NATIONALISM IN EUROPE

Value points of the lesson-

The Rise of Nationalism in Europe :-
1. In 1848, Frederic Sorrieu, a French artist, prepared a series of four print visualizing his dream of a world
made up of ‘democratic and social republic, as he called them.
2. Artists of the time of the French Revolution personified Liberty as a female figure.
3. According to Sorrieu’s utopian vision, the peoples of the world are grouped as distinct nations, identified
through their flags and national costume.
4. During the nineteenth century, nationalism emerged as a force which brought about sweeping changes in
the political and mental world of Europe.
5. The end result of these changes was the emergence of the nation-state in the place of the multi-national
dynastic empires of Europe.
6. A modern state, in which a centralized power exercised sovereign control over a clearly defined territory,
had been developing over a long period of time in Europe.
7. But a nation-state was one in which the majority of its citizens, and not only its rulers, came to develop a
sense of common identity and shared history or descent.

The French Revolution and the idea of the Nation

1. The first clear expression of nationalism came with the French Revolution in 1789.
2. The political and constitutional changes that came in the wake of the French Revolution led to the transfer
of sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French citizens.
3. The ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizen) emphasized the notion of a united
community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.
4. The Estates General was elected by the body of the active citizens and renamed the National Assembly.
5. Internal customs duties and dues were abolished and a uniform system of weights and measures was
adopted.
6. The revolutionaries further declared that it was the mission and the destiny of the French nation to liberate
the peoples of Europe from despotism.
7. Students and other members of educated middle classes began setting up Jacobin club.
8. Their activities and campaigns prepared the way for the French armies which moved into Holland, Belgium,
Switzerland and much of Italy in the 1790’s.
9. The French armies began to carry the idea of nationalism abroad.
France return to monarchy :-
1. Through a return to monarchy Napoleon had, no doubt, destroyed democracy in France, but in the
administrative field he had incorporated revolutionary principles in order to make the whole system
more rational and efficient.
2. The Civil Code of 1804 – usually known as the Napoleonic Code – did away with all privileges based
on birth, established equality before the Law and secured the right to property.
3. Napoleon simplified administrative divisions, abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from
serfdom and manorial dues
4. Transport and communication systems were improved.
5. Businessmen and small-scale producers of goods, in particular, began to realize that uniform laws,
standardised weights and measures, and a common national currency would facilitate the
movement and exchange of goods and capital from one region to another.
6. In many places such as Holland and Switzerland, Brussels, Mainz, Milan, Warsaw, the French armies
were welcomed as harbingers of Liberty.
 7. It became clear that the new administrative arrangements did not go hand in hand with political
freedom.
8. Increased taxation, censorship, forced conscription into the French armies required to conquer the
rest of the Europe, all seemed to outweigh the advantages of the administrative changes.
The Making of Nationalism in Europe
1. Germany, Italy and Switzerland were divided into kingdoms, duchies and cantons whose rulers had their
autonomous territories.
2. They did not see themselves as sharing a collective identity or a common culture.
3. The Habsburg Empire ruled over Austria Hungary.
4. In Hungary, half of the population spoke Magyar while the other half of the spoke a variety of dialects.
5. Besides these three dominant groups, there also lived within the boundaries of the empire.
6. The only tie binding these diverse groups together was a common allegiance to the emperor.
The Aristocracy and the new middle class
1. Socially and politically, a landed aristocracy was the dominant class on the continent.
2. The members of this class were by a common way of life that cut across regional divisions.
3. Their families were often connected by ties if marriages.
4. This powerful aristocracy was, however, numerically a small group. The growth of towns and the emergence
of commercial classes whose existence was based on production for the market.
5. Industrialization began in England in the second half of the eighteenth century, but in France and parts of
the German states it occurred only during the nineteenth century.
6. In its wake, new social groups came into being: a working-class population, and middle classes made up of
industrialists, businessmen, professional.
7. It was among the educated, liberal middle classes that ideas of national unity following the abolition of
aristocratic privileges gained popularity.
Liberal Nationalism:-
1. In early-nineteenth-century Europe were closely allied to the ideology of liberalism.The term ‘liberalism’
derives from the Latin root liber, meaning free.
2. Liberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law.It emphasized the concept
of government by consent.A constitution and representative government through parliament.
3. The right to vote and to get elected was generated exclusively to property-owning men.Men without
property and all women were excluded from political rights.
4. Women and non-propertied men and women organised opposition movements demanding equal political
rights.
5. The abolition of state-imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital.
6. The union abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two.
A New Conservation after 1815

1. Following the defect of Napoleon in 1815, European governments were driven by a spirit of conservatism.
2. Most conservatives, however, did not propose a return to the society of pre-revolutionary days.
3. That modernization could in fact strengthen traditional institutions like the monarchy.
4. 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:-
1. In 1815, representatives of the European powers – Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria – who had collectively
defeated Napoleon, met at Vienna to draw up a settlement for Europe.
2.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.
3.German confederation of 39 states that has been set up by Napoleon was left untouched.
4.Autocratic did not tolerate criticism and dissent, and sought to curb activities that questioned the legitimacy of
autocratic government.
The Revolutionaries
1. During the years following 1815, the fear of repression drove many liberal-nationalists underground.
Revolutionary at this time meant a commitment to oppose monarchical forms and to fight for liberty and
freedom.
2. Giuseppe Mazzini, born in Genoa in 1807, he became a member of the secret society of the Carbonari.
3. He was sent into exile in 1831 for attempting a revolution in Liguria.
4. Mazzini believed that god had intended nations to be the natural units of mankind.
5. Secret societies were set up in Germany, France, Switzerland and Poland.
6. Metternich described him as ‘The most dangerous enemy of our social order’.

