THE RISE OF

NATIONALISM IN
EUROPE

HISTORY CH -1
TABLE OF CONTENT

● THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IDEA OF THE NATION

● THE MAKING OF NATIONALISM IN FRANCE

● THE AGE OF REVOLUTIONS : 1830 - 1848

● THE MAKING OF GERMANY AND ITALY

● VISUALISING THE NATION

● NATIONALISM AND IMPERIALISM

INTRODUCTION

● In 1848, Frederic Sorrieu, a French artist, visualised his dream of a world made
up of democratic and social Republics
● The Print shows people of Europe and America – men and women of all ages
marching in a long train, and offering homage to the Statue of Liberty.
● Liberty is personified as a female figure bearing the torch of Enlightenment in one
hand and the Charter of the Rights of Man and Citizen in the other.
● On the earth lie the shattered remains of the symbols of absolutist institutions.
● In his utopian vision, the People of the world are grouped as distinct nations,
identified through their flags.
● From the heavens above, Christ, saints and angels have been used by the artist to
symbolize fraternity among the nations of the world.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IDEA OF
THE NATION

● The first clear expression of nationalism came with the FRENCH REVOLUTION in
1789.
● Steps taken by French revolutionaries to create a sense of collective identity
● The idea of La Patrie(the Fatherland) and Le Citoyen(the citizen) emphasized the
notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.
● New French Flag - Tricolour
● Formation of National Assembly by active citizens.
● New hymns were composed, oaths were 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.
NAPOLEONIC CODE( CIVIL CODE OF 1804)

Napoleon destroyed democracy but made the administrative field more rational
and efficient.
● It did away with all privileges based on birth and Established equality before
the law.
● Feudal system, serfdom and manorial dues were abolished
● Secured the right to property
● Guild restrictions were removed and transport and communication system
were improved.
● Uniform laws, standardized weights and measures, and a common national
currency.
NEGATIVE POINTS OF NAPOLEONIC CODE

● Increased tax.
● Censorship were imposed.
● Forced to join French Army.

1815 BATTLE OF WATERLOO BETWEEN

NAPLEON AND PARB( PRUSIA, RUSSIA,
AUSTRIA AND BRITAIN) + TREATY OF
VIENNA (BOURBON DYNASTY
RESTORED).
 Structure of European
society

Aristocracy Peasantry New Middle Class

High class land lords Low class landless Educated population of

Industrialists, doctors,
Less population More population
teachers
Dominating No rights
Liberal Nationalists
THE ARISTOCRACY AND THE NEW MIDDLE
CLASS

● The rich landed Aristocracy dominated the continent socially and politically.
● They were united by a common way of life – speak French, Matrimonial
relations.
● Industralisation caused the emergence of the working class, industrialists,
businessmen etc.
● Among them, there was a group of few educated middle class who brought the
idea to abolish the aristocratic privileges.
● Thus the idea of nationalism emerged.
LIBERAL NATIONALISM

Liberalism is derived from the Latin word liber meaning free.

Liberalism in the Political Sphere
● Freedom of individuals and equality before the law.
● Government by consent
● Constitution and representative government through parliament
● End of autocracy and clerical privileges
Liberalism in the Economic Sphere
● Right to private property.
● Freedom of markets
● Abolition of restrictions on the movement of goods and capital
LIBERAL NATIONALISM

● Zollverein
○ Custom Union – 1834
○ Initiated by Prussia joined by German State
○ Abolished Tarif Barriers
○ Reduced the number of currencies from 30 to 28 currencies.
○ Aim was to bind the Germans economically into a nation
 A NEW CONSERVATISM AFTER 1815
They stressed the importance of tradition, established institutions and customs, and preferred
gradual development to quick change.
● In 1815, representatives of the European powers – Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria-
who had collectively defeated Napoleon,
● These powers met at Vienna to draw up a settlement for Europe.
● They realized, that modernization could strengthen traditional institutions like the
monarchy.
● Eg. A modern army, an efficient bureaucracy, a dynamic economy, the abolition of
feudalism and serfdom could strengthen the autocratic monarchies of Europe.
TREATY OF VIENNA 1815

● It was hosted by the Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich.

