The Rise of Nationalism in Europe
Frédéric Sorrieu and the Utopian Vision of the Nation-State
In 1848, Frédéric Sorrieu, a French artist, created a series of four prints that visualized his dream of a world consisting of 'democratic and social Republics.' The first print of this series, titled 'The Dream of Worldwide Democratic and Social Republics – The Pact Between Nations,' depicts the peoples of Europe and America—men and women of all ages and social classes—marching in a long train. They offer homage to the Statue of Liberty as they pass. In this period, Liberty was personified as a female figure holding the torch of Enlightenment in one hand and the Charter of the Rights of Man in the other. On the ground in the foreground lie the shattered remains of symbols representing absolutist institutions. Sorrieu’s vision was utopian, grouping the peoples of the world into distinct nations identified by their flags and national costumes. The procession is led by the United States and Switzerland, which were already nation-states, followed by France, which had just reached the statue. Germany, depicted with the black, red, and gold flag, follows France, expressing the liberal hopes of 1848 to unify German-speaking principalities. Other nations in the train include Austria, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Lombardy, Poland, England, Ireland, Hungary, and Russia. From above, Christ, saints, and angels watch over the scene, symbolizing fraternity among the nations.
Conceptualizing the Nation: Definitions and Renan’s Philosophy
During the nineteenth century, nationalism became a powerful force that transformed the political and mental landscape of Europe, resulting in the emergence of the nation-state in place of multi-national dynastic empires. A modern state is defined by a centralized power exercising sovereign control over a clearly defined territory, a concept that developed over a long period. In contrast, a nation-state is one where the majority of citizens, not just the rulers, develop a sense of common identity and shared history or descent. This common identity was not ancient but forged through struggles, leaders, and the actions of common people.
Key terms include:
Absolutist: A government or system of rule with no restraints on power; historically, a centralized, militarized, and repressive monarchical government.
Utopian: A vision of society so ideal that it is unlikely to exist.
Plebiscite: A direct vote by which all people of a region accept or reject a proposal.
In his 1882 lecture 'Qu’est-ce qu’une nation?' at the University of Sorbonne, French philosopher Ernst Renan (1823–1892) criticized the idea that a nation is defined solely by language, race, religion, or territory. Instead, he argued that a nation is the 'culmination of a long past of endeavours, sacrifice and devotion.' He defined a nation as a 'large-scale solidarity' based on common glories in the past and a common will in the present. He famously described the existence of a nation as a 'daily plebiscite,' asserting that inhabitants have the right to be consulted and that nations are a guarantee of liberty.
The French Revolution and the Idea of the Nation
The first clear expression of nationalism occurred with the French Revolution in 1789. Before this, France was a territorial state under an absolute monarch. The revolution transferred sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French citizens. To create a sense of collective identity, the revolutionaries introduced several measures:
The ideas of 'la patrie' (the fatherland) and 'le citoyen' (the citizen) emphasized a community with equal rights under a constitution.
A new French tricolour flag replaced the royal standard.
The Estates General was renamed the National Assembly and elected by active citizens.
New hymns, oaths, and the commemoration of martyrs were established in the name of the nation.
A centralized administrative system formulated uniform laws, and internal customs duties were abolished.
A uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.
Regional dialects were discouraged in favor of French as spoken in Paris.
Revolutionaries further declared it the mission of the French nation to liberate other European peoples from despotism. The news of these events led to the formation of Jacobin clubs by the educated middle class across Europe, preparing the way for French armies to move into Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy in the 1790s, spreading nationalist ideas abroad.
Napoleon’s Administrative Reforms and the Civil Code of 1804
Napoleon Bonaparte introduced many reforms within the territories he conquered, often referred to as the Napoleonic Code or the Civil Code of 1804. While he destroyed democracy in France, his administrative changes were designed to make the system rational and efficient. Key features of the code included:
Abolition of all privileges based on birth.
Establishment of equality before the law.
Securing the right to property.
Simplification of administrative divisions in regions like the Dutch Republic, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany.
Abolition of the feudal system and freeing peasants from serfdom and manorial dues.
