Chapter 1 The Rise of Nationalism in Europe Class 10th Notes History
Chapter 1 The Rise of Nationalism in Europe Class 10th Notes History Social Science
Chapter 1, "The Rise of Nationalism in Europe" from Class 10 History, introduces the emergence of nationalism in 19th-century Europe. It discusses how revolutionary ideas, unification movements in countries like Italy and Germany, and cultural awakenings shaped national identities, while also exploring the impact of nationalism on multi-ethnic empires.
Chapter 1, "The Rise of Nationalism in Europe" from Class 10 History, introduces the emergence of nationalism in 19th-century Europe. It discusses how revolutionary ideas, unification movements in countries like Italy and Germany, and cultural awakenings shaped national identities, while also exploring the impact of nationalism on multi-ethnic empires.
Frederic Sorrieu and His Utopian Vision
Frederic Sorrieu was a French artist who created a series of four paintings in 1848 to depict the surge of nationalism in Europe. The paintings were his utopian dream of the world under democratic and social republic rule and free of monarchies and empires. In his work, people from various nations marched in unison towards a Statue of Liberty, carrying their own national flags and wearing their traditional outfits. This symbolized the idea that countries were not made up of kings and dynasties but by unified identity—culture, language, and heritage.
There also was a perceivable hierarchy in Sorrieu's brain for the procession: the United States and Switzerland first, representing their already established democratic regimes. France and Germany second, nations in revolutionary turmoil and patriotic passion. This was to suggest Sorrieu's hope for national self-government and democracy to be extended across all of Europe and the globe. His work was born of the Revolutions of 1848, a wave of revolutions sweeping throughout Europe that followed cries for freedom, equality, and unity within nations. As utopian as it was, Sorrieu's vision described the new sense that the peoples, and not the monarchies, should be in charge of their nations.
The French Revolution and the Notion of the Nation
The French Revolution of 1789 was a turning point in the development of nationalism. Before that, Europe was a patchwork of feudal kingdoms and empires where people owed allegiance to monarchs rather than nations. The revolution turned everything upside down by introducing to the world the idea of a nation as a civic community of citizenry of equal rights and with a common identity.
Revolutionaries initiated far-reaching reforms to give this common identity:
1. La Patrie and Le Citoyen: The use of these words—"the fatherland" and "the citizen"helped make the point that the nation belonged to the citizens, not a monarch. Every citizen was on par with the state.
2. Tricolor Flag: Red, white, and blue replaced the former royal flag, an imposing image of the new France.
3. National Assembly: The feudal Estates General was recreated as the National Assembly, which was elected to represent the people and not the aristocrats.
4.Uniform Systems: A uniform legal code, system of taxation, and elimination of customs duties within the country eliminated regional variations, creating a feeling of oneness.
5. French Language: Regional dialects were eliminated because French was established as the official language, bringing communication and cultural unity.
These reforms planted the seeds of contemporary nationalism and inspired other European nations to assert their identity as nations rather than dynastic subjects.
Napoleonic Code and Its Impact
Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power in 1804 put an end to the experiment with democracy by the French Revolution when he proclaimed himself Emperor. However, his reforms, particularly the Napoleonic Code (Civil Code of 1804), spread nationalist thought all over Europe even under his autocratic regime.
The Napoleonic Code was revolutionary:
1. Abolition of Feudal Privileges: Nobility birthrights were eliminated, leveling the social pyramid.
2. Equality Before the Law: Classless citizens were subject to the same laws of the law.
3. Property Rights: Private property rights were instituted, which attracted the rising middle class.
4. Economic Freedom: Guild restrictions were eliminated, liberating free trade and a market economy.
When Napoleon conquered Europe, he applied this code in nations like Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. As much an autocrat as his rule was, these reforms triggered liberal and nationalist rebellions. People started demanding the rights and freedoms the Code promised even when Napoleon lost in 1815. A sad irony is that an autocrat was the catalyst for democratic nationalism.
The Aristocracy and the Rise of the Middle Class
Before the 19th century, European society was controlled by the aristocracy—landed elites that owned and controlled wealth. Peasants, the vast majority, worked on private land under feudal obligations. This rigid order began to crumble with the Industrial Revolution, which commenced in England in the 18th century and diffused across Europe.
The Industrial Revolution created new classes:
■ Working Class: Factory laborers and artisans became a class upon the emergence of industries.
■ Middle Class: Industrialists, merchants, and professionals (lawyers and doctors) turned rich and influential.
