English:Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century
Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century
Introduction
During the nineteenth century, the idea of the nation became a powerful force in politics. Many people began to argue that groups who shared a language, history, culture, territory, or political identity should be able to govern themselves. This belief helped shape revolutions, independence movements, and the creation of new states. It also created conflicts over who belonged to a nation and how minorities should be treated.
In this aiMOOC, you will explore how nationalism grew in Europe after the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, how it influenced the Revolutions of 1848, and how it contributed to the Unification of Italy and the Unification of Germany. You will also examine the effects of nationalism on multi-ethnic empires and consider both its unifying and its divisive consequences.
The painting above, Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, represents the July Revolution of 1830 in France. It is useful for studying how flags, shared symbols, sacrifice, and ideas of freedom could become connected with national feeling.
Learning Goals
By the end of this course, you should be able to explain the difference between a nation, a state, and nationalism; describe why nationalism grew during the nineteenth century; compare nationalist movements in Italy and Germany; explain why the revolutions of 1848 were important; identify ways nationalism challenged large empires; and evaluate how nationalism could promote unity while also producing exclusion and conflict.
Key Concepts
Nation, State, and Nationalism
A nation is a community of people who see themselves as belonging together. That sense of belonging may be based on shared language, traditions, historical memories, religion, political values, or a connection to a homeland. Not every nation has its own state, and people within one state may belong to several cultural or national groups.
A state is a political organization with a government, laws, territory, and authority over the people who live there. A state can include one nation, several nations, or people who define their identities in many different ways.
Nationalism is the belief that a nation should have political importance and, often, the right to govern itself. In the nineteenth century, nationalism could support independence from an empire, unite smaller states into a larger nation-state, or strengthen loyalty to an existing state.
National identity was never based on only one ingredient. Language, religion, historical memory, schools, newspapers, military service, flags, songs, monuments, and political institutions could all help people imagine themselves as members of the same national community.
Civic and Cultural Ideas of Nationhood
Some nationalists emphasized citizenship and political rights. In this view, people belonged to a nation because they shared laws, institutions, and a commitment to a political community. Other nationalists emphasized culture, ancestry, language, or heritage. In practice, nineteenth-century movements often combined both approaches.
This distinction matters because nationalism could be inclusive when it invited different groups to share political rights, but exclusive when it claimed that only people with a particular ancestry, language, or religion truly belonged.
Why Nationalism Grew
The French Revolution and Napoleon
The French Revolution challenged the idea that political power belonged naturally to kings and dynasties. Revolutionary governments spoke of citizens, popular sovereignty, and the nation. French armies then carried revolutionary reforms into many parts of Europe, but Napoleon also built an empire and imposed French rule.
As a result, French rule produced mixed reactions. Some people welcomed legal reforms and the end of old privileges, while others resisted foreign domination. This resistance could strengthen local and national identities. After Napoleon's defeat, rulers tried to restore stability, but the political ideas released by the revolutionary era could not simply be erased.
The Congress of Vienna
In 1814–1815, European powers met at the Congress of Vienna to rebuild the political order after the Napoleonic Wars. Leading statesmen wanted stability and a balance of power. They restored or strengthened several monarchies and rearranged borders without making national self-determination their main principle.
This created tensions. Many Germans still lived in separate states, Italians lived under several rulers, and peoples such as Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, Croats, Greeks, and others lived within or under larger political structures. National movements increasingly questioned whether dynastic borders matched the identities and wishes of the people.
Romanticism, Language, and Culture
Romanticism encouraged interest in folk traditions, historic legends, language, landscape, and cultural heritage. Writers and scholars collected folk songs and stories, studied national languages, and celebrated historical heroes. These activities did not automatically lead to political nationalism, but they could help people imagine a shared past and a common identity.
Nationalists also used symbols. Flags, anthems, public festivals, monuments, uniforms, and paintings turned abstract political ideas into visible signs of belonging. A flag could represent a nation even before that nation had its own independent state.
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Nationalism and Revolution
Greece and Independence Movements
The Greek War of Independence began in 1821 against Ottoman rule. Greek revolutionaries combined political independence with ideas about shared history, religion, and culture. The struggle also attracted support from European writers, artists, and volunteers who admired ancient Greece or sympathized with the rebels. An independent Greek state was internationally recognized in the early 1830s.
The image above, Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi, shows how Romantic art could turn a political struggle into a powerful symbol for audiences across Europe.
The Revolutions of 1830
In 1830, revolution in France overthrew King Charles X and replaced him with Louis-Philippe. Elsewhere, the Belgian Revolution led to an independent Belgium, while a Polish uprising against Russian rule was defeated. These events showed that liberalism and nationalism could overlap, but they did not always produce the same goals or the same results.
