The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, historical figures, and political concepts from the rise of nationalism in 19th-century Europe.

Absolutist

A government or system of rule that has no restraints on the power exercised; historically, a form of monarchical government that was centralised, militarised and repressive.

Utopian

A vision of a society that is so ideal that it is unlikely to actually exist.

Frédéric Sorrieu

A French artist who, in $1848$, prepared a series of four prints visualising his dream of a world made up of ‘democratic and social Republics’.

Nation-state

A state in which the majority of its citizens, and not only its rulers, developed a sense of common identity and shared history or descent.

Plebiscite

A direct vote by which all the people of a region are asked to accept or reject a proposal.

Ernst Renan

A French philosopher who outlined his understanding of what makes a nation in a lecture at the University of Sorbonne in $1882$.

La patrie

A French Revolutionary concept meaning ‘the fatherland’, emphasising the notion of a united community.

Le citoyen

A French Revolutionary concept meaning ‘the citizen’, emphasising the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.

Napoleonic Code

Also known as the Civil Code of $1804$, it did away with all privileges based on birth, established equality before the law and secured the right to property.

Suffrage

The right to vote.

Zollverein

A customs union formed in $1834$ at the initiative of Prussia which abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two.

Conservatism

A political philosophy that stressed the importance of tradition, established institutions and customs, and preferred gradual development to quick change.

Treaty of Vienna of 1815

A settlement drawn up by representatives of European powers—Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria—to undo changes brought by the Napoleonic wars.

Giuseppe Mazzini

An Italian revolutionary born in Genoa in $1805$ and a member of the Carbonari who founded the secret societies Young Italy and Young Europe.

Romanticism

A cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of nationalist sentiment by focusing on emotions, intuition and mystical feelings.

Johann Gottfried Herder

A German philosopher who claimed that true German culture was to be discovered among the common people, referred to as ‘das volk’.

Volksgeist

The true spirit of the nation, which Romantics believed was popularised through folk songs, folk poetry and folk dances.

Feminist

Awareness of women’s rights and interests based on the belief of the social, economic and political equality of the genders.

Ideology

A system of ideas reflecting a particular social and political vision.

Otto von Bismarck

The Chief Minister of Prussia and the architect of the German unification process carried out with the help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy.

Count Camillo de Cavour

The Chief Minister who led the movement to unify the regions of Italy; he was a tactful diplomat who engineered an alliance with France.

Giuseppe Garibaldi

An Italian freedom fighter who led the ‘Expedition of the Thousand’ to South Italy in $1860$ and commanded the ‘Red Shirts’ volunteers.

Act of Union (1707)

An agreement between England and Scotland that resulted in the formation of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’.

Ethnic

Relates to a common racial, tribal, or cultural origin or background that a community identifies with or claims.

Allegory

When an abstract idea (such as freedom or liberty) is expressed through a person or a thing.

Marianne

The popular Christian name given to the female allegory representing the Republic of France.

Germania

The female allegory of the German nation, often depicted wearing a crown of oak leaves signifying heroism.

The Balkans

A region of intense nationalist tension after $1871$ comprising modern-day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro.

Slavs

The broad name given to the inhabitants of the Balkan region.