Nationalism: It is a belief system which
instills a sense of common identity among the members of a nation. National
flag, national symbol, national anthem, etc. play an important role in
developing and strengthening the idea of nationalism.
Rise of Nationalism in Europe: Before the middle
of the nineteenth century, the countries in Europe were not in the form as we
know them today. Different regions in Europe were ruled by various
multi-national dynastic empires. These were monarchies which enjoyed absolute
power over their
subjects. Various technological and the ensuing social changes
helped in developing the ideas of nationalism. The process of creation of
nation states began in 1789; with the French Revolution. It took about hundred
years for the idea to gain concrete shape which resulted in the formation of
France as a democratic nation state. The trend was followed in other parts of
the Europe and led to the establishment of the modern democratic systems in
most parts of the world; at the beginning of 20th century.
French Revolution:
First Expression of Nationalism: French
Revolution led to a change in politics and constitution of France. In 1789 the
power was transferred from monarchy to a body of citizens. It was proclaimed
that henceforth the French people would shape the destiny of their country.
Creating a sense of Nationhood:
Various steps were taken by the revolutionaries to create a
sense of common identity among people. Some of these steps are given below:
- The
idea of the fatherland and citizen was created to emphasize a community
which enjoyed equal rights under the constitution.
- The
royal standard was replaced with a new French flag; the tricolor.
- The
Estates General was elected by the body of active citizens and it was
renamed as the National Assembly.
- In the
name of nation; new hymns were composed and oaths were taken.
- Martyrs
were commemorated.
- A
centralized administrative system was created which formulated uniform
laws for all citizens.
- Internal
custom duties were abolished.
- A
uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.
- Regional
dialects were discouraged and French language was promoted as the common
language of the nation.
- The
revolutionaries also declared that it was the mission and destiny of
French people to liberate the people of Europe from despotism and help
other regions of Europe in becoming nations.
Effect on other parts of Europe:
In different cities of Europe, people became motivated from
the events in France. As a result, students and other people from the educated
middle classes started setting up Jacobin clubs. Their activities made a ground
for further encroachment by the French armies. The French army moved into
Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and a large part of Italy in the 1790s. Thus, the
French armies started carrying the idea of nationalism to foreign lands.
Napoleon
Napoleon was the Emperor of France from 1804 to 1815.
Although Napoleon destroyed democracy in France by reintroducing monarchy in
France; but he made revolutionary changes in the field of administration. The
idea was to make the system more rational and efficient. The Civil Code of
1804; which is commonly known as the Napoleonic Code abolished all privileges
based on birth. It also established equality before the law and secured the
right to property. Even in those territories which came under his control;
Napoleon began to introduce many reforms as he did in France. He simplified the
administrative divisions in the Dutch Republic, Switzerland, Italy and Germany.
He abolished the feudal system and peasants could be freed from serfdom and
manorial dues. Guild restrictions were removed in towns. Transport and
communication systems were improved.
Reaction of People:
Peasants, artisans, workers and new businessmen enjoyed this
new found freedom. They could realize that uniform laws and standard system of
weights and measures and a common currency would be more helpful in movement
and exchange of goods and capital across various regions.
But in areas which were conquered by France, people’s
reactions towards French rule were mixed. Initially, the French armies were
seen as the torchbearers of liberty. But very soon people could realize that
the new administrative system was not going to guarantee political freedom.
Increase in taxes, censorship and forced conscription into the French armies
were seen as outweighing the advantages of administrative changes which
Napoleon brought. Thus the initial enthusiasm of people began to turn into
hostility.
Situation Before Revolution:
In the mid-eighteenth-century Europe there were no
‘nation-states’ as we know them today. Modern day Germany, Italy and
Switzerland were divided into kingdoms, duchies and cantons. Their rulers had
their own autonomous territories. Diverse people lived under autocratic
monarchies of Eastern and Central Europe. The people did not share a collective
identity. The region was full of people from different ethnic groups who spoke
different languages. The only binding factor among the people was their
allegiance to a common emperor.
