The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

• Frédéric Sorrieu, a French artist, prepared a series of four prints visualising a world made up of 'democratic and social Republics'
• First print of the series shows peoples of Europe and America offering homage to the statue of Liberty, personified as a female figure holding the torch of Enlightenment and the Charter of the Rights of Man
• In Sorrieu's vision, peoples of the world are grouped as distinct nations, identified through their flags and national costume
• Leading the procession past the statue of Liberty are the United States and Switzerland, followed by France, Germany, Austria, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Lombardy, Poland, England, Ireland, Hungary, and Russia
• Christ, saints, and angels gaze upon the scene to symbolise fraternity among the nations of the world
• Nationalism emerged in the nineteenth century, leading to the emergence of nation-states in Europe
• Nation-states replaced the multi-national dynastic empires of Europe
• A nation-state is where the majority of citizens develop a sense of common identity and shared history or descent
• Common identity in nation-states was forged through struggles and actions of leaders and common people
• The chapter will explore the processes through which nation-states and nationalism developed in nineteenth-century Europe
• Absolutist:

  • Literally, a government or system of rule that has no restraints on the power exercised
  • Refers to a form of monarchical government that was centralised, militarised and repressive
• Utopian:

  • A vision of a society that is so ideal that it is unlikely to actually exist
• Plebiscite:

  • A direct vote by which all the people of a region are asked to accept or reject a proposal
• Ernst Renan delivered a lecture at the University of Sorbonne in 1882 outlining his understanding of what makes a nation
• The lecture was later published as an essay titled 'Qu’est-ce qu’une nation?' ('What is a Nation?')
• Renan criticises the idea that a nation is formed by a common language, race, religion, or territory
• According to Renan, a nation is the culmination of a long past of endeavors, sacrifice, and devotion
• He believes that common glories in the past, a common will in the present, and performing great deeds together are essential conditions of being a people
• A nation is described as a large-scale solidarity, with its existence being a daily plebiscite
• Renan states that a province is its inhabitants, and a nation never has any real interest in annexing or holding on to a country against its will
• The existence of nations is seen as a good thing and a necessity, providing a guarantee of liberty in a world with multiple laws and masters
• The first clear expression of nationalism came with the French Revolution in 1789
• Political and constitutional changes after the French Revolution transferred sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French citizens
• • Discouraging regional dialects and promoting French as the common language of the nation
• The French revolutionaries introduced measures to create a sense of collective identity among the French people, such as:

  • Emphasizing the ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizen)
  • Choosing a new French flag, the tricolour, to replace the former royal standard
  • Renaming the Estates General to the National Assembly
  • Composing new hymns, taking oaths, and commemorating martyrs in the name of the nation
  • Implementing a centralised administrative system with uniform laws, abolishing internal customs duties and dues, and adopting a uniform system of weights and measures
• The French revolutionaries declared the mission and destiny of the French nation to liberate the peoples of Europe from despotism and help other European peoples become nations
• Napoleon introduced reforms in the territories under French control, including:

  • Introducing the Civil Code of 1804 (Napoleonic Code) that established equality before the law, secured the right to property, and abolished privileges based on birth
  • Simplifying administrative divisions, abolishing the feudal system, and freeing peasants from serfdom and manorial dues
  • Removing guild restrictions in towns, improving transport and communication systems, and promoting uniform laws, standardised weights and measures, and a common national currency
• Reactions of local populations to French rule in conquered areas were mixed, with initial enthusiasm turning to hostility due to increased taxation, censorship, forced conscription, and the perception that administrative changes did not bring political freedom
• In mid-eighteenth-century Europe, there were no 'nation-states' as we know them today
• Germany, Italy, and Switzerland were divided into kingdoms, duchies, and cantons with autonomous rulers
• Eastern and Central Europe were under autocratic monarchies with diverse peoples who did not share a collective identity or common culture
• The Habsburg Empire ruled over Austria-Hungary, a patchwork of different regions and peoples
• The empire included Alpine regions, Bohemia, Italian-speaking provinces, Hungary with Magyar speakers, Galicia with Polish speakers, and various peasant peoples
• Nationalism and the idea of the nation-state emerged due to:
• A dominant landed aristocracy class united by a common way of life, owning estates and town-houses, speaking French, and having family ties
• The majority of the population being peasantry, with different landholding patterns in Western and Eastern/Central Europe
• The growth of industrial production and trade in Western and parts of Central Europe, leading to the emergence of commercial classes based on market production
• Industrialisation starting in England in the second half of the eighteenth century, later in France and parts of the German states in the nineteenth century
• New social groups emerging: working-class population and middle classes including industrialists, businessmen, and professionals
• Ideas of national unity gaining popularity among educated, liberal middle classes following the abolition of aristocratic privileges