The Disposition of Small Nationalities at the Congress of Vienna (1815) and the Conference of Paris (1919): A Comparison

In order to convey a full appreciation of the significance of the treatment which small nations received at the hands of the Great Powers at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and at the Peace Conference of Paris in 1919, it is proposed briefly to trace the development of toe idea of nationality from its early stages to the time under consideration. Before beginning with this historical survey, however, it may not be amiss to consider what nationality is.The word "nation" is very old and has a Latin origin. Nationality, however, is a relatively recent term, appearing for the first time in the Dictionary of the Academic Francaise in 1835. A clear cut definition of nationality is by no means easy, largely because of the vagueness with which the word is popularly used. It is often confounded with or used as a synonym for nation, race, state, sovereignty, etc. As a matter of fact, a nationality may or may not be also a nation. An excellent, though involved, definition of nationality is given by Professor Barnes, who says that nationality is a "generic and comprehensive concept which refers to and describes that variable ensemble of physical and psychic elements which generate that cultural homogeneity and group self-consciousness and solidarity forming the foundations of a nation.".