One-Minute Lecture: Is a nation born from words?
Some nations are born of war, some of hope, and some of chance. Marek Tamm, Full Professor of Cultural History at Tallinn University—can a nation also be born from words?
On February 24, 1918, Estonia had no army of its own, no fixed borders, and no functioning government. There was only a single text—the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia—written a few days earlier by a group of Estonian intellectuals.
This manifesto was first read aloud publicly on February 23 in Pärnu. In Tallinn, printed copies were distributed throughout the city on February 24.
It was a message to the arriving German troops that they were not occupying a Russian province, but an independent state. Yet, it took another two years and a victory in the War of Independence before the new republic gained international recognition.
Thus, it can be said that the Republic of Estonia was born on paper—born, as it were, as a speech act. So, as we celebrate Independence Day, we should also reflect on the immense role that words and ideas play in history.