INTRODUCTION ¢ In 1848, Frederic Sorrieu, a French artist prepared a series of four prints visualising his dream of a world made up of "democratic and social Republics", as he called them. The first print of the series shows the people of Europe and America - men and women of all ages and social classes - marching in a long train and offering homage to the statue of Liberty as they pass by it. A female figure was shown with the torch of Enlightenment in one hand and the Charter of the Rights of Man in the other. On the earth in the foreground of the image lie the shattered remains of the symbols of absolutist institutions. In Sorrieu's utopian vision, the peoples of the world are grouped as distinct nations, identified through their flags and national costume.France, identified by the revolutionary tricolour, has just reached the statue. She is followed by the peoples of Germany, bearing the black, red, and gold flag. Nineteenth century, however, saw the emergence of nationalism as a new force which brought about sweeping changes in political and mental world of Europe. This resulted in the flowering of nation - states in place of multinational dynastic empires. The concept of a modern state with a defined territory, with ruler and citizens sharing common bonds and history, became popular. This was possible only through a process of action struggle, and efforts of leaders and common people.THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IDEA 4 OF THE NATION The first clear expression of nationalism was the French Revolution in 1789 when the commoners revolted against the absolute monarch Louis XVI. The Revolution led to the idea of nationalism. ¢ The ideas of La Patrie (the fatherland) and Le Citoyen (the citizen) emphasised the netion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution. A new French flag, the tricolour, was chosen to replace-the former royal standard. New hymns were composed, oaths taken, and martyrs commemorated, all in the name of a nation. The Estates General was elected by the body of active citizens and renamed the National Assembly.- Acentralized administrative system was put in place, and it formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory. Internal customs duties and dues were abolished, and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted. Regional dialects were discouraged and French, as it was spoken and written in Paris, became the common language of the nation. The revolutionaries further declared that it is was the mission and the destiny of the French nation to liberate the peoples of Europe from despotism. With the outbreak of revolutionary war, the French armies began to carry the ideas of nationalism abroad.Ft Role of Napoleon ¢ Napoleon set about introducing many of the reforms in the territories that came under his control, that he had already introduced in France. He introduced Napoleonic code in 1805 which did away with all privileges based on birth, established equality before the law and secured the right to property. In many parts of Europe like in the Dutch Republic, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, he simplified administrative divisions, abolished the feudal system, and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues. : He removed guild restrictions from the towns. He laid stress on infrastructure Ex. transportation, communication, and banking system. These new reforms were appreciated by the peasants, workers, businessmen, traders and even by the common people.e In the areas conquered, the reactions of the local populations to French rule were mixed. The initial enthusiasm soon turned to hostility, as it became clear that the new administrative arrangements did not go hand in hand with political freedom. Increased taxation, censorship, forced conscription into the French armies required to conquer the rest of Europe, all seemed to outweigh the advantages of the administrative changes.THE MAKING OF NATIONALISM IN EUROPE e In the mid - eighteenth century Germany, Italy and Switzerland were divided into kingdoms; duchies and cantons whose rulers had their autonomous territories of diverse people. They did not see themselves as sharing common identity. They spoke different languages and belonged to different ethnic groups. Such differences did not easily promote a sense of political unity. The only tie binding these diverse groups together was a common | allegiance to the emperor.The Aristocracy and the New middle Class Socially and politically, the landed Aristocracy class was the dominant class. Elite class spoke French and were often connected by marriage. Most of the population was made up of peasantry. However, the western and central parts of Europe were undergoing social and economic changes. Rapid growth of industrial production and brisk trade led to growth of towns and cities. It also resulted in the emergence of a commercial class and a working-class population, whose existence depended on the production in the market. The new forces of 18th and 19th centuries led to the formation of new social groups a new middle class consisting of professionals, industrialists, and businessmen.e It was among this educated liberal middle class that the ideas of national unity took shape, which aimed at the abolition of aristocratic privileges and unity among people on rational basis.What did Liberal Nationalism Stand for? * The term ‘liberalism’ derived from the Latin word liber, means free. For the new middle classes’ liberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law. Politically, it emphasised the concept of government by consent. Since the French Revolution, liberalism had stood for the end of autocracy and clerical privileges, a constitution and representative government through parliament. Yet, equality before the law did not necessarily stand for universal suffrage. Only for a brief period under the Jacobins did all adult males enjoy suffrage. Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, women and non - propertied men organized opposition movements demanding equal political rights.¢ Inthe economic sphere, liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of state - imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital. During the nineteenth century this was a strong demand of the emerging middle classes. In German speaking region, Napoleon's administrative measures had created out of countries, small principalities, a confederation of 39 states. Each of these possessed its own currencies, and weights and measures which involved time - consuming calculations.e In 1834, a customs union or zollverein was formed at the initiative of Prussia and joined by most of the German states. The union abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two. The creation of network of railways further stimulated mobility, harnessing economic interests to national unification. According to Prof. Friedrich List, the aim of the zollverein was to bind the Germans economically into a nation.A New Conservatism after 1815 Conservatives believed that established, traditional institutions of state and society should be preserved, however they did not propose return to the society of pre - revolutionary days. They realized from the changes initiated by Napoleon, the modernization could in fact strengthen traditional institutions like the monarchy. It could make state power more effective and stronger.The Vienna Congress or Treaty of Vienna e In 1815, representatives of the European powers who had collectively defected Napoleon, met at Vienna to draw up a settlement for Europe. The delegates drew up the Treaty of Vienna of 1815 with the object of undoing most of the changes that had come about in Europe during the Napoleonic wars. The bourbon dynasty, which had been deposed during the French Revolution, was restored to power and France lost the territories it had annexed under Napoleon. A series of states were set up on the boundaries of France to prevent French expansion in future. Thus, the kingdom of the Netherlands, which included Belgium, was set up in the north and Genoa was added to Piedmont in the south.e Prussia was given important new territories on its western frontiers, while Austria was given control of northern Italy. ¢ The German confederation of 39 states that had been set up by Napoleon was left untouched. * In the east, Russia was given part of Poland while Prussia was given a portion of Saxony.’ ¢ The main intention of the congress was to restore the monarchies that had been overthrown by Napoleon and to create a new conservation order in Europe.Criticism of Conservative Regimes Conservative regimes set up in 1815 were autocratic, did not tolerate criticism and dissent, and sought to curb activities that questioned the legitimacy of autocratic governments. Most of them imposed censorship laws to control what was said in newspapers, books, plays and songs and reflected the ideas of liberty and freedom associated with the French Revolution. The Revolutionaries Revolutionary at this time meant a commitment to oppose monarchical forms that had been established after the Vienna Congress, and to fight for liberty and freedom. Most of these revolutionaries also saw the creation of nation states as a necessary part of this struggle for freedom.Giuseppe Mazzini ¢ Born in Genoa in 1807 he became a member of the secret society of the Carbonari. As a young man of 24, he was sent into exile in 1831 for attempting a revolution in Liguria. He subsequently founded two more underground societies, first, Young Italy in Marseilles, and then, Young Europe in Berne, whose members were like — minded young men from Poland, France, Italy, and the German states. Mazzini believed that God had intended nations to be the natural units of mankind. So, Italy could not continue to be a patchwork of small states and kingdoms. It had to be forged into a single unified republic within a wider alliance of nations. This unification alone could be the basis of Italian liberty. Metternich described him as ‘the most dangerous enemy of our social order’.AGE OF REVOLUTION 1830 — 1848 ¢ As conservative regimes tried to consolidate their power, liberalism and nationalism came to be increasingly associated with revolution in many regions of Europe. The revolutions were-led by the liberal nationalists belonging to the educated middle- class elite, among whom were professors, schoolteachers, clerks, and members of commercial middle class. Upheaval in France: The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830. The bourbon kings who had been restored to power after the Vienna Congress by the conservatives were now overthrown by liberal revolutionaries who installed a constitutional monarchy with Louis Philippe as its head (July Revolution).