Lesson 3 -Introduction and Background to the Greek Revolution

Question 1

Where did the ambassadors of the European powers meet to try and agree on long term peace as the Napoleonic wars drew to an end?

Answer 1

Vienna

Question 2

Did the redrawing of Europe’s borders at this meeting affect the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 2

No

Question 3

Why was the Ottoman Empire not invited to the talks?

Answer 3

For Tsar, there should be first settlement regarding borders between Ottoman Empire and Russia. When Sultan Mahmud rejected mediation of Britain, France, and Austria in that matter, Constantinople remained out of emerging Concert of Europe.

Question 4

What was the aim of the congress of Vienna?

Answer 4

To guarantee the status quo in Europe.

Question 5

Who was the concert of Europe dominated by?

Answer 5

The Great powers, Austria, Britain, Prussia, Russia and from 1818 France when the restoration brought back the monarchy.

Question 6

Which of the Powers formed the Holy Alliance?

Answer 6

Russia, Austria and Prussia.

Question 7

What were the aims of the Holy Alliance?

Answer 7

◦ uphold monarchical principal;
◦ oppose liberal movements;
◦ oppose and weaken forces of

Question 8

What was the powerful force that threatened empires like The Habsburgs, Romanovs or Ottoman Empire?

Answer 8

Nationalism.

Question 9

What was the idea of nation and nationalism strongly linked to?

Answer 9

The French Revolution of1789:

(Sovereignty no longer resided in monarch, whose authority derived from God, but instead at popular level, in nation. This meant that people were no longer passive subjects but actors at very heart of body politics. In 1792, faced with threat of invasions by armies of
European monarchies, revolutionaries issued call to “nation in arms” to defend new regime born out of Revolution.In that conception, nationalism brought together people who agreed on political project, regardless of their origins)

Question 10

What was the other concept of Nationalism?

Answer 10

Another conception of nationalism emerged in Germany.
Promoted among others by Johann Gottlieb Fichte, one of Immanuel Kant’s disciples, This German conception of nationalism saw in nation expression of natural division of humanity, which, as Fichte argued, “its citizens must, as a duty, preserve pure and inviolable.”

Thus, in this version, even if its promoters emphasised value of cultural diversity, each nation has clear and peculiar character, which must be preserved by not mixing with others.

Question 11

Which of the two versions of Nationalism dominated across most of Central and Eastern Europe?

Answer 11

The German one.

Question 12

What did Nationalists do to emphasise their case?

Answer 12

Even though nationalism was relatively novel idea in 19th Europe, proponents of nationalist movements often looked to times long gone, asserting that nation had always existed. To
construct national identities, they relied on various historical materials, usually carefully selected and often reinterpreted to suit their cause, and on pre-modern myths and memories.

Question 13

Where was the reliance of myths and memories particularly important?

Answer 13

In central and Eastern Europe. where Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman empires stood on ruins of countless medieval states they had conquered. In those regions, nationalists often referred to
romanticised version of glorious medieval past, which never really existed as such.

Question 14

What was at the heart of Serbian nationalism?

Answer 14

The Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, which saw defeat of
army of Serbian ruler Lazar Hrebeljanović against invading Ottoman army.

According to legend, during battle, a saint appeared in form of a falcon and offered Lazar the choice between victory on Earth and winning in Heavens. By choosing death, Lazar ensured his salvation and that of Christian Serbs, even though it meant falling under Ottoman rule for centuries. Battle of Kosovo remains key reference to this day for Serb nationalists and explains tensions between Belgrade and province and then Republic of Kosovo.

Question 15

What was at the heart of Bulgarian nationalism?

Answer 15

In Bulgaria, nationalist discourse rested heavily on figure of Tsar Simeon I The Great King of Bulgaria between 893 and 927, who, through military campaigns, ruled over largest kingdom ever created in Balkans. During his reign, Bulgaria became cultural and
spiritual centre of Slavic Europe. → period known as Golden Age.

Question 16

What was at the heart of the Czech lands nationalism?

Answer 16

In Czech lands (western part of present-day Czech Republic), nationalist movement looked to pre-1526 past. Key figure
was František Palacký, author of The History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia (5 volumes published 1836-67), who argued “We were in existence before Austria and we will still be here after she is gone.”

Question 17

What was disturbing about the growing nationalism?

Answer 17

Their version of the past rejected multicultural and multiconfessional
realities of their land in favour of an ethnically exclusive conception of nation. Thus, the aim of nationalism was all too often not to cohabit with other nations but to create an autonomous or even independent nation. Consequently, nationalism posed a threat to
empires, in particular to Habsburg and Ottoman ones.

Question 18

In the Ottoman Empire how was the emergence of nationalism facilitated?

Answer 18

By the millet system, under which communities of the Ottoman Empire, defined along confessional lines, were allowed to run themselves under their own laws. This way, ethnic feelings had been preserved, even after prolonged periods of Ottoman rule.