RISE OF NATIONALISM IN

EUROPE
FREDERIC SORRIEU
 In 1848,Frederic Sorrieu, a French artist prepared
a series of four print visualising his dream of world
–’democratic and social republic’.
 A long train of people marching towards the Statue
of Liberty,offering homage.Above we can see
Christ and angels also giving their blessings for the
fulfillment of their vision and spreading the feeling
of fraternity,on the earth in the foreground lie the
shattered remains of the symbol of absolutists
institutions.
 Leading the procession are the USA and
Switzerland(already nation states)followed by
France and then by the people of Germany
carrying black,red and gold flag,who yet did not
exist as nation state.
DEVELOPMENT OF NATION STATES
IN EUROPE
So,19th century saw the emergence of nationalism
in Europe, bringing about political and mental
changes in European world. It led to :
 A)emergence of nation- states.
 B) Nation-states-was one in which majority of its
citizens ,and not only its rulers, came to develop a
sense of common identity and shared history or
descent.
 Here we will witness diverse processes through
which nation-states and nationalism came into
being in the 19th century Europe.
ALL ABOUT THE CHAPTER
 The French Revolution and the idea of
the Nation.
 The making of nationalism in Europe.
 The Age of Revolutions :1830-1848
 The making of Germany and Italy.
 Visualising the Nation.
 Nationalism and Imperialism
1.THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
AND THE IDEA OF THE NATION
 The French Revolution started in
1789,and was the first expression of
nationalism in Europe in the 18th century.
 French people demanded abolition of
monarchy and establishment of
democracy.
 Initially, France was under the absolute
monarchy.
 However, the French Revolution led to
the transfer of sovereignty from the
Monarchy to the Body of French
Citizens.
The French revolution-Storming of
the Bastille 1789
Changes that took place during
1789.
 Transfer of ruling power from monarchy to the French people.
 Ideas like ‘La Patrie’(the fatherland) and ‘Le Citoyen’(the
citizen) were adopted.
 New French flag.
 The Estates General was elected and renamed as the
National Assembly.
 French became the spoken language.
 Centralised administrative system with uniform laws.
 Internal custom duties abolished.
 Uniform system of weights and measures.
 New national anthem composed and oath taken.
 The idea of nationalism taken abroad.
NAPOLEONIC CODE-1804
 In1799,Napolean
seized political power.
 He gave the Civil
Code of 1804 also
known as Napoleanic
Code. It envisaged:
 Equality before law.
 Right to property.
 Abolishment of all
privileges based on
birth rights.
Napoleonic Code
 Simplification of administrative law.
 Removed restrictions on guilds in towns.
 Abolishment of feudal system and serfdom.
 Improvement in transport and communications.
 *Increased taxes.
 *Censorship.
 *Forced to join French army.
 However these changes were not liked by
some empires Like Prussia, Russia, Austria
and Britain, so the collectively defeated
Napolean in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815,
restored the Bourborn dynasty.
2.The making of Nationalism in
Europe
 Till the mid 18th century no nation states in Europe.
 Germany, Italy and Switzerland all divided into duchies
,kingdoms and cantons.
 Eastern Europe and Central Europe-autocratic rulers.
 THE HAPSBURG EMPIRE-ruled over Austria-Hungary-
a patchwork of different regions and people,
 It included –the Tyrols, Austria and Sudetenland-
Bohemia –aristocracy German speaking
 It also included Italian speaking provinces-Lombardy
and Venetia.
 Included mass of subject peasant people. The only
binding tie was the common allegiance to the emperor.
 ARISTOCRACY PEASANTRY

 High class lords .  Low class landless.

