HST 112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Italian Unification, Ernest Renan, Italian Nationalism
Document Summary
Main argument: the unification of italy demonstrates that national identity is a modern invention, brought about in part by the french revolution. Moreover, italian unification showed how governments used nationalism to strengthen and expand (territorially) the state. Nationalism = a 19th century ideology which held that national groups bound by language, culture, and other factors formed basic, natural units of socio- political organization and should have their own independent states, so called nation-states. Giuseppe mazzini the duties of man (1858) nationalism is divine design and governments have corrupted this ideal. Interpretations: invention, historical culture, ernst renan what is a nation, revolutionary (liberal, state (conservative) Revolutions of 1848: paris (february, berlin, vienna, budapest, lombardy-venetia. France: second republic (1848-51: louis-napoleon bonaparte wins 75% of electorate and become president but government officials are plotting to bring back monarchy, second french empire (1851) Italy before unification divided into various kingdoms and territories.
