HISTORY CHAPTER-1 NOTES

CLASS- X
The Rise of Nationalism in Europe
Frédéric Sorrieu vision of World
Frédéric Sorrieu, a French artist, in 1848 prepared a series of four prints visualising his dream of
a world made up of democratic and Social Republics.

1. The first print shows the people of Europe and America marching in a long train and
offering homage to the Statue of Liberty as they pass it. The torch of Enlightenment was
carried by a female figure in one hand and the Charter of the Rights of Man in the other.
2. On the earth in the foreground lie the shattered remains of the symbols of absolutist
institutions.
3. In Sorrieu’s utopian vision, the people of the world are grouped as distinct nations,
identified through their flags and national costume.
4. The procession was led by the United States and Switzerland, followed by France and
Germany. Following the German people are the people of Austria, the Kingdom of the
Two Sicilies, Lombardy, Poland, England, Ireland, Hungary and Russia.
5. 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.

During the nineteenth century, nationalism emerged as a force which brought huge changes in
the political and mental world of Europe. The end result of these changes was the emergence of
the nation-state.

The French Revolution and the Idea of the Nation

1. In 1789 Nationalism came with French Revolution and the political and constitutional
changes led to the transfer of sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French
citizens. Various measures and practices were introduced such as the ideas of la patrie
(the fatherland) and le citoyen ( the citizen). A new French flag, the tricolour was chosen
to replace the former one.
2. Democracy destroyed in France by Napoleon and the Civil Code of 1804 known as
Napoleonic Code did away with all privileges based on birth, established equality before
the law and secured the right to property.

The Making of Nationalism in Europe

Germany, Italy and Switzerland were divided into kingdoms, duchies and cantons whose rulers
had their autonomous territories.

The Aristocracy and the New Middle Class

The Aristocracy was the dominant class on the continent politically and socially. The majority of
the population was made up of the peasantry. Industrialisation began in England in the second
half of the eighteenth century. New social groups came into being: a working-class population
and middle classes made up of industrialists, businessmen, professionals.

What did Liberal Nationalism Stand for?

 1. The term ‘liberalism’ derives from the Latin root liber, meaning free. The right to vote and
to get elected was granted exclusively to property-owning men. Men without property and
all women were excluded from political rights.
2. 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.

A New Conservatism after 1815

 In 1815, European governments were driven by a spirit of conservatism. Conservatives

believed in monarchy, the Church, social hierarchies, property and that the family should
be preserved.
 A modern army, an efficient bureaucracy, a dynamic economy, the abolition of feudalism
and serfdom could strengthen the autocratic monarchies of Europe.
 In 1815, representatives of the European powers – Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria
met in Vienna to draw up a settlement for Europe.
 The Bourbon dynasty was restored to power and France lost the territories it had
annexed under Napoleon.
 The major issues taken up by the liberal-nationalists, who criticised the new conservative
order, was freedom of the press.

The Revolutionaries

1. In 1815, secret societies were formed in many European states to train revolutionaries
and spread their ideas. Revolutionary opposed monarchical forms, fight for liberty and
freedom.
2. The Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini, born in Genoa in 1807, founded two more
underground societies, first, Young Italy in Marseilles.
3. Secondly, he founded Young Europe in Berne, whose members were like-minded young
men from Poland, France, Italy and the German states.

The Age of Revolutions: 1830-1848

In July 1830, Bourbon Kings were overthrown by liberal revolutionaries who installed a
constitutional monarchy with Louis Philippe at its head. The July Revolution sparked an uprising
in Brussels which led to Belgium breaking away from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In
1821, Greeks struggled for independence.

The Romantic Imagination and National Feeling

1. Culture played an important role in creating the idea of the nation: art and poetry, stories
and music helped express and shape nationalist feelings.
2. Romanticism, a cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of
nationalist sentiment. Language also played an important role in developing nationalist
sentiments.
3. Russian language was imposed everywhere and in 1831 an armed rebellion against
Russian rule took place which was ultimately crushed.

