How did the idea of nationalism rise from the Napoleonic Wars?

Answer 1

Napoleon had different effects in Continental Europe and in the United Kingdom, both leading to nationalism by contrasting the local culture with that of Napoleon.

Continental Europe

After Napoleon had subdued most of Continental Europe, most of the various peoples of Europe were drafted into the French Army to defend the new French Empire. However, people began to realize that they had unique customs and traditions. While they had no concept of coherent local identity, they could tell that whatever they were, they were not French. This provided the groundswells that would lead to the Nationalist movements as each of these conquered groups began to articulate what their cultural views were, how they defined themselves, and their historical narratives.

In the following decades, nationalism played a vital role in uniting the nation-states of Germany and Italy which had previously resisted attempts at unification even though the peoples of various small principalities shared linguistic and cultural traits. Conversely, nationalism played a strong part in ripping up large multi-ethnic empires like Austria-Hungary, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire, with the latter being beset by Greek, Bulgarian, and Serbian independence movements that actually achieved success.

United Kingdom

Napoleon served as a unifying figure for the British in the sense that they could easily define themselves in opposition to him and his desire for conquest. Especially after Napoleon had subdued most of Continental Europe, Britain became defined as the sole resistor to Napoleon's attacks and British people rallied to this new definition of the lone democracy against an authoritarian empire.