It was in the 19th cent. that nationalism became a widespread and powerful force. During this time nationalism expressed itself in many areas as a drive for national unification or independence.  The spirit of nationalism took an especially strong hold in Germany, where the nationalism that inspired the German people to rise against the empire of Napoleon was conservative, tradition-bound, and narrow rather than liberal, progressive, and universal. When the fragmented Germany was finally unified as the German Empire in 1871, it was a highly authoritarian and militarist state.



After many years of fighting, Italy also achieved national unification and freedom from foreign domination, but certain areas inhabited by Italians (e.g., Trieste) were not included in the new state.  In the latter half of the 19th cent., there were strong nationalist movements among the Balkan peoples subject to the supranational Austrian and Ottoman empires, as there were in Ireland under British rule, and in Poland under Russian rule.


At the same time, however, with the emergence in Europe of strong, integrated nation-states, nationalism became increasingly conservative. It was turned against such international movements as socialism, and it found outlet in pursuit of glory and empire - the age of New Imperialism dawned. Nationalist conflicts likewise had much to do with bringing on World War I. 







































































Welcome to Leith pts I + II








German unification in 3 minutes


OVB summary in 3 minutes


Franco-Prussian War in 3 minutes



Italian unification in 3 minutes


Italian unification lecture



Googledoc - Who was most responsible for the Risorgimento?



Ideologies - 1830 & 1848 Revolutions in Europe

Open publication - Free publishing


- `Little Dictator` clip - how does this show Napoleon? 

Who composed it?  Why?



BBC Rise of Napoleon : Hero or Villain



 PBS Empires series -Napoleon - 3/4 Summit of Greatness   


PBS Empires series - Napoleon - 4/4 The End 



Napoleonic Code

European Nationalism


Napoleon and European nationalism

With the expansion of the his French Empire from the Iberian peninsula to the gates of Moscow, Napoleon Bonaparte had a great say in how European ideas evolved over the 19th Century.  His Code Civile was used across the continent as a basis for restructuring the political systems in each conquered territory.  Whilst formally unifying the Empire under one system, it also meant the continent's population was exposed to Enlightenment ideas such as freedom, brotherhood and equality.  These ideas prompted individual peoples across this vast area to start calling for unity amoingst their own ethnic, cultural and linguistic groups.  In turn, this growth of nationalism across Europe not only spelled disaster for Napoleon's Empire, but also created the nationalistic and increasingly imperialistic Europe who eventually saw no other option but starting a war in 1914 which would unleash hell...

Click on the painting and read the article *NEED TO UPDATE* underneath to discover why and how German people in particular unified as a direct result of Napoleon and his policies, then answer the questions on the document accessed bottom right...