13.4: Nationalism

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Central to nationalist movements was the concept that the state should correspond to the identity of a “people,” although who or what defines the identity of “the people” proved a vexing issue on many occasions.

The French Revolution provided one model. The revolutionaries had declared that they represented the whole "nation," not just a certain part of it. They erased the legal privileges of some (the nobles) over others, made religion subservient to a secular government, and called the whole "nation" to arms when threatened by the conservative powers of Europe. The revolutionary armies sang a national anthem, the Marseillaise. Central to French national identity was fighting for la patrie, the fatherland, in place of the old allegiance to king and church.

As a result of the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, the countries invaded by the French eventually adopted their own nationalist beliefs. The democratic French principle of self-determination was turned into a sacred right to defend one's own national identity. Examples can be found in the Spanish revolt of 1808, Austria and Prussia's struggles of "liberation" against Napoleon, Russia's leadership of the anti-Napoleonic coalition, and fierce British pride in defiance to French military pretensions.

You learn more about nationalism in the World History B course.