Causes of Nationalism in Europe:
1. Emergence of Middle class: In Europe socially politically, a landed aristocracy was the dominant class. This powerful aristocracy was numerically a small group while majority of the population was made up of peasentry. In western Europe the bulk of the land was formed by tenants and small owners, while in Eastern and Central Europe the pattern of land holding was characterized by the vast states, which were cultivated by the serfs. In western and central Europe, due to industrial production, growth in trade, development of towns and emergence of commercial classes, a new social group came into the existence in which people of labour class, middle class which was formed of industrialists, businessmen and professionals. Among these classes, after the abolition of aristocratic privileges, ideas of national unity become popular.
2. Liberal Nationalism: Narture of the feeling of Nationalism in Europe was done by liberalism and democracy. The general meaning of the liberalism is from disciplined or limited freedom and equality. The objective of liberalism was to make most of the fields control free. Liberals wanted to decide personal freedom like writing, formation of organizations, security of Private wealth. ‘Politically, it emphasized the concept of government by consent.
In the economic sphere, liberalism stood for the freedom of markets and the abolition of state imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital. During the nineteenth century this was a strong demand of the emerging middle classes. In the first half of the nineteenth century Napoleon’s administrative measures had created out of countless small principalities a confederation of 39 states each of these possessed its own currency and weights and measures. A merchant travelling in 1833 from Hamburg to Nuremberg to sell his goods would have had to pass through 11 customs barriers. Such conditions were viewed as obstacles to economic exchange and growth by the new commercial classes, who argued for the creation of a unified economic territory, allowing the unhindered movement of goods, people and capital. In 1834 such an economic zone or zollverein (customs union) was formed at the initiative of Prussia and joined by most of the German states. This union abolished tarrif barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two. This confederation made economic interests to national unification. A wave of economic nationalism strengthened the wider sentiments growing at that time.
3. Revolution of England and France: The glorious revolution of England gave birth to the tradition that Divine right have no legality in any administrative system. In the same chain the Revolution of France gave birth to the concept, that the freedom of man is so important that no power can ignore it. This imagination was the victory of nationality. Nationality was emerged in the reply of those monarchial powers who promised that powers of Monarchs are autocratic on the behalf of Divine rights.
4. A new conservatism after 1815: In 1815 representatives of the European powers – Britain, Russia, Russia and Austria – who had collectively defeated Napoleon, met at Viena to draw up a settlement for Europe. The delegates who were collected in Viena congress on the basis of their experience and understanding established the old system of Europe and recalled their pledge to keep away Europe from the features of new era of the nineteenth century – Nationality, Liberalism and Democratic feelings, but they couldn’t recognize the sprouted seeds. This is the cause that those arrangements which Viena congress tried to establish were ruined for the next hundred years.
5. Revolutionaries: During the years following 1815, the fear of repression drove many liberal nationalists underground. Secret societies sprang up in many European states to train revolutionaries and spread their ideals. To be revolutionary this time meant a commitment to oppose monarchial forms that had been established after the Viena congress and to fight for liberty and freedom. Most of these revolutionaries also saw the creation of nation states as a necessary part of this struggle for freedom.
6.Contribution of language and folktales: The development of nationalism did not come about only through wars and territorial expansion. Culture played an important role in creating the idea of the nation. Art, poetry, stories and music helped to express and shape nationalist feelings. Language too played an important role in developing nationalists sentiments. After Russia occupation, the Polish language was forced out of schools and the Russian language was imposed everywhere.
In 1831, an armed rebellion against Russian rule took place which was ultimately crushed. Following this, many members of the clergy in Poland began to use language as a weapon of national resistence. The use of Polish came to be seen as a symbol of the struggle against Russian dominance.
Industrial Revolution: From the beginning of Human civilization to till early 19th century world’s all work were generally done with Hand run tools. Man discovered many new sources of energy by the use of these his power of work had no limit. In the field of steam power, electric power, gas etc man had his progressive steps, which was transformed into the invention of atomic/nuclear power.
In the world India is such a prosperous country in the view of cottage industries where high quality steel was prepared from iron furnaces in very ancient time. It’s live example is iron pillar of Delhi which is even today stand in open without rust. The advanced breeds of Agriculture and mixed culture is the contribution of India. India has pioneer role in the construction of dam and setu as well as making availability of basic frame for industries. Thousand years ago the construction of ‘Ramsetu’ between India and Sri Lanka is the example, its method of construction is also given in our shastras. At present the system of Agriculture industries, Trade and commerce of early 19th century were being existed thousand of years ago in India, while in the world these experiments are started from 19th century by the so called thousands of developed nations.
