Nationalism and the world before 1914
Nationalism unified some countries, broke apart others, and fuelled rivalries that set the stage for global war.
What nationalism is
Nationalism is the belief that people who share a language, culture, or history form a nation that should have its own state. It spread after the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. It could unite people across regions or divide multi-ethnic empires.
Italian unification
Italy was divided into many states until the 1860s. Count Camillo di Cavour, prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, used diplomacy and war, while Giuseppe Garibaldi's volunteer 'Red Shirts' conquered the south. The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861, and Rome became its capital in 1871.
German unification
Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck unified Germany through 'blood and iron', winning wars against Denmark (1864), Austria (1866), and France (1870-1871). The German Empire was proclaimed in 1871 at Versailles, with the Prussian king as emperor (Kaiser). Germany quickly became Europe's leading industrial and military power.
Nationalism in multi-ethnic empires
Nationalism threatened multi-ethnic empires. The Austrian Empire became Austria-Hungary in 1867 to accommodate Hungarian demands, but Slavic peoples also sought rights. The Ottoman Empire lost territory as Greece (1830) and Balkan states won independence. Russia's empire contained many non-Russian peoples.
Zionism and other national movements
Theodor Herzl founded political Zionism in the 1890s, seeking a Jewish homeland, partly in response to antisemitism such as the Dreyfus Affair in France. Anti-colonial nationalism also grew: the Indian National Congress was founded in 1885, and nationalist movements emerged in Egypt, the Philippines, and elsewhere.
Latin America after independence
Newly independent Latin American states faced political instability, rule by military strongmen (caudillos), economies dependent on exporting raw materials, and foreign investment and intervention. The Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) overthrew the dictator Porfirio Díaz and brought land reform and a new constitution in 1917.
Rising tensions
By 1914, Europe was divided into rival alliances: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, Russia, Britain). An arms race, including Britain and Germany's naval rivalry, imperial disputes such as the Moroccan crises, and Balkan nationalism made Europe a 'powder keg'.
Worked example
Nationalism had opposite effects in Germany and Austria-Hungary. In Germany, it united dozens of German-speaking states into one powerful empire. In Austria-Hungary, home to Germans, Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, Serbs, Croats, and others, nationalism pulled the empire apart, as each group sought its own rights or state, one reason the empire collapsed in 1918.
Key takeaways
Nationalism holds that nations should have their own states. Cavour and Garibaldi unified Italy by 1861-1871. Bismarck unified Germany through wars, proclaiming the empire in 1871. Nationalism strained Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia. Zionism and anti-colonial movements such as the Indian National Congress grew. Latin America faced instability; the Mexican Revolution began in 1910. Rival alliances, arms races, and Balkan tensions set the stage for war.
Flashcard
Belief that nations deserve their own states
Check your understanding
How did nationalism affect Austria-Hungary differently from Germany?