Rise of Nationalism in Europe

CONCEPT MAP AND MIND MAP

 RETAIN IN YOUR MEMORY:
A. Nationalism: Love for one's country is commonly defined as Nationalism. National flag, national
symbol, national anthem, etc. play a significant role in developing and strengthening the idea of
nationalism.
 Nationalism is a belief system which instills a sense of common identity among the members of a
nation. The spirit of nationalism also includes the belief that one's nation is better off as an
autonomous state. Autonomy is defined as a nation governing itself independently from a centralized
point. Still another aspect of nationalism is the willingness to go to extreme measures in achieving
autonomous self-rule.

B. 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 subsequent 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 Europe and led to the establishment
of modern democratic systems in most parts of the world, at the beginning of the 20th century.

C. Frederic Sorrieu & His Print: Frederic Sorrieu was a French artist who in 1848 prepared a series of four
prints visualizing his dream of a world made up of ‘Democratic and Social Republics’. The distinct
features of these prints were the representations of men, nations, and allegories.
 In the first print peoples of Europe and America are shown marching and paying homage to the statue
of liberty.
 The statue of liberty is personified as a female figure, who bears the torch of enlightenment in one
hand and the character of rights of man in other hand.
 The remains of the absolutist institutions can be seen broken and shattered on the Earth indicating the
end of conservatism and absolutism.
 Concisely, Frederic Sorrieu always visualized a world made up of democratic and socialist republics. He
wishes to portray a world where all countries respect statue of liberty or in other terms where all
countries promote Charter of the Rights of Man and fraternity.

 Utopian Vision of Frederic Sorrieu: Utopian – A vision of a society that is so ideal that it is unlikely to
exist.
 In Sorrieu’s utopian vision, the peoples of the world are grouped as distinct nations, identified through
their flags and national costume.
 Leading the procession, way past the statue of Liberty, are the United States and Switzerland, which by
this time were already nation-states. France 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. Following
the German peoples are the peoples of Austria, the Kingdom of the Two Sicily Lombardy, Poland,
England, Ireland, Hungary, and Russia.
 From the heavens above, Christ, saints, and angels gaze upon the scene. The artists have used them to
symbolize fraternity among the nations of the world.

1. The French Revolution & The Idea of the Nation: The first clear expression of nationalism came
observed during French Revolution. 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. 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) were emphasized.
A new French flag, the tricolour, replaced the former royal standard.
New Hymns were composed, oaths taken, and martyrs commemorated, all in the name of the 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, became the common language of the nation.

 Effect of French Revolution on the other countries: The revolutionaries declared that it was the
mission of the French nation to liberate the peoples of Europe from despotism and help them to
become nations.
 When the news of the events in France (France Revolution) reached the different cities of Europe,
students, and other members of educated middle classes began setting up Jacobin clubs. Their
activities made a ground for further encroachment by the French armies.
 In 1797 Napoleon invaded Italy and thus Napoleonic wars began.
 French armies moved into Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and much of Italy in the 1790s. With the
outbreak of the revolutionary wars, the French armies began to carry the idea of nationalism to foreign
lands.

 Napoleonic Code: Napoleon was the Emperor of France from 1804 to 1815. Although he 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. He introduced the
Civil Code of 1804, which is commonly known as the Napoleonic Code. This Code was exported to the
regions under French control.

Main Features of Napoleonic Code

 He abolished all privileges based on birth. It also established equality before the law and secured the
right to property.
 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: in the areas conquered, the reactions of the local populations to French rule were
mixed.
Peasants, artisans, workers, and new businesspeople enjoyed this newfound 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 realized 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.