+ Uprising in Brussels: The July Revolution sparked an uprising in Brussels which led to Belgium breaking away from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Uprising in Greek: Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the fifteenth century. The growth of revolutionary nationalism in Europe sparked off a struggle for independence amongst the Greeks which began in 1821. Nationalists in Greece got support from other Greeks living in exile and from many West Europeans who had sympathies for ancient Greek culture. Poets and artists lauded Greece as the cradle of European civilization and mobilized public opinion to support its struggle against a Muslim empire. The English poet Lord Byron organized funds and later went to fight in the war, where he died of fever in 1824. Finally, the Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognised Greece as an independent nation:The Romantic Imagination & National Feeling ¢ Territorial expansions played a major role in arousing the feeling of nationalism but culture, art, poetry, stories, music also played their role. Romantic artists were against the glorification of reasons and science and focused on emotions institutions and mystical feelings. They wanted to share a collective heritage, a common cultural past as the basis of nation. Romantics such as the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803) claimed that true German culture was to be discovered among the common people das volk. Romantic philosophers wanted to create the true spirit of nationalism through folk songs, folk poetry, and folk dances.¢ The emphasis on vernacular language and the collection of local folklore was not just to recover an ancient national spirit, but also to carry the modern nationalist message to large audiences who were mostly illiterate. Even though Poland no longer existed as an independent territory, national feelings were kept alive through music and language. Karol Kurpinski, for example, celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the polonaise and mazurka into nationalist symbols.Hunger, Hardship and Popular Revolt ¢ The 1830s were years of great economic hardship in Europe. The first half of the nineteenth century saw an enormous increase in population all over Europe. In 1848, food shortages and widespread unemployment brought the population of Paris out on the roads. Barricades were erected and Louis Philippe was forced to flee. A National Assembly proclaimed a Republic, granted suffrage to all adult males above 21, and guaranteed the right to work. National workshops to provide employment were set up. In 1845, weavers in Silesia had led a revolt against contractors who supplied them raw material and gave the orders for finished textiles but drastically reduced their payments. 11 weavers lost their lives in this revolt.1848: The Revolution of the Liberals ¢ Events of February 1848 in France had brought about the abdication of the monarch and a republic based on universal male suffrage had been proclaimed. In other parts of Europe where independent nation - states did not yet exist - men and women of the liberal middle classes combined their demands for constitutionalism with national unification. Frankfurt Parliament: In the German regions many political associations came together in the city of Frankfurt and decided to vote for an all - German National Assembly. On 18 May 1848, 831 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 a German nation to be headed by a monarchy subject to a parliament.Obstacles: ¢ Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia rejected it and joined other monarchs to oppose the elected assembly. While the opposition of the aristocracy and military became stronger, the social basis of parliament eroded. The parliament was dominated by the middle classes who resisted the demands of workers and artisans and consequently lost their support. Issue of extending political rights to women was a controversial one within the liberal movement, they were denied suffrage rights during the election of the Assembly.Outcomes: ¢ Though conservative forces were able to suppress liberal movements in 1848, they could not restore the old order. ¢ In the years after 1848, the autocratic monarchies of Central and Eastern Europe began to introduce the changes that had already taken place in Western Europe before 1815. e The Habsburg rulers granted more autonomy to the Hungarians in 1867.THE MAKING OF GERMANY AND ITALY Germany - Can the Army be the Architect of a Nation ¢ Nationalist feelings were widespread among middle - class Germans, who in 1848 tried to unite the different regions of the German confederation into a nation - state governed by an elected parliament. Prussia took on the leadership of the movement for national unification. Its Chief minister, Otto von Bismarck (followed the policy of Blood and Iron), 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. William | was proclaimed German Emperor in a ceremony held at Versailles. On 18 January 1871, an assembly gathered in the unheated Hall of mirrors in the Palace of Versailles to proclaim the new German empire headed by Kaiser William | of Prussia. The new state placed a strong emphasis on modernizing the currency, banking, legal and judicial systems in Germany.Italy Unified During the middle of the nineteenth century, Italy was divided into seven states, of which only one, Sardinia - Piedmont, was ruled by an Italian Princely house. Even the Italian language had not acquired one common form and still had many regional and local variations. During the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini had sought to put together a coherent programme for a unitary Italian Republic. He formed a secret society called Young Italy for the dissemination of his goals. The failure of revolutionary uprisings both in 1831 and 1848 meant that the mantle now fell on Sardinia — Piedmont under its ruler King Victor Emmanuel II to unify the Italian states through war.