User:RohitDS/The Rise of Nationalism in Europe
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In the 19th century there was a wave of nationalism in the European continent which rejuvenated the European countries. Newly created countries like Germany, Italy, Romania were made up of several regional states whose national identity was 'common'. Others like Greece, Poland, Bulgaria became independent nations. The rise of nationalist consciousness had started in Europe from the Renaissance period, but it took a strong form in the French Revolution of 1789 AD.
In the 18th century, many countries such as Germany, Italy and Switzerland were not as we see them today. By the middle of the eighteenth century, Germany, Italy and Switzerland were divided into monarchies, dioceses and cantons, whose rulers had autonomous territories. Similarly, Eastern and Central Europe were under autocratic monarchies and different types of people lived in these regions. They did not consider themselves to be part of a common identity or any 'common culture'. Such a situation was not easy to promote political unity. The only factor that bound these types of groups together was allegiance to the emperor.
Before the French Revolution, France was a state whose entire territory was ruled by an autocratic king. The slogan of the French Revolution 'Freedom, Equality and Universal Fraternity' took politics out of the elitist environment and made it the object of newspapers, the streets and the general public. By the end of the 19th century, the results proved to be significant. Napoleon's Code - It came into force in 1804. It abolished the privileges based on birth. It not only established equality before justice but also protected the right to property.
Napoleonic wars in the last years of the 18th century contributed significantly to the spread of nationalism in Europe. In Italy, Poland, Germany and Spain, it was Napoleon who carried the message of 'New Age'. It opened a new chapter in Italy and Germany. He established an organized and uniform government in the whole country which resulted in rise of the ideas of nationalism there. This feeling of nationalism took Germany and Italy out of the limits of mere geographical expression and gave it a real and political form, which paved the way for the Unification of Italy and Germany.