The Rise of Nationalism in Europe - Q&A

a) Guiseppe Mazzini

Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian revolutionary born in Genoa in 1805. He became a member of the secret society of the Carbonari. In 1831, at the young age of 24, he was sent into exile for attempting a revolution in Liguria. He subsequently founded two underground societies: Young Italy in Marseilles and Young Europe in Berne. Mazzini believed that God had intended nations to be the natural units of mankind. Therefore, Italy had to be forged into a single unified republic within a wider alliance of nations, rather than remaining a patchwork of small states. His relentless opposition to monarchy and his vision of democratic republics frightened conservatives, leading Metternich to describe him as ‘the most dangerous enemy of our social order’.

Count Camillo de Cavour was the Chief Minister of Sardinia-Piedmont who led the movement to unify the regions of Italy. He was not a revolutionary, nor was he a democrat. Like many wealthy and educated members of the Italian elite, he spoke French much better than he did Italian. Through a tactful diplomatic alliance with France, which he engineered, Sardinia-Piedmont succeeded in defeating the Austrian forces in 1859. This victory was a crucial step in the unification of Italy.

The Greek war of independence was an event that mobilised nationalist feelings among the educated elite across Europe. Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the fifteenth century. The growth of revolutionary nationalism in Europe sparked a struggle for independence amongst the Greeks which began in 1821. Nationalists in Greece received support from other Greeks living in exile and also from many West Europeans who had sympathies for ancient Greek culture. Poets and artists, such as the English poet Lord Byron, lauded Greece as the cradle of European civilisation. Finally, the Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognised Greece as an independent nation.

In 1848, in the German regions, a large number of political associations comprising middle-class professionals, businessmen, and prosperous artisans came together in the city of Frankfurt. They decided to vote for an all-German National Assembly. On 18 May 1848, 831 elected representatives marched to the Church of St Paul to convene the Frankfurt parliament. They drafted a constitution for a German nation to be headed by a monarchy subject to a parliament. However, when they offered the crown to Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia, he rejected it and joined other monarchs to oppose the elected assembly. The parliament eventually lost the support of the workers and artisans and was disbanded by troops.

A large number of women participated actively in the liberal movement over the years. They formed their own political associations, founded newspapers, and took part in political meetings and demonstrations. Despite this active participation, they were denied suffrage rights during the election of the Assembly. For instance, when the Frankfurt parliament convened, women were admitted only as observers to stand in the visitors’ gallery, indicating that the extension of political rights to women remained a controversial issue within the liberal movement.

The French revolutionaries introduced various measures and practices to create a sense of collective identity:
1. La Patrie and Le Citoyen: The ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizen) were emphasised to create the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.
2. New Flag: A new French flag, the tricolour, was chosen to replace the former royal standard.
3. National Assembly: The Estates General was elected by the body of active citizens and renamed the National Assembly.
4. National Hymns and Oaths: New hymns were composed, oaths taken, and martyrs commemorated, all in the name of the nation.
5. Centralised Administration: A centralised administrative system was put in place which formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory.
6. Economic Uniformity: Internal customs duties and dues were abolished, and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.
7. Language: Regional dialects were discouraged and French, as it was spoken and written in Paris, became the common language of the nation.

Marianne and Germania were female allegories invented by artists in the nineteenth century to represent the nation.

Marianne: She was the allegory of the French nation. Her characteristics were drawn from those of Liberty and the Republic—the red cap, the tricolour, and the cockade. Her statues were erected in public squares to remind the public of the national symbol of unity and to persuade them to identify with it.
Germania: She was the allegory of the German nation. In visual representations, Germania wears a crown of oak leaves, as the German oak stands for heroism.

Importance: These figures personified the nation, giving the abstract idea of a nation a concrete form. They served to unify the people by providing a face to the nation and symbolising core values like liberty, justice, and heroism.

The process of German unification unfolded as follows:
1. Early Attempts: In 1848, middle-class Germans tried to unite the different regions of the German confederation into a nation-state governed by an elected parliament (Frankfurt Parliament). This initiative was repressed by the combined forces of the monarchy and the military, supported by the large landowners (Junkers) of Prussia.
2. Prussian Leadership: After the failure of the 1848 revolution, Prussia took on the leadership of the movement for national unification.
3. Bismarck's Role: Otto von Bismarck, the Chief Minister of Prussia, was the architect of this process. He carried it out with the help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy.
4. Wars of Unification: Three wars were fought over seven years against Austria, Denmark, and France. All ended in Prussian victory.
5. Proclamation: The wars completed the process of unification. In January 1871, the Prussian king, William I, was proclaimed German Emperor in a ceremony held at Versailles.

