Introduction to Nationalism in Europe
📌 The chapter focuses on the rise of nationalism in Europe, detailing the transition of monarchies and empires into Nation States (countries with their own democracies).
🖼️ The topic begins with Frédéric Sorrieu's 1848 painting, which envisioned a world of Democratic and Social Republics; this vision was considered Utopian at the time due to the prevalence of absolute monarchies.
🗽 The painting depicts nations marching toward the Statue of Liberty, symbolizing freedom, with the USA and Switzerland already free, France newly independent, and others like Germany and Italy yet to become Nation States.
💥 The remnants of shattered crowns and royal paraphernalia at the bottom of the painting signify the impending End of Monarchy and the rise of democracy.

Fostering Collective Belonging in France (Post-French Revolution)
⚙️ Following the French Revolution, efforts were made to instill collective belonging, including promoting ideas like "La Patrie" (our fatherland) and "La Citoyen" (we are its citizens).
🚩 Key steps included adopting a new French flag, establishing a centralized administrative system with uniform laws, and abolishing internal custom duties (taxes on movement between regions).
🗣️ A uniform language policy mandated the use of Parisian French, suppressing regional dialects, and a system of uniform weights and measurements was adopted.
🌐 The spirit of the French Revolution spread across Europe via Jacobin Clubs, encouraging other regions like Holland, Belgium, and Switzerland to adopt similar ideals of self-determination.

The Napoleonic Code (1804) and its Dual Impact
⚖️ Napoleon established the Civil Code (Napoleonic Code) in 1804, which abolished birth-based privileges and established equality before the law.
📜 Positive reforms included securing the right to property, abolishing the feudal system (including serfdom and manorial dues), and removing guild restrictions on trade.
⚔️ However, Napoleon's reign also brought negative consequences: loss of political freedom, increased taxation to fund wars, strict censorship, and forced conscription into the army.

Social Structure and the Rise of Liberalism
👑 18th-century European society was dominated by the Aristocracy (wealthy, spoke French, politically powerful) and the vast majority of Peasants (poor, landless).
🏭 The Industrialization (reaching France/Germany in the 19th century) led to the emergence of a New Middle Class (industrialists, businessmen, professionals).
💡 This Middle Class was responsible for bringing the idea of National Unity and demanding the abolition of aristocratic privileges, forming the core of Liberalism.
💰 Economic Liberalism demanded freedom of the market and removal of state restrictions on the movement of goods and capital (e.g., eliminating 11 border taxes and standardizing the 30+ existing currencies).

The Conservative Order After Napoleon (1815)
🛑 The defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo (1815) against Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Britain ushered in an era of Conservatism.
🤝 The Congress of Vienna (1815), hosted by Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich, aimed to restore the old order, which included restoring the Bourbon Dynasty to power in France.
🚧 The treaty established buffer states around France, such as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (including Belgium), and divided former Napoleonic territories among the major powers (e.g., Austria received Northern Italy).
🧐 Conservative regimes were autocratic, intolerant of criticism, and imposed heavy censorship, driving revolutionaries underground into secret societies.

Revolutionary Movements and Nationalism in Practice
🇮🇹 Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini promoted unification and was deemed the "most dangerous enemy" by Metternich for establishing secret societies like Young Italy and Young Europe.
🇫🇷 The July Revolution of 1830 in France overthrew the Bourbon king, establishing a Constitutional Monarchy under Louis Philippe; this event triggered the Belgian Revolution, leading to Belgium separating from the Netherlands.
🇬🇷 The Greek War of Independence (culminating in the Treaty of Constantinople in 1832) saw support from Western European liberals and poets (like Lord Byron, who died fighting) leading to Greece gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire.
🍞 Widespread poverty, unemployment, and food shortages in 1830 led to revolts by the poor, culminating in the abdication of the monarch in France in 1848 and the declaration of a Republic with universal male suffrage (for men over 21).

The Mid-19th Century Revolutions and Unifications
🇩🇪 The Frankfurt Parliament (1848), convened by liberal middle-class professionals in the German regions, drafted a constitution for a unified German nation, offering it to the King of Prussia, Frederick William IV, who rejected the crown, leading to the assembly's dispersal.
👑 Post-1848, conservatives realized change was inevitable; in Germany, Prussia's Chief Minister, Otto von Bismarck, orchestrated unification through three wars over seven years (against Denmark, Austria, and France), culminating in King William I being proclaimed German Emperor in January 1871.
🇮🇹 Italian unification was spearheaded by Piedmont-Sardinia's Chief Minister, Count Cavour, who formed an alliance with France to drive out Austrian forces; South Italy was unified through the efforts of revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, leading to Victor Emmanuel II being proclaimed King of unified Italy in 1861.

The Strange Case of Great Britain and Visualizing the Nation
🇬🇧 Great Britain unified without major revolution, primarily through an economic power shift; the Act of Union (1707) merged Scotland with England, leading to the dominance of the English Parliament.
⚔️ Ireland was forcibly incorporated by exploiting the division between the Catholic majority and the Protestant minority, whom the English (who were largely Protestant) supported, leading to the formation of the United Kingdom with a new flag, anthem, and dominant English language.
👩‍🎨 Artists used female allegories to visualize the nation: Marianne in France (symbolizing liberty and the republic, wearing a red cap) and Germania in Germany (wearing a crown of oak leaves, symbolizing heroism).

Nationalism and Imperialism
🌍 By the last quarter of the 19th century, nationalism transformed into Imperialism (the desire of powerful nations to dominate smaller ones).
💥 The Balkan region, weakened by the decline of the Ottoman Empire and rife with internal conflict among newly independent states, became a volatile area coveted by major powers like Germany, Britain, Russia, and Austria-Hungary.
💥 This final transition of self-determination nationalism into aggressive expansionism directly contributed to the outbreak of World War I.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Frédéric Sorrieu's 1848 painting symbolized a Utopian vision of a democratic Europe free from monarchy.
➡️ The Napoleonic Code brought key modernizing concepts like equality before the law and property rights, despite being imposed by a dictator.
➡️ Liberal Middle Classes drove nationalist movements by demanding political (representative government) and economic (free markets) freedom, though their initial political demands often excluded the poor and women.
➡️ The failure of the Frankfurt Parliament to secure constitutional monarchy in Germany demonstrated that successful unification required the support of monarchs/military power (as seen later with Bismarck) rather than purely liberal assembly.
➡️ Language (like Polish under Russian rule) became a powerful symbol of struggle against foreign dominance when armed rebellion failed.
➡️ The shift from Nationalism (self-determination) to Imperialism (domination of others) in the late 19th century, particularly in the Balkans, set the stage for World War I.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Oct 06, 2025, 08:38 UTC