There were no nation-states in Europe till the mid-eighteenth century. Germany, Italy and Switzerland were ruled by different rulers with their well-defined territories. Eastern and central part of Europe too had autocratic monarchies. People from different ethnic groups occupied these areas and spoke different languages. Sudetenland and Bohemia were dominated by German-speaking people. It also included the provinces of Lombardy and Venetia which had Italian-speaking people. In Hungary, the half of the population spoke Magyar and the other half of the population spoke different dialects. In the part of Galicia, the aristocratic class spoke Polish.
There was absence of collective identity or common culture among these groups. Apart from this, a large group of peasant people like-Romans to the east in Transylvania, Bohemians and Slovaks to the north, Slovenes in Carniola and the Croats to the south lived within the boundary. The only tie binding these different groups together was a common allegiance to the emperor.

The French revolutionaries took the following steps to create a sense of collective identity among the French people
(i) They introduced the ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen(the citizen), emphasising the concept of a united community enjoying equal rights under a Constitution.
(ii) They chose a new French flag, the tricolour, to replace the royal standard.
(iii) The Estates General was elected by the body of active citizens and renamed the National Assembly.
(iv) In the name of the nation, new hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated.
(v) They established a centralised administrative system, which formulated uniform laws for all citizens.
(vi) They adopted a uniform system of weights and measures.
(vii) All internal custom duties were abolished.
(viii) They promoted the French language, as spoken and written in Paris and discouraged regional dialects.
(ix) They declared that it was the mission and destiny of the French nation to liberate people of Europe from despotism. It is meant that they would help other people of Europe to become nation-states like them.

The conservative regimes set up in 1815 we autocratic. Following were the features of these regimes.
(a) They were intolerant to criticism.
(b) They sought to curb activities that questioned the legitimacy of autocratic government.
(c) Most of them imposed censorship laws to control the ideas of liberty and freedom associated with the French revolution.

(a) The concept and practices of a modern state with sovereign centralised power developed in Europe.
(b) Nation-state was supposed to be a state where majority of its citizens shared common identity and history.
(c) Nations began to be personified i.e. they were represented as a person with characteristics that identified their nations.
Mainly female figures were used to portray the nation.

During the middle of the nineteenth century, Italy was divided into seven states, of which only one, Sardinia-Piedmont, was ruled by an Italian princely house. The north was ruled by Austrian Habsburgs, the centre by the Pope and the southern regions by the Bourbon kings of Spain. Italian language had varieties of dialects; therefore, it was not stable in its form. During the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini had sought to put together a coherent programme for a unitary Italian Republic. He had also formed a secret society called 'Young Italy' for the dissemination of his goals. The failure of revolutionary uprisings both in 1831 and 1848 fell on Sardinia-Piedmont under its ruler King Victor Emmanuel II to unify the Italian states through war. A unified Italy offered them the possibility of economic development and political dominance. .Chief Minister Cavour who led the movement to unify the regions of Italy was neither a revolutionary nor a democrat. .With a tactful diplomatic alliance with France by Cavour, Sardinia- Piedmont succeeded in defeating the Austrian forces in 1859. In 1859, a large number of armed volunteers under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the fray. In 1860, Sardinia- Piedmont's forces marched into south Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Scillies and drove out the Spanish rulers. In 1861, Victor Emmanuel was declared as the king of united Italy and Rome was declared the capital of Italy.

Nationalist tension emerged in the Balkans because the Balkan states were aspiring for nationalism. The Balkans was a region comprising modern day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro and their inhabitants were called Slavs. In 19th century, the major portion of the Balkans was under the Ottoman Empire.
The ideas of romantic nationalism developed in the Balkans. The rebellions nationalities in the Balkans thought that their struggle was the attempt to win back their long-lost independence.

By the 1848 Revolution of the Liberals, we mean, the revolution led by the educated middle classes of Europe. Events of February 1848, in France, brought about the abdication of the monarchy and a republic based on universal male franchise was formed.
The political, social and economic ideas supported by the liberals in 19th century were
(i) Politically, it emphasised the concept of government by consent, abolition of autocracy and special privileges.
(ii) Socially, the liberals supported the abolition of discrimination based on birth.
(iii) Economically, it stood for the abolition of trade restrictions imposed by the state.

Napoleon introduced the following changes to make the administrative system more efficient in the territories ruled by him:-
(a) The Civil Code introduced by him in 1804 abolished all privileges based on birth, established equality before law and secured the right to property.
(b) He divided the administrative divisions.
(c) He abolished the feudal system and free peasants from serfdom and dues.
(d) He removed guild restrictions in the towns.
(e) He improved transport and communication systems.
(f) Peasants, artisans, workers and new businessmen were given freedom.
(g) he introduced uniform laws, standardised weight and measures.
(h) He introduced a common national currency.
(i) His code was applicable to regions under French control to create a feeling of oneness among all people of the French empire.

Napoleon introduced the following changes to make the administrative system more efficient in the territories ruled by him:-
(a) The Civil Code introduced by him in 1804 abolished all privileges based on birth, established equality before law and secured the right to property.
(b) He divided the administrative divisions.
(c) He abolished the feudal system and free peasants from serfdom and dues.
(d) He removed guild restrictions in the towns.
(e) He improved transport and communication systems.
(f) Peasants, artisans, workers and new businessmen were given freedom.
(g) he introduced uniform laws, standardised weight and measures.
(h) He introduced a common national currency.
(i) His code was applicable to regions under French control to create a feeling of oneness among all people of the French empire.

The German people did not exists as a united nation.  Men and women of middle classes combined their demands for constitution with national unification.  In 1848, the popular effort was failure to succeed in forming constitution (Frankfurt Parliament) in Germany due to the combined forces of the monarchy and the military, supported by the large landowners (Junkers) of Prussia.  Prussia took on the leadership of the movement for national unification with its chief minister as Otto Von Bismarck.  He reached his goal with the help of Prussian army and bureaucracy.
The process of unification was ended with three wars over 7 years with Austria Denmark and France.  In Jan 1871, an assembly consisting of the princes of German states, representatives of the army, important Prussian ministers including Otto von Bismarck gathered in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles to proclaim the new German head as Kaiser William I of Prussia.  The new state placed a strong prominence on modernizing the currency, banking, legal and judicial system in Germany.  Prussian measures and practices became a model for the rest of Germany.

Marianne and Germania were female allegories invented by artists in 19th century to represent the nation.
(a) Marianne-It is a popular Christian name to represent the allegory of France.  It symbolizes the the nation. She holds a torch in the right hand and a book in the left hand representing enlightenment and freedom respectively.  Her statue was erected in public squares to remind the people of the national symbol of unity and to persuade them to identify it.  her images were marked on coins and stamps.  The ideas such as liberty, Justice and the Republic were represented through specific objects or symbols.  The Liberty for red cap or the broken chain, Justice was generally a blindfold woman carrying a pair of weighing scales.
(b) Germania-It represent the allegory of Germany.  It symbolizes the nation.  She wears a crown of oak leaves symbolizing heroism and holding a sword in one hand and the flag in the other hand.

The French Revolution led to the transfer of sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French citizens. It proclaimed that it was the people who would henceforth constitute the nation and shape its destiny.

The concept of a nation-state was one in which people and rulers of land came together to develop a sense of common identity and shared history.