Nationalism in Haiti
The French colony called Saint Domingue was the first Latin American territory to free itself from European rule. The colony, now known as Haiti, occupied the western third of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea. Nearly 500,000 enslaved Africans worked on French plantations, and they outnumbered their masters dramatically. White masters used brutal methods to terrorize them and keep them powerless.
While the French Revolution was taking place, oppressed people in the French colony of Haiti rose up against their French masters. In August 1791, 100,000 enslaved African rose in revolt. A leader soon emerged, Toussaint L’Ouverture. Formerly enslaved, Toussaint was unfamiliar with military and diplomatic maters. Even so, he rose to become a skilled general and diplomat. By 1801, Toussaint had taken control of the entire island and freed all the enslaved Africans.
In January 1802, 30,000 French troops landed in SaintDomingue to remove Toussaint from power. In May, Toussaint agreed to halt the revolution if the French would end slavery. Despite the agreement, the French soon accused him of planning another uprising. They seized him and sent him to prison in the French Alps (mountains), where he died in April of 1803.
However, the fight did not end with Toussaint’s death. The slaves kept fighting to free themselves from their French rulers. In 1804, the colony declared independence from France. It was the first black colony to free itself from European control; and it was renamed Haiti.
Unification of Italy
In 1850 there was no Italy. Look at the map and you will see many small countries, but no Italy. There were many reasons why Italy did not exist. The first, Austria did not want a powerful neighbor. Austria wanted to keep Lombardy and Venetia, even though most of the people were Italian. The second reason was the Pope ruled over the Papal States. If there was a unified Italy, he believed he would lose control of his country.
The structure of the Italian peninsula prior to 1861 was that of a fragmented group of small kingdoms and principalities that were each individual ruled and had their own government and laws. There was no unity between each of the city-states; however, all the people of these city-states shared a common language, culture and historical background. Because of their similarities, some Italian leaders called for all Italian people to be united into one country with one government and one law governing all Italians.
The most famous of Italian nationalistic leaders were Count Camilo Cavour, Guiseppe Garibaldi and Guiseppe Mazzini. Mazzini was instrumental in being the “Heart” of Italian nationalism. He also established the secret society known as Young Italy, an organization devoted to a united Italy. Garibaldi was considered to be the “sword” of Italian nationalism. His band of Red shirts conquered forces who were against unification and forced southern Italy into one united area. Cavour was the “brain” in his role as a skilled diplomat. Cavour successfully received aid from France in a war against the Austrians to win over some Italian city – states from Austrian control. In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II became the first king of a completely united Italian nation-state.
Primary Source:
The Program of Count Cavour, 1846
“The history of every age proves that no people can attain a high degree of intelligence and morality unless its feeling of nationality is strongly developed. . . .Therefore, if we so ardently desire the emancipation of Italy--if we declare that in the face of this great question all the petty questions that divide us must be silenced--it is not only that we may see our country glorious and powerful but that above all we may elevate her in intelligence and moral development up to the plane of the most civilized nations. . . . Nationalism has become general; it grows daily; and it has already grown strong enough to keep all parts of Italy united despite the differences that distinguish them.
Nationalism in Nazi Germany
Extreme nationalism can lead to dangerous consequences. In the 1920’s, the country of Germany was definitely feeling low; they had lost World War I and they were forced to pay money back to all the countries they lost to in that war. The people of Germany were looking for someone or some way to go back to their former glory and status. For many people, Adolf Hitler was that answer. As Hitler ran for government, he promised people of Germany that he would make them great again and fix their economy. He also claimed that the only reason Germany was poor and not great anymore was because of people living in Germany who really WEREN’T German (in his eyes). Hitler believed that REAL Germans had a common history, that their ancestors could all be traced back to the time of Otto von Bismarck (in the 1800’s), that all REAL Germans were Christians and all looked the same (blonde hair, blue eyes). According to Hitler, people who did NOT have these things in common were actually NOT German and were actually dangerous to German people. Hitler inspired a feeling of great Nationalism in many (white) German people, and they eventually voted him into power. Because they wanted to be better than any other group or country, many supported him (or turned a blind eye) as Hitler rounded up all those he saw as NON – GERMAN and put them in concentration and death camps.
Nazi propaganda was used to increase nationalism among “Good Germans” and hopefully win people over to Hitler’s side. Adolf Hitler put Josef Goebbels in charge of Nazi propaganda, which were methods of campaigning that the Nazi’s used in the 1920’s included radio, mass rallies, newspapers, Hitler’s speeches, and posters.
The Nazi’s used crude slogans to introduce these ideas and to make them appeal to the ordinary people of Germany. They attempted to make Germans feel that they were the best and anyone who wasn’t like them was dangerous and should be eliminated.
Arab / Israeli Conflict
The Palestinians
The Israelis