 Less population.  More population.
 Dominating.  No rights.
 All rights,

DIVERSITY-STRUCTURE OF EUROPEAN
SOCIETY
 The New Middle Class
 Besides the aristocracy and the
peasantry a new class emerged in the
Western and Central Europe due to the
development-industrial growth.
 Comprised of industrialists,
businessmen, Professionals and
educated liberal middle class. Though
their number was small till 19th century
but their ideas of national unity and
abolition of aristocratic privileges gained
popularity.
LIBERAL NATIONALISM
 The term liberalism derived from the latin word ’liber’,
meaning free.
 The new middle class in fact demanded
 IN POLITICAL SPHERE:
 equality of all before the law .
 freedom for the individuals.
 Not against the private property
 Government by consent.
 Revolutionary France –right to vote and get elected
exclusively to property owning men.
 Men without property and all women excluded from
political rights.
 So throughout 19th and 20th century women and non-
propertied men organised opposition movements
demanding equal political rights.
 Economic Liberalism
 Stood for freedom of markets and the abolition of state-
imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and
capital.
 In German speaking regions during Napolean’s rule,
there were 39 states each of it possessed its own
currency and weights and measures…creating lot of
problems.
 1834-saw the formation of ‘Zollverein’a customs union
formed in Prussia and joined by most of the German
states.
 It abolished tariff barriers.
 Reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to
two.
 Network of railways stimulated mobility harnessing
economic interest to national unification.
A New Conservatism after 1815
 Emergence of Conservatism-believed in
traditional institutions of state and society,
wanted to continue with monarchy as it
gave them more powers and privileges.
 1815-after the defeat of Napolean-
representatives from –Prussia, Russia,
Austria and Britain met at Vienna to draw
up settlement for Europe.
 The Congress was hosted by Duke Metternich, the
Austrian Chancellor - CONGRESS OF VIENNA.
CONGRESS OF VIENNA -1815
 Hosted by Duke
Metternich, the Austrian
Chancellor. Recreated the
map of Europe
 TERMS :
*The Bourborn dynasty
restored.
*France lost its territories
annexed under Napolean
*A series of states set up on
the boundaries of France to
prevent French extension.
*Kingdom of the Netherlands,
incuded Belgium was set up.
*Prussia was given important
new territories on its western
frontiers.
CONGRESS OF VIENNA
 Austria got control of Northern Italy.
 German confederation of 39 states
remained untouched.
 Russia given a part of Poland, Prussia
was given a part of Saxony.
 Main objective of Congress of Vienna:
 To restore the monarchies, create a
new conservative order in Europe.
CONSERVATIVE REGIMES -
1815
 Established autocracies.
 Did not tolerate dissent and criticism.
 Censorship laws to curb the news.
 Curb activities which questioned
legitmacy of autocratic government.
 So, one of the foremost issues taken
up by the liberal-nationalists------
Freedom of press.
The Revolutionaries
 The years following 1815-fear of
repression, many liberal – nationalists
underground.
 Secret societies sprang up in many
parts of Europe to train revolutionaries
to oppose monarchy.
 To fight for liberty and freedom.
Importance of nation-states in the
freedom struggle.
 Giuseppe Mazzini
 An Italian revolutionary.
 Born in Genoa in 1807, member of the secret society
Carbonari.
 Exiled in 1831 for attempting a revolution in Liguria.
 Founded Young Italy in Marseilles &Young Europe in
Berne.
 Believed that God had intended nations to be the
natural unit of mankind
 So Italy could not continue as a patchwork of small
states and kingdoms. It had to be forged into a single
unified republic.
 His opposition to monarchy and his vision of democratic
republic frightened the conservatives.
 Metternich described him as ’the most dangerous
enemy of our social order’.
3.The Age of Revolutions: 1830- 1848