Napoleon introduced several administrative reforms to make the system more rational and efficient:
1. The Civil Code of 1804: Also known as the Napoleonic Code, it abolished all privileges based on birth, established equality before the law, and secured the right to property.
2. Abolition of Feudalism: In the Dutch Republic, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, Napoleon simplified administrative divisions, abolished the feudal system, and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues.
3. Guild Restrictions: In the towns, guild restrictions were removed.
4. Infrastructure: Transport and communication systems were improved.
5. Standardisation: Uniform laws, standardised weights and measures, and a common national currency were introduced to facilitate the movement and exchange of goods and capital.

The 1848 revolution of the liberals refers to the movement led by the educated middle classes (professors, school teachers, clerks, and commercial middle classes) in Europe, parallel to the revolts of the poor and peasants. In regions like Germany, Italy, Poland, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they combined demands for constitutionalism with national unification.

Political Ideas: Liberals believed in government by consent. They demanded the end of autocracy and clerical privileges, and the creation of a nation-state on parliamentary principles, which included a constitution, freedom of the press, and freedom of association.
Social Ideas: They stood for the freedom of the individual and equality of all before the law. However, they did not necessarily support universal suffrage; the movement was often dominated by property-owning men who excluded women and non-propertied men from political rights.
Economic Ideas: Liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of state-imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital. They supported the inviolability of private property.

Culture played a vital role in creating the idea of the nation through art, poetry, stories, and music:
1. Folk Culture (Germany): The German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder claimed that true German culture was to be discovered among the common people (das volk). He believed that folk songs, folk poetry, and folk dances were essential to popularise the true spirit of the nation (volksgeist). The Grimm brothers collected folktales to oppose French domination and create a German national identity.
2. Language (Poland): In Poland, language was used as a weapon of national resistance. Following Russian occupation, the Polish language was forced out of schools. Members of the clergy used Polish for Church gatherings and religious instruction as a symbol of the struggle against Russian dominance.
3. Music: Karol Kurpinski celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the polonaise and mazurka into nationalist symbols.

Italy:
Italy was politically fragmented into seven states, with only Sardinia-Piedmont ruled by an Italian princely house.
- Giuseppe Mazzini tried to formulate a programme for a unitary Italian Republic through his secret society, Young Italy.
- After failed uprisings, the responsibility fell on Sardinia-Piedmont under King Victor Emmanuel II and his Chief Minister Cavour.
- Cavour formed a diplomatic alliance with France to defeat Austrian forces in 1859.
- Giuseppe Garibaldi led armed volunteers (Red Shirts) into South Italy in 1860, winning the support of peasants to drive out the Spanish rulers.
- In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of united Italy.

Britain:
In Britain, the nation-state was not the result of a sudden revolution but a long process.
- The English parliament seized power from the monarchy in 1688.
- The Act of Union (1707) united England and Scotland into the "United Kingdom of Great Britain," allowing England to impose its influence on Scotland and suppress its culture.
- Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the UK in 1801 after failed revolts.
- A new "British nation" was forged through symbols like the Union Jack, the national anthem, and the English language, with older nations surviving only as subordinate partners.

The history of nationalism in Britain differed from the rest of Europe in the following ways:
1. No Sudden Revolution: Unlike France or other European states which experienced revolutions and upheavals, the formation of the nation-state in Britain was the result of a long-drawn-out process.
2. Parliamentary Dominance: The English parliament was the instrument that forged the nation, seizing power from the monarchy in 1688, rather than through wars of liberation led by revolutionaries.
3. Suppression of Ethnic Identities: Instead of a federation of free peoples, the British nation was forged by the English nation extending its wealth and power over the other ethnic groups (Welsh, Scot, Irish).
4. Cultural Imposition: Distinctive cultures like those of the Scottish Highlanders were systematically suppressed (e.g., banned language and dress) to create a homogenous British identity.

Nationalist tensions emerged in the Balkans due to several factors:
1. Ethnic Diversity: The region was geographically and ethnically diverse, inhabited by Slavs, which made unity difficult.
2. Ottoman Disintegration: A large part of the Balkans was under the Ottoman Empire. As the empire disintegrated, subject nationalities declared independence.
3. Romantic Nationalism: The spread of romantic nationalism led these groups to assert their separate identities and historical rights to independence.
4. Internal Conflicts: The Balkan states were fiercely jealous of each other and fought to gain more territory at the expense of others.
5. Big Power Rivalry: The Balkans became a battleground for European powers (Russia, Germany, England, Austro-Hungary) who wanted to extend their own control over the area. This intense rivalry led to a series of wars, culminating in the First World War.