Revolutions that inspired nationalism
Modern nationalist ideas emerged in the West during the eighteenth century. The American Revolution and the founding of the United States showed that a people could reject foreign rule and govern themselves. The French Revolution of 1789 spread the powerful slogans of liberty, equality and fraternity, teaching that sovereignty belonged to the people rather than to kings alone.
The rise of new nation-states
During the nineteenth century, nationalism helped forge new united countries out of divided territories.
- Italy was unified through the efforts of leaders and thinkers such as Mazzini, Cavour and Garibaldi, achieving unity by 1870.
- Germany was united under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck, with the German Empire proclaimed in 1871.
Key idea
Western nationalism grew from the belief that a people sharing a common language, history and identity should form a single, self-governing nation-state.
Ideas that spread outward
These Western ideas did not stay in Europe. Through education, books and returning students, concepts such as popular sovereignty, self-determination and the nation-state travelled to Asia. There, they inspired local thinkers who applied them to their own struggles against colonial rule. In this way, the nationalism born in the West became one of the roots of the independence movements that later swept Asia.
Remember
- The French Revolution (1789) spread liberty, equality and fraternity.
- Germany was united under Bismarck in 1871.
- Italy was unified by figures such as Mazzini, Cavour and Garibaldi.