Written by Finlay Drummond-Cormack
Before Napoleon’s rise to power, and the subsequent wars across Europe starting in 1803, there was a noticeable lack of smaller nation states within Europe – especially when one considers it compared to a map of Europe today. Large empires like those of the Ottomans and Romanovs had control of significant swathes of land, meaning there was little room for smaller independent nation states. During the Napoleonic wars, we see the rise of groups and smaller states. This was driven, in part, by the nationalism of the oppressed people. There are several theories which both attempt to explain, and give counter arguments to, the claim that the rising nationalism in Europe was triggered by the Napoleonic wars. Those who believe the wars did, such as historians Patriarca and Esdaile, agree that the Napoleonic wars were the triggering factor causing the rise of nationalism in Europe. Whereas others like Peterson attempt to explain how the Napoleonic war wasn’t the cause. This essay will demonstrate how it was the Napoleonic wars which triggered the rise of nationalism as groups and nations relied on popular nationalism to unite people against Napoleon.
One theory which illustrates how the Napoleonic wars triggered the rise of nationalism in Europe is many countries’ reactions towards Napoleon’s aggression across the continent. The French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic rule saw a rise in French nationalism, created by the French government, through the use of patriotic symbolism. Classic patriotic symbols which characterise French culture were created during the Napoleonic wars at this time of rising nationalism. Nationalism increased and was spread emotively by symbols like the tri-colour French flag, La Marseillaise and even Bastille Day. These symbols served the purpose of rapidly increasing France’s nationalist sentiment during the Napoleonic wars, in order to foster support for fighting other European nations. Historian Michael Rowe points to how these symbols within France created a type of wide community containing all French citizens and forged memories of them being superior to other European countries, which triggered nationalism in France and has kept these symbols prevalent even after Napoleon’s fall.
However, while the Napoleonic empire may have had nationalist elements it became a large multi-ethnic state. At the outbreak of the Napoleonic wars, many nations within Europe encouraged nationalism in order to get the general population to oppose the French and Napoleon. This can be illustrated by the actions of the British and Russian governments who at the time encouraged symbolism depicting famous people or battles drawn from their unique cultures to unite people, such as Nelson’s column in London’s Trafalgar Square. This clearly explains the rise of European nationalism as states attempted to counter Napoleon, they actively encouraged nationalist ideas within their countries by creating unifying myths and glorifying soldiers who fought and died fighting Napoleon. Although after Napoleon’s downfall, these nationalist ideas were harder to contain and instead spread from being targeted at the French to believing in their own nation’s superiority. This theory shows that because France had deliberately spread nationalism throughout their country, other European countries who they were fighting also spread nationalism as a counter, which ultimately triggered and spread nationalism throughout Europe both during and after the Napoleonic wars.
An argument opposing the statement that the Napoleonic wars were the trigger causing the rise of nationalism in Europe is the literature which came out of Germany during and after the wars. If the Napoleonic wars did cause the rise of nationalism within Europe, then surely that would’ve been reflected by the texts coming out of places which were engaged in those wars with France. German speaking areas throughout Europe show the opposite, however. They show no attempt to spread nationalism or encourage it, in fact, the literature which was published directly after the Napoleonic wars shows complete disillusionment with any idea of German nationalism. It is however recognised by historians such as Brent O. Peterson that the prospects and ideals of German nationalism existed, although these are thought to be largely abstract and not a concern to the German people, as is reflected by literature at the time. Although being abstract, the German nationalist movement was solely aimed as hostility towards Napoleon, but this largely fails to go further than thought into political action. In German historical fiction directly after the wars from 1815 – 1830, there is no common myth or symbolism of “what it is meant to be German”, and at the very least the era wasn’t a time of nationalist rising or consolidation – but is a time where nationalism is under serious scrutiny. This explains how the Napoleonic wars may not have triggered the rise of European nationalism as, at least in Germany’s case, there is very little literature articulating the cause of German nationalism, and the country appears to be turning its back on the cause, showing that places who were greatly affected by the Napoleonic wars didn’t experience a rise of nationalism amongst the people.