 2 Ideas became very popular in Europe-

Liberalism and Nationalism (especially
by educated middle class)
 Period of hardship-hunger, shortage of
food, population increased,
unemployment due to machines
 Followed by a period of upheavels---
1. July Revolution. (1830)
2. Revolution of Brussels
3. Greek war of Independence (1821)
JULY REVOLUTION (1830)
July Revolution
 The Bourborn dynasty overthrown.
 Constitutional monarchy set up under
Louis Philippe at its head.
 Metternich once remarked ’When France
sneezes the rest of Europe catches
cold.’
 REVOLUTION OF BRUSSELS
 The July revolution sparked an uprising
in Brussels which led Belgium breaking
away from the United Kingdom of the
Netherlands.
The Greek War of Independence
 Greece had been a part of Ottoman Empire
since the 15th century.
 Greeks wanted freedom from Ottoman empire
so started a revolution in 1821.
 Greece supported by Greeks living in Exile,
West Europeans, Poets and Artists who
mobilised public opinion to support its struggle
against a Muslim empire.
 The English poet Lord Byron also fought for
their cause, died of fever in1824.
 The Treaty of Constantinople of 1832
recognised Greece as an independent nation.
The Romantic Imagination and National
feeling.
 Culture played an important role in creating the idea of
nation, art and poetry, stories and music. Helped to
express and shape nationalists feeling.
 Romantic artist criticised reason and science, instead
focussed on emotions, intuitions and mystical feelings.
 The German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder
popularised the true spirit of nation (volksgeist) through
folksongs, folk poetry and folk dance.
 Even though Poland has been partitioned but the
feeling of nationalism was kept alive through music and
language.
 Karol Kurpinsiki, celebrated the national struggle
through his operas and music, turning folk dances like
the polonaise and mazurka into nationalist symbol.
Language :
 Language too played an important role in
developing nationalist sentiments.
 After the Russian occupation, the Polish
language was forced out of schools and the
Russian language was imposed.
 1831 an armed rebellion against the Russian,
suppressed. Now language used as a weapon
of national resistance.
Polish used for church gatherings and all
religious instructions. Many priest and bishop
punished and banished also.
So the use of Polish, seen as a symbol of
struggle against Russian dominance.
Condition of France in 1848
 1830---Year of hardships like---increase in
population, unemployment, industrialization
(replacing men to machines) rise in food prices
and peasantry overburdened with feudal dues
and obligations.
 1848- again saw ------food shortage
+unemployment.
 Due to which population on the streets of Paris
 Louis Philippe forced to flee.
 National Assembly proclaimed REPUBLIC,
 granted suffrage to all, right to work.
SILESIAN UPRISING -1845
 1845-Weavers revolted against the contractors
who supplied raw material and gave the orders
to finish textiles because of less payments.
 4 June at 2 p.m ----a large crowd of weavers
marched to the mansion of the contractors
demanding high wages.
 Created ruckus damaging the property,
contractor fled with his family to a neighbouring
village which however refused to give shelter.
He returned 24 hours later, called the army,
eleven weavers shot.
FRANKFURT PARLIAMENT
 Seeing the unrest in the country in 1848, the
LIBERALS demanded the creation of a nation state
on parliamentary principles-a constitution, freedom
of press and association.
 IN GERMANY:
 Political associations of middle classes came
together in the city of Frankfurt and voted for all-
GERMAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.
 18 MAY 1848- 831 elected representatives took
their place in the Frankfurt parliament convened in
the church of St. Paul.
 Drafted a constitution for a German nation, headed
by a constitutional monarchy.
Frankfurt……..
 The crown was offered to Fredrich Wilhelm IV ,King of
Prussia, he rejected it.
 Opposition of aristocracy and military increased.
 Parliament dominated by the middle classes, resisted
the demands of the workers soon lost the support .
 Women were denied the political rights. Women
admitted just as observers in the visitors gallery.
 Liberal suppressed by the Conservatives, however the
old order of monarchy understood, that changes
required now-----Serfdom and bonded labour abolished.
 The Hapsburg rulers granted more freedom to the
Hungarians in1867.
4.The making of Germany and
Italy
 GERMAN UNIFICATION:
 Otto von Bismarck ---
 the architect of
German Unification in
1871.
The first German
Chancellor till 1890.
Used the term ‘Blood
and Iron’.
GERMAN UNIFICATION- 1871
 After 1848, nationalism in Europe moved
away from democracy and revolution.AS
liberals lost their objective.
 Conservatives often mobilised nationalist
sentiments, promoting state power, gained
political domination in Europe.
 Nationalist feeling were dominant in the
middle class Germans in 19th century.
 1848-they tried to unite the different regions
of the German Confederation into a nation-
state governed by an elected Parliament.
German unification…….
 This effort of liberals however suppressed by
the combined forces of the monarchy +
military supported by big landowners
(JUNKERS).
 The leadership for the unification came in the
hands of Bismarck, who took the help of
Prussian army and bureaucracy.
 Fought 3 wars within 7 years---Austria,
Denmark and France.
 Prussia won, completed unification,
proclaimed in January 1871, the Prussian
king, William I, as the German Emperor in a
ceremony held at Versailles.
UNIFICATION OF ITALY-1861
 Architects of Italian Unification:
 *Giuseppe Mazzini----Young
Italy(Marseilles) and Young Europe
(Berne).Soul.
 *Count Camillo de Cavour---- Prime
Minister, led to unification.
 *Giuseppe Garibaldi---also known as
Bismarck of Italy, formed armed
volunteers.
 *Victor Emmanuel II proclaimed king of
Italy.
ARCHITECTS
UNIFICATION OF ITALY
PROCESS OF UNIFICATION
 Political Fragmentation-Italy also fragmented
like Germany. During the middle of 19th century
it was divided into 7 states of which only
Sardinia-Piedmont ruled by an Italian prince.
 North----Austrian Hapsburg.
 Centre----Pope.
 Southern regions----Bourborn kings of Spain.
 Regional languages spoken.
 1830-Mazzini made efforts to unite Italian
Republic, formed secret societies like Young
Italy to achieve his goal.
Process (contd)
 Cavour who was the chief minister led
the movement to unify Italy. He formed a
tactful alliance with France ,Sardinia-
Piedmont and defeated Austrian forces
in 1859.
 Garibaldi also joined with huge armed
forces. In 1860 marched into South Italy
and the kingdom of Two Sicilies and
succeeded in driving out the Spanish
rulers.
 1861-Victor Emmanuel proclaimed the
king of united Italy.
UNIFICATION OF BRITAIN
 No British nation before the 18th century.
 The British Isles comprised of English, Welsh,
Scot and Irish ethnic groups.
 Due to industrialisation ,concentration of wealth
English dominated other groups.
 National symbols like English language, British
flag and National Anthem were promoted.
 Unlike French revolution, in Britain was the
result of long drawn dissatisfaction amongst
the ethnic groups.
 Britain achieved this by Parliamentary Acts.
THE ACT OF UNION -1707
 The English Parliament seized power from
monarchy in 1688(Glorious Revolution).
 1707 –Act of Union formed by SCOTLAND
AND ENGLAND, resulted in the formation of
the ‘UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN’
Meant that England was able to impose its
influence on Scotland. (England+Scotland).
However, the Scottish culture and political
institution was suppressed.
Ireland too suffered the same fate, later
incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801.
5. VISUALISING THE NATION
 ALLEGORY-When an abstract idea (like
greed, envy, love, nation)is expressed
through a person or a thing. An allegorical
story has two meanings one literal and one
symbolic.
 Nations portrayed as female figures.
 Personification- did not stand for any
particular woman in real life.
 E.g during the French Revolution artists
used the female allegory to show LIBERTY,
EQUALITY AND FRATERNITY.
GERMANIA(GERMANY) MARIANNA(FRANCE)

