The Rise Of Nationalism In Europe Flashcards
Define Absolutist.
Literally, a government or
system of rule that has no restraints on
the power exercised. In history, the term
refers to a form of monarchical
government that was centralised,
militarised and repressive
Define Utopian
A vision of a society that is so
ideal that it is unlikely to actually exist
In 1848, Frédéric Sorrieu, a French artist, prepared a series of four prints visualising his dream of a world made up of ‘democratic and social Republics’. Give a note on the 1st print.
The Pact Between Nations (1st print):
(a) Shows the peoples of Europe and America – men and women of all ages and social classes – marching in a long train. (b) Offering homage to the statue of Liberty as they pass by it.
(c) The torch of Enlightenment she bears in one hand and the Charter of the Rights of Man in the other.
(d) On the earth in the foreground of the image lie the shattered remains of the symbols of absolutist institutions.
(e) The peoples of the world are grouped as distinct
nations, identified through their flags and national costume.
(f) Leading the procession, way past the statue of Liberty, are the United States and Switzerland, which by this time were already nation-states.
(g) France identifiable by the revolutionary tricolour, has just reached the statue.
(h) She is followed by the peoples of Germany, bearing the black, red and gold flag
(i) Following the German peoples are the peoples of Austria, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Lombardy, Poland, England, Ireland, Hungary and Russia.
(j) From the heavens
above, Christ, saints and angels gaze upon the scene. They have been used by the artist to symbolise fraternity among the nations of the world.
Define Plebiscite
A direct vote by which all the
people of a region are asked to accept or reject a proposal.
The French Revolution in 1789
French Revolution:
(a) The first clear expression of nationalism
(b) The political and constitutional changes that came in the wake of the French Revolution led to the transfer of sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French citizens.
(c) The revolution proclaimed that it was the people who would henceforth constitute the nation and shape its destiny
Give a note on ‘the French revolutionaries
introduced various measures and practices that could create a sense of collective identity amongst the French people. ‘
a) The ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizen) emphasised the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution
b) A new French flag, the tricolour, was chosen to replace the former royal standard.
c) The Estates General was elected by the
body of active citizens and renamed the National Assembly.
d) New hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated, all in the name of the nation.
e) A centralised administrative system was put in place and it formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory.
f) Internal customs duties and dues were abolished and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.
g) Regional dialects were discouraged and French, as it was spoken and written in Paris, became the common language of the nation
Civil Code of 1804
Through a return to monarchy Napoleon had, no doubt, destroyed democracy in France, but in the administrative field he had incorporated revolutionary principles
in order to make the whole system more rational and efficient.
The Civil Code of 1804 – usually known as the Napoleonic Code.
a) did away with all privileges based on birth,
b) established equality before the law and
c) secured the right to property.
d) This Code was exported to the regions under French control.
e) In the Dutch Republic, in Switzerland, in Italy and Germany, Napoleon simplified administrative divisions
f) abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues.
g) In the towns too, guild restrictions were removed. Transport and communication systems were improved.
h) Peasants, artisans, workers and new businessmen enjoyed a new-found freedom.
Cons Of Napoleon
a) However, in the areas conquered, the reactions of the local populations to French rule were mixed.
b) Initially, in many places such as Holland and Switzerland, as well as in certain cities like Brussels, Mainz, Milan and Warsaw, the French armies were welcomed as harbingers of liberty.
c) But the initial enthusiasm soon turned to hostility, as it became clear that the new administrative arrangements did not
go hand in hand with political freedom.
d) Increased taxation, censorship, forced conscription into the French armies required to conquer the rest of Europe, all seemed to outweigh the advantages of the administrative changes.
The Habsburg Empire & the idea of nation state
The Habsburg Empire that ruled over Austria-Hungary, for example, was a patchwork of many different regions and peoples.
1) It included the Alpine regions
– the Tyrol, Austria and the Sudetenland – as well as Bohemia,
where the aristocracy was predominantly German-speaking.
It also included the Italian-speaking provinces of Lombardy and Venetia.
2) In Hungary, half of the population spoke Magyar while the other half spoke a variety of dialects.
3) In Galicia, the aristocracy spoke
Polish.
4) Besides these three dominant groups, there also lived within the boundaries of the empire, a mass of subject peasant peoples –
Bohemians and Slovaks to the north, Slovenes in Carniola, Croats to the south, and Roumans to the east in Transylvania.
