History Chapter 1 The Rise of Nationalism in Europe – Notes & Study Material

Important Terms

Allegory: When an abstract idea (for instance greed, envy, freedom, liberty, etc.) is expressed through a person or  a thing. An allegorical story has two meanings, one literal and one symbolic.

Absolutism: It refers to a system of rule that has no restraints on the power exercised.

Conservatism: It is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of  culture and civilisation.

French Revolution: An uprising in France against the monarchy from 1789 to 1799 which resulted in the  establishment of France as a republic.

Feminism: Awareness of women’s rights and interests based on political, economic and social equality of genders.

Frankfurt Parliament: A large number of political associations comprising of professionals, businessmen  and prosperous artisans came together in the city of Frankfurt and decided to vote for an all-German National  Assembly. On 18th May 1848, 831 elected representatives marched in a festive procession to take their places in the  Frankfurt Parliament convened at St. Paul’s Church. They drafted a constitution for a German nation to be headed by  a monarchy subject to a parliament.

Liberal Nationalism: It is a form of nationalism which means- (i) Individual freedom, (ii) Equality before law,  (iii) Government by consent, (iv) Freedom of markets, (v) Abolition of state-imposed restrictions on the movement  of goods and capital.

 

Modern State: A state in which sovereignty is exercised by a centralised power over a specific territory and population.

Nationalism: An ideology which emphasises faithfulness, devotion, or allegiance to a nation or nation-state and  holds that such obligations outweigh other individual or group interests.

Napoleonic Code: The Civil Code of 1804 introduced by Napoleon, is known as the Napoleonic Code. This Code  did away with all privileges based on birth, established equality before the law and secured the right to property.

Nation-state: A state that establishes itself as a separate political and geographical entity and functions  as a complete and sovereign territorial unit. This concept emerged in 19th century Europe as a result of the  development of nationalism.

Plebiscite: The direct vote of all the members of an electorate on an important public question such as a change  in the constitution.

Habsburg Empire: The empire that ruled Austria-Hungary including the Alpine regions of Tyrol, Austria, the  Sudetenland and Bohemia.

Ottoman Empire: A former Turkish empire ruled by the Caliph, the spiritual and temporal head of the Muslims. 

Ideology: System of ideas reflecting a particular social and political vision.

Suffrage: The right to vote in political elections.

Romanticism: A cultural movement that rejected science and reason and introduced heart and emotions. The  concern of the romantics was to create a sense of shared collective heritage and a common cultural past for  arousing nationalism.

Revolutionaries: Upholders of the idea of liberalism and against the conservative regimes of the 19th century.

Nationalistic Feelings (1830s): The sense of recognising the society and nation as “We” and the sharing of many  traits by its members. Culture with art and poetry, stories and music played a major role in the shaping and  expression of nationalistic feelings and notion.

Ethnic: Relates to a common racial, tribal or cultural origin or background that a community identifies with or claims.

Symbol: A symbol is a visual image that represents something other than itself. It may be a representation using  an object, picture, written word, sound or a particular mark.

Imperialism: The policy of extending a country’s power and influence through colonization, use of military force  or other means.

Utopian vision: It refers to a vision of a society that is so ideal that it is unlikely to actually exist.

Zollverein: A customs union formed in 1834 at the initiative of Prussia. It abolished tariff barriers and reduced the  number of currencies from over thirty to two.

Personalities

Frederic Sorrieu: He was a French artist famous for a series of four prints prepared in 1848 that visualized the  dream of a world consisting of ‘democratic and social Republics’. 

Napoleon (1769-1821): A French military and political leader who gained prominence during the French  Revolution. He ruled France from 1799 to 1815. He assumed absolute power in 1799 by becoming the First Consul.  

Giuseppe Mazzini: A famous Italian revolutionary who was born in 1807 in Genoa. He was part of a secret society  called Carbonari and founded two underground societies called Young Italy in Marseilles and Young Europe in Berne. 

