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The nations that are available today are the result of human interventions. Over the centuries, people have tried to spread nationhood among the citizens of particular geographic regions. Nationalism comprises of shared ideas, common principles and a common purpose (Kagan et al. 630). A nation consists of people coming together because of similar language and geographical locations.
These people must have a common goal. This term, Nationalism, was a helpful and useful tool manifested by the developers of the idea to assign people certain ideals. It helped bring people from different walks of life to form a single unit defined by common goals. It also contributed to the identification the people dwelling in Europe but having distinct characteristics. It paved way for the birth of British, French, and even the German citizens. During this period, people had different ideas and different strategies on how to make nations grow. It was those differences that enabled them form strong and manageable institutions. It brought together many ethnic units in the communities to create one unified nation.
Nationalism also enhanced the use of a common official language within a country. It meant that the small ethnic communities could use these words to address nationalistic issues. It also helped develop learning institutions that all people could attend without segregation. As a result, people became more patriotic to their nations. They fought to defend their principles and boundaries against any intrusion by foreigners (Kagan et al. 631). The nationalists began challenging the political establishments that violated the principle of nationhood. Leaders such as the British monarchy had denied Irish citizens the right to representation. It, therefore, allowed them a sense of nationhood.
This spirit of nationalism was in the unification of Germany and Italy. It was successful because of the peoples agitation for the promotion of nationhood. Their language also made them belong to a particular group. It did not matter where the Germans were born or how the Italians came into being. Their language was their bond. Anyone who came from West Germany or Irish Germany was just a German citizen. Another factor that contributed to the unification was their geographic boundaries. Despite their locations on the face of the earth, they had a particular region they could trace to as their place of origin. The availability of the nationalists also helped push the idea of uniting the Italian speaking people on the Italian peninsula (Kagan et al. 625).
The same happened to their German counterparts. Religion was also an important aspect of the unification process. The Italians considered themselves Roman Catholic Christians. They practiced the Roman ideologies of Christianity. However, the majority of the Germans did not belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Politics seemed to also play a significant role in the establishment of these states. The Italian government structure and the acceptance of the administration by the people enabled the rulers to have the mandate to govern them. Besides, the presence of historians helped characterize the Germans with the unique features in their past. They helped the people define their ideologies and forge forward as a nation. The Italian motivation came from these historians. They could form a unified group that existed years back (Kagan et al. 626).
The suffering of some German-speaking individuals in the hands of other rulers helped cement the German citizenship bond. The presence of intellectuals who could provide leadership helped the people form nationhood around such individuals. Nationhood grew because of many unifying factors. German and Italys unification became the examples of real nationhood. They include the common language spoken, willingness in their leadership and the presence of historians.
Works Cited
Kagan, Donald, Steven, Ozment, Turner Frank, and Frank Alison. The Western
Heritage: Volume 2. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Person Education, 2012. Print.
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