National Identity (Civ6)/Civilopedia

With emergence of a “public sphere” and an integrated national economy in various 18th-Century European civilizations, people began to identify with their country at large rather than the smaller town or province in which they resided. National symbols, anthems, flags, myths, and traditions were elevated in the citizenry’s collective psyche as being somehow important. The convulsions of the American and French revolutions augmented this development with widespread appeals to patriotic nationalism. Prussian-born Johann Herder was the prophet of this new creed and originated the term “nationalism” to describe an inborn pride in one’s origins, language, and culture. Then came the many wars of nationalism, and a new level was added to the chauvinism.