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Unification of Italy and Germany
Contributions of italian unification in Europe
Contributions of italian unification in Europe
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In 19th century Italian states united to make Italy while the Germanic states united and made Germany. For Italy there were three people who had a major role in unifying Italy. They were Mazzini, Garibaldi and Cavour. For Germany it was more like one person who united the German states to make Germany and that was Bismarck. On the other hand there was a strong Austrian empire that would not tolerate any nationalist feelings to rise anywhere in Europe.
Austria was one of the strongest empires in Europe in early 19th century and most of the small European states had rulers from Hapsburg dynasty so Austria had a lot of influence. Letting Nationalistic feelings to rise anywhere in Europe meant that soon those feelings would rise up in Austria
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as well. Nationalism is something that a monarch can’t afford since it will limit the power of the monarch to an extreme end. Austrian monarch, Metternich, was keeping sure that the nationalist movements were crushed before they could make any impact. The Italian states were divided into two groups, North and South.
The North Italian states were better economically and politically than the Southern Italian states. This led to a less feeling of nationalism since the North and South were different and was one of the reasons why the early attempts in 1821, 1830 and 1848 for unification failed. A group called Carbonari was working towards unification of the Italian states. Carbonari meant the Charcoal Burners and it was a secret society. In early 19th century a Carbonari named Mazzini brought up the notion of “Young Italy”. He emphasized on the one Italian state. He soon becomes the famous Italian soldier. In 1833, Garibaldi meets Mazzini for the first time and enrolls for the Young Italy Movement. “Young Italy” movement was where Garibaldi rose up. Slowly the sense of an Italian state was coming up but still the states were lacking a leader who would lead the way to the …show more content…
unification. This is where Camillo di Cavour comes in. He was born in 1810 and was from an aristocratic family. He joined the army but left the army after 5 years. Cavour was a liberalist and hated absolutism. He was the true follower of the Realpolitik. Cavour was a man with a calm head, who after the fail attempt of unifying Italy in 1848, emerged as a prominent figure. He was an excellent politician and a diplomat. Cavour knew the problems that had to be addressed before he could attempt to unite the states and make a united Italian nation. Cavour realized that the reasons for previous failure in previous attempts for unification were mostly due to the foreign interventions from the Austrian empire and also because there was no unity in the attempts to unify the state. He wanted to create a strong Sardinian state that could lead the other states to the unification. His policies led to the improvement in the transport system of Sardinia and newer industries being set up. This allowed an easier movement of supplies, troops and other things leading to a less transport time and increasing the mobility. He could now start working on planning on unifying Italy. Cavour started a newspaper called Risorgimento, which in a very short time became the place where the revolutionary ideas emerged from and where the ideas were spread. On the other hand the growing nationalism in Italian states was frustrating Metternich. During that period, Lombardy was under Austrian rule and Cavour wanted Lombardy to be part of Italy and encouraged the people in Lombardy to rebel against the Austrians. Since Sardinia was not as strong as Austria, Cavour wanted strong allies on his side and for allies he took advantage of Crimean war. By helping out British and French in the Crimean war, he was able to make them his allies. Alliance with Louis Napoleon III was the major part of Cavour’s arrangement to tackle the Austrian intervention. When Austria declared war on Sardinia in 1858, France quickly came to the aid for Sardinia. The Austrians lost the war and ended up losing Lombardy to Sardinia. This was definitely the event that made clear that Italy was going to be made. Since Austria lost the war and lost the territory to Italy, Austria was no longer a threat to Italy and soon Tuscany, Parma, Modena and all of the different states started to rebel against their rulers and wanted to join Sardinia to make an Italian state. France was given Nice and Savoy for there help in defeating Austria. Garibaldi was from Nice and he was infuriated when Cavour gave Nice and Savoy to France. Garibaldi helped Cavour in getting Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Italy was unified and Victor Emmanuel II was to be the constitutional monarch. Cavour expanded the influence of the most powerful state by exploiting the one united Italy notion and made a Sardinian empire under his King. Germany was created in 1871 after a hard struggle. Austria and Prussia were the two great Germanic powers. Though Austria was always considered superior to Prussia. In 1815, a German Confederation was created which included 39 states with Austria being the one who chaired the confederation. Germanic states had a strong sense of nationalism except in Austria. Austria had always been the one to discourage and crush any revolutionary and nationalistic ideas popping up anywhere in Europe. Austria was a strong monarchic state and if a German state were to be created with Austria included, Prussia would have reservations since none of the two great powers could see the other one being the dominant power in a united Germany. The sense of nationalism in Germanic states was very high since they shared the same language, culture and race. They were proud of being German. The growth of nationalism in Germanic states was worrying for Metternich.
