The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

Activity identifiable by the revolutionary tricolour, has just reached the statue. She is followed by the peoples of Germany, bearing the black, red and gold flag. Interestingly, at the time when Sorrieu created this image, the German peoples did not yet exist as a united nation – the flag they carry is an expression of liberal hopes in to unify the numerous German-speaking principalities into a nation-state under a democratic constitution. Following the German peoples are the peoples of Austria, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Lombardy, Poland, England, Ireland, Hungary and Russia.

From the heavens above, Christ, saints and angels gaze upon the scene. They have been used by the artist to symbolise fraternity among the nations of the world. This chapter will deal with many of the issues visualised by Sorrieu in Fig. .

During the nineteenth century, nationalism emerged as a force which brought about sweeping changes in the political and mental world of Europe. The end result of these changes was the emergence of the nation-state in place of the multi-national dynastic empires of Europe. The concept and practices of a modern state, in which a centralised power exercised sovereign control over a clearly defined territory, had been developing over a long period of time in Europe. 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.

This commonness did not exist from time immemorial; it was forged through struggles, through the actions of leaders and the common people. This chapter will look at the diverse processes through which nation-states and nationalism came into being in nineteenth-century Europe. Ernst Renan, ‘What is a Nation?’ In a lecture delivered at the University of Sorbonne in , the French philosopher Ernst Renan ( - ) outlined his understanding of what makes a nation. The lecture was subsequently published as a famous essay entitled ‘Qu’est-ce qu’une nation?’ (‘What is a Nation?’).

In this essay Renan criticises the notion suggested by others that a nation is formed by a common language, race, religion, or territory: ‘A nation is the culmination of a long past of endeavours, sacrifice and devotion. A heroic past, great men, glory, that is the social capital upon which one bases a national idea. To have common glories in the past, to have a common will in the present, to have performed great deeds together, to wish to perform still more, these are the essential conditions of being a people. A nation is therefore a large-scale solidarity … Its existence is a daily plebiscite … A province is its inhabitants; if anyone has the right to be consulted, it is the inhabitant.

A nation never has any real interest in annexing or holding on to a country against its will. The existence of nations is a good thing, a necessity even. Their existence is a guarantee of liberty, which would be lost if the world had only one law and only one master.’ Activity Fig. — The Club of Thinkers, anonymous caricature dating to c.

. The plaque on the left bears the inscription: ‘The most important question of today’s meeting: How long will thinking be allowed to us?’ The board on the right lists the rules of the Club which include the following: ‘ . Silence is the first commandment of this learned society. .

To avoid the eventuality whereby a member of this club may succumb to the temptation of speech, muzzles will be distributed to members upon entering.’ What is the caricaturist trying to depict? Activity . : The Revolution of the Liberals Parallel to the revolts of the poor, unemployed and starving peasants and workers in many European countries in the year , a revolution led by the educated middle classes was under way. Events of February in France had brought about the abdication of the monarch and a republic based on universal male suffrage had been proclaimed.

In other parts of Europe where independent nation-states did not yet exist – such as Germany, Italy, Poland, the Austro-Hungarian Empire – men and women of the liberal middle classes combined their demands for constitutionalism with national unification. They took advantage of the growing popular unrest to push their demands for the creation of a nation-state on parliamentary principles – a constitution, freedom of the press and freedom of association. In the German regions a large number of political associations whose members were middle-class professionals, businessmen and prosperous artisans came together in the city of Frankfurt and decided to vote for an all-German National Assembly. On May , elected representatives marched in a festive procession to take their places in the Frankfurt parliament convened in the Church of St Paul.

They drafted a constitution for a German nation to be headed by a monarchy subject to a parliament. When the deputies offered the crown on these terms to Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia, he rejected it and joined other monarchs to oppose the elected assembly. While the opposition of the aristocracy and military became stronger, the social basis of parliament eroded. The parliament was dominated by the middle classes who resisted the demands of workers and artisans and consequently lost their support.

In the end troops were called in and the assembly was forced to disband. The issue of extending political rights to women was a controversial one within the liberal movement, in which large numbers of women had participated actively over the years. Women had formed their own political associations, founded newspapers and taken part in political meetings and demonstrations. Despite this they were denied How were liberty and equality for women to be defined?

The liberal politician Carl Welcker, an elected member of the Frankfurt Parliament, expressed the following views: ‘Nature has created men and women to carry out different functions … Man, the stronger, the bolder and freer of the two, has been designated as protector of the family, its provider, meant for public tasks in the domain of law, production, defence. Woman, the weaker, dependent and timid, requires the protection of man. Her sphere is the home, the care of the children, the nurturing of the family … Do we require any further proof that given such differences, equality between the sexes would only endanger harmony and destroy the dignity of the family?’ Louise Otto-Peters ( - ) was a political activist who founded a women’s journal and subsequently a feminist political association. The first issue of her newspaper ( April ) carried the following editorial: ‘Let us ask how many men, possessed by thoughts of living and dying for the sake of Liberty, would be prepared to fight for the freedom of the entire people, of all human beings?

When asked this question, they would all too easily respond with a “Yes!”, though their untiring efforts are intended for the benefit of only one half of humanity – men. But Liberty is indivisible! Free men therefore must not tolerate to be surrounded by the unfree …’ An anonymous reader of the same newspaper sent the following letter to the editor on June : ‘It is indeed ridiculous and unreasonable to deny women political rights even though they enjoy the right to property which they make use of. They perform functions and assume responsibilities without however getting the benefits that accrue to men for the same … Why this injustice?

