`Compare and contrast the ideas and practices of nationalism between england and germany in the nineteenth century

1 . Introduction

Historians refer to the nineteenth century by way of three time frames While the Gregorian calendar obviously demarcates it from 1800 to 1900 some historians refer to it as the era between the Vienna Congress in 1815 and the commencement of the First World War in 1914 . Others , among them Dr Eric Hobsbawm of the University of London , refer to a long nineteenth century , which lasted from 1789 to 1914

The period is crowded with historical happenings that profoundly affected the destinies of nations and peoples and it is thus

difficult to single out a few events that could take precedence over others . In America , the century saw the dominance of European settlers , the complete annihilation of Native Americans , the abolition of Slavery , and the American Civil War a fratricidal conflict that nearly divided the country and led to more than 500 ,000 military deaths . The century also marked the end of Empire as a political reality . The Mughal and Holy Roman Empires ended , the Spanish and Portuguese started self-destructing , and by the end of the century , even the mighty British Empire had just a few more decades to go . The 19th century also saw the emergence of nation states and the establishment of nationalism , an idea wherein citizens of a country identified with each other and their homeland because of shared history , culture , ethos , and pride

Nationalism is basically a collective state of mind or consciousness in which people believe their primary duty and loyalty is to the nation-state . Often nationalism implies national superiority and glorifies various national virtues . Thus , love of nation may be overemphasized concern with national self-interest to the exclusion of the rights of other nations may lead to international conflict

In Europe , the century began with the overwhelming shadow of Napoleon Bonaparte looming over European affairs and ended with the defeat of France , her humiliation at the hands of Germany and the creation of the German Empire . At the same time , momentous events were also happening in the British Isles . The United Kingdom , formed by the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1800 , was marching towards becoming the greatest maritime , political and economic power in the world The nineteenth century saw the ascendancy of the British Empire , very much the greatest empire of all time , with hegemony over one third of the world 's area and one fourth of its population . The United Kingdom of Great Britain (and , after 1801 , Ireland ) would become the most powerful among the composite states of Europe , and would command the greatest of all the European overseas empires ' The union of 1800 was one of the initial developments that helped to forge a common British identity and initiated the concept of nationalism in the UK . The period also witnessed the emergence of the United States and Germany as strong economic states and the establishment of the Prussian dominated German State as the leading European power . The European nations extended their domination over the rest of the...