Origins of National Consciousness

The development of print-as-commodity is a key factor in generating new ideas of simultaneity.
It allows for the possibility of horizontal, secular communities.
The popularity of the nation within these communities can be attributed to complex and varied factors.
A strong case can be made for the primacy of capitalism in this development.

By 1500, at least 20 million books had been printed in Europe, marking the beginning of Benjamin’s ‘age of mechanical reproduction.’
Print knowledge contrasts with manuscript knowledge, which was scarce and associated with arcane lore.
If Febvre and Martin’s beliefs are to be taken into account, possibly 200 million volumes had been printed by 1600.
This extensive publication explains why figure like Francis Bacon believed print changed the appearance of knowledge.

The publishing industry, as an early form of capitalist enterprise, thrived during a period of European prosperity (1500-1550).
The industry was under the control of wealthy capitalists, whose primary concern was profit.
Booksellers sought works that would interest the largest number of contemporaries, indicating a mass-market approach.

The initial consumer base predominantly consisted of literate Europeans, specifically a thin stratum of Latin-readers.
Market saturation took about 150 years.
The significance of Latin stemmed not just from its religious status, but it being primarily a language of bilinguals, with few speaking it as a mother tongue.
The proportion of bilinguals in the sixteenth century was relatively small, similar to modern times, with monoglot populations being the majority.
Once the Latin market was saturated, capitalist interests led to the exploration of the varied monoglot masses.

The Counter-Reformation temporarily boosted Latin publishing, yet by the mid-seventeenth century, Latin publishing began to decline due to a Europe-wide money shortage, pushing printers toward cheaper vernacular editions.

Three external factors contributed significantly to the rise of national consciousness through a vernacularizing thrust of capitalism:
1. Changes in Latin's Character
2. The Impact of the Reformation
3. The Spread of Vernaculars as Administrative Tools

The character of Latin changed due to Humanist efforts, resurrecting ancient literature and altering the perception of Latin among the intelligentsia.
Latin became Ciceronian and esoteric, distancing itself from common ecclesiastical and everyday usage.
Earlier forms of Latin were commonplace; the transformation made it exclusive and esoteric.

The Reformation was significantly aided by print-capitalism, allowing dissenting ideas to proliferate faster than ever.
Martin Luther’s theses, sent for printing in 1517, achieved immediate widespread attention.
In the period 1520-1540, three times more books were published in German compared to the prior period, making Luther a key literary figure during this time.
- Luther’s works accounted for one third of all German books sold between 1518 and 1525.
- Between 1522 and 1546, 430 editions of his biblical texts appeared, indicating a true mass readership.
- Luther is credited as the first best-selling author who could sell books based on personal reputation.

Protestantism maintained an offensive stance due to its engagement with the expanded vernacular print-market, while the Counter-Reformation struggled with Latin, exemplified by the Vatican’s Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
Francois I’s 1535 ban on vernacular printing exposes the political as well as religious panic during the Reformation.
Areas such as Calvin’s Geneva saw a significant increase in printing, showcasing the size of the Protestant readership.

The rise of specific vernacular languages was tied to efforts of absolutist monarchs in the absence of a coherent political structure across Western Europe.
The collapse of the Western Empire led to political fragmentation, preventing any sovereign from monopolizing Latin as the state language, unlike in Imperial China.

The gradual emergence of administrative vernaculars was an independent factor contributing to the decline of the imagined community.
Historical events illustrate this, such as the transition of Anglo-Saxon to Latin and eventually to Norman French post-Norman Conquest.
This transition marked significant developments in the language of the court and administration, with vernaculars evolving over time.

The eventual adoption of French as the official language of the courts in 1539 under Francois I illustrates a significant turning point, showing the haphazard nature of vernacular adoption in contrast to more systematic language policies that arose in later centuries.

The interactions of pernicious factors, including the esotericization of Latin and the impact of the Reformation, show both direct and indirect influences on emerging national consciousness.
The randomness of this vernacularization process does not negate its contribution to the surging notion of nation—sometimes occurring without any specific ideological impulse.

Print languages emerged as powerful tools for national consciousness in three ways:
1. Unified fields of exchange and communication across different dialects, facilitating mass communication.
2. Establishment of a linguistic fixity, preserving forms of language over time, contributing to the myth of antiquity important to nationalism.
3. Creation of languages-of-power that replaced older vernaculars as dominant forces in political and cultural life.

The convergence of capitalism, print technology, and linguistic diversity facilitated the formation of new imagined communities based on print-languages.
National consciousness arose through reading and comprehension across previously unintelligible dialects, united under common print forms.