The middle class, most of all, led the nationalism movement. They were educated and aspiring and abhorred the privileges of the aristocracy and demanded political rights, economic opportunity, and national integration. Their protest to bring about change encouraged liberal-nationalist movements across Europe, which resisted the existing order.
Liberalism and Its Meaning
Liberalism, based on the Latin term liber (free), was a movement which believed in liberty and fought against unlimited authority. Liberalism had two features:
1. Political Liberalism: Liberals wished for parliamentary governments with vote-elected parliaments and not for monarchs who possessed unfettered authority. Liberals demanded equal rights before the law but granted only property-holding men and not poor people and women voting rights.
2. Economic Liberalism: Intellectuals like Adam Smith encouraged the Liberals, who believed in free trade, personal property, and non-action on the part of the state. They condemned monopolies by guilds and tariffs and wished to have a one-national economy.
Liberalism was attractive to nationalism because they both wanted an end to feudalism and dynastic governments. But its benefits were for the propertied classes only in the beginning, and greater equality was to be achieved subsequently.
Vienna Treaty (1815) and New Conservatism
Napoleon's defeat in 1815 led to the Congress of Vienna, in which the European powers (Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria) re-mapped in a move to re-equilibrate. The Vienna Treaty sought to undo revolution-caused changes:
1. Restored France to the Bourbon monarchy in france.
2. Stripped France of Napoleon's victories.
3. Maintained the German Confederation (39 states) week and under Austrianship.
4. Reinforced monarchies throughout Europe.
The treaty was a new conservativism, one based on tradition and monarchical rule instead of nationalism and liberalism. Some monarchs, nonetheless, like those of Prussia, saw the need to modernize (e.g., reorganizing the administration) to forestall revolution. This tension between the old and the new prepared the ground for future revolutions.
Emergence of Revolutionary Movements (1830-1848)
The 1830s and 1840s were a period of revolutionary ferment:
1. July Revolution (1830): The French Bourbon king was overthrown and a constitutional monarchy formed with Louis Philippe.
2. Greek Independence: Liberal and romantic nationalist support assisted Greece in their fight against the Ottoman Empire, which led to independence in 1832 (Treaty of Constantinople).
3. Cultural Nationalism: German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder emphasized folk culture—music, poetry, tradition—as characteristic of a nation, which spread movements in Germany and elsewhere.
4. 1848 Revolutions: Economic depression, famine, and demands for rights generated uprisings. The Silesian Weavers' Rebellion of 1845 in Prussia illustrated popular discontent among working-class people, while the Frankfurt Parliament of 1848 tried—and failed—to unify Germany unilaterally under constitutional monarchy.
The revolutions proved that nationalism was becoming increasingly powerful, even if success was sporadic.
Unification of Germany (1871)
German unification was a Prussian leadership feat under Otto von Bismarck, a mastermind of "blood and iron" diplomacy. It was a result of three wars:
1. Danish War (1864): Prussia and Austria defeated Danish Schleswig and Holstein.
2. Austro-Prussian War (1866): Prussia vanquished Austria, forming the North German Confederation.
3. Franco-Prussian War (1870-71): French defeat brought southern states together with the north, ending in the German Empire's declaration in 1871, with Wilhelm I as Kaiser.
Bismarck's pragmatic approach had put power above liberal ideology, with the building of a centralized, powerful state.
Unification of Italy (1861-1870)
Italy, a collection of seven states, was unified by the use of an amalgam of ideology, diplomacy, and power:
1. Giuseppe Mazzini: His Young Italy movement spread nationalist zeal.
2. Count Cavour: Prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, he joined with France to defeat Austria.
3. Giuseppe Garibaldi: His Red Shirts overran southern Italy, transferring it north.
Victor Emmanuel II became Italy's first king in 1861, and Rome was annexed in 1870, and unification complete.
The Unusual Case of Britain's Nation-State Creation
Britain united without conflict:
■ 1707: The Act of Union joined England and Scotland as Great Britain.
■ 1801: Ireland was compelled into the United Kingdom.
Scottish and Irish nationalism was quashed by English dominance, transforming Britain into an unusual case of nation-building without revolution.
Nationalism and Imperialism
By the end of the 19th century, nationalism merged with imperialism. European nations struggled to secure colonies, proclaiming their "superiority." The Balkans, as Ottoman provinces, became a tinderbox as ethnic communities yearned for independence, supported by contending powers such as Russia and Austria. Nationalist rivalries, fueled by these tensions, blazed into World War I (1914), a disastrous conflict of imperial rivalries.