5) Such differences did not easily promote a sense of political unity. The only tie binding these diverse groups together was a common allegiance to the emperor.
Suffrage
The right to vote
Types Of Aristocracy
Socially and politically, a landed aristocracy was the dominant class on the continent. The members of this class were united by a
common way of life that cut across regional divisions. They owned estates in the countryside and also townhouses. They spoke French for purposes of diplomacy and in high society. Their families were
often connected by ties of marriage.
This powerful aristocracy was, however, numerically a small group. The majority of the population was made up of the peasantry.
To the west, the bulk of the land
was farmed by tenants and small owners,
while in Eastern and Central Europe the pattern of landholding was characterised by
vast estates which were cultivated by serfs.
Industrialisation & The New Middle Class
In Western and parts of Central Europe the growth of industrial production and trade meant the growth of towns and the emergence of commercial classes whose existence was based on production
for the market.
Industrialisation began in England in the second half of the eighteenth century, but in France and parts of the German
states it occurred only during the nineteenth century.
In its wake, new social groups came into being: a working-class population, and
middle classes made up of industrialists, businessmen, professionals.
In Central and Eastern Europe these groups were smaller in number till late nineteenth century. It was among the educated, liberal middle classes that ideas of national unity following the abolition of aristocratic privileges gained popularity.
Liberalism
The term ‘liberalism’ derives from the Latin root liber, meaning free. For the new middle classes liberalism stood for freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law.
1) Politically, it emphasised the concept of government by consent. 19 CE liberals also stressed the inviolability of private property.
Yet, equality before the law did not necessarily stand for universal
suffrage.
Men without property and all women were excluded from political
rights.
2) Economically, liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of state-imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital. During the nineteenth century this was a strong
demand of the emerging middle classes.
Napoleon’s administrative measures had created out of countless small principalities a confederation of 39 states. Each of
these possessed its own currency, and weights and measures.
A merchant travelling in 1833 from Hamburg to Nuremberg to sell
his goods would have had to pass through 11 customs barriers and pay a customs duty of about 5 per cent at each one of them.
Such conditions were viewed as obstacles to economic exchange and growth by the new commercial classes, who argued for the
creation of a unified economic territory allowing the unhindered movement of goods, people and capital.
In 1834, a customs union or zollverein was formed at the initiative of Prussia and joined by most of the German states.
The union abolished tariff barriers and
reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two.
The creation of a network of railways further stimulated mobility, harnessing economic interests to national unification.
A wave of economic nationalism strengthened the wider nationalist sentiments growing at the time.
Conservatism
A political philosophy that stressed the importance of tradition, established
institutions and customs, and preferred gradual development to quick change
New Conservatism after 1815
or
beliefs of conservatism after 1815
Conservatives believed that established, traditional institutions of state and society – like the monarchy, the Church, social hierarchies, property and the family –
should be preserved. Most conservatives, however, did not propose a return to the society of pre-revolutionary days.
Rather, they realised, from the changes initiated by Napoleon, that modernisation could in fact strengthen traditional institutions like the monarchy. It could make state power more effective and strong. A modern army, an efficient bureaucracy, a dynamic economy, the abolition of feudalism and serfdom could strengthen the autocratic monarchies of Europe.
They did not tolerate criticism and dissent, and sought to curb activities that questioned the legitimacy of autocratic governments. Most of them imposed censorship laws to control what was said in newspapers, books, plays and songs and reflected the ideas of liberty and freedom associated with the French Revolution.
Treaty of Vienna of 1815
1) In 1815, representatives of the European powers – Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria – who had collectively defeated Napoleon, met at Vienna to draw up a settlement for Europe.
2) The Congress was hosted by the Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich.
3) Objective of undoing most of the changes that had come about in Europe during the
Napoleonic wars.
4) The Bourbon dynasty, which had been deposed during the French Revolution, was restored to power, and France lost the territories it had annexed under Napoleon.
5) A series of states were set up on the boundaries of France to prevent French expansion in future.
6) Thus the kingdom of the Netherlands, which included Belgium, was set up in the north and Genoa was added to Piedmont
in the south.
7) Prussia was given important new territories on its western frontiers, while Austria was given control of northern Italy.
8) But the German confederation of 39 states that had been set up by Napoleon
was left untouched.
9) In the east, Russia was given part of Poland while Prussia was given a portion of Saxony
