When and why did nationalism become powerful force in world history

Nationalism started rising in the 19th century. It was based around the idea that people of shared history and shared language are a nation and should have sovereignty over themselves. This was because most of Europe, for example, was divided between vast empires. The Ottomans controlled all of the Balkans and the various ethnic groups gathered around their ethnicity in their struggle for independence. Same happened in Russia which was a vast empire, and in Austria.