2. The Making of Nationalism in Europe

 Situation Before Revolution: In 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, whose rulers had their own autonomous territories.
Eastern and Central Europe were under autocratic monarchies. Diverse people lived under this
autocratic monarchy. The people did not share a collective identity. The region was full of people from
different ethnic groups who spoke different languages.
For example, The Habsburg Empire that ruled over Austria-Hungary, was a patchwork of many different
regions and peoples. It included the Alpine regions – the Tyrol, Austria, and the Sudetenland – as well
as Bohemia, where the aristocracy was German-speaking. It also included the Italian-speaking
provinces of Lombardy and Venetia.
In Hungary, half of the population spoke Magyar while the other half spoke a variety of dialects.
In Galicia, the aristocracy spoke Polish.
Besides these three dominant groups, there also lived within the boundaries of the empire, a mass of
subject peasant peoples – Bohemians and Slovaks to the north, Slovenes in Carniola, Croats to the
south, and Roumans to the east in Transylvania.
Thus, the region was full of people from different ethnic groups. 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 townhouses. They spoke French for purposes of diplomacy and in
high society. Their families were often connected by ties of marriage. This powerful aristocracy was,
numerically, a small group. Most of the population was made up of the peasantry. To the west, tenants
and small owners farmed the bulk of the land, 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, businesspeople, 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. The term ‘liberalism’ derives from the Latin root “liber” meaning
free. For the new middle classes, freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law were the
bases of idea of liberalism.
Political & Social Perspective: 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 for a constitution and a representative government. The nineteenth century
liberals also emphasized inviolability of private property.
 Economic Perspective: Economic liberalization was another hallmark of the Napoleonic Code. The
emerging middle class was also in favour of economic liberalization. Multiple currencies, units of weight
and measurement and tariff barriers worked as obstacles for economic activities. The new commercial
class was demanding a unified economic territory so that there could be unhindered movement of
goods, people, and capital.

 Liberal Nationalism & Universal Suffrage

Universal suffrage was yet to become a reality in France.
During the earlier period of French revolution, only property-owning men had the right to vote.
Only for a brief period under the Jacobins, all adult males got the voting right.
However, the 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.
Consequently, the struggle for voting rights for women and non-propertied men continued throughout
the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

 Plight of a Merchant: In the first half of nineteenth century, there were thirty-nine states in German-
speaking regions, 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 eleven customs barriers and pay a custom duty of about 5% at each barrier.
Custom duty had to be paid according to weight and measure. For example, the measure of cloth was
the elle which stood for a different length in each region. An elle of textile material in
Frankfurt 54.7 cm of cloth,
Mainz 55.1 cm of cloth,
Nuremberg 65.6 cm of cloth,
Freiburg 53.5 cm of cloth,
Such 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.

 Formation of Zollverein: Wide difference in units of weight and measurement of German-speaking

regions, were viewed as obstacles to economic exchange and growth by the new commercial class. 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. It was joined by most of
the German States.
The aim of Zollverein was to bind the Germans economically into a nation.
The Union abolished the tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to only
two.
Development of a railways network further enhanced mobility. This created some sort of economic
nationalism.
The German people realised that a free economic system was the only means to engender national
feeling.

 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 beliefs of the conservatism that emerged after 1815 are:
 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 keep the modernization which Napoleon conducted 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.
The Provisions of Treaty of Vienna of 1815 include:
 The bourbon dynasty, which had been deposed during the French Revolution, was restored to power.
 France lost the territories it had annexed under Napoleon.
 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 thirty-nine 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.
Thus, monarchies that had been overthrown by Napoleon were restored and a new conservative order
was created in Europe.
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 newspapers, books,
plays and songs.

 The Revolutionaries: After the events of 1815, many liberal nationalists went underground for fear of
repression. In 1815, secret societies were formed in many European states to train revolutionaries and
spread their ideas. Revolutionary opposed monarchical forms that had been established after the
Vienna Congress and fought for liberty and freedom. Most of these revolutionaries also saw the
creation of nation-states as a necessary part of this struggle for freedom.
 Giuseppe Mazzini: He 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 humanity. 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. Metternich
described him as ‘the most dangerous enemy of our social order.’

3. The Age of Revolutions: 1830-1848: As conservative regimes tried to consolidate their power,
liberalism and nationalism came to be increasingly associated with revolution in many regions of
Europe such as the Italian and German states, the provinces of the Ottoman Empire, Ireland, and
 Poland. These revolutions were led by the liberal- nationalists belonging to the educated middle-class
elite among whom were professors, schoolteachers, clerks, and members of the commercial middle
classes.