1. What is Nation- state?

● During the 19th century, nationalism emerged as a force which brought about sweeping changes
in the political and moral world of Europe.
● It resulted into 'Nation-States' in place of the multinational dynastic empires of Europe.
● It was a concept of modern states having centralized powers exercising sovereign control over
their own territory.
● In a nation state, people living in it develop a sense of common identity and shared history. This
commonness was developed through struggles, actions of leaders and the struggles of the
common people.
● This has given every nation state a single or a common language, common culture or tradition
and an identity with that particular territory and do and die feeling.

2. What steps did the French revolutionaries take to create a sense of collective
identity among the French people?
● From the very beginning, the French revolutionaries introduced various measures and practices
that could create a sense of collective identity amongst the French people.
● The ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizen) emphasized the notion of a
united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.
● A new French flag, the tricolour, was chosen to replace the former royal standard.
● The Estates General was elected by the body of active citizens and renamed the National
Assembly.
● New hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated, all in the name of nation.
● A centralised 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

3. Explain the Napoleon code of 1804.

 ● Napoleon incorporated revolutionary principles in the administrative field to make the
whole system more rational and effective. His civil code of 1804 was known as Napoleonic Code.
● First, he did away with all the privileges based on birth. Everyone became equal before the law.
He abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial duties.
● He secured the right to property.
● Peasants, artisans, workers and new businessmen found a new-found freedom as guild restrictions
were removed in towns also.
● Uniform laws, standardised weights and measures, a common national currency facilitated the
movement and exchange of goods and capital from one region to another.

4. How did the local people in the areas conquered by Napoleon react to French rule? Explain.
● A mixed reaction was observed in the areas conquered by Napoleon.
● Initially, in places like Holland and Switzerland and certain cities like Brussels,
Mainz, Milan, and Warsaw, the French armies were welcomed as the messengers of the idea of
liberty and freedom.
● However, the initial warmth soon turned into hatred as people realized that the new
administrative arrangements did not protect their political liberties and freedom.
● The policies introduced by the government including increased taxation, censorship, and forced
conscription outweighed the advantages of administrative changes.

5. FRÉDÉRIC SORRIEU VISION OF THE WORLD

Frédéric Sorrieu, a French artist, visualised his dream of a world made up of democratic and Social
Republics.

● The first print shows the people of Europe and America marching and offering homage to the
Statue of Liberty as they pass it. The torch of Enlightenment was carried by a female figure in one
hand and the Charter of the Rights of Man in the other.
● On the earth lay the shattered remains of the symbols of absolutist institutions.
● The people of the world are grouped as distinct nations, identified through their flags and national
costume.
● From the heavens above, Christ, saints and angels have been used by the artist to symbolise
fraternity among the nations of the world.

6. What were the social composition of mid- eighteenth century of Europe?

● Socially and politically, a landed aristocracy was the dominant class on the continent.
● The members of this class were united by a common way of life that cut across regional divisions.
They owned estates in the countryside and also town-houses.
● They spoke French for purposes of diplomacy and in high society. Their families were often
connected by ties of marriage.
● This powerful aristocracy was, however, numerically a small group. The majority of the
population was made up of the peasantry.
● To the west, the bulk of the land was farmed by tenants and small owners, while in Eastern and
Central Europe the pattern of landholding was characterized by vast estates which were cultivated
by serfs.
● In Western and parts of Central Europe the growth of industrial production and trade meant the
growth of towns and the emergence of commercial classes whose existence was based on
production for the market
1. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE IDEA OF THE NATION

● In 1789, Nationalism came with the French Revolution and the political and constitutional changes
led to the transfer of power from the monarchy to a body of French citizens.
● Various measures and practices were introduced, such as the ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and
le citoyen (the citizen).
● A new French flag, the tricolour, was chosen to replace the former one.
● The Civil Code of 1804, known as the Napoleonic Code, abolished all privileges based on birth,
established equality before the law and secured the right to property.

2. LIBERALISM

● The term ‘liberalism’ derives from the Latin word liber, meaning free. The right to vote and to get
elected was granted exclusively to property-owning men. Men without property and all women
were excluded from political rights.
● 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.
● 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.
● The major issue taken up by the liberal nationalists, who criticised the new conservative order, was the
freedom of the press.

3. CONSERVATISM AFTER 1815

● In 1815, European governments were driven by a spirit of conservatism. Conservatives believed in

monarchy, the Church, social hierarchies, and property and that the family should be preserved.
● A modern army, an efficient bureaucracy, a dynamic economy, and the abolition of feudalism and serfdom
could strengthen the autocratic monarchies of Europe.
● In 1815, representatives of the European powers – Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria met in Vienna to
draw up a settlement for Europe.
● The Bourbon dynasty was restored to power, and France lost the territories it had annexed under
Napoleon.

7. THE REVOLUTIONARIES

● In 1815, secret societies were formed in many European states to train revolutionaries and spread their
ideas.
● Revolutionaries opposed monarchical forms and fought for liberty and freedom.
● The Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini, born in Genoa in 1807, founded underground societies like
Young Italy and Young Europe, whose members were like-minded young men from Poland, France, Italy
and the German states.