused on emotions, intuition, and mystical feelings.
Their goal was to create a sense of shared collective heritage and a common cultural past as the foundation of a nation.

Johann Gottfried Herder:

He was a Romantic philosopher who argued that true German culture (das volk) could be found among the common people.
He believed that the true spirit of the nation (volksgeist) was popularized through folk songs, folk poetry, and folk dances.
Collecting and recording these forms of folk culture was essential for nation-building.

Impact of Local Folklore and Vernacular Language:

These elements were very important in recovering an ancient national spirit.
They helped to spread the modern nationalist message to many people, especially those who were illiterate.
Example of Poland: Poland was partitioned by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Russia forced the Polish language out of schools. An armed rebellion in 1831 was crushed. After this, Polish clergy began using the Polish language in Church gatherings and religious instruction as a weapon of national resistance. The use of Polish became a symbol of the struggle against Russian dominance.

Hunger, Hardship, and Popular Revolt (1830s-1848):

The 1830s were years of great economic hardship in Europe.
A large increase in population led to widespread unemployment, forcing people to migrate to cities, creating overcrowded slums.
Industrialization in England created competition; cheap machine-made goods from England harmed small producers, especially in the textile industry.
Rising food prices and bad harvests led to widespread pauperism (extreme poverty) in both towns and the countryside. Peasants in Eastern Europe were still burdened by feudal dues.

Revolts in France (1848):

In Paris, food shortages and widespread unemployment led the population to protest on the streets.
Barricades were erected, and King Louis Philippe was forced to flee.
A National Assembly was formed and proclaimed as a Republic.
This new Republic granted suffrage (the right to vote) to all adult males over 21.
It also guaranteed the right to work.

Revolt in Silesia (1845):

In a Silesian village, cotton weaving was the main occupation.
Weavers faced extreme misery as contractors took advantage of their desperate need for jobs by reducing the prices they paid for woven goods.
In June 1845, a large group of weavers marched to their contractor’s mansion, demanding higher wages.
They were treated with scorn, so they broke into the house, smashing windows and plundering cloth supplies.
The contractor fled but returned with the army, and eleven weavers were shot in the exchange.

1848: The Revolution of the Liberals:

The events of February 1848 in France, which resulted in a republic with universal male suffrage, influenced other parts of Europe.
In regions like Germany, Italy, Poland, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where independent nation-states didn’t exist, liberal middle classes demanded constitutionalism and national unification.
They pushed for nation-states based on parliamentary principles, with a constitution, freedom of the press, and freedom of association.

In the German Region (Frankfurt Parliament):

In Frankfurt, middle-class professionals, businessmen, and prosperous artisans gathered.
They voted for an All-German National Assembly.
On 18 May 1848, 831 elected representatives marched to the Church of St Paul to convene the Frankfurt Parliament.
They drafted a constitution for a unified German nation that would be headed by a monarch, but subject to a parliament.
However, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia, rejected the crown when it was offered on these terms. He joined other monarchs to oppose the elected assembly.
The parliament faced stronger opposition from the aristocracy and military.
The middle-class dominated the parliament and lost the support of workers and artisans by resisting their demands.
Eventually, troops were called in, and the assembly was forced to disband.

Political Rights for Women:

Many women actively participated in the liberal movements.
They formed their own political associations, started newspapers, and took part in meetings and demonstrations.
Despite their active participation, women were denied suffrage rights during the elections for the Assembly.
When the Frankfurt Parliament met, women were only allowed as observers in the visitors’ gallery.
After 1848, autocratic monarchies in Central and Eastern Europe introduced reforms, like the abolition of serfdom and bonded labor, to prevent further revolutions. For example, Hungarians were granted more autonomy in 1867.

4. The Making of Germany and Italy

Germany – Can the Army be the Architect of a Nation?

After the liberals’ failed attempt to unify Germany in 1848, the focus shifted.
Prussia took on the leadership of the movement for national unification.
Otto von Bismarck, Prussia’s chief minister, was the “architect” of this unification process.
He carried out unification with the help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy.
The unification involved three wars over seven years against Austria, Denmark, and France, all ending in Prussian victory.
In January 1871, the Prussian King, William I, was proclaimed German Emperor at Versailles.
The new German state heavily emphasized modernizing its currency, banking, legal, and judicial systems.
Prussian methods often became the model for the rest of Germany.

Italy Unified:

In the mid-nineteenth century, Italy was fragmented into seven states.
Only Sardinia-Piedmont was ruled by an Italian princely house.
The northern part was under Austrian Habsburgs, the center was ruled by the Pope, and the southern regions were under the Bourbon kings of Spain.
Even the Italian language had many regional variations.
Earlier attempts by Giuseppe Mazzini to unify Italy through revolutionary uprisings had failed.
King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia-Piedmont took up the mantle of unifying Italy.

