Rise of Nationalism in Europe

Practice flashcards covering the key terms, figures, and concepts from the lecture on the Rise of Nationalism in Europe, including the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era.

Frédéric Sorrieu

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'.

Absolutism

A government or system of rule that has no restraints on the power exercised; historically, this refers to monarchical governments that were highly centralized, militarized, and repressive.

Utopian (Utopia)

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

Nation-state

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

Ernst Renan

A French philosopher (1823-92) who defined a nation as the culmination of a long past of endeavors, sacrifice, and devotion, and described its existence as a 'daily plebiscite'.

Plebiscite

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

La patrie

A French term meaning 'the fatherland,' used during the French Revolution to emphasize the notion of a united community.

Le citoyen

A French term meaning 'the citizen,' used to emphasize the idea of a community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.

National Assembly

The name given to the Estates General after it was renamed by the body of active citizens during the French Revolution.

Napoleonic Code (Civil Code of 1804)

A set of laws that removed all privileges based on birth, established equality before the law, and secured the right to property.

Liberalism

Derived from the Latin root 'liber' meaning free; for the new middle classes, it stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law.

Suffrage

The right to vote in political elections.

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 (1815)

An agreement hosted by Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich with the objective of undoing the changes that had come about in Europe during the Napoleonic wars.

Giuseppe Mazzini

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

Treaty of Constantinople (1832)

The peace treaty that recognized Greece as an independent nation following its war of independence.

Romanticism

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

Johann Gottfried Herder

A German philosopher (1744-1803) who claimed that true German culture was discovered among the common people ('das volk') and through the 'volkgeist'.

Volkgeist

A German term referring to the 'true spirit' of the nation, supposedly found in folk songs, folk poetry, and folk dances.