CHAPTER- 1 THE RISE OF NATIONALISM IN EUROPE
NOTES
1. In 1848, a French government artist named Frédéric Sorrieu created a series of four paintings.
- Democratic and social republics-
- Men and women of all ages and social classes are walking in a long procession, paying tribute to the Statue of Liberty.
- During the French Revolution, artists often personified liberty as a woman.
- In front of the statue, the shattered remnants of tyrannical institutions are scattered on the ground.
- In Sorrieu’s utopia, the people of the world are divided into groups of separate nations.
- The people of Germany are holding black, red, and gold flags.
- Above, from heaven, Jesus Christ, saints, and angels are gazing intently at this scene.
- The artist used them as a symbol of brotherhood among the nations of the world.
- During the nineteenth century, nationalism emerged as a powerful force that brought significant changes to Europe’s political and mental landscape.
- These changes led to the rise of nation-states in place of Europe’s multi-national empires.
2. Referendum- a direct vote in which all the people of a region are asked to accept or reject a proposal.
3. The French Revolution and the Idea of the Nation-
- The first clear expression of nationalism occurred with the French Revolution in 1789.
- The political and constitutional changes that came with the French Revolution transferred sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French citizens.
- Ideas such as the fatherland and the citizen emphasized the notion of a united community.
- A new French flag—the tricolour—was chosen.
- New hymns were composed, oaths were taken, and martyrs were glorified.
- Uniform laws were established for all citizens living within the territory.
- Internal customs duties were abolished, and a uniform system of weights and measures was introduced.
- The revolutionaries also declared that it was the destiny and mission of the French nation to liberate the peoples of Europe from despotic rulers.
- By restoring monarchy in France, Napoleon had undoubtedly destroyed democracy there.
- The Civil Code of 1804, commonly known as the Napoleonic Code, abolished privileges based on birth.
- It ensured equality before the law and protected property rights.
- It abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom and feudal dues.
- In cities, it also removed the control of guilds over artisans.
- The transportation and communication systems were improved.
- Uniform laws, standard weights and measures, and a national currency made the movement of goods and capital from one region to another easier.
- However, in the conquered territories, the local people had mixed reactions toward French rule.
4. The Making of Nationalism in Europe-
- Eastern and Central Europe were under autocratic monarchies, and these regions were inhabited by diverse groups of people. They did not see themselves as sharing a collective identity or a common culture.
- They spoke different languages and belonged to various ethnic groups.For example, the Habsburg Empire that ruled over Austria-Hungary.
a) The Aristocracy and the New Middle Class-
- Socially and politically, the land-owning aristocracy was the most dominant class in the European continent.
- They owned estates in the countryside and grand townhouses in the cities.
- The aristocracy was a small group in terms of numbers.
- The majority of the population were peasants. In the West, most of the land was farmed by tenants and small cultivators, while in Eastern and Central Europe, the land was divided into large estates cultivated by serfs.
- The social groups included the working class and the middle class, consisting of industrialists, merchants, and professionals from the service sector.
- In Central and Eastern Europe, the size of these groups remained small until the final decades of the nineteenth century.
b) What did liberal nationalism mean?
- Liberalism, meaning 'liberal' or 'freedom,' is derived from the Latin word *liber*, which means 'free.'
- For the new middle class, liberalism meant freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law.
- Since the French Revolution, liberalism has supported the abolition of privileges held by autocratic rulers and the clergy, as well as constitutional and parliamentary representative government.
- Men without property and all women were denied political rights.
- The Napoleonic Code reinstated limited suffrage and, while granting women a defined status, placed them under the authority of their fathers and husbands.
- Throughout the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century, women and men without property organized protest movements demanding equal political rights.
- In the economic sphere, liberalism favored free markets and the removal of state controls on the movement of goods and capital.
- Napoleon’s administrative measures transformed countless small territories into a federation of 39 states.
- In 1834, at Prussia's initiative, the Zollverein customs union was established, which included most German states.
c) A New Conservatism After 1815-
- After Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, European governments were inspired by conservative ideals.
- Conservatives believed that the established traditional institutions of the state and society- such as the monarchy, the church, social hierarchy, property, and the family- should be preserved.
- Conservatism: A political philosophy that emphasizes tradition, established institutions, and customs, and prefers gradual and slow development over rapid changes.
- In 1815, representatives of European powers like Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria who had united to defeat Napoleon met in Vienna to draft an agreement for Europe. The conference was hosted by Austria’s Chancellor, Duke Metternich.
- The purpose of the Vienna Settlement was to undo many of the changes that had occurred during the Napoleonic Wars.
- The conservative regimes established in 1815 were autocratic.
- One of the main issues raised by liberal nationalists criticizing the new conservative order was freedom of the press.
d) Revolutionary-
- Being committed to and struggling for freedom and liberation was essential to being a revolutionary. Most revolutionaries considered the establishment of nation-states an indispensable part of this struggle for independence.
- Italy’s revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini was born in 1805 in Genoa. He became a member of a secret society called the Carbonari and founded two underground organizations.
5. The Age of Revolutions: 1830–1848
- Conservative regimes associated liberalism and nationalism in Europe with revolution in order to strengthen their hold on power.
- The revolutions were led by liberal nationalists who were well-educated and belonged to the privileged middle class.
- The first uprising took place in France in July 1830.
- Metternich once remarked that when France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches a cold. The July Revolution also sparked an uprising in Brussels, which resulted in its separation from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- With the rise of revolutionary nationalism in Europe, the Greeks began their struggle for independence in 1821.
- Poets and artists praised Greece as the cradle of European civilization and rallied public opinion in support of Greece's struggle against a Muslim empire.
