Title
The 19th century was an age of discovery and progress for many parts of the world. Europe particularly went through many changes and reforms. During this time of change many questions were raised and people faced questions and opportunities of which they never would have dreamed. New problems arose everyday and individuals needed to band together and fight, politically or physically, for their group. When these groups succeeded in gaining control they had an even bigger challenge to face; establishing a lasting nation state, one government ruling an entire country from boundary to boundary. Diplomacy became more popular then ever before as politicians and policies changed were in a near-consistent state of flux (The Growth of Nationalism). It is clear why questions of nationalism and nationhood were common at this time. Even now it is hard to truly define nationalism because it has many definitions however the common theme is pride in and devotion for one’s nation, specifically above any other alliance (Nationalism, Margonis and …show more content…
Many of the alliances made during this time were fragile and tentative and it was the responsibility of the diplomats to forge and maintain these bonds. Often a country had several agreements and alliances with different countries at once so it took a lot of work to keep everyone happy (History of Europe). The making and breaking of these understandings and contracts caused more than a few wars and left many governments unsteady. Bismarck’s attempt to stabilize Europe is a good example of the challenges of the era. Bismarck called the Berlin Congress in an attempt to quell the tension pervading Europe. The result was relative peace except for Russia who, disturbed that their land had been taken away, refused to be pacified for the better part of a decade (History of
The 19th century was an age of discovery and progress for many parts of the world. Europe particularly went through many changes and reforms. During this time of change many questions were raised and people faced questions and opportunities of which they never would have dreamed. New problems arose everyday and individuals needed to band together and fight, politically or physically, for their group. When these groups succeeded in gaining control they had an even bigger challenge to face; establishing a lasting nation state, one government ruling an entire country from boundary to boundary. Diplomacy became more popular then ever before as politicians and policies changed were in a near-consistent state of flux (The Growth of Nationalism). It is clear why questions of nationalism and nationhood were common at this time. Even now it is hard to truly define nationalism because it has many definitions however the common theme is pride in and devotion for one’s nation, specifically above any other alliance (Nationalism, Margonis and …show more content…
Many of the alliances made during this time were fragile and tentative and it was the responsibility of the diplomats to forge and maintain these bonds. Often a country had several agreements and alliances with different countries at once so it took a lot of work to keep everyone happy (History of Europe). The making and breaking of these understandings and contracts caused more than a few wars and left many governments unsteady. Bismarck’s attempt to stabilize Europe is a good example of the challenges of the era. Bismarck called the Berlin Congress in an attempt to quell the tension pervading Europe. The result was relative peace except for Russia who, disturbed that their land had been taken away, refused to be pacified for the better part of a decade (History of