Causes and Process of Emergence of Nation States
Aristocracy
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 characterised by vast estates
which were cultivated by serfs.
New Middle Class
In Western and parts of Central Europe industrial production
and trade grew. This led to the growth of towns where new commercial classes
emerged. The existence of this new class was based on production for the
market. New social groups came into existence. A working class population and a
middle class (which was composed of industrialists, businessmen and
professionals) made the new social groups. It was this class which shaped the
ideas of national unity.
Idea of Liberal Nationalism
Ideas of national unity in early-nineteenth-century Europe
were closely allied to the ideology of liberalism. For the new middle classes;
freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law were the bases of
idea of liberalism. From the political perspective, the idea of liberalism
emphasized the concept of government by consent. Liberalism also meant an end
of autocracy and clerical privileges. Further, it meant the need of a
constitution and a representative government. Inviolability of private property
was also emphasized by the nineteenth century liberals.
Suffrage:
Universal suffrage was yet to become a reality in France.
During the earlier period of revolution, only property-owning men had the right
to vote. For a brief period during the Jacobins, all adult males got the voting
right. However, Napoleonic Code reverted to the earlier system of limited
suffrage. During the rule of Napoleon, women were accorded the status of minor;
subject to authority of father and husband. The struggle for voting rights for
women and non-propertied men continued throughout the nineteenth and early
twentieth century.
Liberalisation in Economic Sphere:
Economic liberalization was another hallmark of the
Napoleonic Code. The emerging middle class was also in favour of economic
liberalization. Let us take example of German-speaking regions in the first
half of nineteenth century. There were 39 states in this region which were
further divided into many principalities. Each principality had its own
currency and its own units of measurement. If a merchant travelled from Hamburg
to Nuremberg; he had to pass through 11 customs barriers and pay a custom duty
of about 5% at each barrier. Custom duty had to be paid according to weight and
measure. Wide difference in units of weight and measurement created further
confusion. The conditions were not at all business friendly and served as
obstacles to economic activities. The new commercial class was demanding a
unified economic territory so that there could be unhindered movement of goods,
people and capital.
In 1834, a customs union or zollverein was formed; at the
initiative of Prussia and was joined by most of the German states. Tariff
barriers were abolished and the number of currencies was reduced from thirty to
two. Development of a railways network further enhanced mobility. This created
some sort of economic nationalism which helped in strengthening the national
sentiments which were growing at that time.
A New Conservatism After 1815
Napoleon was defeated in 1815 by the combined power of
Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria. After the defeat of Napoleon, European
governments wanted to follow conservatism. The conservatives believed that
established, traditional institutions of state and society should be preserved.
They believed in preserving the monarchy, the Church, social hierarchies,
property and the family. But most of them also wanted to retain the
modernization which Napoleon carried out in the spheres of administration. The
conservatives believed that modernization would strengthen traditional
institutions. It was believed that a modern army, an efficient bureaucracy, a
dynamic economy, the abolition of feudalism and serfdom could strengthen the
monarchies of Europe.
The Treaty of Vienna:
The representatives of the European powers (Britain, Russia,
Prussia and Austria) met at Vienna in 1815 to draw up a settlement of Europe.
The Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich was the host of the Congress. The
Treaty of Vienna of 1815 was drawn up at this meeting. Its objective was to
undo most of the changes which had come in Europe during the Napoleonic wars.
Some of the steps taken according the Treaty of Vienna are follows:
- The
Bourbon dynasty, which had been deposed during the French Revolution, was
restored to power.
- A
series of states were set up on the boundaries of France to prevent French
expansion in future. For example; the kingdom of the Netherlands was set
up in the north. Similarly, Genoa was added to Piedmont in the south.
Prussia got some important territories on its western frontiers and
Austria got control of northern Italy.
- German
confederation of 39 states which had been set up by Napoleon was left
untouched.
- In the
east, Russia was given part of Poland, while Prussia was given a portion
of Saxony.