- The Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognized Greece as an independent nation.
a) Romantic imagination and national sentiment
- Culture played an important role in the formation of the idea of the nation.
- The true spirit of the nation was revealed through folk songs, folk poetry, and folk dances.
- The emphasis on local dialects and the collection of local folk literature was not only aimed at reviving the ancient national spirit but also at spreading the modern national message to a larger number of people, most of whom were illiterate.
- Language also played an important role in the development of national sentiments.
- After the Russian occupation, the Polish language was forcibly removed from schools, and the Russian language was imposed everywhere by force.
- The Polish language began to be seen as a symbol of resistance against Russian domination.
b) Hunger, Hardships, and Popular Uprising
- In the first half of the nineteenth century, there was a tremendous increase in population across Europe.
- The surplus population from rural areas moved to the cities and began living in crowded, poor neighborhoods.
- In those parts of Europe where the aristocracy was still in power, the peasants were burdened with feudal dues and obligations. When the prices of food items rose or crops failed in a particular year, widespread poverty would spread across towns and villages.
- Due to food shortages and widespread unemployment, the people of Paris took to the streets.
- The National Assembly declared a republic, granted voting rights to all adult men over the age of 21, and guaranteed the right to work. National workshops were established to provide employment.
c) 1848: The Revolution of the Liberals
- In 1848, while peasants and laborers across many European countries were revolting due to poverty, unemployment, and hunger, a parallel revolution was also taking place led by the educated middle classes.
- The events of February 1848 forced the king to abdicate, and a republic was declared based on universal male suffrage.
- The men and women of the liberal middle classes linked the demand for constitutionalism with the demand for national unification.
- This nation-state was based on parliamentary principles such as a constitution, freedom of the press, and the freedom to form organizations.
- The issue of granting political rights to women was controversial within the liberal movement.
- Women established their own political organizations, started newspapers, and participated in political meetings and demonstrations.
- In 1848, conservative forces succeeded in suppressing the liberal movements, but they were unable to restore the old order.
- In the Habsburg-ruled territories and Russia, serfdom and bonded labor were abolished.
6. Formation of Germany and Italy
a) Germany- Can the army be the creator of the nation?
- After 1848, nationalism in Europe began to separate itself from democracy and revolution.
- Nationalist sentiments were widespread among the middle-class German people, and in 1848, they attempted to unite the various regions of the German Confederation to create a nation-state governed by an elected parliament.
- In January 1871, at a ceremony held in Versailles, King William I of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor of Germany.
- A meeting of the princes of the German states, army representatives, and leading ministers- including Otto von Bismarck and other key Prussian ministers- was held in the cold Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.
- The nation-building process in Germany reflected the dominance of the power of the Prussian state.
b) Italy-
- Italy was divided into several hereditary states and was scattered within the multinational Habsburg Empire.
- In the mid-nineteenth century, Italy was divided into seven states, of which only one- Sardinia-Piedmont- was ruled by an Italian royal family.
- In the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini attempted to present a well-thought-out program for a unified Italian republic. To spread his objectives, he also founded a secret organization called Young Italy.
- Like many wealthy and educated members of the Italian aristocracy, he spoke French far better than Italian.
- In addition to regular soldiers, a large number of armed volunteers, led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, participated in this war.
- In 1861, Emmanuel II was declared the king of unified Italy.
c) Britain’s Strange Tale
- The formation of the nation-state in Britain was not the result of any sudden upheaval or revolution.
- The primary identity of the people living in the British Isles- English, Welsh, Scottish, or Irish- was ethnic.
- Ethnic– A shared racial, tribal, or cultural origin or background that a community identifies with as its identity.
- After a long conflict and struggle, the English Parliament took away power from the monarchy in 1688.
- The Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland led to the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Through this, England was effectively able to establish its dominance over Scotland.
- The people of the Scottish Highlands were forbidden from speaking their Gaelic language or wearing their national dress.
- Ireland was deeply divided between Catholic and Protestant religious groups.
- The English supported the Protestants in Ireland to help them strengthen their dominance over the predominantly Catholic country.
- In 1801, Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the United Kingdom.
7. Visualization of the nation-
- The woman’s form chosen to personify the nation was not based on any particular woman in real life. It was an attempt to give a concrete form to the abstract idea of the nation. In other words, the image of a woman became the metaphor for the nation.
- Metaphor– When an abstract idea is represented through a person or thing. A metaphorical story has two meanings – one literal and one symbolic.
- During the French Revolution, artists used the female metaphor to express ideas such as liberty, justice, and republic.
- Justice is commonly symbolized as a woman who is blindfolded and holding a scale.
- Statues of Marianne were installed in public squares so that people would be reminded of the national symbol of unity and could identify with it.
- In visual representations, Germania wears a crown made of oak leaves because the German oak is a symbol of bravery.
8. Nationalism and Imperialism-
- By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, nationalism no longer retained the idealistic, liberal-democratic character it had in the first half of the century.
- The European powers also used the nationalist aspirations of the subjugated people to achieve their imperialist objectives.
- After 1871, the source of intense nationalist tension in Europe was the Balkan region. This area was marked by geographical and ethnic diversity.
- In the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire tried to strengthen itself through modernization and internal reforms, but it achieved very little success in this effort.
- The rebellious national groups in the Balkan region saw their struggles as efforts to regain the independence they had lost long ago.
- Every power Russia, Germany, England, and Austro-Hungary wanted to expand its influence in the Balkans by weakening the hold of other powers over the region.
- Linked with imperialism, nationalism led Europe toward a great disaster in 1914.
