undertaking of unifying Germany without a political party to support him, despite an unsympathetic parliament and with no direct control over any army. His—Bismark— only arsenals were the utter force of his personality and his crafty ability to influence Emperor Wilhelm I. Jonathan Steinberg’s biography takes a new look at this witty, slightly hysterical despot using the diaries and letters of his friends, colleagues and enemies and he paints a portrait of a man full of contradictions. He had grand political
A biography called “Otto Von Bismarck: Iron Chancellor of Germany” was written by Kimberley Heuston. She was born in 1960 in Utah, Provo. She got her Bachelor Degree in history and science, at Harvard University, and an MFA in children’s literature at Vermont Collage. Later she worked as an English and history teacher. Also, Kimberley Heuston was awarded by Association for Mormon letter and for young-adult literature. The book describes Otto Von Bismarck’s life in different age stages, which are
subject novel, published originally in 1988 under the title “Man of Straw” gives Heinrich Mann’s satirical connection of the nineteenth century European literal works. The writer of this novel derives the word subject from the word “Der Untertan” in German language. The novel highlights the difficulties encountered during nineteenth century Europe. As early as the 1950, Heinrich Mann’s novel plays a major role in the European’s history. The novel goes beyond the art bounds in its polemics and its structure
unrivalled diplomat during his reign. His German Reich constitution of April 1871 allowed him to dictate the government on his own terms. However, the parliament only “had the power to initiate debate upon any point of his (Bismarck’s) policy, but neither he nor any other minister was responsible to the assembly for his actions" (T. A. Morris, p116). Furthermore, the constitution was designed to give the impression that power was shared equally between the emperor and the chancellor, however Bismarck
The Holy Roman Empire between 1197-1218 Between 1197 and 1218 the Holy Roman Empire became a medieval soap opera. The main characters were Pope Innocent III, Fredrick II, Phillip of Swabbia, and Otto IV. King Phillip of France would also play a major role along with Constance, mother of Fredrick II. The background from this period of 21 years was riveting. In 1197 Henry VI, king of Sicily, and the Holy Roman Empire died leaving his two year old son Fredrick II as king of Sicily. However Phillip
The First Silesian War The First Silesian War inaugurated, and is generally seen in the context of, the wider ranging War of the Austrian Succession. It owed its origins to the Pragmatic Sanction of 19 April 1713 whereby the Habsburg emperor Charles VI decreed the imperial succession arrangements as set out in his will, according precedence to his own daughters over the daughters of his (by now deceased) elder brother Joseph I. This proved prescient: in May 1717 the emperor’s own eldest daughter
The Habsburgs originated from a long line of German kings. The Habsburgs family married their way into power using inbreeding, which also to retain all their inherits inside the family. “And one the tactics used by the Hapsburgs was the promote dynastic marriages between Hapsburg cousins, thus keeping
the German Reformation Martin Luther was born in Saxony. His father was a well off copper miner. Martin Luther was well educated and very intelligent. He was a highly nervous child as his parents were very strict. He was beaten a lot at home and in school. Once when Luther was out he got caught in a thunderstorm and was terrified. He was so terrified that he made a promise to St. Anne that if he survived he would become a monk. He did. He became a professor of theology in Frederick the
The Thirty Years' War was a series of wars fought in the Holy Roman empire, involving most of the countries within, the war lasted 30 years. This war massively affected europe and created a cultural divide between catholics and protestants. Philip III of Spain attempted to continue the foreign policy views of his father, Philip II, which basically meant that Spain had to be kept ready for war. Thus in 1618, when Ferdinand II, heir apparent to the throne of Bohemia, began to slash certain religious
when Byzantine Emperor, Alexius Comnenus summoned military help from Pope Urban II. The Pope turned Alexius Comnenus plea for help into a crusade. “Without question, Urban called the First Crusade to help further the policies of the Gregorian papacy” (455). There were four reasons why the Pope wanted to start the crusades, instead of lending only aide. First, “was to bring the Greek Orthodox Church back into the fold” (455). Second, the Pope wanted to embarrass the German Emperor, which ...
