Opposing Views Of Nationalism During The Haitian Revolution

Nationalism, it can bring people together, and split them apart. Nationalism is pride and devotion to one's nation, and has been prevalent throughout world history. Its roots in European history can be derived from the scientific revolution and the enlightenment, both emphasising truth, and challenging traditional authority. While historical moments of nationalism may have allowed groups of people to foster cultural preservation. It had negative effects on the world such as war and separation as shown in the Haitian revolution, Latin American revolutions and German unification.

The enduring issue of conflicting separation regarding Nationalism was present during the Haitian Revolution. After the French Revolution, its impact was felt globally.

In 1808, Spain was overtaken by Napoleon's conquests and King Ferdinand VII was replaced with Joseph, king of Spain. This was a huge problem, creoles couldn’t hold high office and felt squandered to the Spanish Peninsula. Because of the creoles' desire for education and loyalty to the former king, their views would not align with Spain. Rebellion broke out in 1810, using Nationalism to justify separation (Notes). Simon Bolivar was a leader during the Latin American revolutions. Bolivar had experience in formal military training and was educated on enlightenment philosophies of John-Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, etc. After studying Thomas Paine, he believed that each nation's laws should fit a nation's character. He would decide to break the chains of Spanish rule in his homeland. A republic would be established, and adopted from the U.S. Constitution. Not all creoles supported the republic due to their loyalty to the Spanish king. Spanish troops would invade to crush the republic, in which they were successful. The same year, Bolivar adopted the idea to have a strong unifying government, instead of a weak one. He recruited his army and led it back to Venezuela, and defeated the Spanish in one battle. On August 6, 1813, Bolivar entered Caracas in Venezuela and established a second Republic, and was granted supreme power. Napoleon was defeated and King

Germany’s unification had many causes, in 1814 it was the congress of Vienna. Leaders of many nations sought to regain the balance of power, which was directed by the prime minister of Austria, Klemens von Metternich, this also meant that Austria had a sway over the decisions of the congress. France would be punished and Monarchs restored to the throne (Fre Rev). The peace conference in 1815 reduced the number of German states to 38. This inadvertently helped German unity, the German confederation gathered criticism as it was proved ineffective. Meanwhile, Common Nationality and the desire for Unity was growing, only amplified by the efforts of the German middle class. Because liberal and conservative ideology would clash, a revolution occurred in 1848, a parliament called the Frankfurt assembly convened to find an acceptable way of governing. They were turned down by the Prussian king whom they wanted to lead, and were chased off and persecuted, the way was open for authoritarian rule, in which Prussia would be holding the reigns. In 1862, a man from a dominant landowning aristocracy was appointed chief minister, his name was Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck was supported by Wilhelm I, king of Prussia, who fully supported Bismarck's realpolitik, uniting Germany by “blood and iron” rather than democracy (Doc 3). Bismarck could do things that benefited the state with