Nationalism in 19th Century Europe

Section I

• Events and processes are the focus

Frédéric Sorrieu's Vision (1848)

• A French artist envisioned a world of "democratic and social Republics."
• One print depicts people of Europe and America marching and paying homage to the Statue of Liberty.
• Liberty is personified as a female figure holding the torch of Enlightenment and the Charter of the Rights of Man.
• The image presents a utopian vision of distinct nations identified by flags and costumes.
• The procession is led by the United States and Switzerland, already nation-states at the time.

Introduction to Nationalism in 19th Century Europe

• Nationalism significantly changed the political and mental landscape of 19th-century Europe.
• Nation-states emerged, replacing multi-national dynastic empires.
• A modern state is defined as having a centralized power with sovereign control over a defined territory.
• A nation-state is defined as having the majority of citizens developing a sense of common identity, history, and descent.
• This common identity was forged through struggles, leaders' actions, and the involvement of ordinary people.

Ernst Renan's "What is a Nation?"

• A nation arises from a long history, sacrifice, and devotion.
• It relies on a social capital of heroic pasts, great figures, and shared glory.
• Essential nationhood involves common past glories, a shared present will, and a desire to perform great deeds.
• National existence demonstrates daily consent.
• A nation should not annex a country against its will.
• Nations are a necessity and guarantee freedom, which would be lost with a single world law.

The French Revolution (1789)

• The French Revolution was the first clear expression of nationalism.
• The revolution transferred sovereignty from the monarch to French citizens.
• The revolution declared that the people would shape the nation's destiny.
• Revolutionaries took measures to create a collective identity among French people.
• The ideas of la patrie (fatherland) and le citoyen (citizen) emphasized unity and equal rights under a constitution.
• The tricolour replaced the royal standard as the new French flag.
• The Estates General became the National Assembly and was elected by active citizens.
• Hymns were composed, oaths taken, and martyrs commemorated in the nation's name.
• A centralized administrative system and uniform laws were established.
• Internal customs duties were abolished, and a uniform system of weights and measures adopted.
• Regional dialects were discouraged with Parisian French becoming the common language.
• French revolutionaries aimed to liberate Europe from despotism and help other peoples become nations.
• News of French events led to the creation of Jacobin clubs by students and the middle class.
• The rise of French armies carried the idea of nationalism abroad.

The German Almanac (1798)

• By journalist Andreas Rebmann, illustrates the storming of the French Bastille.
• A similar fortress represented despotic rule in the German province of Kassel.
• It included the slogan "The people must seize their own freedom!".
• Rebmann was a member of a German Jacobin group in Mainz.

Napoleonic Code (1804) and Reforms

• Napoleon introduced reforms in territories under his control.
• The Civil Code of 1804 removed privileges based on birth, established equality before the law, and secured property rights.
• It was exported to regions under French control.
• Napoleon simplified administrative divisions in the Dutch Republic, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany.
• The feudal system was abolished, and peasants were freed from serfdom and manorial dues.
• Guild restrictions were removed in towns.
• Transport and communication systems were improved.

Reactions to French Rule

• Reactions to French rule in conquered areas varied.
• French armies were initially welcomed as harbingers of liberty in places like Holland, Switzerland and certain cities.
• The new administrative arrangements did not go hand-in-hand with political freedom fostering hostility.
• Factors such as increased taxation, censorship conscription outweighed the administrative changes.

The Courier of Rhineland

• The image depicts Napoleon as a postman returning to France, losing letters.
• Each letter is labelled as a territory he lost.

Mid-18th Century Europe

• Germany, Italy and Switzerland were divided into autonomous territories ruled by kingdoms, duchies, and cantons.
• Eastern and Central Europe lived under autocratic monarchies.
• Diverse peoples didn't share a collective identity, common culture, or language.
• The Habsburg Empire included distinct regions and peoples ruled by Austria-Hungary.
• Political unity was hindered amongst the diverse groups.
• Allegiance to the emperor was the unique tie.

Aristocracy and the New Middle Class

• Landed aristocracy dominated social and political life.
• They were united by lifestyle across regional divisions and owned country estates and town houses.
• Their families were often connected by marriage.
• Numerically the aristocracy made up a smaller group.
• The majority of the population was made up of the peasantry.
• Small landowners and tenants farmed the land in Western Europe.
• Eastern and Central Europe were characterized by large estates cultivated by serfs.

The Growth of Towns and Industrialization

• Western and parts of Central Europe saw the expansion of towns and commercial classes due to industrialized production and trade.
• The second half of the 18th century saw Industrialization begin in England and then France/German states during the 19th century.
• The educated, liberal middle classes advocated national unity and the abolition of aristocratic privileges.