ALLEGORIES
 GERMANIA MARIANNE

 Red cap---worn by a
slave on becoming free.
 Tricolour (Blue-white-red)

 The female figure wears The national colours of

a crown of oak leaves--- France.
HEROISM The Cockade---a knot of
ribbons worn in a hat.

ALLEGORIES
Meanings of the Symbols
 ATTRIBUTE  SIGNIFICANCE
 Broken chains--------------  Being freed.
Breastplate with eagle.....  Symbol of the German
empire-strength
 Crown of oak leaves........  Heroism.
 Sword.................................  Readiness to fight.
 Olive branch around the  Willingness to make peace.
sword.................................  Flag of the liberal-
 Black, red and gold nationalist-1848.
tricolour............................  Beginning of a new era.
 Rays of the rising sun.......
6.NATIONALISM AND IMPERIALISM

 By the end of the 19th century the

feeling of Nationalism started
changing into Imperialism.
 Imperialism-The policy of expanding
countries power by military or any
other means is known as Imperialism.
 The most serious nationalist tension in
Europe after 1871 was the area called
Balkans.
 Balkan tension
 BALKANS-region of geographical and ethnic
diversities.
 Comprised of---Romania, Bulgaria, Albania,
Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and
Montenegro.
 These all were under the control of Ottoman
Empire.
 However, with the weakening of the Ottoman
Empire all these nationalities started
declaring themselves independent, but this
region of Balkan became a source of intense
rivalries and jealousies.
Balkan......
 At the same time intense rivalry between
the great European powers for trade and
colonies as well as naval and military might.

This led these powers –Russia, Germany,

England and Austria-Hungary to jump in the
Balkan problems thus flaring the entire situation
in the First World War. Thus Nationalism with
Imperialism led Europe to disaster in 1914.

Anti-imperial movements developed and many

colonies declared themselves independent .