Chapter 1 — The Rise of Nationalism in Europe

Chapter 1 traces how nationalism emerged and spread across Europe during the nineteenth century, transforming multi-national empires into nation-states. It covers the French Revolution's role in establishing popular sovereignty, the conservative reaction after 1815, the 1848 revolutions demanding national unification, and the eventual unification of Germany and Italy through both liberal and military means.

The French Revolution took place in 1789. It was the first clear expression of nationalism, transferring sovereignty from an absolute monarch to the people, who became the nation. The revolutionaries introduced the tricolour flag, emphasized ideas of la patrie (fatherland) and le citoyen (citizen), established uniform laws and weights/measures, and declared it France's mission to liberate other European peoples from despotism.

The Congress of Vienna took place in 1815, hosted by Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich. Representatives from Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria met to draw up a settlement that aimed to undo most changes from the Napoleonic wars. It restored the Bourbon dynasty, returned territories Napoleon had annexed, set up buffer states around France, and attempted to create a new conservative order in Europe.

The 1848 revolutions were led by educated middle classes across Europe who demanded constitutions, representative governments, and the creation of nation-states. In Germany, the Frankfurt Parliament convened on 18 May 1848 in the Church of St Paul and drafted a constitution for a united German nation. Women participated actively but were admitted only as observers in the galleries. Although conservatives suppressed these revolutions, they marked a turning point in European history.

Giuseppe Mazzini (born in Genoa in 1805) was an Italian revolutionary who believed God intended nations to be the natural units of mankind. Exiled in 1831 for attempting revolution in Liguria, he founded Young Italy in Marseilles and later Young Europe in Berne. He advocated for a unified Italian republic and democratic government. Metternich called him 'the most dangerous enemy of our social order.'

Germany unified through military power under Prussian Chief Minister Otto von Bismarck. He led three wars over seven years against Austria, Denmark, and France, ending in Prussian victory. On 18 January 1871, the Prussian king William I was proclaimed German Emperor in a ceremony at the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. The new German state emphasized modernizing currency, banking, legal and judicial systems.

Italian unification occurred from 1859–1870 under the leadership of Sardinia-Piedmont. Chief Minister Cavour formed a diplomatic alliance with France and defeated Austrian forces in 1859. Giuseppe Garibaldi led an armed volunteer force (the Expedition of the Thousand in 1860) that marched into South Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, gaining peasant support. Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of united Italy in 1861. The Papal States were finally incorporated in 1870 after France withdrew troops.

Culture played a crucial role in developing nationalist sentiment. Romantic artists and poets criticized excessive reason and emphasized emotions and mystical feelings. Philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder claimed true German culture lived among das volk (the common people) through folk songs, poetry, and dances. The Grimm Brothers collected German folktales as expressions of pure German spirit. In Poland, language and music (like the polonaise and mazurka) became symbols of national resistance against Russian rule.

In 1834, Prussia initiated the zollverein (customs union), which abolished tariff barriers among German states and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two. This removed obstacles to trade faced by merchants (who previously had to pass through 11 customs barriers with different weights and measures). Friedrich List wrote that the zollverein would 'bind the Germans economically into a nation' and 'awaken and raise national sentiment through a fusion of individual and provincial interests.'

Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the fifteenth century. A struggle for independence began in 1821, sparked by growth of revolutionary nationalism in Europe. Greeks received support from other Greeks living in exile and many West Europeans sympathetic to ancient Greek culture. Poets and artists like Lord Byron (who organized funds and later died in the war in 1824) mobilized public opinion. The Treaty of Constantinople in 1832 finally recognized Greece as an independent nation.

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