The rise of nationalism towards the end of the middle ages was caused by many factors including the loss of ecclesiastical power through the development of strong independent monarchies, the growth of trade, creation of literature in the vernacular, and perhaps most importantly, the development of the rule of law.
Nationalism had a large impact on the nations of nineteenth-century Europe and consequently the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the start of World War I. Events such as the 1878 Congress of Berlin, the Bosnian Crisis, and the Balkan Wars all were related to nationalistic tendencies, and Serbian nationalism also played a fundamental role in Ferdinand's assassination.
The first risings in the Italian peninsula were not because of Italian nationalism, which did not exist amongst the majority of the people, on the other hand, the Italians were protesting against local issues and overall changes in the peninsula. By 1848 the Italian peninsula was politically organised into a number of absolute dynastic and clerical states. The Vienna settlement, in 1815, created five main groups of states in Italy. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, The Papal States, The Central Duchies, The Austrian Empire in Lombardy and Venetia and The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia formed the group of five.
An explanation of the issues Canada faced during the time period 1878-1896 and the debates of that time over which path the country should take. These debates considered three major political/economic paths: nationalism, in which Canada would be transformed into a primarily self-reliant nation; continentalism, in which Canada would pursue closer relations with the United States; or imperalism, in which Canada would maintain a closer, more influential connection with the British Empire.