Removal of guild restrictions in towns.
Improvements in transport and communication systems.
Initially, French rule was welcomed in cities like Brussels, Mainz, Milan, and Warsaw as 'harbingers of liberty.' However, enthusiasm turned to hostility as the lack of political freedom, increased taxation, censorship, and forced conscription into French armies became apparent.
The Aristocracy, the New Middle Class, and Political Liberalism
In mid-eighteenth-century Europe, no nation-states existed; regions like Germany, Italy, and Switzerland were divided into autonomous kingdoms, duchies, and cantons. The Habsburg Empire, for example, was a patchwork of German-speaking aristocrats in Sudetenland, Magyar speakers in Hungary, and Polish-speaking aristocrats in Galicia. The dominant social class was the landed aristocracy, which was small in number but powerful, united by a common way of life and the French language. The majority was the peasantry.
Industrialization, which began in England in the second half of the 18th century and reached France and Germany in the 19th, led to the rise of a new middle class of industrialists, businessmen, and professionals. Among this educated class, ideas of national unity and the abolition of aristocratic privileges became popular. This 'liberal nationalism' advocated for individual freedom and equality before the law. Politically, liberalism emphasized government by consent, a constitution, and representative government through parliament. However, it did not initially support universal suffrage; in revolutionary France, only property-owning men could vote, and Napoleon further restricted these rights.
Economic Nationalism and the Zollverein
In the economic sphere, liberalism demanded the freedom of markets and the abolition of state restrictions on the movement of goods and capital. In the early 19th century, the German-speaking regions consisted of 39 states, each with its own currency and weights and measures. A merchant travelling in 1833 from Hamburg to Nuremberg faced 11 customs barriers, paying a duty at each. Measuring goods was difficult; the 'elle' unit of cloth varied by region: in Frankfurt, in Mainz, in Nuremberg, and in Freiburg.
In 1834, the 'Zollverein,' or customs union, was formed at the initiative of Prussia and joined by most German states. It abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two. Economist Friedrich List argued that the Zollverein would bind Germans economically into a nation and strengthen national sentiment through a fusion of individual and provincial interests.
The New Conservatism and the Congress of Vienna (1815)
After Napoleon's defeat in 1815, European governments embraced conservatism, which prioritized traditional institutions like monarchy, the Church, and social hierarchies. The major powers—Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria—met at the Congress of Vienna, hosted by Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich, to draw up the Treaty of Vienna (1815). The goal was to undo Napoleonic changes and restore monarchies. Key provisions included:
Restoration of the Bourbon dynasty in France.
France lost its annexed territories.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands (including Belgium) was set up in the north, and Genoa added to Piedmont in the south.
Prussia gained territories on its western frontiers, and Austria gained control of northern Italy.
Russia received part of Poland, while Prussia received part of Saxony.
The German confederation of 39 states was left untouched.
These conservative regimes were autocratic, imposing censorship to curb ideas of liberty associated with the French Revolution.
The Revolutionaries and Giuseppe Mazzini
Fear of repression drove liberal-nationalists to form secret societies to spread revolutionary ideas and oppose the post-1815 monarchies. Giuseppe Mazzini, an Italian revolutionary born in Genoa in 1805, was a central figure. A member of the Carbonari, he was exiled in 1831 at age 26 for an attempted revolution in Liguria. He founded two underground societies: 'Young Italy' in Marseilles and 'Young Europe' in Berne. Mazzini believed that nations were the 'natural units of mankind' and that Italy must be a single unified republic. His vision of democratic republics and opposition to monarchy frightened conservatives; Metternich labeled him 'the most dangerous enemy of our social order.'
The Age of Revolutions: 1830–1848
The 1830s to 1848 saw numerous revolutions led by the educated middle-class elite.
France (July 1830): The Bourbon kings were overthrown, and a constitutional monarchy was established under Louis Philippe.
