Nationalism In The 19th Century

Europe’s politics have long reflected its economy. In the 17th century, rife with internal struggles surrounding religion, external political competition surrounding the New World encouraged political rivalries. In the 18th century, when political absolutism spurred mercantilism, or economic absolutism, stifling order was enforced upon the chaos of the previous century. And in the 19th century, as revolutions redefined governmental expectation, industrial progress redefined social expectation. The wave of nationalism, and its role in defining states, was motivated by both the politics and economy, and their interactions, of the 19th century. The French Revolution of 1789, spurred by the political musings of Enlightenment philosophes, changed

Germany had not been unified, as a state, since the 13th century. Yet, driven by economic competition with England, Germany pooled its resources, under the presumption that doing so was the solution to the inequities of industrial capitalism, resulting in unification as a whole (Backman). However, for Germany, this unification was not so clear-cut; German ethnicity was much broader than state boundaries allowed. Spurring intense German nationalism from the Frankfurt Assembly, Germany and Lesser Germany worked to use nationalism as a driving force to progress as one nation-state. Similarly economically motivated, Italy moved from unification under the justification of nationalism. Foreign domination stifled Italian economy, and the traditionally particularized state became one of nation-state

Hungary was part of the Habsburg-ruled Austrian Empire, having not been independent since 1526 (Backman). The Habsburg rule consisted of a brutal, absolutist government, crushing any rebellions with intense military power. And while the Habsburg monarchy survived the revolutions of 1848, the people within the territory, especially the Magyar ethnicity, persisted up through World War I. In Ireland, religious prejudice determined social class, and further, national loyalty. The wealthier minority of Ireland, the Anglo-Irish Protestants wanted to stay part of England for financial and political stability. However, the Catholic majority advocated for independence, considering themselves completely separate people from England. Between the two groups, the wanted state differed, defining the nation itself. England, in an effort to combat the nationalism of the Catholics, enacted harsh legal measures to maintain power over the arising tension (Backman). Momentary peace in Ireland actually came from the Great Famine, as emigration and starvation brought the shrinking, suffering population together without a change in geographical