He brought in the Carlsbad Decree, banning the teaching of nationalism and liberalism. Lecturers were expelled for teaching nationalism and students were not allowed to talk about liberal and nationalist ideas. On the other hand, the second most powerful Germanic state, Prussia was open to the idea of liberalism and nationalism. Prussia welcomed the idea of one German nation. Other states grew closer to Prussia and an economic union called Zollverein was created that did included Austria in it. This economic union allowed Prussia to improve its economic situation and its military. An attempt to unify Germany was made in 1848, which ended up in a partial failure. The 1848 attempt made it clear that the German’s wanted Germany without Austria. The attempt was partially a failure because Prussian king did not take the title of German Emperor since the commoners were giving it and it made the Prussian King feel
insulted. In 1861, Otto Von Bismarck came into power in Prussia. The king liked him because of his anti-liberalist views and monarchist support. Bismarck’s compared himself to a constitutional monarch when he said that he would carry out his objectives through power and force, by means of “Blood and Iron” (Jonathon Sperber: By 1862, Bismarck was appointed as the Minister-President of Prussia. The King brought Bismarck into power so that he could get through with the issue of increasing the budget of military. He did exactly what he was expected to, he declared emergency and got the temporary powers to make the amendments he wanted to make. This angered the liberals since Bismarck was taking the autocratic way rather than a democratic one but in reality Bismarck was just doing the Realpolitik. Bismarck realized the threat that was coming from Austria. In 1863, the Danish King tried to make Holstein and Schleswig part of Denmark. Holstein and Schleswig had a majority of German population. Bismarck tried to fully manipulate the Schleswig Holstein war for Prussia’s advantage (Was Bismarck the Key Factor in the Unification of Germany? n.d.). He went to war against Denmark but also made Austria go to on war against them. Prussia was given Schleswig and Austria got Holstein. The real diplomatic skills of Bismarck start when he decides to take on the Austrians directly. He makes sure that France does not come for Austria’s aid by promising them some states from South Germany. The support from Italy was won by Bismarck through promising to give them Venetia.
The Weimer Republic, is the democratic government established in Germany in 1918 that ruled for fifteen years after the collapse of the German empire after the First World War.The republic consisted of moderates from the Social Democratic Party as well as their liberal allies, which included the German Democratic Party, and the Catholic Center Party. The Weimer Republic sought political democracy, which they believed was attainable by the elimination of war, revolutionary terror, and capitalism. Despite their clear goal, the Weimer Republic faced backlash by the radicals of society, which included communists, National Socialists, and the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler. THESIS: The Weimer Republic’s instability in the period of 1918-1933 is
In document 3, it states “Nationalism has become general; it grows daily; and it has already grown strong enough to keep all the part of Italy united despite the differences that distinguish them.” This is saying that even though in the different regions of Italy have differences they still come together as one. Nationalism is important to countries because it is the people taking pride for their country. An Italian nationalist led the rebellions then the state piedmont declared war against Austraila. Camillo di Cavour was one of the most important leaders of the Italian unification movement, he helped Italy become one nation. In document 4 it is saying that Germany was united by a common language and a common way of thinking. Germany’s revolution was inspired by the French revolution when they were trying to change their
Destructive nationalism, or devoted loyalty that can lead people of a similar heritage to form their own nation, caused tension to rise tremendously within and among several lands. Nationalism in Germany was especially prominent. With powerful military forces and an industrial outlook, Germany was thriving. A sense of national unity was dispersed throughout the empire and gave Germany the assurance it needed to expand. Due to German development, several wars broke out with neighboring regions such as France. By gaining the territory of Alsace-Lorraine, German and French border tensions reached new heights. Due to this conflict along with several others, Germany claimed responsibility for the Great War, as exhibited in Document 4. By forcefully signing the Treaty of Versailles, Germany accepted defeat and accountability for World War I. On the contrary, in Document 5, a German nationalist opposed the idea that Germany alone was liable for outbreak of the war. He felt that several forces of opposing countries took part in fighting each battle and ultimately believed that global opposition caused the Great War. Similarly, in the Balkan Region, several ethnic minorities desired independence from Austria-Hungary. As shown in Document 3, The Austro-Hungarian government demanded that action was to be made regarding propaganda against Austria-Hungary. This ultimatum was a result of the assassination of
Rulers of areas in Europe (including Germany) attended the ‘Wiener Kongress’ from October 1814 to June 1815 in order to adjust Europe post Napoleon. (Only the states of Germany that survived Napoleon attended Vienna.) The main aim of this conference was to reward the states and countries which were most successful in defeating Napoleon, not to consider democratic ideas. The areas rewarded were Russia, Prussia, Austria and Great Britain. These countries/states were rewarded by gaining land/territories. As well as gaining territories some areas also lost and e.g. although it expanded Prussia lost areas of Poland to Russia however the outcome of this loss was that Prussia became ‘a more coherently German state.’ (Mark Allinson 2002) Once the conference was over Germany was made up of 39 states, markedly fewer than before. Each state kept their own independence in the form of currency, laws and Armies.