Another factor which proves how the Napoleonic Wars triggered the rise of European nationalism is romanticised history. The Risorgimento movement within Italy is a perfect example of this. The Risorgimento were Italian nationalists who fought for nationalist aims within Italy, which included the unification of the Italian peninsula and sovereignty for all Italian peoples who lived there. Romantic history and nationalism were used effectively here as it combined a singular person’s own morals and personal issues, extrapolating this to the history of Italy and the problems they were facing at the time. This illustrates that rising nationalism bound many people together to fight for a common cause, as there was an idea of a shared past and shared oppression at the hands of the French empire, which Italy had endured during the Napoleonic wars. However, due to the Risorgimento having multiple objectives, their nationalism can’t wholly be attributed to the Napoleonic wars and may have been more about Italian unification instead of direct opposition to Napoleon. Although the fight for sovereignty and unity are undoubtedly connected. The historian Silvana Patriarca explains how this rising romanticised nationalism helps us to understand why so many young men were willing to die in opposition to Napoleon both during the Napoleonic wars and later insurrections in the 1830s and 1850s.
Another example of a romanticised history being used to spread nationalism is those who lived in the Rhineland. The Rhineland maintained a political and cultural difference from France due to its geographical location, bordering both France and German speaking areas. The nationalism which arose out of the Rhineland was the result of opposition to increased Frenchification, such as the mandating of the French language for public announcements in the August of 1810. It was also because of the way in which French nationalism was used to stomp out cultural diversity from the Rhine, aiming to create a strong pro-Napoleon bureaucratic power base. These aggressive measures by the French during and after the Napoleonic wars caused nationalist ideals in the Rhineland to skyrocket as they attempted to preserve their traditions and culture. The nationalism experienced in the Rhineland crossed class boundaries as many elites of the area had close ties to German and Prussian peoples, and the war strengthened these ties, giving rise to a hostility to the French in the region. The romantic nationalism kicked in as many people clung on to their proud heritage of dynastic empires, such as the Habsburgs, and directed their loyalty to their kin instead of the French. The romanticisation of history and nationalist ideals directly illustrates how the Napoleonic wars were the trigger for rising nationalism throughout Europe as many groups of people who didn’t have their own nation looked back in history to unite themselves against the French.
In summation, the Napoleonic wars were the trigger for the rise of nationalism across Europe as people stood against Napoleon both for their survival and their emerging nationalist identities. The French experienced a rise in their own nationalism during the French Revolution and then deliberately spread it throughout Napoleonic France. Other nations also encouraged nationalism in their people as an instrument of opposition. Nations like Britain and Russia can be seen to effectively use symbolism to unite their people in the singular cause of stopping the French and stopping the Napoleonic wars. The Napoleonic wars also caused a rise in nationalism as groups of people who didn’t have their own national identity sought to unify their people, both during the Napoleonic wars to fight the French and then to resist French rule afterwards. This form of nationalism was aided by romanticised history, which evoked an emotional response from people – causing them to look back on their history and encouraging them to strive for greatness. This was represented in Italy by the Risorgimento, it was also seen in the Rhineland, where people stayed loyal to the dynastic ties of the Habsburgs.
Bibliography
Baycroft, Timothy. Hewitson, Mark. What is a Nation?: Europe 1789-1914 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006)
Brueilly, John. The Oxford Handbook of the History of Nationalism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013)
Brent O. Peterson, “German Nationalism after Napoleon: Caste and Regional Identities in Historical fiction, 1815-1830”, The German Quarterly, Vol 68 (July 1995)
J. Esdaile, Charles. Review of Europe under Napoleon, 1799-1815, Broers, Michael. The English Historical Review, Vol 113, (September 1998)
Patriarca, Silvana. Riall, Lucy. The Risorgimento revisited nationalism and culture in nineteenth- century Italy (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)
Rowe, Michael. From Reich to state: The Rhineland in the Revolutionary age, 1780-1830, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003)
Rowe, Michael. The Oxford Handbook of the History of Nationalism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013)
Featured image credit: “Netherlands-4426 – Arrival of Napoleon at Amsterdam” by archer10 (Dennis) is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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