Duke Metternich: An Austrian Chancellor who hosted the Congress which was held at Vienna in 1815 and was the  chief architect of the Treaty of Vienna. 

Louise Otto-Peters: He was a German suffragist and feminist who wrote novels, poetry, essays and libretti. 

Carl Welcker: Carl Welcker, a member of the Frankfurt Parliament, had tremendous resentment against equal  rights for women, and he ridiculed their demands as being against nature. 

Otto von Bismarck: He was the architect of a Prussian consolidation that was also a form of German unification.  Once the empire was established, he actively and skilfully pursued pacific policies in foreign affairs, succeeding  in preserving the peace in Europe for about two decades.  

Kaiser William II: Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia, ruling the German  Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15th June 1888 to 9th November 1918. In newly formed Germany, a lot  of emphasis was placed on modernizing the currency, banking, legal and judicial systems.  

Count Camillo di Cavour: The Chief Minister of Piedmont, Count Camillo di Cavour, helped the king in forming  an alliance with France, and they defeated the Austrian forces in 1859. Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count  of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri, generally known as Cavour, was an Italian statesman and a leading figure in the  movement toward Italian unification.  

Giuseppe Garibaldi: He was an Italian general, politician and nationalist who played a large role in the history of  Italy. He has been hailed as one of the ‘Fathers of the Fatherland’ for his contribution to the Italian Risorgimento,  which unified the fractured nation under one rule. He joined the war along with his armed volunteers called the  ‘Red Shirts’. In 1860, Garibaldi and his troops marched into southern Italy and the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. 

Marianne and Germania: Marianne and Germania were the female allegories of France and German nations  respectively. These were an allegory of nation in the same way as Bharat Mata, a female figure is imagined in  India. The characteristics of Marianne were drawn from those of Liberty and the Republic—the red cap, the  tricolour and the cockade. The Statues of Marianne were made and erected at public places and a picture of  Marianne printed on postage stamps. Germania wears a crown of oak leaves because that tree stands for heroism.  She holds a sword in her hand.

Important Dates

1797: Napoleon invaded Italy; Napoleonic wars began.

1804: Napoleonic Code was introduced that, did away with all privileges based on birth. Upheld equality before  the law.

1814-15: Fall of Napoleon; the Vienna Peace Settlement.

1821: Greek struggle for independence began.

1832: Greece gained independence.

1834: Zollverein or the Customs Union was formed in Prussia to abolish tariff barriers.

1848: Revolutions in Europe; Artisans, industrial workers and peasants revolt against economic hardships;  middle classes demanded constitutions and representative governments; Italians, Germans, Magyars, Poles,  Czechs, etc., demand nation-states.

1797: Napoleon invaded Italy; Napoleonic wars began.

1804: Napoleonic Code was introduced that, did away with all privileges based on birth. Upheld equality before  the law.

1814-15: Fall of Napoleon; the Vienna Peace Settlement.

1821: Greek struggle for independence began.

1832: Greece gained independence.  1834: Zollverein or the Customs Union was formed in Prussia to abolish tariff barriers.

1848: Revolutions in Europe; Artisans, industrial workers and peasants revolt against economic hardships;  middle classes demanded constitutions and representative governments; Italians, Germans, Magyars, Poles,  Czechs, etc., demand nation-states.

1855: The Kingdom of Sardinia participated from the sides of British and French in the Crimean War.

1858: Cavour formed an alliance with France.

1859-1870: Unification of Italy.

1859: Sardinia-Piedmont formed an alliance with France and defeated the Austrian forces. Large number of  people under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the movement.

1860: Sardinia-Piedmont’s forces marched into South Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and drove out  the Spanish rulers.

1861: Victor Emmanuel II was declared as the King of United Italy and Rome was declared the capital of Italy.

1866-1871: Unification of Germany.

1871: The Prussian King, William I was proclaimed the German Emperor.

1905: Slav nationalism gathers force in the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires.

1914: Beginning of the First World War.

