Habsburg Empire: Nationalism Challenges

• Section 1 showcases events and processes through a series of images.

The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

• In 1848, French artist Frédéric Sorrieu created four prints envisioning a world of "democratic and social Republics.”
• The first print shows people of Europe and America marching and paying homage to the Statue of Liberty.
• Liberty is personified as a female figure with the torch of Enlightenment and the Charter of the Rights of Man.
• The remains of absolutist institutions lie shattered in the image's foreground.
• Sorrieu’s utopian vision groups the world's people into distinct nations identified by flags and costumes.
• The United States and Switzerland lead the procession, already nation-states at the time.
• France, identifiable by its revolutionary tricolor, is next.
• Germany follows, bearing a black, red, and gold flag, expressing liberal hopes for unification.
• Other groups include Austria, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Lombardy, Poland, England, Ireland, Hungary, and Russia.
• Christ, saints, and angels symbolize fraternity among the nations from above.
• Nationalism emerged in the 19th century as a force for political and mental change, leading to nation-states.
• A modern state has centralized power and sovereign control over a defined territory.
• A nation-state sees its citizens, not just rulers, develop a sense of common identity and shared history.
• Common identity was forged through struggles and the actions of leaders and common people.
• The chapter explores how nation-states and nationalism developed in 19th-century Europe.
• Ernst Renan defined a nation as a culmination of shared past efforts, sacrifice, and devotion.
• Essential conditions include common glories, a shared will in the present, and the desire to achieve more together.
• Renan views a nation as a large-scale solidarity and its existence as a guarantee of liberty.

The French Revolution and the Idea of the Nation

• Nationalism emerged in the French Revolution of 1789, shifting sovereignty from the monarchy to French citizens.
• The revolution asserted that the people would shape the nation's destiny.
• French revolutionaries created collective identity through ideas like la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizen).
• These concepts emphasized a united community with equal rights under a constitution.
• The tricolor replaced the royal standard as the new French flag.
• The Estates General was renamed the National Assembly and elected by active citizens.
• New hymns were composed, oaths taken, and martyrs commemorated in the nation's name.
• France established a centralized administration with uniform laws, abolishing internal customs duties and adopting uniform weights and measures.
• French, as spoken in Paris, became the common language, discouraging regional dialects.
• The revolution aimed to liberate Europe from despotism, helping other peoples to become nations.
• The image of the French Bastille being stormed represents the bastion of despotic rule in Kassel.
• Students and educated middle classes formed Jacobin clubs when news of France reached other cities in Europe.
• These clubs prepared the way for French armies moving into Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy in the 1790s.
• French armies spread nationalism abroad with revolutionary wars.
• Napoleon introduced reforms in territories under his control.
• While Napoleon destroyed democracy he incorporated revolutionary principles to make systems more efficient.
• The Civil Code of 1804, or Napoleonic Code, eliminated birth-based privileges, established equality before the law, and secured property rights.
• The Code was exported to regions under French control.
• Napoleon simplified administrative divisions in the Dutch Republic, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany.
• He abolished the feudal system, freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues, and removed guild restrictions in towns.
• Transport and communication systems were improved.
• Businessmen realized standardized laws and a common currency would ease the movement of goods and capital.
• Reactions to French rule in conquered areas were mixed, with initial enthusiasm turning to hostility due to increased taxation, censorship, and forced conscription.
• The courier of Rhineland represents Napoleon on his way back to France, dropping territories he lost when defeated after the battle of Leipzig in 1813.

The Making of Nationalism in Europe

• Mid-18th century Europe lacked 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 had autocratic monarchies ruling over diverse peoples who didn't share a collective identity or culture.
• The Habsburg Empire, ruling Austria-Hungary, included diverse regions and peoples.
• The Alpine regions, Tyrol, Austria and the Sudetenland were included as well as Bohemia where the aristocracy was German-speaking.
• Lombardy and Venetia were Italian speaking provinces.
• In Hungary, half the population spoke Magyar while the other half spoke dialects; Polish was spoken by Galician aristocracy.
• The empire also included Bohemians, Slovaks, Slovenes, Croats and Roumans.
• The diverse groups were only unified by allegiance to the emperor.
• Socially, a landed aristocracy was the dominant continental class.
• Aristocrats were united by a lifestyle that cut across regional divides.
• Aristocrats owned countryside estates and townhouses, spoke French and often intermarried.
• The majority was the peasantry.
• Western land was farmed by tenants and small owners, Eastern and Central land was characterised by serfs.
• The growth of industrial production led to the growth of towns and commercial classes
• Industrialization was more gradual in France and German states
• It was the educated, liberal middle classes that advocated for national unity and end of aristocratic privilege.
• Liberalism comes from "liber," meaning free.
• Liberalism stood for individual freedom and equality before the law.
• Politically, it emphasized government by consent and stood against autocracy and clerical privileges..
• Nineteenth-century liberals stressed the inviolability of private property.
• Equality before the law did not always mean universal suffrage, voting was limited to property owning men, women were excluded.
• The Napoleonic Code had limited suffrage and reduced women.
• In the economic sphere, liberalism stood for freedom of markets and removal of state restrictions on movement of goods and capital.
• In 1834 a customs union or Zollverein was formed at the initiative of Prussia
• The union abolished tariff barriers and reduced currencies to two, promoting economic nationalism.
• Following Napoleon's defeat in 1815, European governments were driven by conservatism.
• Conservatives believed in preserving traditional institutions like monarchy, church, social hierarchies, property, and family.
• However, conservatives realised modernisation could strengthen traditional institutions.
• Representatives of European powers met at Vienna in 1815 to draw up a settlement for Europe.
• The Bourbon dynasty was restored in France, France lost annexed territories.
• States were set up to prevent French expansion.
• The German confederation stayed untouched, Russia was given part of Poland, Prussia was given a part of Saxony.
• Conservative regimes established in 1815 were autocratic, intolerant of criticism, and imposed censorship laws.

