THE RISE OF NATIONALISM IN EUROPE THE MAKING

THE RISE OF NATIONALISM IN EUROPE THE MAKING OF NATIONALISM IN EUROPE

CONTENTS • MID-EIGHTEENTH CENTURY EUROPE. • THE ARISTOCRACY AND THE NEW MIDDLE CLASS • WHAT DID LIBERAL NATIONALISN STAND FOR? • A NEW CONSERVATISM AFTER 1815 • THE REVOLUTIONARIES • ASSINGMENTS

MID-EIGHTEENTH CENTURY EUROPE • Till mid –eighteenth century there were no Nation States in Europe. • Eastern and central Europe were under autocratic monarchies or multi-national dynastic empires where diverse people lived. • They were not having a shared collective identity or a common culture. • They belonged to different ethnic groups and spoke different languages. • The only tie binding these diverse groups together was a common allegiance to the emperor.

STRUCTURE OF EUROPEAN SOCIETY IN 18 TH CENTURY ARISTOCRACY: Socially and Politically they were dominant class on the continent. Some characteristics of Aristocracy were: (a) They were high class land lords. (b)Numerically a very small group. (c ) They were privileged class (d) They spoke French for diplomacy and in high society (e) Their families were often connected by ties of marriage. (f) They owned estates in the countryside and also town houses.

STRUCTURE OF EUROPEAN SOCIETY IN 18 TH CENTURY PEASANTRY : They constitutes majority of the population. In west Europe the bulk of the land was farmed by tenants and small owners. In Eastern and Central Europe the landholding pattern was Estates cultivated by serfs. They have no rights. THE NEW MIDDLE CLASS: Due to Industrialization a new social group emerged known as the new middle class. They made up of Industrialists , Businessmen, Professionals. Under them the idea of national unity and abolition of aristocratic privileges gained popularity.

WHAT DID LIBERAL NATIONALISM STAND FOR? • In early nineteenth century Europe the Idea of national unity was closely allied to the ideology of liberalism. Liberalism means free. • Socially it stood for freedom of individual and equality of all before the law. • Politically it emphasized the concept of government by consent, end of autocracy and clerical privileges, a constitution, parliament and private property. • In Economic sphere it stood for the freedom of markets, abolition of state imposed restrictions on movement of goods and capital. In 1834 a customs union or Zollverein was formed.

A NEW CONSERVATISM AFTER 1815 • Conservatism: - It was a socio political ideology believed on established, traditional institutions of state and society should be preserved. After 1815 they realized that modernization could strengthen traditional institutions like monarchy. They wanted to make state power more effective and strong by : (a) A modern army (b) An efficient bureaucracy (c ) A dynamic economy (d) Abolition of feudalism and serfdom. • Conservatives were autocratic, intolerant to criticism, imposed censorship laws to control the ideas of liberty and freedom.

A NEW CONSERVATISM AFTER 1815 • Vienna Congress 1815 : It was hosted by Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich in 1815. Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria participated to draw up a settlement for Europe after defeat of Napoleon, restore monarchies and create a new conservative order. • It undo most of the changes introduced after French Revolution of 1789. • The Bourbon dynasty was restored to power in France. • France lost the territories it had annexed under Napoleon. • A series of states were set up on the boundaries of France to prevent future France expansion.

THE REVOLUTIONARIES • After 1815. revolutionary meant a commitment to oppose monarchical forms that had been established after the Vienna Congress and to fight for liberty and freedom. They saw the creation of nation states as a necessary part of struggle for freedom. They founded secret societies to train revolutionaries and spread their ideas. The Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini believed that God had intended nations to be the natural units of mankind. His relentless opposition to monarchy and vision of democratic republics frightened the conservatives. Metternich described him as “the most dangerous enemy of our social order”.

ASSINGMENTS 1. What is Aristocracy? What were the factors that united them? 2. What was new conservatism? How they wanted to make the position of King strong? 3. What were the political , social and economic ideas supported by the liberals? 4. Which of the following did the European conservatives not believe in? (A) Traditional institution of state policy (B) Strengthened monarchy (C) A return to a society of pre-revolutionary day 5. Name the Italian revolutionary from Genoa. (A) Metternich (b) Johann Gottfried (c) Giuseppe Mazzini (d) None of these 6. Which language was spoken for purposes of diplomacy in the mid 18 th century in Europe? (A) German (b) English (c) French (d) Spanish 7. What was ‘Young Italy’ ? (A) Vision of Italy (c) National anthem of Italy (b) Secret society (d) None of these