Belgium: The July Revolution sparked an uprising that resulted in Belgium's separation from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Greek War of Independence: Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the 15th century. A struggle for independence began in 1821, supported by Greeks in exile and Western Europeans who admired ancient Greek culture. The English poet Lord Byron raised funds and fought in the war until his death in 1824. The Treaty of Constantinople (1832) recognized Greece as an independent nation.
Romanticism and Cultural Nationalism
Nationalism was shared through culture as well as politics. Romanticism, a cultural movement, criticized the glorification of reason and science, focusing on emotions and intuition.
Johann Gottfried Herder: Credited true German culture to the 'common people' (das volk) through folk songs, poetry, and dances (volksgeist).
The Grimm Brothers: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected folktales (published 1812) to protect the 'pure' German spirit against French domination and published a 33-volume German dictionary.
Poland: After being partitioned by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, Poland used culture to maintain identity. Karol Kurpinski celebrated struggle through opera and dances like the polonaise and mazurka. Language became a weapon; Polish priests used it in instruction despite Russian bans, leading many to be jailed or sent to Siberia.
Hunger, Hardship, and the 1848 Revolution
The 1830s brought economic hardship to Europe due to population growth, rural migration to urban slums, and competition from cheap English machine-made goods. In 1845, weavers in Silesia revolted against contractors who reduced payments; the revolt ended with the army killing 11 weavers. In 1848, food shortages and unemployment in Paris led to the abdication of Louis Philippe. A National Assembly proclaimed a republic, granted suffrage to all adult males over 21, and guaranteed the right to work.
In the German regions, 831 elected representatives joined the Frankfurt Parliament in the Church of St Paul on 18 May 1848. They drafted a constitution for a monarchy subject to a parliament and offered the crown to Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia. He rejected it, leading to the collapse of the assembly. During this time, the issue of women’s rights was contentious. Activists like Louise Otto-Peters argued 'Liberty is indivisible,' but women were excluded from the right to vote and only allowed as observers in the Frankfurt Parliament.
The Unification of Germany and Italy
In Germany, the movement for unification was led by Prussia under Chief Minister Otto von Bismarck, the architect of the process. He used the Prussian army and bureaucracy to win three wars over seven years against Austria, Denmark, and France. On 18 January 1871, Kaiser William I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor at the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
Italy was divided into seven states in the mid-19th century, with only Sardinia-Piedmont ruled by an Italian house. The north was under the Habsburgs, the center under the Pope, and the south under Spanish Bourbons. Giuseppe Mazzini's earlier efforts were followed by Chief Minister Cavour, who engineered an alliance with France to defeat Austria in 1859. Giuseppe Garibaldi and his 'Red Shirts' (volunteers) marched into South Italy in 1860, driving out the Spanish with peasant support. In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of unified Italy. Rome was finally joined to Italy in 1870 when French troops withdrew.
The Case of Great Britain and Visualizing the Nation
Britain's nation-state formation was a gradual process rather than a sudden revolution. The English parliament seized power in 1688. The Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland formed the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain,' resulting in the suppression of Scottish culture and the Gaelic language. Ireland was forcibly incorporated in 1801 after a failed 1798 revolt led by Wolfe Tone. Symbols of the new British nation included the Union Jack, the anthem 'God Save Our Noble King,' and the English language.
Nations were often personified by female allegories:
Marianne (France): Represented with a red cap, tricolour, and cockade; statues were placed in public and her image appeared on currency.
Germania (Germany): Wore a crown of oak leaves (symbolizing heroism). Symbols include broken chains (freedom), the sword (readiness to fight), and rays of the rising sun (new era).
Nationalism, Imperialism, and the Balkans
By the late 19th century, nationalism became imperialistic and intolerant. The most explosive region was the Balkans, home to various Slavic nationalities (Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, etc.) under Ottoman rule. As the Ottoman Empire weakened, these groups sought independence based on historical identity. The region became an area of intense conflict as Balkan states fought over territory and major powers—Russia, Germany, England, and Austro-Hungary—sought to extend control. These rivalries eventually led to the First World War in 1914. While European nationalism wasn't directly replicated elsewhere, the 'nation-state' became a universally accepted model of social organization.