At the end of World War One, the Central Powers (which included Italy, Germany, and Austria-Hungary) were forced to submit to the Treaty of Versailles, which left the Central Powers with citizens who had a mounting disdain for government and organized power. In this chaos, Italy struggled to find a definitive government. As a result, from the end of WWI in 1919 to 1922 Italy, struggling in the ruins of WWI, found itself under the rule of five different governments. Following the infamous ‘March on Rome’, Benito Mussolini was chosen to be Italy’s head of government; however, Mussolini’s nascent fascist party (which was officially founded in 1919) toiled to rally around a set ideology. Though Mussolini had founded the Fascist party in 1919, the party had no set platform or ideology to organize itself around. James Whisker, a professor of Political Science at West Virginia University states, “Italian fascism had at least four principal phases.” Through these phases Italian fascism would come to fruition. The first...
The war was the result of a succession dispute over the Spanish crown. What was seemingly a Prussian-Spanish alliance made the French feel encircled. Bismarck was able to entice Napoleon III into quick, aggressive action through the manipulation of Ems Telegram. This prompt action from Napoleon III led to growing anti-French and pro-German sentiment and led to the southern German states aiding the Prussian cause. William Carr has argued that South Germany’s involvement in Prussia’s cause meant that they had to come to terms with the new political situation. Although numerous southern states were reluctant to join the German Confederation, Bismarck therefore had to make numerous concessions. None the less the German Empire was born on the 18th January 1871. Harry Hearder argues that the North German Confederation already signified a unified German State. The declaration of the German Empire in 1871 re-emphasized the creation of a unified Germany and included the southern states. This would suggest that the Seven Weeks War with Austria had more significance in the eventual unification of
But Bismarck never actually attached himself to the National Liberal aims, and instead he ‘mainly sought to safeguard the position of the federal states, above all Prussia, and ensure their rights were protected’, so therefore it can be seen that he had planned unification from the outset, thus Bismarck playing a very important role in the unification of Germany. Furthermore his ‘domestic policies were driven by his determination to consolidate the new national state’, once again showing his large impact on the unification of Germany. However it is undeniable that the national liberal movement did play a large and important role in the unification of Germany and the most obvious and clear example of this is that ‘the National Liberals were the most powerful political party in Germany by the end of the unification process’ showing their political power. However, without Bismarck it could be argued that they would not have been able to get their views across but also Bismarck sought unification through war to secure the Germany he supposedly wanted. This is seen as Bismarck knew that ‘an agreement with Austria to divide Germany was always unlikely and that ultimately force would have to decide the issue’, this clearly linking into the Wars of Unification that followed which in the end secured the unification of Germany
In 1830 and 1848, Revolution was present all across Europe. What motivated these revolutions were two key ideologies, Liberalism and Nationalism. The German revolutionaries, in particular, were motivated by Nationalism. In document B it says, “where is the German’s fatherland? Is his the pieced and parceled land”, this refers to the divided German states that were given to other powerful empires such as Austria. The French revolutionaries were motivated by Liberalism. In document A it says, “we shall attempt to publish our papers without authorization which is imposed on us”, this document describes the peaceful protest of the French people after King Charles X suspended the freedom of press. French people exemplified Liberalism by fighting
For Germany, they thought that a unified state would help secure personal liberties of its citizens and could keep them protected. The middle and working class were at this time united under a common goal of removing the conservative elite, but each class had very different reasons for wanting to achieve that goal. When the moment came in the revolutions of 1848 where Germany failed to become unified, the cause was the slow moving middle class and division within the working class that can explain why Germany went back to a conservative monarchy.