Detailed Notes

During the nineteenth century, nationalism emerged as a force which brought about sweeping changes in the political and mental world of Europe and resulted in emergence of the nation-state. Frederic Sorrieu, a French artist, visualised his dream of a world made up of ‘democratic and social Republics’, and presented it to the world and promoted the spirit of nationalism. 

Ernst Renan, a French philosopher, gave the new definition of a nation. The concept of nationalism emerged in Europe during the nineteenth century.

Nationalism is a political and socio-economic philosophy that  promotes the interests of a nation as a whole.

It marked the downfall of feudalism and the beginning of Renaissance  which literally means ‘Rebirth’.

The feeling of nationalism was illustrated by a French artist named Frédéric Sorrieu. In 1848, he prepared a series  of four prints visualising his dream of a world made up of ‘democratic and social Republics’, as he called them.

The painting depicted his dream of a world free of the absolutist institutions and the establishment of democratic  and social republics. It also illustrated the Statue of Liberty holding a torch of Enlightenment and the Charter of  the Rights of Man.

The concepts of liberty, equality, fraternity and nationalism dominated the social and political scene of Europe in  the 19th century.

Salient features and beginning of French Revolution

Till 1789 France was under absolute monarchy. French armies moved into Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy in the 1790s with a promise of liberating  the people from their despotic rulers.  However, the French Revolution in 1789 was an influential event that marked the age of revolutions in  Europe.

The major outcome of the revolution was the formation of a constitutional monarchy, thereby, a  remarkable reduction in the royal and feudal privileges. It led to the transfer  of sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French citizens. The revolution proclaimed that it was the people who would make the nation and shape its  destiny. 

It paved the way for the achievement of bigger goals of national identity and national pride, which can aptly  be called as Nationalism

The Estates General was renamed as the National Assembly, which was elected by the body of active citizens.

French revolutionaries (took) introduced various steps to unite the people of France. They  considered it as the mission and the destiny of the French nation to liberate the people of  Europe from despotism by introducing  

(a) A new French flag  

(b) The idea of la patrie and le citoyen  

(c) A centralised administration system  (d) Uniform laws for all citizens  

(e) Uniform system of weights and measures. 

Students, educated-middle classes set up Jacobin clubs to spread the ideas of revolutionaries  into Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and much of Italy in the 1790s. 

Napoleon (1769-1821)

Napoleon introduced many reforms to simplify the administration and to make the whole system more efficient. His revolutionaries principles were called Civil Code of 1804 usually  known as the Napoleonic Code.  Ruled France from 1799 to 1815. Assumed absolute power in 1799 by becoming the First Consul.

Simplification of administrative divisions, improvement in transport and communication systems, removal of guild restrictions, standardisation of weights and measures and introduction of common currency were major changes in the system. The right to property was also secured.

The Code established equality before the law and abolished all privileges based on birth.

This code was exported to the regions of Switzerland, Italy and Germany. It also abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom. Taxation and censorship were imposed and military services were made mandatory.

The French armies were welcomed as a symbol of liberty in Brussels, Mainz, Milan and  Warsaw.

The people became hostile due to increased taxation, censorship, forced conscription into the  French army.

Advent of Liberalism in Europe

The term ‘liberalism’ is taken from the Latin word liber which means free.  

The ideology of liberalism emerged which ended the state interference in the economic life of  society. Freedom of markets was achieved and state-imposed restrictions on the movement  of goods and capital were abolished. Napoleon’s administrative measures were altered.

For the new middle classes liberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality for  all before the law.  In 1834, a customs union or Zollverein was formed.

During the mid-18th century, Europe was divided into several small kingdoms and principalities. The concept  of nation states did not exist at all. People from diverse ethnic groups lived in Eastern and Central Europe.

The prominent empires in Europe were the autocratic Ottoman Empire that ruled over Eastern and Central  Europe, and Greece and the Habsburg Empire that ruled over Austria-Hungary.