¢ Through a tactful diplomatic alliance with France engineered by Cavour, Sardinia - Piedmont succeeded in defeating the Austrian forces in 1859. Apart from regular troops, many armed volunteers under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the fray. In 1860, they marched into South Italy and the kingdom of the Two Sicily's and succeeded in winning the support of the local peasants to drive out the Spanish rulers. In 1861 Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of united Italy.The Strange Case of Britain + In Britain the formation of the nation - state was not the result of a sudden upheaval or revolution. It was the result of a long - drawn- out process. There was no British nation prior to the eighteenth century. The primary identities of the people who inhabited the British Isles were ethnic ones - such as English, Welsh, Scot and Irish. But as the English nation steadily grew in wealth, importance, and power, it was able to extend its influence over the other nations of the islands. The English parliament, which had seized power from the monarchy in 1688 at the end of a protracted conflict, was the instrument through which a nation- state, with England at its centre, came to be forged. The Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland that resulted in the formation of the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain’ meant, in effect that England was able to impose its influence on Scotland.¢ The British Parliament was henceforth dominated by its English members. The growth of a British identity meant that Scotland's distinctive culture and political institutions were systematically suppressed. Ireland suffered a similar fate. It was a country 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 and the older nations survived only as subordinate Partners in this union.VISUALISING THE NATION - Artists in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries found a way out by personifying a nation. In other words, they represented a country as if it were a person. Nation were than portrayed as female figures. The female from that was chosen to personify the nation did not stand for any woman in real life, rather it sought to give the abstract idea of the nation concrete from. That is, the female figure became an allegory of the nation.e Female allegories were invented by artists in the nineteenth century to represent the nation. In France she was christened Marianne, a popular Christian name, which underlined the idea of a people's nation. Her characteristic was drawn from those of Liberty and the Republic - the red cap, the tricolour, the cockade. Statues of Marianne were erected in public squares to remind the public of the national symbol of unity and to persuade them to identify with it. Marianne images were marked on coins and stamps. Germania became the allegory of the German nation. In visual representations, Germania wears a crown of an oak leaves, as the German oak stands for heroism.NATIONALISM AND IMPERIALISM By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the major European powers manipulated the nationalist aspirations of the subject peoples in Europe to further their own imperialist aims. The most serious source of nationalist tension in Europe after 1871 was the area called the Balkans. The Balkans was a region of geographical and ethnic variation comprising modern - day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Bosnia - Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, and Montenegro whose inhabitants were broadly known as the Slavs. A large part of the Balkans was under the control of the Ottoman Empire.« The spread of the ideas of romantic nationalism in the Balkans together with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire made this region very explosive. One by one, its European subject nationalities broke away from its control and declared independence. The Balkan area became an area of intense conflict. The Balkan states were fiercely jealous of each other, and each hoped to gain more territory at the expense of the others. During this period, there was intense rivalry among the European powers over trade and colonies as well as naval and military-:might. Each power - Russia, Germany, England, Austro - Hungary - was keen on countering the hold of other powers over the Balkans and extending its own control over the area. This led a series of wars in region and finally the First World War. Nationalism, aligned with imperialism, led Europe to disaster in 1914.¢ Many countries in the world which had been colonized by the European power in the nineteenth century began to oppose imperial domination. The anti — imperial movements that developed everywhere were nationalist, in the sense that they all struggled to form independent nation - states and were inspired by a sense of collective national unity, forged in confrontation with imperialism. The idea that societies should be organized into ‘nation - states' came to be accepted as natural and universal.