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Historical Dictionary |
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Narratives : From Empire to Nation State http://www.zum.de/whkmla/sat/texts/narrempnat.html |
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For earlier history : Restauration, Early Nationalism (1815-1848) click
here In 1830/1839, Belgium achieved independence and became a constitutional monarchy. The political balance of the Belgian state saw the country's parliament in a strong position, the king more being a representative figure. Belgium was continental Europe's first Liberal State. In the year 1848, the Netherlands, Denmark and Savoy-Piemont adopted liberal constitutions, thus emulated Belgium and created a condition Great Britain had arrived at in 1740 (Cabinet System), without a written constitution. Sweden was to follow in 1864. In Europe's bourgeoisie, resentment toward the Ancien Regime, against absolute rule, against privileges for the nobility and clergy, the demand for representation in parliament, for a written constitution, a liberal state based on the principles of equality in front of the law, separation of church and state, the protection of property, freedom of the press, of assembly, of religion were wide-spread, as was the conviction that this aim best would be achieved in a nation state. Early in the 19th century, patriots (opponents of the Ancien Regime, advocates of a nation state) in France, Germany, Poland regarded each other as allies in their struggle against their common enemies - the monarchs who toyed with the idea of Neo-Absolutism. In the 1820es, Europe's patriots sympathized with the Greek freedom fighters; in 1830 and again in 1848, revolution spread through Europe like wildfire, each time the flame having been kindled in Paris. In the year 1840, France's parliament had discussed the annexion of the (then Prussian respectively Bavarian) Rhineland, causing a furious response among Germany's patriots. The year 1848 saw Danish and German nationalism conflicting over Schleswig-Holstein; the groundwork for a German-Polish conflict laid by Posens German minority agitating for the inclusion of their province in a German nation state. The ambitions of various national movements entered conflicting courses. On the European map, new entities began to emerge - not (yet) as states, but as concepts in the mind of many. In the early 19th century, Italy, Germany, Poland were not clearly defined geographical regions; they were poorly defined political utopias in the mind of patriots. Finns, Bulgarians, Irishmen dreamt of political independence; Czech, Slovak, Croatian patriots, realizing the size of their nations, envisioned Pan-Slavic federations; Swedish and Danish students emphasized their common Pan-Scandinavian heritage. Greece, Serbia and Belgium realized independence respectively political autonomy in 1830. Italy was unified, with French military assistance, in 1859-1861 (with Venice being acquired in 1866, Rome in 1870, grace a Prusse). In Germany, Prussia achieved unification following the Smaller German Solution, based on her own strength, in wars against Denmark 1864, against Austria in 1866 and against France in 1870-1871. Bulgaria achieved political autonomy in 1878, thanks to Russia's interference. Norway separated peacefully from Sweden in 1905. The successes of some only created the envy of those who still had to achieve their independence; the Poles of Russian Poland had tried and failed twice (1830-1831, 1863). Early in the century, the patriots believed they only had to overturn the political system - the monarchy, or contain it in form of a contitutional monarchy. In the latter half of the century it became obvious that parliamentary rule alone was not the solution of the problem. In 1866 (Austro-Hungarian Compromise), Hungary and (Austrian) Galicia became autonomous. The Hungarian administration, dominated by ethnic Hungarians, aimed at enforced assimilation of the Slovak, Ukrainian, Romanian etc. minorities (Magyarization); the Galician administration, dominated by ethnic Poles, strove to Polonize the country's Ukrainians. Russia pursued a policy of Russification in Finland, the Baltic Provinces, Russian Poland; Germany a policy of Germanization in Posen, West Prussia, the Danish-speaking regions of Schleswig. Areas with an ethnically mixed population, such as Dalmatia, Slovenia, Bohemia and Moravia were contested by nationalist movements; the Austrian and Ottoman governments, not placed on a national foundation and attempting to keep in power by once leaning on the support of this group, once on another, were anachronistic organizations, soon to be swept away. While some national movements were able to achieve their goal(s) of unification and/or independence, others were not. Plans to grant Home Rule to Ireland had repeatedly been discussed, but, due to circumstances, failed to pass in parliament. Russia suppressed independence movements by force; the Ottoman Empire tried to do so; Austria tried to contain such movements by other means. The national movements in Italy and Germany might have been satisfied in 1871, unification of both countries being achieved. Yet a new generation of patriotic dreamers had wider ambitions - Irredentism, i.e. the annexation of further regions where Italian respectively German was spoken (Dalmatia, which had been under Venetian rule for centuries, but where only a few % of the population spoke Italian, for example. Some Italian and German patriots looked overseas, demanded colonies, and if it was to channel emigration (which went on in large figures) into territory under the Italian / German flag. In the 1890es, European nationalism became increasingly intolerant; the Scramble for Africa resulted in conflicts between whites. Europe saw increasing Anti-Semitism (Dreyfus-Affair in France; pogroms in the Russian Empire) which again triggered the establishment of the Zionist movement. In the Ottoman Empire, the Armenians were targetted by pogroms. Pacifist intellectuals sought to canalize nationalistic fervour by recreating the Olympic Games (Pierre de Coubertin : Athens 1896) or establishing the Nobel Prize (Sweden/Norway, first awarded in 1901. The nineteenth century had seen the development of parliamentary democracy, in most European countries within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. Characteristic were the tendency from episodically meeting parliaments to parliaments in permanent session (ex. Norway), toward the cabinet system, the tendency to expand the franchise, in the United Kingdom from a wealthy minority of about 2 % of the adult male population in the beginning of the century to about 85 % of the same at the end of the century. France had introduced universal adult manhood suffrage in 1848, Germany in 1871. Modern political parties began to form in the 1850es and 1860es. Early in the century, British voters announced their votes in public, later secret ballot was introduced. In short, the trend was toward a mass democracy. In this process, some countries were ahead while others lagged behind. Bismarck (Germany) regarded parliament and political parties a nuisance and tried to destroy the Liberal, Social Democratic and (Catholic) Center Party. The Austro-Hungarian administration attempted to preserve a maximum control by delaying the process of transfering authority to parliament and of extending the franchise as long as possible. The Russian administration did not permit the formation of political parties and elections for the Duma until the Revolution of 1905. Within countries with an elected parliament, there were forces which strove for the wealthy classes to maintain control of parliament, be it by the means of denying the vote to the masses (property and/or literacy qualifications - ex. Italy), by voting systems placing the wealthy at an advantage (ex. Prussia, Sweden), or by election engineering as conducted in Spain, through the Canovite System. The 19th century saw frequent changes in the constitution. By the turn of the century, those discriminated against, the working class, women, ethnicities within Empires, became increasingly impatient with the situation. Many were willing to resort to violence in order to attract world attention. |
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EXTERNAL FILES |
| REFERENCE |
William Roscoe Thayer, The Life and Times of Cavour, London, Vol.1 Elibron Classics (1911) 2006, Vol.2 Kessinger Publishing (1914) n.d., KMLA Lib. Call Sign 945.08 T369 |
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