Rise of nationalism in Europe

Nationalism refers to the devotion for one's own nation's interests over those of all other nations. It signifies a particular love for the nation. It was an important factor in the development of Europe. In the 19th century, a wave of romantic nationalism swept the European continent, transforming its countries. Some newly formed countries, such as Germany, Italy and Romania were formed by uniting various regional states with a common "national identity". Others, such as Greece, Switzerland, Poland and Bulgaria, were formed by uprisings against the Ottoman Empire and Russia. More concisely, nationalism better defined these countries.

The French Revolution paved the way for the modern nation-state and also played a key role in the birth of nationalism. Across Europe radical intellectuals, influenced by Napoleon and the Napoleonic Code the instrument for the political transformation of Europe. Revolutionary armies carried the slogan of "liberty, equality and brotherhood" and ideas of liberalism and national self-determinism. National awakening also grew out of an intellectual reaction to the Enlightenment that emphasized national identity and developed a romantic view of cultural self-expression through nationhood. The key exponent of the modern idea of the nation-state was the German G. W. Friedrich Hegel. He argued that a sense of nationality was the cement that held modern societies together in the age when dynastic and religious allegiance was in decline. In 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars, the major powers of Europe tried to restore the old dynastic system as far as possible, ignoring the principle of nationality in favour of "legitimism", the assertion of traditional claims to royal authority. With most of Europe's peoples still loyal to their local province or city, nationalism was confined to small groups of intellectuals and political radicals. Furthermore, political repression, symbolized by the Carlsbad Decrees published in Austria in 1819, pushed nationalist agitation underground.

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