The Revolutions of 1848
The revolutions of 1848 are sometimes called the Springtime of Nations. Across Europe, protesters demanded different combinations of constitutional government, civil rights, social reform, and national self-determination. Revolutions broke out in France, the German states, the Habsburg lands, the Italian states, and elsewhere.
The map shows how widely unrest spread in 1848–1849. The revolutions were not one single movement. Workers, middle-class liberals, peasants, and nationalists often had different priorities. In some places, national groups also disagreed with one another over territory and political control.
Most revolutionary governments were defeated or weakened by 1849. Yet the events had long-term importance. They showed the strength of demands for constitutions and national representation, exposed tensions inside large empires, and gave later nationalist leaders lessons about organization, diplomacy, and military power.
The Unification of Italy
Before unification, the Italian peninsula was divided among several states. Austria directly or indirectly influenced important northern territories, while the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ruled much of the south. Nationalists disagreed about what a united Italy should look like and who should lead it.
Mazzini: A Nationalist Vision
Giuseppe Mazzini argued for a united, independent, republican Italy. His organization Young Italy tried to inspire popular nationalism and revolutionary action. Mazzini's uprisings did not create a united Italy, but his ideas helped spread the belief that Italians could form a single political nation.
Cavour: Diplomacy and State Power
Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, followed a different strategy. He strengthened his state's economy and military, used diplomacy to gain allies, and worked under King Victor Emmanuel II. Piedmont-Sardinia and France fought Austria in 1859, helping bring several northern and central Italian territories into the unification process.
Garibaldi: Volunteers and Conquest
In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi led the Expedition of the Thousand, a volunteer force that conquered Sicily and then advanced into southern Italy. Garibaldi eventually handed the conquered territories to Victor Emmanuel II, helping join north and south under the monarchy of Piedmont-Sardinia.
The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861. Venetia became part of Italy in 1866, and Rome was added in 1870. Unification created a state, but building a shared national identity among people with different regional languages, experiences, and economic conditions remained a major challenge.
The Unification of Germany
After 1815, most German-speaking lands belonged to the German Confederation, a loose association of dozens of states. Austria and Prussia were the two strongest powers. Economic cooperation through the Zollverein connected many German states and increased Prussia's influence, but political unification remained disputed.
The Frankfurt Parliament
During the revolutions of 1848, representatives met in the Frankfurt Parliament and tried to create a constitutional German nation-state. They debated borders, rights, and the role of Austria. The assembly eventually offered an imperial crown to King Frederick William IV of Prussia, but he rejected it. The project collapsed, showing the limits of liberal parliamentary nationalism when it lacked military and governmental power.
Bismarck and Prussian Leadership
In the 1860s, Prussian minister-president Otto von Bismarck pursued unification under Prussian leadership. He used diplomacy, military reform, and limited wars to change the balance of power.
Prussia and Austria defeated Denmark in 1864. Prussia then defeated Austria in 1866, ending the German Confederation and creating the North German Confederation under Prussian leadership. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 encouraged the remaining southern German states to join a new German Empire.
On 18 January 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed at Versailles, with King Wilhelm I of Prussia becoming German emperor. The new state united many German territories, but it did not include all German-speaking people, especially those in Austria.
Nationalism in Multi-Ethnic Empires
The Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg lands included many peoples who spoke different languages and had different historical traditions. German-speaking Austrians, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Croats, Slovenes, Italians, Romanians, Poles, Ukrainians, Serbs, and others lived under Habsburg rule.
In 1848, nationalist and liberal movements challenged imperial authority. The monarchy survived, but conflict between central authority and national demands continued. In 1867, the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 created the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, giving Hungary greater political autonomy while leaving many other national questions unresolved.
The Ottoman Empire and the Balkans
The Ottoman Empire also included many ethnic, linguistic, and religious communities. During the nineteenth century, nationalist movements in southeastern Europe sought different forms of autonomy or independence. Greece became independent early in the century, and later movements in Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, and elsewhere changed the political map.
These movements were shaped not only by nationalism but also by religion, local politics, social conditions, warfare, and intervention by larger European powers. Nationalism is therefore an important explanation, but not the only explanation, for political change in the Balkans.
How Nationalism Changed Society
Schools, Language, and Mass Politics
As states expanded public education, governments often promoted a standard national language, common historical stories, and national symbols. Newspapers and cheaper print also spread political ideas to wider audiences. Railways and urbanization helped people travel, communicate, and participate in larger political communities.
These developments could strengthen national identity, but they could also put pressure on minority languages and local traditions. A policy that created unity for one group could feel like forced assimilation to another.
