So this might be borderline ASB, but still a scenario worth discussing in my opinion.
During the Renaissance, there were numerous instances of major thinkers slowly, but visibly developing the idea of nation-states and a national identity - not much compared to the 19th century, but certainly greater than the Middle Ages before it. Nicolo Machiavelli in The Prince had several mentions and appeals to Italian patriotism, for instance, and quite a few revolts before and during that time, most notably the Hussites, had a nationalist tint to their reasoning and actions. The Reformation, what with it's support of liturgy in national languages, can also play a part.
And, at least from my perspective, it's not hard to develop something glorifying a national identity from humanism ("being an individual is a virtue, so the things that separate us from other living beings, like language, history and ethnicity, are also a virtue").
So what would have happened if the ideology of nationalism developed and spread across Europe during the Renaissance? How would a Renaissance Spring of Nations develop, then, and where would it be the most influential?
During the Renaissance, there were numerous instances of major thinkers slowly, but visibly developing the idea of nation-states and a national identity - not much compared to the 19th century, but certainly greater than the Middle Ages before it. Nicolo Machiavelli in The Prince had several mentions and appeals to Italian patriotism, for instance, and quite a few revolts before and during that time, most notably the Hussites, had a nationalist tint to their reasoning and actions. The Reformation, what with it's support of liturgy in national languages, can also play a part.
And, at least from my perspective, it's not hard to develop something glorifying a national identity from humanism ("being an individual is a virtue, so the things that separate us from other living beings, like language, history and ethnicity, are also a virtue").
So what would have happened if the ideology of nationalism developed and spread across Europe during the Renaissance? How would a Renaissance Spring of Nations develop, then, and where would it be the most influential?