● The Bourbon dynasty was restored to power,
● France lost its territories it had annexed under Napoleon.
● A series of states were set up on the boundaries to prevent its expansion in future.
○ Kingdom of the Netherlands -> which included Belgium was set up in the
north
○ Genoa was added to Piedmont in the south.
○ Prussia was given a part of Saxony on its western frontiers
○ Austria was given control of northern Italy,
○ Russia was given part of Poland
● The main intention was to restore the monarchies and create a new conservative
order in Europe.
THE REVOLUTIONARIES
● Revolutionaries were the liberals who were fighting
against conservatives rule.
● Giuseppe Mazzini
● Born in Genoa in 1807
● Sent into exile in 1831 for attempting a revolution
in Liguria.
● He formed secret societies – Young Europe in Berne
and Young Italy in Marseilles.
● He believed that “God had intended nations to be
Natural Unit of Mankind”
● Duke Metternich“The most dangerous enemy of our
social order”
The AGE OF REVOLUTIONS : 1830-1848

TIMELINE
● French Revolution(1789)
● Napolean Bonaparte took over (1804)
● Conservatives took over(1815)
● Conservative Era(1815-1830)
● Age of Revolutions(1830-1848)
The AGE OF REVOLUTIONS : 1830-1848

● As conservatives were trying to consolidate their power, liberalism and

nationalism came to be associated with revolution.
● Revolutionary groups were formed in Ottoman Empire, Ireland and Poland.
● These revolutions were led by the liberals who belonged to the educated
middle-class elite.
JULY REVOLUTION OF FRANCE

● The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830.

● Where the Bourbon king who had been restored after1815, was now
overthrown by liberals
● Constitutional monarchy was installed with Lousis Philippe its head.
● Metternich once remarked, ‘When France sneezes, The rest of Europe catches
cold’.
● The July Revolution led to the division of Belgium from the Netherlands.
GREEK WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

● Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the fifteenth century.
● The growth of revolutionary nationalism sparked off a struggle for
independence of Greece in 1821.
● Nationalists in Greece got support from Greeks from the West who had
sympathies for ancient Greek culture.
● Poets and artists lauded Greece as the cradle of European civilization and
mobilized support against a Muslim empire.
● The English poet Lord Byron organized funds and later went to fight in the
war, but he died of fever in 1824.
● Finally, the Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognized Greece as an
independent nation.
ROMANTICISM

● A cultural movement that developed a particular form of national sentiment.

● Artists generally criticized the glorification of reason and science and focused
instead on emotions, intuition and mystical feelings.
● Their effort was to create a sense of shared a common cultural past, as the
basis of a nation.
● Eg. In the case of Poland which has been partitioned in the 18 th Century by
the PARB. The national feelings were kept alive through music and language.
● After the Russian occupation, Russian was imposed over Poland at that time
Polish language was used as a mode of struggle against Russian Dominance.
 HUGER HARDSHIP AND POPULAR REVOLT

● There was an enormous increase in the population in Europe

in 1830
● Population from rural areas migrated to the cities to live in
overcrowded slums.
● The rise of food prices or a year of bad harvest led to
widespread pauperism in town and country.
● The year 1848 was one such year.
● Food shortages and widespread unemployment brought the
population of Paris out on the roads and Louis Philippe was
forced to flee.
● National Assembly proclaimed a Republic, granted suffrage
to all adult males above 21, and guaranteed the right to work.
1848: THE REVOLUTION OF THE LIBERALS

● Nationalist feelings were widespread among middle-class Germans in 1848

● They tried to unite the different regions of the German confederation into a
nation-state governed by an elected parliament.
● The 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 the German nation to be headed by a monarchy
subject to a parliament.
● But the initiative was repressed by the combined forces of the monarchy and
the military, supported by the large landowners(Junkers) of Prussia.
POSITION OF WOMEN

● Women participated in the Revolution

● Women did not have voting rights
● When the Frankfurt parliament convened the women were only admitted as
observers in the visitors gallery.
● Because at that time Germany was a patriarchal society
THE MAKING OF GERMANY
can the Army be the Architect of a nation
● Nationalist sentiments were often mobilised by conservatives(Germany and
Italy) for promoting state power and achieving political domination over Europe.
● After the failed attempt of liberals, Prussia took on the leadership of the
movement for national unification.
● Its chief minister, Otto von Bismarck, was the architect of this process carried
out with the help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy
● Three wars over seven years – with Austria, Denmark and France – ended in
Prussian victory and completed the process of unification
● In January 1871, the Prussian king, Kaiser William I, was proclaimed German
Emperor in a ceremony held at Versailles.
● 3 wars in 7 Years by Bismarck
● Danish-Prussian War 1864
● Austro-Prussian War 1866
● Franco-Prussian War 1870-71
 Unifiaction of Italy