Contribution of Chief Minister Cavour:

Chief Minister Cavour led the movement to unify Italy.
He was a skilled diplomat, not a revolutionary or democrat.
Cavour spoke French better than Italian.
Through a clever diplomatic alliance with France, Sardinia-Piedmont managed to defeat the Austrian forces in 1859.

Contribution of Garibaldi:

A large number of armed volunteers, known as “Red Shirts,” led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, fought for the unification of southern Italy.
In 1860, they marched into South Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
They succeeded in gaining the support of local peasants to drive out the Spanish rulers.
In 1870, the Papal States also joined the unification.
Finally, in 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed King of united Italy. However, many peasants remained unaware of liberal-nationalist ideas.

The Strange Case of Britain:

The formation of the nation-state in Britain was not a sudden revolution or upheaval.
It was a long, gradual process. There was no single “British nation” before the 18th century.
The people in the British Isles had distinct ethnic identities: English, Welsh, Scot, and Irish.
The English nation grew steadily in wealth, importance, and power, extending its influence over other nations in the islands.
The English Parliament gained power from the monarchy in 1688 after a long conflict, becoming central to forming the nation-state.
The Act of Union in 1707 was signed between England and Scotland, leading to the formation of the “United Kingdom of Great Britain”.
This allowed England to impose its influence on Scotland, suppressing its distinct culture, Gaelic language, and national dress. The British Parliament became dominated by English members.

Ireland’s Incorporation:

Ireland was a country deeply divided between Catholics and Protestants.
The English supported the Protestants to establish dominance over the largely Catholic country.
Catholic revolts against British dominance were suppressed, including a revolt led by Wolfe Tone and his United Irishmen in 1798.
Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801.
The symbols of the new Britain, such as the British flag (Union Jack), the national anthem (God Save Our Noble King), and the English language, were actively promoted. The older nations (Scotland, Ireland) survived as subordinate partners.

5. Visualizing the Nation

Allegory:

Artists in the 18th and 19th centuries found a way to represent abstract ideas like a nation.
They did this by personifying a nation, often portraying it as a female figure.
An allegory is when an abstract idea (like liberty or justice) is expressed through a person or thing, having both a literal and symbolic meaning. The female figure became an allegory of the nation.

Allegory of France (Marianne):

The female allegory for France was named Marianne.
She symbolized the idea of a “people’s nation”.
Her features were inspired by Liberty and the Republic, including the red cap, the tricolour (French flag), and the cockade.
Statues of Marianne were erected in public squares to remind people of the national symbol of unity and encourage them to identify with it.
Her images were also used on coins and stamps.

Allegory of Germany (Germania):

The female allegory for the German nation was known as Germania.
In visual representations, Germania is depicted wearing a crown of oak leaves.
The German oak symbolizes heroism.

6. Nationalism and Imperialism

By the late nineteenth century, nationalism began to lose its idealistic, liberal-democratic spirit.
Nationalist groups became increasingly intolerant of each other and more willing to go to war.
The major European powers then began to manipulate the nationalist aspirations of different peoples to further their own imperialist aims (expanding their power and influence through military force or colonization).

The Balkans:

The Balkan area became the most serious source of nationalist tension in Europe after 1871.
This region had a complex geographical and ethnic variation.
It comprised modern-day countries like Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, and Montenegro.
The inhabitants were broadly known as the Slavs.
A large part of the Balkans was ruled by the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman Empire and Slavic Nationalities:

The disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, combined with rising romantic nationalism, made the Balkan region very volatile.
One by one, European subject nationalities began to break away from Ottoman control and declare independence.
The Balkan peoples based their claims for independence on their nationality, using history to argue they were once free but had been subjugated by foreign powers.
Therefore, the rebellious nationalities in the Balkans saw their struggles as attempts to regain their long-lost independence.
The Slavic nationalities began their own struggles to define their identity and independence.

Balkan Conflicts and World War I:

The Balkan area became a region of intense conflict.
The Balkan states were fiercely jealous of each other. Each hoped to gain more territory at the expense of others.
This region also became the ground for “big power rivalry”.
Major European powers like Russia, Germany, England, and Austria-Hungary were all keen on countering each other’s influence and extending their own control over the Balkans for trade, colonies, and military strength.
This intense competition and conflict in the Balkans led to a series of wars in the region and ultimately contributed to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
Nationalism, when combined with imperialism, led to global disaster. Anti-imperial movements worldwide later struggled to form independent nation-states, promoting collective national unity against foreign rule.

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