Citizenship and Military Service
Nationalism changed the relationship between governments and ordinary people. States increasingly expected citizens to support national institutions, pay taxes, attend schools, and sometimes perform military service. In return, citizens could demand representation, legal rights, or social protections.
This exchange helped create modern mass politics. National identity became connected not only with culture but also with the everyday institutions of the state.
Benefits, Dangers, and Historical Debate
Nationalism could help people resist foreign rule, demand political participation, preserve cultural traditions, or unite divided territories. It gave many people a language for self-government and collective identity.
At the same time, nationalism could define outsiders as less loyal or less deserving. Competing territorial claims could lead to discrimination, forced assimilation, violence, or war. Governments could also use nationalism to justify military expansion and imperial rivalry.
It is therefore misleading to describe nineteenth-century nationalism as simply good or bad. Its effects depended on who defined the nation, which political goals were pursued, how minorities were treated, and how nationalism interacted with liberalism, conservatism, socialism, religion, imperialism, and state power.
Comparing Italy and Germany
Italian and German unification had important similarities. Both regions began the century divided into multiple states. Both had cultural nationalists and failed revolutionary attempts. In both cases, a strong monarchy eventually became the center of unification, and warfare played an important role.
There were also major differences. Italian unification involved removing Austrian influence from much of the peninsula and joining very different regional states. German unification was dominated by Prussia and excluded Austria from the new German Empire. Italy relied on a combination of republican activists, volunteers, diplomacy, and monarchy, while German unification depended especially heavily on Prussian military and state power.
A useful historical question is whether national unity was created mainly from below by popular movements or from above by governments and elites. Italy and Germany show that both forces could interact.
Timeline of Key Events
- Congress of Vienna: In 1814–1815, European powers reorganized the continent after Napoleon's defeat.
- Greek War of Independence: From 1821, Greek revolutionaries fought Ottoman rule, and an independent Greek state emerged in the early 1830s.
- Revolutions of 1830: Revolutions affected France, Belgium, Poland, and other parts of Europe.
- Revolutions of 1848: Liberal, social, and nationalist revolts spread across much of Europe.
- Kingdom of Italy: In 1861, a united Italian kingdom was proclaimed, although Venetia and Rome joined later.
- Austro-Prussian War: In 1866, Prussia defeated Austria and reshaped political leadership in the German lands.
- Franco-Prussian War: In 1870–1871, war with France helped complete German unification.
- German Empire: On 18 January 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed at Versailles.
Interactive Tasks
Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
What is nationalism? (The belief that a nation should have political importance and often self-government) (!A system in which all monarchies are abolished) (!A policy that requires every state to speak one language) (!A plan to divide Europe into colonial empires)
What was one aim of the Congress of Vienna? (To restore stability and a balance of power after the Napoleonic Wars) (!To create a united German Empire immediately) (!To establish universal voting rights across Europe) (!To make Giuseppe Garibaldi king of Italy)
Why did Romanticism matter to some nationalist movements? (It encouraged interest in language folklore history and cultural heritage) (!It ended the use of national symbols) (!It replaced politics with industrial science) (!It required all Europeans to share one culture)
What made the Revolutions of 1848 important for nationalism? (They linked demands for political reform with national self-determination in many places) (!They created one united European government) (!They permanently removed every monarchy in Europe) (!They ended all conflicts between national groups)
What was Giuseppe Mazzini best known for supporting? (A united independent republican Italy) (!A permanent division of the Italian peninsula) (!A German Empire ruled from Vienna) (!The restoration of Napoleon as emperor)
What role did Giuseppe Garibaldi play in Italian unification? (He led volunteers who conquered Sicily and much of southern Italy) (!He chaired the Congress of Vienna) (!He ruled Prussia during the Franco-Prussian War) (!He created the Austro-Hungarian Compromise)
Why did the Frankfurt Parliament fail to unify Germany in 1848 and 1849? (It lacked enough political and military power to enforce its plan) (!It voted to unite Germany with the United States) (!It refused to discuss a constitution) (!It already controlled the Prussian army)
Which state led the successful unification of Germany? (Prussia) (!Belgium) (!Greece) (!Portugal)
What was one challenge created by nationalism in multi-ethnic empires? (Different national groups could make competing claims to territory and political power) (!Every group automatically agreed on borders) (!Nationalism removed all language differences) (!Imperial governments always accepted independence peacefully)
Which statement best describes the effects of nineteenth-century nationalism? (It could promote unity and self-government but also exclusion and conflict) (!It had only positive effects on every society) (!It had only negative effects on every society) (!It disappeared from politics after 1848)
Memory Game
| Nationalism | Belief that a nation should have political importance and often self-government |
| Mazzini | Italian republican who promoted a united national state |
| Garibaldi | Volunteer commander who helped unite southern Italy |
| Bismarck | Prussian statesman who led German unification through diplomacy and war |
| Zollverein | Customs union that economically linked many German states |
| Romanticism | Cultural movement that encouraged interest in history language folklore and emotion |
Drag and Drop
| Match the correct terms. | Topic |
|---|---|
| Congress of Vienna | Post-Napoleonic settlement focused on stability and balance of power |
| Springtime of Nations | Name often used for the revolutions that spread across Europe in 1848 |
| Young Italy | Movement associated with Mazzini and Italian republican nationalism |
| Frankfurt Parliament | Assembly that attempted constitutional German unification |
| Dual Monarchy | Political arrangement created by the Austro-Hungarian Compromise |
...