Each and every individual country has its own ideologies, economies, and ways of governing. In the early 1900’s Italy had developed its own ideology that had a huge impact on the lives of the Italian people. This ideology was known as Fascism. Fascism was not only a way of governing, but it was also known as a social organization. Fascism became what it was in response to the movement of social theories. There is much more behind the idea of fascism such as where it came from, who the creator of Fascism was, and why it was popular among many civilians.
Prussia was well prepared for war, with three Prussian armies sweeping Bohemia, and the battle of Sadowa, Austria suffered defeat. Nationalism was viewed in so many different ways by so many different leaders and society. Many conflicts and wars had a long term impact on Nationalism, but some conflicts had a small impact on Nationalism. The Frankfurt Constitution was written and published and is a document of German History today. The article “On the Duties of Man”, by Giuseppe Mazzini and how the map of Europe was redrawn, which had a huge impact on Nationalism.
The Congress of Vienna in 1814-15 created the so-called German Confederation under Austrian and Prussian hegemony, but this unit disappointed the dreams of nationalists. The rivalry of Austria and Prussia paralyzed it in a way comparable to the effects of Soviet-American dualism on the United Nations during the Cold War. Almost everywhere, the old rulers repressed the nationalist movement after 1815. The German princes realized that nationalism required reform.... ...
In the early 1800’s there wasn’t a real Germany, there were several small states that were all speaking German. Then, in 1862 King William 1 makes Otto von Bismarck the prime minister of Prussia, the biggest German state at the time. Otto von Bismarck had the second highest political position and thus a lot of power. Prussia was the online state that was comparable to Austria in wealth and size at that time. Austria did not like the idea of German unification because they saw it was a threat to them. At that time Prussia was the most industrialized state, producing more resources like coal and iron than Austria. Bismarck’s idea is that the power of a country comes from “blood and iron”, or warfare and industrialization. Thus, Bismarck’s first move is to strengthen the Prussian army for use when his plan to unification leads to war. However, the Prussian parliament didn’t want to pay for this. Bismarck neglected this and collected money through taxation. Bismarck wants to unite the German states under Prussian rule, however there are 2 main obstacles; France and Austria. France and Austria did not want to see a united Germany because a united Germany would have much more power and was seen as a threat to their own countries/empires.
Previously to 1815 in central Europe, Germany consisted of 39 independent states, belonging to the Holy Roman Empire, which shared the same culture and language. In 1806 there was a shift in power as Napoleon I destroyed the Holy Roman Empire and 17 states were placed under direct French control in the Confederation of the Rhine. However, Prussia was determined to regain its position as the leading German state and in an alliance with Russia and Austria, Napoleon was defeated in 1814. In 1815, after Napoleon’s defeat, the Austrian Empire replaced the French control that was previously in place leading to the formation of the German Confederation. In 1862, Otto von Bismarck was appointed Minister President of Prussia to strengthen Prussia’s position above Austria and to further strengthen their position within Europe. During Bismarck’s politically active years, 1862-1890, he devised a plan to unify the German states and it is argued that the wars in Germany within the years 1860 and 1871 were the main cause of German unification. Nevertheless, it can also be argued that Otto von Bismarck’s personality, diplomacy and aims, the economy, the revolutions of 1848, the role of others and the emergence of Liberalism also played a role in the unifying the German states.
One of the key factors which led to the Unification was nationalism. Nationalism is the idea that certain things such as race, culture, religion, language or territory set them apart from those around them, and they could identify their interests with a group of people not just a local monarch. This idea created the belief that one’s loyalty was first to the ‘nation’ not the monarch. On 23 February 1848, there was a demonstration in Paris that resulted in the abdication of King Louis Philippe. Then on 13 March students in Vienna staged a rebellion which later that day forced Prince Metternich to resign as Austrian Foreign Minister. Prussian King, Frederick William IV, stood against reform and used troops to break up demonstrations. But on hearing of Metternich’s resignation he lost his nerve and called together a Diet, granting a constitution. When a crowd gathered at the Palace in Berlin the royal guard opened fire. The resulting revolution ended by November of that year as the people began to fear the consequences of prolonging it. The failure of this revolution, and the failure to achieve national unity, broke the link between liberalism and nationalism. In the end it was the nationalistic ideals of the German aristocracy, not the general populace that brought about the Unification of the German States in 1871.