The conservative regimes which were set up in 1815 were
autocratic. They were intolerant of criticism and dissent. Most of them imposed
censorship laws to control the contents in newspaper, books, plays and songs.
The Revolutionaries:
After the events of 1815, many liberal nationalists went
underground for the fear of repression.
Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian revolutionary. He was born
in 1807. He became a member of the secret society of the Carbonari. When he was
24 years old, he was sent into exile in 1831 for attempting a revolution in
Liguria. After that, he founded two more underground societies; first Young
Italy in Marseilles and then Young Europe in Berne. Mazzini believed that God
had intended nations to be the natural units of mankind. So Italy had to be
forged into a single unified republic instead of being a patchwork of small
state kingdoms. Following in the footsteps of Mazzini, many secret societies
were set up Germany, France, Switzerland and Poland. The Conservatives feared
Mazzini.
While the conservative regimes were trying to consolidate
their power, the liberals and nationalists continued to spread the idea of
revolution. These people belonged to the educated middle-class elite; like
professors, school teachers, clerks and members of the commercial middle
classes.
The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830. The
Bourbon kings were overthrown by liberal revolutionaries. A constitutional
monarchy was installed with Louis Philippe at its head. The July Revolution
sparked an uprising in Brussels which resulted in Belgium breaking away from
the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Independence of Greece:
The Greek war of independence mobilized the nationalist
feelings among the educated elite across Europe. The struggle for independence
among the Greeks began in 1821. The nationalists in Greece got support from
many Greeks who were living in exile. Moreover, they also got support from many
West Europeans who sympathized with the ancient Greek culture. Poets and artists
mobilized public opinion to support this struggle against the Muslim empire. It
is important to note that Greece had been a part of the Ottoman Empire.
Finally, the Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognized Greece as an
independent nation.
The Romantic Imagination and National Feeling
Romanticism was a cultural movement which sought to develop
a particular form of nationalist sentiment. Romantic artists usually criticized
the glorification of reason and science. They focused on emotions, intuition
and mystical feelings. They tried to create a sense of collective heritage, a
common cultural past, as the basis of a nation.
Other Romantics; like the German philosopher Johann
Gottfried Herder (1744 – 1803); claimed that the true German culture could be
discovered among the common people; das volk. These Romantics used folk songs,
folk poetry and folk dances to popularize the true spirit of the nation
(volksgeist). The emphasis on vernacular language was also important to take
the nationalist message to a large number of people who were mostly illiterate.
Karol Kurpinski celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music
in Poland. He turned folk dances; like polonaise and mazurka into nationalist
symbols.
Language also played an important role in developing
nationalist sentiments. After Russian occupation, the Polish language was
forced out of schools and the Russian language was imposed everywhere. An armed
rebellion took place against Russian rule in 1831 but this was ultimately
crushed. But after this, many members of the clergy in Poland began to use
language as a weapon of national resistance. In all Church gatherings and in
all religious instructions, Polish was used. The Russian authorities put a
large number of priests and bishops in jail or sent them to Siberia as
punishment for their refusal to preach in Russian. The use of Polish thus
became a symbol of the struggle against Russian dominance.
Hunger, Hardship and Popular Revolt
The 1830s were years of great economic hardship in Europe.
There was huge growth in population in the first half of the nineteenth
century. Number of unemployed had increased manifold. There was large scale
migration from rural areas to urban areas. Such migrants lived in overcrowded
slums in the cities. At that time, the industrialization in England was more
advanced than in other parts of Europe. Hence, cheap machine-made goods from
England gave stiff competition to small producers in the towns of the other
European countries. In some regions of Europe, aristocracy was still powerful
and the peasants were under the burden of feudal dues and obligations. A year
of bad harvest; coupled with price rise in food led to pauperism in town and
country.
The year 1848 was one such bad year. Because of shortage of
food and high level of unemployment, the people of Paris came out on the roads.
The protest was at such a large scale that Louis Philippe had to flee. A
National Assembly proclaimed a republic. It granted suffrage to all adult males
above 21. It guaranteed the right to work. National workshops were set up to
provide employment.