igniting a fervor for the Crusade. Following his success at Vézelay, Bernard embarked on a preaching tour across Burgundy, Lorraine, Flanders, and Germany. At each stop, he attracted large crowds and continued to inspire fervor for the Crusade. Even Emperor Conrad, who had initially refused to participate, relented after a stern Christmas rebuke from Bernard and
Otto Von Bismarck had many intentions with improving Prussia as a state. One of the main goals was to unify the north German states under the Prussian control as well as to weaken it’s rivals such as Austria, by removing it from the Bund. Other goals were to make Berlin the center of German affairs and reform from the Liberals in the Prussian Parliament (the Reichstag). By the 18th century Prussia was one of the most ruling powers in Europe along with other nations like Britain, Italy and Russia
Ferdinand the Second was one of the most successful monarchs in establishing an absolutist rule in both political and religious areas. During his lifetime he held many titles and was a member of the House of Hapsburg. He was a strict Roman Catholic and did not have any tolerance for Protestants. Shortly after he was named ruler of Bohemia he rapidly pursued catholic reform with much success. He resolved many conflicts in Bohemia and throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Many historians believe Ferdinand
alliances that are still relevant today. However, the latter part of the 19th century was dominated by one powerful force: nationalism. This force was especially present in Germany, and when the German people demanded to be unified under one flag, Otto von Bismarck answered the call. By single-handedly unifying the German states, Otto von Bismarck secured his place as one of the greatest contemporary European statesmen. Otto von Bismarck was born in Prussia in 1815, to a Junker father, and a middle-class
What is “The German Question”? What is “The German Question”? This is a question that has been posed by many analysts over the years, each having their own views on what fulfills this question. However, each agrees that it is a question of high complexity. According to Constantin Frantz, “The German Question is the most obscure, most involved and most comprehensive problem in the whole of modern history”. What makes Germanys’ question so difficult to pinpoint is the fact that for all of its
Europe. Through the belief of nationalism the loose states of the German confederation came to become a nation. Germany unification in 1871 was not a merging of culturally similar lands but of a divided political landscape. A trend for unification started more than 40 years prior by revolutionaries in various German speaking territories. In 1815 after the Congress of Vienna was convened, 39 German states were dissolved to create the German Confederation. This confederation was widely dominated by the
When he died in 1085, Pope Urban II continued on the late Pope Gregory VII’s message of attempting to retake the holy lands. In March of 1095, an ambassador came from the Byzantine Emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, informing the Pope of the Seljuk Turks who had recently invaded Anatolia, which was once a part of the Byzantine Empire. Later that year on November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II gave a speech to the people. There is no manuscript
Martin Luther was a Christian theologian and an Augustinian monk. He was born on November 10, 1483 to Hans and Margaretha Luder in Eisleben, Germany. The day after his birth he was baptised on the day of the St. Martin of Tours. Martin’s father wanted more for his youngest son so he did everything he could to get his son involved in the civil service and bring honor to their family. His father sent him to various schools in Mansfeld, Magdeburg, and Eisenach. In 1501, at the age of seventeen, Martin
Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, was a member of the House of Drăculești, a branch of the House of Basarab, also known, using his patronymic, as Drăculea or Dracula. He was posthumously dubbed Vlad the Impaler, and was a three-time Voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462, the period of the incipient Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. His father, Vlad II Dracul, was a member of the Order of the Dragon, which was founded to protect Christianity in Eastern Europe. Vlad III is revered as
Bismarck, a brilliant, creative diplomat, served as Foreign Minister of Prussia from 1862 to 1890. He would later serve as the first chancellor of the German nation that he helped to create. The German states were swelling with nationalism during the mid-nineteenth century, best exemplified by the Revolution of 1848 (Otto von Bismarck). Perhaps the German states would have eventually unified on their own, but Otto von Bismarck certainly smoothed and hastened the process. His insightful unification tactics