Italy before unification: 7 Different states

● Piedmont and Sardinia
● Lombardy
● Venetia
● Parma and Modena
● Tuscany
● Papal State
● Kingdom of two Siciles
Italians were scattered

● Sardinia Piedmont ruled by Italian States- Victor Emmanuel-II

● North States(Parma, Modena, Lombardy Venetia, Tuscany) was under
Austria- Habsburg rules
● Centre part of Italy was under the Pope’s rule – Papal states
● Southern Region(Kingdom of Two Sicilies) under the Bourbon Kingdom of
Spain
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES IN UNIFICATION
OF ITALY

● Giuseppe Mazzini – Formed secret societies of young Italy and young

Europe
● Victor Emmanuel-II – Unification through war, the responsibility of whole
unification
● Count Cavour – Good diplomat, speaks French very well- Took help with
France and fought in the northern part with Austria
● Giuseppe Garibaldi – unification of southern states with the support of local
peasants.
UNIFICATION OF ITALY
● In 1830, Giuseppe Mazzini tried for United Italy,
Hence formed a secret society called Young Italy but
failed.
● In 1848, King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia
initiated to unite Italy through war.
● Cavour allied with France and defeated Austria in
1859.
● In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the movement
and got the support of armed volunteers in the South.
● In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed as king
of united Italy.
● In Italy unification the peasants were unaware of the
movement and never heard of Italia and believed that
La Talia was Emmanuel’s Wife
UNIFICATION OF BRITAIN

The strange case of Britain

● It was formed out of a long-drawn-out
process, not by sudden upheaval or
revolution.
● There was no British nation, the primary
identities of the people were ethnic ones –
such as English, welsh, Scot or Irish.
● The English parliament, had seized power
from the monarchy n 1688.
CONFLICT BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANT-

● ACT OF UNION(1707) ->(ENGLAND+SCOTTLAND): the Act of Union

(1707) between England and Scotland resulted in the formation of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain meant that England was able to impose its influence
on Scotland.
● Scotland’s distinctive culture and political institutions were systematically
suppressed.
● Scottish Highlands suffered terrible repression
● The Scottish Highlanders were forbidden to speak their Gaelic language or
wear their national dress, and large numbers were forcibly driven out of their
homeland.
CASE OF IRELAND

● The country was deeply divided between Catholics and Protestants.

● The English helped the Protestants of Ireland to establish their dominance
over a largely Catholic country.
● After a failed 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 a dominant
English culture.
● The symbols of the new Britain – the British flag (Union Jack), the national
anthem (God Save Our Noble King), the English language – were actively
promoted
VISUALISING THE NATION
● Artists in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries found a way to
personify a nation
● It sought to give the abstract idea of
the nation into a concrete form.
● That is, the female figure became
an allegory of the nation
● Allegory – When an abstract idea is
expressed through a person or a
thing. An allegorical story has two
meanings, one literal and one
symbolic.
● Liberty - as a Red cap or Broken chain, Justice as a
blindfolded woman carrying a pair of weighing
scales.
● Christened Marianne, in France, underlined the idea
of a people’s nation.
● Her characteristics were drawn from Liberty and the
Republic – the red cap, the tricolour, the cockade
● Similarly, Germania, the allegory of the German
nation. Germania wears a crown of oak leaves, as
the German oak stands for heroism.
NATIONALISM AND IMPERIALISM

The policy of expanding countries’ power by use of military or other means is called
IMPERIALISM.
BALKANS
● Nationalist Tension started in Balkan Area after 1871.
● The Balkans was a region of geographical and Ethnic Variation comprising
● Modern-day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro. The inhabitants known as Slavs
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
● A Muslim empire ruled over the Balkans
● As the Ottoman Empire started weakening, countries broke away and declared independence.
● Each Balkan state hoped to gain more territory at the expense of the others
and therefore became an area of intense conflict.
● Matters were further complicated when powers like- Russia, Germany,
England, and Austro-Hungary jumped into the scene,
● WHICH FINALLY LED TO 1ST WORLD WAR.
ANTI IMPERIAL FORCES

● Nationalism, aligned with imperialism, led Europe to disaster in 1914..

● Many countries in the world which had been colonised by the European
powers in the nineteenth century began to oppose imperial domination.
● The anti-imperial movements were nationalist, in the sense that they all
struggled to form independent nation-states
● They all were inspired by a sense of collective national unity, against
imperialism.
THANK YOU