The Revolution of the Liberals
When the revolts of the poor took place in 1848, another
revolution was being led by the educated middle classes. In some other parts of
Europe, independent nation-states did not yet exist, e.g. Germany, Italy,
Poland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Men and women of the liberal middle
classes from these parts raised demands for national unification and a
constitution. They demanded the creation of a nation-state on parliamentary
principles. They wanted a constitution, freedom of press and freedom of
association.
Frankfurt Parliament: In German regions, there
were a large number of political associations whose members were middle class
professionals, businessmen and prosperous artisans. They came together in the
city of Frankfurt and decided to vote for an all-German National Assembly. On18
May 1848, 831 elected representatives took out a festive procession to take
part in the Frankfurt parliament which was convened in the Church of St. Paul.
They drafted a constitution for a German nation. This German nation was to be
headed by a monarchy subject to a parliament. Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of
Prussia was offered the crown on these terms. But he rejected the offer and joined
other monarchs to oppose the elected assembly.
The opposition of the aristocracy and military to the
parliament grew stronger. Meanwhile, the social base of the parliament eroded
because it was dominated by the middle classes. The middle class resisted the
demands of workers and artisans and thus lost their support. Finally, troops
were called in and the assembly was forced to disband.
Women also participated in large numbers in the liberal
movement. In spite of that, they were denied the voting rights during the
election of the Assembly. When the Frankfurt parliament convened in the Church
of St Paul, women were allowed only as observers to stand in the visitors’
gallery.
Although the liberal movements were suppressed by the
conservative forces but the old order could not be restored. In the years after
1848, the monarchs began to realize that granting concessions to the
liberal-nationalist revolutionaries was the only way to end the cycle of
revolution and repression. Hence, the monarchies of Central and Eastern Europe
began to introduce changes which had already taken place in Western Europe
before 1815.
Serfdom and bonded labour was abolished both in the Habsburg
dominions and in Russia. The Habsburg rulers granted more autonomy to the
Hungarians in 1867.
Germany: Can the Army be the Architect of a Nation?
After 1848, nationalism in Europe moved away from its
association with democracy and revolution. The conservatives now fanned
nationalist sentiments to promote state power and to achieve political dominance
over Europe.
The liberal movement of the middle-classes in Germany had
earlier been repressed by the combined forces of the monarchy and the military.
This repression was also supported by the large landowners (called junkers) of
Prussia. After that, Prussia took on the leadership of the movement for
national unification.
Otto von Bismarck: Otto von Bismarck; the chief
minister of Prussia, was the architect of this process. He took the help of the
Prussian army and bureaucracy in his endeavour. Three wars were fought over
seven years; with Austria, Denmark and France. The wars ended in Prussian
victory and completed the process of unification. The Prussian king, William I
was proclaimed the German Emperor in a ceremony held at Versailles in January 1871.
The new state placed a strong emphasis on modernizing the
currency, banking, legal and judicial systems in Germany. Prussian measures and
practices often became a model for the rest of Germany.
Unification of Italy:
Italy also had a long history of political fragmentation.
There were many dynastic states and the multi-national Habsburg Empire in
Italy. During the middle of the nineteenth century, Italy was divided into
seven states. Out of them, only Sardinia-Piedmont was ruled by an Italian
princely house. The north was under Austrian Habsburgs, the centre was under
the Pope and the southern regions were under the domination of the Bourbon
kings of Spain. The Italian language had yet to acquire a common form and it
still had many regional and local variations.
During the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini planned to put together a
programme for a unitary Italian Republic. The failure of revolutionary
uprisings both in 1831 and 1848 meant that the mantle now fell on
Sardinia-Piedmont under its ruler King Victor Emmanuel II. The ruling elites of
this region saw the possibility of economic development and political dominance
through a unified Italy.
