The nation-state developed fairly recently. Prior to the 1500s, in Europe, the
nation-state as we know it did not exist. Back then, most people did not consider
themselves part of a nation; they rarely left their village and knew little of the
larger world. If anything, people were more likely to identify themselves with their
region or local lord. At the same time, the rulers of states frequently had little
control over their countries. Instead, local feudal lords had a great deal of power,
and kings often had to depend on the goodwill of their subordinates to rule. Laws
and practices varied a great deal from one part of the country to another. The
timeline on page 65 explains some key events that led to the rise of the
nation-state.
In the early modern era, a number of monarchs began to consolidate power by
weakening the feudal nobles and allying themselves with the emerging commercial
classes. This difficult process sometimes required violence. The consolidation of
power also took a long time. Kings and queens worked to bring all the people of
their territories under unified rule. Not surprisingly, then, the birth of the
nation-state also saw the first rumblings of nationalism, as monarchs encouraged
their subjects to feel loyalty toward the newly established nations. The modern,
integrated nation-state became clearly established in most of Europe during the
nineteenth century.
Example: Russia is a great example of
consolidation of power by monarchs. Throughout most of the medieval era, what
became Russia was a minor principality centered on the city of Moscow. Over the
course of a few hundred years, the rulers of Moscow took over more land,
eventually expanding to cover much of what is now Russia. This expansion came
through a mix of diplomacy and war. When Ivan IV—also known as Ivan the
Terrible—came of age and assumed the throne in 1547, he was crowned the first
czar. He proceeded to devastate the nobility by means of a secret police and
gained the loyalty of commercial classes by giving them positions in a new state
bureaucracy. These actions led to the deaths of thousands.
THE RISE OF THE EUROPEAN NATION-STATE
|
Time Frame
|
Major Event
|
| Pre-1500s | Most people lived in small villages; they paid tithes to
feudal landlords, didn’t travel, and cared little for anything beyond
the village. |
| 1485 | Henry VII wins the War of the Roses in England, begins the
Tudor dynasty, and starts the development of the English
nation-state. |
| 1492 | Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella finish taking back
all of Spain from the Muslims; the era of Spain as a global power
begins. |
| 1547–1584
| Ivan the Terrible rules Russia; he unifies the government
and creates the first Russian nation-state. |
| 1638–1715 | Louis XIV of France creates an absolute monarchy; France
emerges as the dominant power in Europe. |
| 1648 | Peace of Westphalia cements the legal status of the
nation-state as sovereign. |
| 1789 | The French Revolution begins; it creates the modern French
nation-state and sparks nationalism around Europe. |
| 1871 | Unification of Italy and Germany is
complete. |
| 1919 | Treaty of Versailles ends World War I; it breaks up several
multinational empires and creates many new
nation-states. |
| 1945 | The United Nations forms. |
The Thirty Years’ War and the Peace of Westphalia
The Thirty Years’ War, fought throughout central Europe from 1618–1648
between Protestants and Catholics, laid the legal foundation for the
nation-state. The war involved many nations of Europe, including many small
German states, the Austrian Empire, Sweden, France, and Spain. Despite a brutal
war, the Catholics were unable to overturn Protestantism. The treaty that ended
the war, called the Peace of Westphalia, decreed that the sovereign ruler of a
state had power over all elements of both the nation and the state, including
religion. Thus, the modern idea of a sovereign state was born.
Centralization
Centralization, or the process by which law- and policymaking
become centrally located, helped spur the development of nation-states. Final
power rested with the central government, which made the laws and practices more
uniform across the country. A single centralized authority, rather than many
diverse local authorities, allowed nation-states to quickly develop their
economies. Merchants could trade throughout the nation without worrying about
local taxes and regulations. Also, the nation-state was much stronger militarily
than the feudal state. Rulers were able to create national armies, which were
not dependent on the nobility. The armies could receive consistent training so
that all units could work well together. In many cases, the newly emerging
nation-states dominated the older forms of political organization.
Example: In the eighteenth century,
nobles held most of the power in Poland. The monarch was very weak. As a
result, Poland could not defeat its powerful neighbors Austria, Prussia, and
Russia. These three centralized nation-states partitioned Poland on three
different occasions—1772, 1793, and 1795—eventually eliminating Poland until
1918, when a new Republic of Poland formed.