 Revolution in 1830: The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830. The bourbon kings who had
been restored to power during the conservative reaction after 1815, were now overthrown by liberal
revolutionaries who installed a constitutional monarchy with Louis Philippe at its head. The July
Revolution sparked an uprising in Brussels which led to Belgium breaking away from the United
Kingdom of the Netherlands.

 If France sneezes, rest of Europe catches cold'. It was said by Metternich, the Austrian Chancellor. He
opined that the political developments in France were stimulative to other countries of Europe. Most
of the European countries followed France persistently. Events in France inspired similar events in
other European countries. The July revolution in France sparked an uprising in Brussels which led to
Belgium breaking away from the United Kingdom of Netherlands. So, Metternich remarked that, 'when
France sneezes, the rest of Europe catches cold ‘.

 Greek Revolution: The Greek War of Independence is also called the Greek Revolution. It took place
between 1821 and 1832. This was a successful war of independence waged by Greek revolutionaries
against the Ottoman Empire. Greece had been a part of the Ottoman Empire since the 15th century.
The growth of revolutionary movements in Europe provoked Greeks to struggle for their
independence, which began in 1821. The Russian Empire, Great Britain, Kingdom of France, and many
other European powers supported Greeks to sympathise with the ancient Greek culture and helped
them in their efforts. Poets and artists mobilised public opinion to support its struggle against a Muslim
Empire. English poet, Lord Byron organised trends and later went to fight in the war, where he died of
fever. The war went on for 8 years, 6 months and 3 weeks. It took place in the Balkans and the Aegean
Sea. Finally, with the Treaty of Constantinople, in 1832, Greece was recognised as an independent
nation.

 The Romantic Imagination & National Feeling: As the development of nationalism in Europe came
about through wars and territorial expansion, culture also played a significant role in creating the idea
of the nation: art and poetry, stories and music helped express and shape nationalist feelings.
Romanticism was a cultural movement for the development of certain types of nationalist feelings.
Romantic artists did not appreciate the glorification of science and reason but glorified emotions,
intuition, and mystical feeling. Their effort was to create a sense of shared collective heritage, a
common cultural past, as the basis of nation.
In Germany romanticism was spread through folklores, folk dance, and folk poetry. Romanticists
believed that it was through folk songs, folk poetry, and folk dances that the true spirit of the nation
was popularised. German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803) claimed that true German
culture was to be discovered among the common people – das volk. It was through folk songs, folk
poetry, and folk dances that the true spirit of the nation (volksgeist) was popularized. So, collecting and
recording these forms of folk culture was essential to the project of nation-building.
The emphasis on vernacular languages and the collection of local folklore were intended to carry the
modern nationalist message to large audiences who were mostly illiterate, especially in Poland, which
 had been partitioned at the end of the eighteenth century by the Great Powers – Russia, Prussia, and
Austria.
Nationalist feelings were kept alive in Poland through music as well. For example, Karol Kurpinski was a
man who celebrated the national struggle through opera and music. He used folk dances like polonaise
and mazurka to build the nationalist sentiment.
Language played a significant role in Poland in developing nationalist sentiments. After Russian
occupation, the Polish language was forced out of schools and the Russian language was imposed
everywhere. In 1831, an armed rebellion against Russian rule took place which was crushed. Following
this, many members of the clergy in Poland began to use language as a weapon of national resistance.
Polish was used for church gathering and all religious instruction. As a result, many priest and bishops
were put in jail or sent to Siberia by the Russian authorities as punishment for their refusal to preach in
Russian. The use of Polish came to be seen as a symbol of the struggle against Russian Dominance.

 Hunger, Hardship and Popular Revolt: The 1830s were years of great economic hardship in Europe.
The first half of the nineteenth century saw an enormous increase in population all over Europe.
In most countries there were more seekers of jobs than employment.
Population from rural areas migrated to the cities to live in overcrowded slums.
Small producers in towns were often faced with stiff competition from imports of cheap machine-made
goods from England, where industrialisation was more advanced than on the continent. This was
especially so in textile production, which was carried out mainly in homes or small workshops and was
only partly mechanised.
In those regions of Europe where the aristocracy still enjoyed power, peasants struggled under the
burden of feudal dues and obligations.
The rise of food prices or a year of bad harvest led to widespread pauperism in town and country.