Is it not a disgrace that even the stupidest cattle-herder possesses the right to vote, simply because he is a man, whereas highly talented women owning considerable property are excluded from this right, even though they contribute so much to the Activity NORTH SEA SCHLESWIG- HOLSTEIN MECKLENBURG- SCHWERIN THURINGIAN STATES HANOVER WESTPHALIA HESSEN NASSA RHINELAND BRUNSWICK BAVARIA BADEN WURTTEMBERG AUSTRIAN EMPIRE SILESIA POSEN BRANDENBURG POMERANIA WEST PRUSSIA EAST PRUSSIA BALTIC SEA P R U S S I A RUSSIAN EMPIRE Prussia before Conquered by Prussia in Austro-Prussia War, Austrian territories excluded from German Confederation Joined with Prussia to form German Confederation, South German states joining with Prussia to form German Empire, Won by Prussia in Franco-Prussia War, Fig. — Unification of Germany ( - ). Chief Minister Cavour who led the movement to unify the regions of Italy was neither a revolutionary nor a democrat. Like many other wealthy and educated members of the Italian elite, he spoke French much better than he did Italian.

Through a tactful diplomatic alliance with France engineered by Cavour, Sardinia-Piedmont succeeded in defeating the Austrian forces in . Apart from regular troops, a large number of armed volunteers under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the fray. In , they marched into South Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and succeeded in winning the support of the local peasants in order to drive out the Spanish rulers. In Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of united Italy.

However, much of the Italian population, among whom rates of illiteracy were very high, remained blissfully unaware of liberal- nationalist ideology. The peasant masses who had supported Garibaldi in southern Italy had never heard of Italia , and believed that ‘La Talia’ was Victor Emmanuel’s wife! Fig. (a) — Italian states before unification, .

Fig. (b) — Italy after unification. The map shows the year in which different regions (seen in Fig (a) become part of a unified Italy. SWITZERLAND VENETIA LOMBARDY SAVOY SARDINIA PARMA MODENA TUSCANY SAN MARINO PAPAL STATE KINGDOM OF BOTH SICILIES TUNIS MONACO - SWITZERLAND TUNIS .

The Strange Case of Britain The model of the nation or the nation-state, some scholars have argued, is Great Britain. In Britain the formation of the nation-state AUSTRIA Look at Fig. (a). Do you think that the people living in any of these regions thought of themselves as Italians?

Examine Fig. (b). Which was the first region to become a part of unified Italy? Which was the last region to join?

In which year did the largest number of states join? Activity was not the result of a sudden upheaval or revolution. It was the result of a long-drawn-out process. There was no British nation prior to the eighteenth century.

The primary identities of the people who inhabited the British Isles were ethnic ones – such as English, Welsh, Scot or Irish. All of these ethnic groups had their own cultural and political traditions. But as the English nation steadily grew in wealth, importance and power, it was able to extend its influence over the other nations of the islands. The English parliament, which had seized power from the monarchy in at the end of a protracted conflict, was the instrument through which a nation-state, with England at its centre, came to be forged.

The Act of Union ( ) between England and Scotland that resulted in the formation of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’ meant, in effect, that England was able to impose its influence on Scotland. The British parliament was henceforth dominated by its English members. The growth of a British identity meant that Scotland’s distinctive culture and political institutions were systematically suppressed. The Catholic clans that inhabited the Scottish Highlands suffered terrible repression whenever they attempted to assert their independence.

The Scottish Highlanders were forbidden to speak their Gaelic language or wear their national dress, and large numbers were forcibly driven out of their homeland. Ireland suffered a similar fate. It was a country deeply divided between Catholics and Protestants. The English helped the Protestants of Ireland to establish their dominance over a largely Catholic country.

Catholic revolts against British dominance were suppressed. After a failed revolt led by Wolfe Tone and his United Irishmen ( ), Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the United Kingdom in . A new ‘British nation’ was forged through the propagation of a dominant English culture. The symbols of the new Britain – the British flag (Union Jack), the national anthem (God Save Our Noble King), the English language – were actively promoted and the older nations survived only as subordinate partners in this union.

New words Ethnic – Relates to a common racial, tribal, or cultural origin or background that a community identifies with or claims The artist has portrayed Garibaldi as holding on to the base of the boot, so that the King of Sardinia-Piedmont can enter it from the top. Look at the map of Italy once more. What statement is this caricature making? Activity Giuseppe Garibaldi ( - ) is perhaps the most celebrated of Italian freedom fighters.

He came from a family engaged in coastal trade and was a sailor in the merchant navy. In he met Mazzini, joined the Young Italy movement and participated in a republican uprising in Piedmont in . The uprising was suppressed and Garibaldi had to flee to South America, where he lived in exile till . In , he supported Victor Emmanuel II in his efforts to unify the Italian states.

In , Garibaldi led the famous Expedition of the Thousand to South Italy. Fresh volunteers kept joining through the course of the campaign, till their numbers grew to about , . They were popularly known as Red Shirts. In , Garibaldi led an army of volunteers to Rome to fight the last obstacle to the unification of Italy, the Papal States where a French garrison was stationed.

The Red Shirts proved to be no match for the combined French and Papal troops. It was only in when, during the war with Prussia, France withdrew its troops from Rome that the Papal States were finally joined to Italy. Box Fig. – Garibaldi helping King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia-Piedmont to pull on the boot named ‘Italy’.

English caricature of . Activity Fig. — The fallen Germania, Julius Hübner, . Describe what you see in Fig.

. What historical events could Hübner be referring to in this allegorical vision of the nation? Activity Fig. — Germania guarding the Rhine.

In , the artist Lorenz Clasen was commissioned to paint this image. The inscription on Germania’s sword reads: ‘The German sword protects the German Rhine.’ Look once more at Fig. . Imagine you were a citizen of Frankfurt in March and were present during the proceedings of the parliament.

How would you (a) as a man seated in the hall of deputies, and (b) as a woman observing from the galleries, relate to the banner of Germania hanging from the ceiling?