Rise of Conservatism and Revolutionaries

The middle class believed in freedom and equality of all individuals before the law. Liberalism was used to  end aristocracy and clerical privileges. After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815, the European  government adopted the idea of Conservatism.

Conservatism was a political philosophy that stressed the importance of tradition, established institutions  and customs, and preferred gradual development to quick change.

After 1815, several liberals began working in secret societies all over Europe to propagate their views and train  revolutionaries. Revolutionaries were seen as a threat to the restored monarchies, and hence, were repressed.

Giuseppe Mazzini, a famous Italian revolutionary was born in 1807 in Genoa. He was the part of a secret  society called Carbonari and founded two underground societies called Young Italy in Marseilles, and Young  Europe in Berne.

In 1831, Mazzini was sent into exile for attempting a revolution in Liguria. Mazzini believed in the unification  of the small kingdoms and principalities in Italy. These societies were joined by like-minded young men from  Poland, France, Italy and the German states.

The Age of Revolutions (1830-1848) and the  Unification of Germany and Italy 

Liberalism and Nationalism became associated with the revolution in many regions of Europe  such as the Italian and German states, the provinces of the Ottoman Empire, Ireland and Poland.

The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830. The Bourbon kings who had been  restored to power during the conservative reaction after 1815, were now overthrown by liberal  revolutionaries.

The Greek War of Independence was another event which mobilised nationalist feelings among  the educated elite in Europe.

Culture played an important role in creating the idea of the nation. Art, poetry, stories and  music helped express and shape nationalist feelings.

Romanticism was a cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of nationalist sentiments.  ¾ Language too played an important role in developing nationalist sentiments.

The 1830s saw a rise in prices, bad harvest and poverty in Europe. Besides the poor, unemployed and starving  peasants and even educated middle classes revolted.

In 1848, a large number of political associations came together in Frankfurt and decided to vote for an all-German  National Assembly.

The issue of extending political rights to women became a controversial one.

Conservative forces were able to suppress liberal movements in 1848, but could not restore the old order.

After 1848, nationalism in Europe moved away from its association with democracy and revolution.

Unification of Germany

After 1848, nationalist sentiments were often mobilised by conservatives for promoting state power and achieving  political domination over Europe. The unification of Italy and Germany came about through this process. 

In 1848, middle-class Germans tried to unite the different regions of the German confederation into a nation  – state under an elected parliament.

In Prussia, nation-building acts were repressed by the combined forces of the monarchy and the military and  were supported by the large landowners called Junkers. Prussia took over the leadership of the movement.

The Chief Minister, Otto von Bismarck was the architect of this process carried out with  the help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy.

Prussia emerged victorious after fighting three wars over seven years against the combined forces of Austria,  Denmark and France and the process of unification of Germany was completed. 

On 18th January 1871, the new German Empire headed by the German Emperor Kaiser William I was declared  in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. 

The unification of Germany established Prussian dominance in Europe. 

The new German Empire focused on modernizing the currency, banking, legal and judicial systems. 

Germany and Italy came to be unified as nation-states.

National feelings were widespread among middle-class German. Three wars over seven years with Austria,  Denmark and France ended in Prussian victory and completed the process of unification.

On the 18 January 1871, the princes of the German states, representatives of the army,  important Prussian ministers including Otto von Bismarck gathered in the Palace of  Versailles to proclaim the new German Empire headed by Kaiser William I of Prussia.

The new state placed a story emphasis on modernising the currency, banking, legal and  judicial systems in Germany. Prussian measures and practices often become a model for the  rest of Germany. 

Unification of Italy

Like Germany, Italy, too had a long history of political fragmentation. Italians were scattered over several dynastic states as well as the multi-national Habsburg Empire. Italy was divided into seven states. 

Only Sardinia-Piedmont was ruled by an Italian princely house. 

North Italy was under Austrian Habsburgs.

The centre part was under the Pope.

The southern regions were under the Bourbon kings of Spain. 