Crossword Puzzle
| Nation | What word describes a community whose members believe they belong together through shared identity? |
| Garibaldi | Which Italian volunteer leader led the Expedition of the Thousand? |
| Bismarck | Which Prussian statesman became a central figure in German unification? |
| Risorgimento | What Italian word names the movement for Italian national revival and unification? |
| Confederation | What type of political association linked many German states after 1815? |
| Romanticism | Which cultural movement encouraged interest in folklore history language and emotion? |
LearningApps
Cloze Text
Open-Ended Tasks
Easy
- National Symbols Poster: Create a poster showing three nineteenth-century national symbols such as flags, songs, monuments, or historical heroes, and explain what message each symbol communicated.
- Nation and State Comparison: Write a short explanation of the difference between a nation and a state, then invent one example that shows why the two ideas are not identical.
- 1848 Map Investigation: Study the map of the Revolutions of 1848 in this course and describe three places where unrest occurred and one pattern you notice.
- Historical Headline: Write a newspaper headline and a short news paragraph announcing either the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 or the German Empire in 1871.
Standard
- Mazzini and Bismarck Dialogue: Write a fictional but historically informed conversation between Mazzini and Bismarck about the best way to build a nation-state.
- Unification Timeline Project: Design an illustrated timeline that compares at least five important steps in Italian and German unification.
- Nationalism Interview: Interview a family member, teacher, or community member about what national identity means today, then compare the answers carefully with nineteenth-century nationalism without assuming they are the same.
- Flag and Identity Analysis: Choose a nineteenth-century flag or political artwork, research its historical context, and record a two-minute video explaining how it communicated ideas about nationhood.
Advanced
- Minority Voices Research: Investigate one minority or national group living inside the Habsburg or Ottoman Empire and create a short report explaining its political goals and the obstacles it faced.
- 1848 Revolution Documentary: Produce a three-to-five-minute documentary that explains why the revolutions of 1848 spread quickly and why many of them failed.
- Unification Debate: Prepare and conduct a classroom debate on the claim that Italian and German unification were achieved more by governments and armies than by popular nationalism.
- Nationalism Consequences Exhibition: Create a digital or physical exhibition with primary-source images that shows both constructive and destructive effects of nineteenth-century nationalism, including captions that explain context and possible bias.
Learning Assessment
- Cause and Effect Analysis: Explain how the French Revolution, Napoleon, and the Congress of Vienna created conditions in which nationalism could grow, using a clear chain of cause and effect.
- Italy and Germany Comparison: Compare Italian and German unification by identifying two similarities, two differences, and one reason the differences mattered.
- 1848 Source Reasoning: Use the 1848 map and one artwork from this course to infer what different groups hoped to change, then explain the limits of using visual sources as evidence.
- Empire Challenge: Explain why nationalism could be especially difficult for a multi-ethnic empire to manage without assuming that every national group wanted complete independence.
- Nationalism Judgment: Evaluate the statement that nationalism was mainly a force for freedom in the nineteenth century, using evidence for both support and criticism before reaching a conclusion.
- Transfer to the Present: Identify one modern political debate involving national identity and explain one similarity and one important difference from nineteenth-century nationalism without claiming that the situations are identical.
Evidence of Learning
Knowledge: You can define nation, state, nationalism, national self-determination, and unification, and you can place major developments such as 1848, Italian unification, and German unification in historical context.
Historical reasoning: You can explain causes and consequences, compare different nationalist movements, distinguish short-term failure from long-term influence, and recognize that nationalism interacted with other political and social forces.
Source skills: You can interpret maps, portraits, flags, paintings, and videos as historical evidence while asking who created them, what they emphasize, and what they leave out.
Products: Your evidence may include timelines, posters, essays, debates, presentations, interviews, source analyses, maps, or short documentary videos.
Transfer: You can use what you learned to analyze modern questions about national identity with careful comparisons, attention to context, and respect for complexity.
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