Liberal Nationalism Ideology

• Liberalism is derived from the Latin root liber, meaning free.
• Liberalism emphasized freedom for the individual and equality before the law.
• It supported a constitution and representative government through parliament.
• Liberals stressed the importance of private property.
• Equality before the law did not guarantee universal suffrage.
• The right to vote was granted to property-owning men in revolutionary France.
• Women and non-property-owning men were excluded from political rights.
• Women and non-propertied men protested demanding equal rights.
• Economic liberalism stood for market freedom and the removal of state-imposed restrictions on the movement of goods/capital.

Economic Obstacles and the Zollverein

• Numerous currencies, weights, and measures hindered economic activities.
• Merchants faced customs barriers and duties when traversing regions.
• In each region 'elle' measured textile with a varying length.
• The commercial classes advocated for a unified economic territory.
• The zollverein (customs union) was formed in 1834 at the initiative of Prussia, joining German states.
• It abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies.
• Railway networks stimulated mobility, aiding national unification.

Conservatism Post-1815

• European governments driven by conservatism following Napoleon's defeat.
• They pushed for traditional institutions: monarchy, Church, social hierarchies, property, and family.
• Conservatives realized modernization could strengthen traditional institutions.
• A modern army, efficient bureaucracy, and dynamic economy could strengthen monarchies.
• European powers met at Vienna in 1815 to establish a settlement for Europe.
• The Congress was hosted by Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich

Reactions to Conservative Regimes

• Conservative regimes after 1815 did not tolerate criticism.
• Autocratic governments imposed censorship laws on books, newspapers, plays etc.

The Club of Thinkers

• The caricature depicts thinkers in the 1820s
• A plaque reads as "How long will thinking be allowed to us?"
• The club enforces silence and restrains speech.

Revolutionaries post 1815

• Fear of repression drove liberal-nationalists underground.
• Secret societies trained revolutionaries.
• Revolutionaries opposed monarchical forms established after the Vienna Congress.
• Revolutionaries fought for liberty and freedom.
• Nation-states were needed as part of this fight for freedom.

Giuseppe Mazzini

• He was born in Genoa in 1805.
• Mazzini became a member of the secret society of the Carbonari.
• In 1831, he was exiled for attempting a revolution in Liguria.
• He founded Young Italy in Marseilles and Young Europe in Berne.
• Mazzini believed God intended nations to be the natural units of mankind.
• Secret societies were set up in Germany, France, Switzerland and Poland, based on his model.
• Metternich described Mazzini as an enemy of social order.

Revolutions of 1830-1848

• Liberalism and nationalism became associated with a revolution in regions such as the Italian and German states, provinces of the Ottoman Empire, Ireland and Poland.
• These revolutions were led by the middle classes.
• France's July Revolution of 1830 overthrew Bourbon kings.
• Liberal revolutionaries installed a constitutional monarchy under Louis Philippe.
• The Greek War of Independence mobilized nationalist feelings.
• The Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognized Greece as an independent nation.

Romanticism

• Artistic/cultural moment to create a shared history to unite as a nation.
• Focused on the mystical and less on reason and science.
• Herder: True German culture was among common folk, das volk.

The Grimm Brothers

• Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm of Grimm's Fairy Tales were born in Hanau, Germany in the 1780s.
• They collected fairy tales and were active in liberal politics.
• They viewed France as a threat to German culture.
• They collected folktales and language as resistance to French domination

Economic Hardship and Revolts: 1830s-1840s

• The 1830s brought economic hardship to Europe.
• The population increased resulting in more job seekers than employment.
• Population migrated from rural to Urban areas producing slums.
• Production was stiff due to imports.
• Peasants dealt with debt and those in towns dealt with pauperism.

Weavers of Silesia

• There was a revolt in Silesia against contractors for less wages.

The Revolution of the Liberals (1848)

• Middle classes combined demands such as constitutionalism with national unification.
• Groups came to Frankfurt together to have an all-German National Assembly.
• They met at the Church of St Paul.
• There was talk to giving rights to women but it was controversial.

Carl Welcker on Women

• Nature has different functions for men and women.
• Man is strong and provider whereas women dependent.

Louise Otto-Peters

• Liberty should be for both the genders.

German Unification

• Nationalist feelings were widespread and people united in Germany.
• Wars broke on Prussia due to a unification.

Italian Unification

• Like Germany, Italy had a long history of fragmentation.
• Seven states in mid 19th-century.
• Mazzini formed "Young Italy" to disseminate his goals.