History › Age of revolutions › French Revolution
Rise of nationalism and the revolutions of 1848
from the 1790s; revolutions across Europe in 1848; Italy unified 1861· Idea, religion or movement· Europe
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
The idea that each people sharing a language and culture should have its own state, which redrew Europe's map in the 1800s.
See it on the History map →What happened
Earlier, most Europeans owed loyalty mainly to a ruler, a church or a town. The French Revolution recast France as a nation of citizens, and resistance to Napoleon stirred national feeling in Germany, Spain and elsewhere. In 1848, revolutions broke out in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Milan, Budapest and dozens of other cities, demanding constitutions and national unity. Most were crushed within a year, but Italy was unified by 1861 and Germany, under Prussia's Otto von Bismarck, in 1871.
Why it matters
It became the dominant way people define political belonging, breaking up multinational empires and fueling both independence movements and the rivalries that led to World War I.
How we know
Newspapers, speeches and nationalist writings such as Giuseppe Mazzini's, government records of the 1848 uprisings, and studies of school, language and census policies.
Still debated
Are nations ancient communities that awoke, or modern inventions built by print, schools and states? Scholars like Benedict Anderson argue the latter; others stress older roots.
Inside this (1)
Connections (4)
▸Thirty Years' War and the Peace of Westphalia laid the state system behind Rise of nationalism and the revolutions of 1848Debated
The connection
The Peace of Westphalia (1648) is often credited with creating a Europe of sovereign states, each controlling its own territory and religion without outside interference. Nationalism later added the idea that each state should belong to a people sharing a language and culture. The link is debated: Westphalia's states were dynastic, not national.
When and how
Münster and Osnabrück in Westphalia, 1648; nationalism as an idea grew from the 1790s, especially after the French Revolution.
How sure are we?
The treaty texts survive, but historians such as Andreas Osiander argue the 'Westphalian system' is largely a later myth; the treaties barely mention sovereignty.
Debates and open questions
Did Westphalia really found the sovereign state system, or did it emerge slowly over the next two centuries? Scholars disagree.
▸French Revolution spread the ideas behind the Rise of nationalism and the revolutions of 1848Mostly agreed
The connection
The Revolution made the nation, not the king, the source of sovereignty and called on citizens to defend it; the 1793 levée en masse drafted all able young men. Napoleon's conquests then provoked national resistance in Spain, Germany and elsewhere. Afterward, the idea that peoples should rule themselves inspired the revolutions of 1848.
When and how
France from 1789; occupied Europe from 1799 to 1815; Johann Fichte's Addresses to the German Nation, delivered in French-occupied Berlin in 1808.
How sure are we?
Revolutionary decrees and the 'Marseillaise,' nationalist writings like Fichte's, and the 1848 revolutionaries' own appeals to French examples.
Debates and open questions
Some scholars trace national feeling much earlier, to medieval England or France; how new modern nationalism really was is debated.
▸Rise of nationalism and the revolutions of 1848 drove the Unification of GermanyWell documented
The connection
Nationalism held that a people sharing a language and culture should have its own state. German liberals tried to unite Germany through an elected parliament at Frankfurt in 1848, but failed when Prussia's king refused their crown. Bismarck then harnessed national feeling for Prussia's ends, achieving unity through war rather than votes.
When and how
The Frankfurt Parliament of 1848–49, then Bismarck's wars of 1864–71; the customs union (Zollverein), nationalist clubs, songs and newspapers spread the idea.
How we know
Frankfurt Parliament records, Bismarck's speeches and letters, and the public enthusiasm recorded during the 1870 war against France.
Debates and open questions
Historians debate whether nationalism drove Bismarck, or whether he, a conservative Prussian, simply used it as a tool to expand Prussian power.
▸Rise of nationalism and the revolutions of 1848 helped cause World War IWell documented
The connection
Nationalism inflamed the Balkans, where Serbs and other South Slavs sought freedom from Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans. A Bosnian Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Across Europe, nationalist newspapers and public opinion made leaders fear backing down, and in 1914 millions marched off believing they were defending their nation.
When and how
The Balkans, especially Bosnia and Serbia, from Austria's 1908 annexation of Bosnia to the Sarajevo assassination of June 28, 1914, and in Europe's capitals.
How we know
Princip's trial testimony, records of the Black Hand secret society, Austro-Hungarian and Serbian diplomatic papers, and newspapers from the July Crisis.
Debates and open questions
How enthusiastic the public really was in August 1914 is debated; recent research finds as much fear and resignation as patriotic fervor.