 Popular Revolt: The year 1848 was one such bad year. Because of shortage of food and prominent
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. The 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 supply
employment.

Weaver Revolt in Silesia: In 1845, weavers of Silesia had led a revolt against contractors who supplied
those raw materials. They gave them orders for finished textiles but reduced their payments. The
workers were living in absolute poverty and misery. On 4 June at 2 P.M., a large crowd of weavers
appeared from their homes and marched in pairs up to the mansion of the contractor. They were
demanding higher wages. But they were treated with scorn and threats. Then, some of the weavers
entered forcefully into the house. They smashed the windowpanes, furniture, and porcelain. They
entered the storehouse and tore to shreds the supplies of cloth. The contractor fled with his family but
came back after 24 hours with the army. In exchange that followed, eleven weavers were shot.

4. 1848: The Revolution of the Liberals: By the 1848 Revolution of the Liberals, we mean the revolution
which was being led by the educated middle classes of Europe. When the revolts of the poor,
unemployed, starving peasants, and workers in many European countries took place in 1848, another
revolt was led by the educated middle classes. Events of February 1848 in France had brought about
the abdication of the monarch and a republic based on universal male suffrage had been proclaimed.
 In some other parts of Europe, independent nation-states did not yet exist, e.g., Germany, Italy, Poland,
and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Adults of the liberal middle classes from these parts raised demands
for national unification and a constitution. They demanded the creation of a nation-state based on
parliamentary principles. They wanted a constitution, freedom of press and freedom of association.

 Frankfurt Parliament: In German regions, there were many political associations whose members were
middle class professionals, businesspeople, 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 met 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 took part in large numbers in the liberal movement. Despite that, they were denied voting
rights during the election of the Assembly. When the Frankfurt parliament met in the Church of St Paul,
women were allowed only as observers to stand in the visitors’ gallery.

Changes Brought by: Although the liberal movements were suppressed by the conservative forces, 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 were
abolished in the Habsburg dominions and in Russia. The Habsburg rulers granted more autonomy to
the Hungarians in 1867.

 Unification of Germany from 1866 to 1871: After 1848, nationalism in Europe moved away
from its association with democracy and revolution. The conservatives now spread-out nationalist
sentiments to promote state power and to achieve political dominance over Europe.
 Nationalist feelings were widespread among middle-class Germans, who in 1848 tried to unite the
different regions of the German confederation into a nation-state governed by an elected
parliament.
 This liberal initiative to nation-building was, however, repressed by the combined forces of the
monarchy and the military, supported by the large landowners (called Junkers) of Prussia.
 The leadership of the movement for national unification was taken over by Prussia. Otto von
Bismarck, its chief minister, performed his duties with the help of the Prussian army and
bureaucracy (government). Three wars with Austria, Denmark and France ended in Prussian
victory and completed the unification process.
 In January 1871, in a ceremony held at Versailles, the Prussian king, William I, was proclaimed the
German Emperor in an assembly forming the princes of the German states, representatives of the
army, important Prussian ministers including the chief minister Otto von Bismarck.
 On the morning of 18 January 1871, the assembly gathered in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of
Versailles to proclaim the new German Empire headed by Kaiser William I of Prussia.
 New Germany strongly focused on modernization of currency, banking, legal and jurisdictional
system 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 royal house. The north was under Austrian Habsburgs, the center was under
the Pope and the southern regions were under the domination of the bourbon kings of Spain. The
Italian language had yet to get an ordinary form and it still had many regional and local variations.
During the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini planned to put together a program for a unitary Italian
Republic. The failure of revolutionary uprisings both in 1831 and 1848 meant that the
responsibility 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 many the Italian population
remained blissfully unaware of liberal-nationalist ideology; probably because of remarkably
important level of illiteracy, while many others had not even heard of the names.

