Building of Roads

• Building roads was the duty of the lord; as such, roads were first built within the manor. However, as the strength and duties of kings increased, the need for transportation between manors increased as well. As roads were built between manors, the serfs began to interact more, identifying similarities among themselves regardless of manor allegiance, as well as comparing their lives with those of their manorial neighbors. This communication resulted in unified expectations, both of lords and serfs, regarding conditions, and created a society beyond the manorial community.
  
  

Rise of Freemen and Merchants

• As manors grew, out of the manors came workers with specific skills. These workers began to employ their skills as their mode of earning rather than attempting to live off subsistence farming. They would travel between manors plying their trade in exchange for money, food or other goods. This resulted in the freemen being named, as they no longer depended on the manor or lord to provide community structure for them, being "free" to travel between manors. Merchants also arrived at the same time, specifically following the Crusades. These businessmen would travel between manors selling imported goods such as sugar and silk from the East. Like the freemen, merchants were not beholden to any lord or manor, and as such could travel freely between manors. Merchants and freemen, however, could not live in manors. They created the first towns, building settlements on the borders of manors and along major trade routes.
  
  

Cultural Nationalism

• Cultural nationalism began as serfs realized that they had much in common with those in other manors. Anthony Esler points out that as political theory grew, philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and Johann Herder drew on these commonalities to create the idea of culture. Culture would become the unifying element in the place of the manor, creating a larger community or nation. Using culture as the unifying element also made it easier to notice differences and draw borders based on language or physical differences. These ideas often led to national chauvinism or racism.
  
  

Political Nationalism

• While much of Europe went through the process of cultural nationalism, political nationalism was a key event in many of the countries begun through revolution. Both the French and American Revolution led to a process of political nationalism, in the belief that a common culture should have their own political system. Political nationalism was much more reactionary, usually being seen in the revolt against an outside ruler. The French revolted against a king that, though French, was completely oblivious of the French culture; in the same way, the American Revolution began as the British showed their misunderstanding of the growing American culture. Ironically, many European countries such as Spain, Germany, and Russia took on political nationalism as a result of Napoleon's occupation.