The Revolutionaries

• The years following saw national liberals going underground, joining secret socieites and spreading their ideas.
• Being revolutionary meant opposing monarchical forms and fighting for liberty.
• Giuseppe Mazzini, born in Genoa in 1805, was an revolutionairy sent into exile in 1831.
• Giuseppe founded Young Italy (in Marseilles) and Young Europe (in Berne) to support nationalist ideas from Poland, France etc.
• Mazzini believed Italy should be a single unified republic.

Age of Revolutions: 1830-1848

• Conservative regimes consolidated power, liberalism and nationalism became associated with revolution across Europe.

• Revolutions were led by liberal-nationalists professors, school-teachers, clerks etc.

• The first upheaval took place in France in July 1830 when Burbon kings were overthrown and installed Louis Phillipe.

  • This spurred on uprisings in Brussel, which led to Belgium breaking away from Netherlands.

• The Greek war of independence galvanised nationalist feelings across Europe, as it had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the 15th century, in 1821 struggle began.

• Greek nationalists got support from those living in ecile and the West who had sympathies for ancient-Greek culture, the English poet Lord Byron aided struggle.

• Finally, in 1832 the Treaty of Constantinople recognised Greece as an independent state.

• The development of nationalism did came only through wars but culture (art, poetry, stories and music).

• Romanticism, a cultural movement attempted to shape a particular form of nationalist sentiment, critiquing the glorification of reason but focused on emotions.

  • It was used to create of a shared heritage.

• Other Romantics such as Gothefried, said true German culture was to be discovered in common people such as folk, poems and dances

• Emphasis on vernacular language and local folklore was used to carry nationalist messages to those illiterate.

  • Karol Kurpinski in Poland turned fold danes into Nationalist symbols. -Russian Language was imposed, and in 1831 armed rebillion took place

• Polish Language was used to gather for church, causing priests and bishops to be jailed.

  • This symbolised national resistance.

• The 1830s saw economic hardship in Europe. Population increased and more seekers of job than employment.

• People migrated to overcrowding slums.

• Small producers in towns faced import competition from machine-made goods.

• Aristocracy enjoyed power and peasants struggled burdens of obligations, 1848 saw food shorgages unemployment.

  • This caused Louis Phillipe to flee and caused the National Assembly to create a Republic.

• In 1845 Weavers in SIlesia lead a bolt, journalit Wihhelm Wolff described misery of the workers. On 4, june at 2pm many crowds weaver marched onto mansion of contractor but were threat, so they smashed the house -The contractor fled but returned and requistiotned the army,11 were shot

• Revolution of the liberlas saw Revolts by led by eduacted middles classes 2.48 monarchy abandoded in France and universal saffrage

• Liberal middle classes combined demands for constitutitonalism and national unificication.

• They demanded demands constitution, freedom of press etc.

• Large politoacl association gathered voted for a national assembely and marched to Frankfurt parliament to church of St Paul, drafted to crown fredrich willeme but rejected

• As aristocracy became stongerm parliamnet was eroded by refusing to suppoty

• In the end tooks were called and disbadned

• Extension of polital rights too women was contriversial but denied safarge

The making of Germany and Italy

• After 1848 nationalmsit mvoed awat from demicracy revolotuon
• Conservatives moved in
• This can bee seen as the process with germany and italy
• Nationalist feelings wererspreads The 1848 Tried tounite different reigon of germny
• Prussia took learder ship Otto Carryed Out with army
• Austria deekmatk fren
• William the first was procaliamde german empior

ITALY UNIFIED

• Italy ha along histoyr fro fragmentation divided states during middles of the centruy with habsburg empre north ruled by austria south by spanish and centre by pople Italian Lnagauge had local varioants
• Guiseepoe mazinin uunitafy the country

Explore 19th-century obstacles in forming a unified national identity within the Habsburg Empire. Linguistic diversity, the social hierarchy with a German-speaking aristocracy, and external events fueled ethnic tensions. The influence of Italian and German unification on Habsburg nationalist desires is examined.