Chief Minister Cavour led the movement to unify the regions
of Italy. He was neither a revolutionary nor a democrat. He was like many other
wealthy and educated members of the Italian elite. He too was more fluent in
French than in Italian. He made a tactful diplomatic alliance with France and
thus succeeded in defeating the Austrian forces in 1859. Apart from regular
troops, many armed volunteers under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi joined
the fray. In 1860, they marched into South Italy and the Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies. They succeeded in winning the support of the local peasants and drove
out the Spanish rulers. Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of united Italy
in 1861. But a large number of the Italian population remained blissfully
unaware of liberal-nationalist ideology; probably because of very high level of
illiteracy.
The Strange Case of Britain
The formation of nation state in Britain did not happen
because of a sudden upheaval or revolution. It was the result of a
long-drawn-out process. Before the eighteenth century, there was no British
nation. The British Isles were divided into different ethnicities; like
English, Welsh, Scot or Irish. Each ethnic group had its own cultural and
political traditions.
The English nation steadily grew in wealth, importance and
power. Thus it was able to extend its influence on the other nations of the
islands. The English parliament seized power from the monarchy in 1688 after a
prolonged conflict. The English parliament was instrumental in forging the
nation-state of Britain. The Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland
resulted in the formation of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’. In this
Union, England was the dominant partner and thus the British parliament was
dominated by its English members.
The British identity grew at the peril of Scottish culture
and political institutions. The Scottish Highlands were inhabited by the
Catholic clans. They felt terrible repression whenever they attempted to assert
their independence. They were forbidden to speak their Gaelic language or wear
their traditional dress. Many of them were forcibly driven out of their homeland.
Ireland suffered a similar fate. It was a country deeply
divided between Catholics and Protestants. The Protestants of Ireland
established their dominance over the majority Catholics through the English
help. There was a failed revolt led by Wolfe Tone and his United Irishmen in
1798. After that, Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the United Kingdom in
1801. The English culture was propagated forcefully to forge a new ‘British
Nation’. The older nations survived only as subordinate partners in this union.
Visualizing the Nation
Artists used female figures to personify a nation. During
French Revolution, artists used the female allegory to portray the ideas such
as Liberty, Justice and the Republic.
In France, the nation was christened as Marianne, which is a
popular Christian name for a woman. Her characteristics were drawn from those
of Liberty and Republic; the red cap, the tricolor, the cockade. Her statues
were erected in public squares and her images were marked on coins and stamps;
to persuade the people to identify with it.
Germania became the allegory of the German nation. Germania
wears a crown of oak leaves. The German oak stands for heroism.
Nationalism and Imperialism:
By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, nationalism
could not retain its idealistic liberal-democratic sentiment. It became a
narrow creed with limited ends. The major European powers manipulated the
nationalist aspirations of the subject peoples to further their own imperialist
aims.
Conflict in the Balkans: Balkans was a region of
geographical and ethnic variation comprising modern-day Romania, Bulgaria,
Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and
Montenegro. The inhabitants of this region were broadly known as the Slavs.
A large part of the Balkans was under the control of the
Ottoman Empire. This was the period of disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and
the spread of the ideas of romantic nationalism in the Balkans. These
developments made this region very explosive. All through the nineteenth
century, the Ottoman Empire tried to strengthen itself through modernization
and internal reforms. But it could not achieve much success. Its European
subject nationalities broke away from its control one by one and declared
independence. The Balkans used history and national identity to claim their
right of independence. While the Slavic nationalities struggled to define their
identity and independence, the Balkan area became an area of intense conflict.
In the process, the Balkans also became the scene of big power rivalry.
During this period, there was intense rivalry among the
European powers over trade and colonies as well as naval and military might.
Each power; Russia, Germany, England, Austro-Hungary; was keen on countering
the hold of other powers over the Balkans, and extending its own control over
the area. This led to a series of wars in the region and finally culminated in
the First World War.
Meanwhile, many countries in the world which had been
colonized by the European powers in the nineteenth century began to oppose
imperial domination. People of different colonies developed their own variation
of nationalism. The idea of ‘nation-states’ thus became a universal phenomenon.
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