 The Strange Case of Britain: Some scholars have argued that the model of the nation-state is
Great Britain. The formation of the 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 English Parliament passed the Act of Union, 1707 between England and Scotland, by which
England and Scotland were unified resulting 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. Its effect was that England was able to impose its influence on
Scotland.
 The British identity grew at the peril of Scottish culture and political institutions. The Catholic
clans inhabited the Scottish Highlands. They felt terrible repression whenever they tried to assert
their independence. They were forbidden to speak their Gaelic language or wear their traditional
dress. Many of them were driven out of their homeland.
 Ireland suffered a similar fate. It was a country deeply divided between Catholics and Protestants.
The Protestants of Ireland set up 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 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.

5. Visualizing the Nation: Allegory is a symbol that stands for an abstract concept. An allegory is
said to have been used when an abstract idea, like greed, envy, freedom, or liberty, is expressed
through a person or a thing. An allegory often has two meanings, one literal and one symbolic
meaning.
While it is easy enough to represent a ruler through a portrait or a statue, it is difficult to give a
face to a nation. Artists in the 18th and 19th centuries found a way out by personifying a nation. In
other words, they represented a country as if it were a person. Nations were then portrayed as
female figures. The female form that was chosen to personify the nation did not stand for any
woman in real life, rather it would give an abstract idea of the nation in concrete form. This is how
the female figure became an allegory of the nation. Allegory plays a vital role in the nation's
building.
Example of Allegory: French artists used the female allegory, Marianne, to represent France.
Marianne symbolizes reason, liberty, and the ideals of the republic. She wore a red cap and a
knotted ribbon or cockade and carried the French tricolour. To popularize the national symbols as
well as to remind the public about the national symbol of unity and to persuade them to identify
with it, Statues of Marianne erected in public squares. Images of Marianne were used on coins and
stamps.
In Germany, the allegory for nation was again a female figure called Germania. She wears a crown
of oak leaves, a symbol of heroism in Germany. Germania wears a breastplate with an eagle, which
is a symbol of German strength. The black, red, and gold tricolour in Germania’s hand is the flag of
the liberal nationalists of 1848. The sword in Germania’s hand is a symbol of her readiness to fight.
A flag is the symbol of unity and encourages people to be united. The personification of a nation
infused feelings of patriotism and nationalism in people.

6. Nationalism & Imperialism: Imperialism refers to the policy of extending the rule and the
authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and
dependencies.
Through the 18th and the mid-19th century, Europe witnessed lot of chaos and turmoil. After
1871, there was a meaningful change in the concept of nationalism in Europe. Nationalist groups
in Europe had become increasingly incompatible with each other and were constantly in conflict.
The major European powers, namely Russia, Germany, England, and Austro-Hungary began taking
advantage of nationalism in Europe, to materialize their aims for imperialism.

The European powers sighted the much-disturbed Balkan region to fulfill their imperialist goals.
The Balkans region consisted of the following countries of our times - Romania, Bulgaria, Albania,
Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, and Montenegro. People of
different ethnicities and culture lived in the Balkans and were collectively known as Slavs. The
spread of romantic nationalism and the downfall of the Ottoman Empire had made the Balkans
peninsula very tense and volatile. The Ottoman Empire had not been able to strengthen itself even
after having adopted reforms and modern methods. The European subjects had begun to break
away from the Ottoman Empire and had started declaring themselves independent.
The Balkans claimed independence and a separate political identity based on nationality. The
Balkans argued that they had been dominated by foreign countries earlier so now they wanted to
break away from foreign rule and gain independence. The Balkans were jealous of each other and
wanted to expand control over each other’s territories.
Intensifying the tension further was the rivalry between the European powers over trade, colonies,
and naval and military strength. To fulfill these aims, Russia, Germany, England, and Austro-
Hungary wanted to extend their control over the already disturbed Balkan region. The rivalry
caused many wars and culminated in the First World War.
Nationalism, aligned with imperialism, led Europe to disaster in 1914. Later, the countries
colonized by the European powers in the 19th century began to overthrow their imperial
rule. Many countries struggled for the formation of nation states, and each country was inspired by
a sense of collective national unity.
Every country developed its own specific nationalism; there was one thing in common - the idea of
organizing societies as nation states.