Hunger, Hardship and Popular Revolt

Europe faced economic hardships in the 1830s. The first half of the nineteenth century saw an
enormous increase in population all over Europe. The rise of food prices or a year of bad harvest
led to widespread pauperism in town and country. In 1848, food shortages and widespread
unemployment brought the population of Paris out on the roads.
The Revolution of the Liberals
In 1848, a revolution led by the educated middle classes was underway. Men and women of the
liberal middle class demanded creation of a nation-state on parliamentary principles – a
constitution, freedom of the press and freedom of association.
A large number of political associations came together in Frankfurt to vote for an all-German
National Assembly. On 18 May 1848, 831 elected representatives marched to take their places in
the Frankfurt parliament convened in the Church of St Paul.
The Constitution drafted for German nation was headed by a monarchy, subject to a Parliament.
The Crown was offered to Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia but he rejected it and joined
other monarchs to oppose the elected assembly. The Middle Class dominated the Parliament
and a large number of women participated in liberal movement.
Women formed their own political associations, founded newspapers and took part in
political meetings and demonstrations, but they were still denied suffrage rights during the
election of the Assembly.
In the years after 1848, the autocratic monarchies of Central and Eastern Europe began to
introduce the changes that had already taken place in Western Europe before 1815. Thus,
serfdom and bonded labour were abolished both in the Habsburg dominions and in Russia.

The Making of Germany and Italy

Germany – Can the Army be the Architect of a Nation?
Nationalism in Europe moved away after 1848 and Germany and Italy came to be unified as
nation-states. Prussia took over the leadership of the movement for national unification. The
architect of this process was its chief minister, Otto von Bismarck, carried out with the help of the
Prussian army and bureaucracy.
In January 1871, the Prussian King, William I, was proclaimed German Emperor. An assembly
was held to proclaim the new German Empire. The process of nation-building demonstrated the
dominance of Prussian state power. The currency, banking, legal and judicial system in Germany
were modernised.

Italy Unified
Italy was divided into seven states, in the middle of the nineteenth century, and among all the
seven states, Sardinia-Piedmont, was ruled by an Italian princely house. All the regions were
dominated by different kings. In the 1830’s Giuseppe Mazzini formed a secret society called
Young Italy.
The movement was led by Chief Minister Cavour. In 1859, Sardinia-Piedmont defeated Austrian
forces. In 1860, they marched into South Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and
succeeded in winning the support of the local peasants. In 1861 Victor Emmanuel II was
proclaimed king of united Italy.

The Strange Case of Britain

Great Britain was the model of the nation and prior to the eighteenth century there was no British
nation. The nation became powerful as it steadily grew in wealth, importance and power.
The Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland resulted in the formation of the ‘United
Kingdom of Great Britain’ meant, in effect, that England was able to impose its influence on
Scotland. In 1801, Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the United Kingdom. The symbols of the
new Britain – the British flag (Union Jack), the national anthem (God Save Our Noble King), the
English language – were actively promoted.
Visualising the Nation
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries artists represented a country as a person and nations
as female figures. During the French Revolution, female figures portray ideas such as Liberty,
Justice and the Republic. Liberty is represented as a red cap, or the broken chain, Justice a
blindfolded woman carrying a pair of weighing scales.

Nationalism and Imperialism

Nationalism no longer retained after the last quarter of the nineteenth century. After 1871, the
most tensioned area was called the Balkans a region comprising modern-day Romania, Bulgaria,
Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro.
Ottoman Empire made the Balkans region explosive and all through the nineteenth century they
strengthened themselves through modernisation and internal reforms. Due to various conflicts
the Balkan became an area of intense conflict.
During this period, intense rivalry built among the European powers over trade and colonies as
well as naval and military might which led to a series of wars in the region and finally the First
World War.
In 1914, Europe was disastered because of Nationalism, aligned with imperialism. Anti-imperial
movements were developed but they all struggled to form independent nation-states. But the
idea of ‘nation-states’ was accepted as natural and universal.
 ASSIGNMENT CHAPTER-1 (HISTORY)
CLASS-X

VERY SHORT QUESTIONS (MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS)

1. Who was Frederic Sorrieu?

a) A Philosopher b) A Painter c) A Politician d) A Revolutionaries
2. Which of the following State lead the unification of Germany?
a) Bavaria b) Prussia c) Rhineland d) Hanover
3. Who hosted the congress of Vienna 1815?
a) Cavour b) King Victor Emanuel c) Bismarck d) Duke Metternich

SHORT QUESTIONS

4. Explain the concept of a national state

5. Explain the measures and practices creating sense of collective identity
among the people of France.
6. Explain the decision of the congress of Vienna.
7. Why the 1830s was the year of great economic hardship in Europe?
8. Why did national tensions emerge in the Balktan?

LONG QUESTIONS

1. Describe the process by which Germany was unified.

2. Describe the process of unification of Italy.

DO THE GIVEN ASSIGNMENT ON SHEETS