During the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini formed a coherent programme for uniting the Italian  Republic and formed a secret society called Young Italy. 

The failure of revolutionary uprisings both in 1831 and 1848 prompted King Victor  Emmanuel II from Sardinia-Piedmont to unify the Italian states. 

Chief Minister of Sardinia-Piedmont, Count Cavour, led the movement for the unification of Italy.He had also formed a secret society called Young Italy for the dissemination of his goals. • Italy offered them the possibility of economic development and political dominance.

In the year 1859, Sardinia-Piedmont with an alliance with France defeated the Austrian forces.

In 1860, Sardinia-Piedmont’s forces marched into southern Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and  drove out the Spanish rulers. Chief Minister Cavour who led the movement to unify the regions of Italy was neither a revolutionary nor a democrat.

In 1861, Victor Emmanuel was declared as the king of united Italy and Rome was declared the capital of Italy. 

Unification of Britain

The history of nationalism in Britain was different from the rest of Europe. Britain has a different history of how it consolidated as a nation-state without uprisings and revolutions. The British Isles was inhabited by ethnic English, Welsh, Scot or Irish. The English  nation grew more in power and wealth, and it began to exert influence over the other nations  of the islands.

The concept of nation states, with England as the centre, came in 1688 after the Parliament  snatched power from the monarchy. In 1707, the Act of Union between England and Scotland  resulted in the formation of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’. 

To ensure the growth of British identity, Scotland’s cultural and political institutions were  suppressed. The British imposed control over Ireland as well. Ireland was deeply divided into  two groups, Catholics and Protestants. The English favoured the Protestants and helped them establish their  dominance over a largely Catholic Ireland.

In 1801, Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the United Kingdom after a failed Irish revolt. The symbols of new  Britain were the English language, the British flag (Union Jack) and the British national anthem (God Save Our  Nobel King). In Ireland, the English helped the protestants and established their control over the Catholic country and Ireland was dominated by United Kingdom in 1801. •

This led to the demolition of Scotland’s distinctive culture and political institutions. A British nation was formed with English culture, British flag, the national anthem and the English language.

Visualising the Nation: Nationalism and  Imperialism 

Nation was personified in the female form by the artists of the 19th century. Female allegories such as that of liberty, justice and republic were invented. 

 In France, the idea of a people’s nation was christened Marianne. She was characterized by the ideas of  Liberty and Republic. 

Marianne’s fasces or a bundle of rods with an axe in the middle was used to symbolise strength in unity. The  red Phrygian cap signified freedom of a slave. It was also known as the liberty cap. French people wore these  caps a few days before the storming of the Bastille. 

These symbols were usually popular images from everyday life that uneducated masses could easily identify with. 

During revolutions, artists represented a nation as a person. This personification gave life to an abstract  concept like a nation. 

Through the 18th and the mid 19th century, Europe was marked by a lot of chaos and turmoil. After 1871, there  was a significant change in the concept of nationalism in Europe. 

Nationalist groups in Europe had become increasingly incompatible with each other and were constantly in  conflict. The major European powers, namely Russia, Germany, England and Austro-Hungary began taking  advantage of nationalism in Europe to materialise their aims for Imperialism. 

The European powers sighted the much-disturbed Balkan region to fulfil their imperialist goals. The Balkan  region consisted of the following countries of our times – Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia,  Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro. 

The artist in the 18th and 19th centuries personify nations as a female figures that did not resemble for any particular woman in real life. 

The female figure became an allegory of the nation, to portray ideas such as liberty, justice and the republic. These ideals were represented through specific objects or symbols.

Marianne, a Christian name became the allegory of France. Her statues were erected in public squares to create the feeling of unity. Her images were marked on coins and stamps. 

Germania, the allegory of German nation, wear a crown of oak leaves, as the German-Oak stands for heroism.

Class 10 History – Notes & Study Material

Chapter 1 The Rise of Nationalism in Europe Chapter 2 Nationalism in India Chapter 3 The making of Global World