The Unification of Italy & Germany

Italian & German Unification In the 19 th century, the people of Italy & Germany were more unified than in the past They were proud of their ancestors They shared a common language, customs, & culture

Nationalism Their sense of nationalism made them realize they must defend their home, if necessary Nationalism= feeling of strong loyalty to one’s country & culture – People risk their lives to support their nation In the 19 th century, the spirit of nationalism led to the unification of Italy & Germany  unite as a single nation

Nationalism in Italy 1804 Napoleon conquered northern Italy- joined the Italian kingdoms together – Made Italians feel like members of one group As nationalism grew, Italians dreamed about one independent Italy By 1815, Italy was once again divided into many kingdoms and states – most were ruled by either Austria or the pope Austria tried to crush ideas of unity- wanted Italy to remain weak & divided Pope also tried to crush unity- saw nationalism as a threat to his power

Risorgimento (Resurgence) The political and social movement that united different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century Sovereignty= a self-governing state (nation)

Nationalism in Italy Secret revolutionary societies formed Mid 1800s- 3 men became leaders of the movement towards a unified Italy The Soul The Brains The Sword

Giuseppe Mazzini- “The Soul” Italian nationalist- joined a group that was working to unify Italy Exiled because of his political activities (18 years)

Young Italy Mazzini organized a secret society known as “Young Italy” The society's goal was to free the Italian peninsula from Austrian rule Young Italy wanted to join the country together under one government

1848- revolutions broke out in other European countries and Mazzini returned to Italy to stir up revolution there The ruler of the kingdom or Sardinia favored the revolutionaries- he tried to help their cause by declaring war on Austria Austrian & French armies helped put down the Italian revolts- Sardinia was also defeated Mazzini went into exile again Austrians forced the Sardinian king from his throne  his son, Victor Emmanuel II, became king of Sardinia in 1849

Conte di Cavour- “The Brain” The new king of Sardinia supported Italian unity and named Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour, as prime minister of Sardinia (chief official of the government) – This act moved Italy closer to freedom Founded nationalist newspaper Cavour was a diplomat- a master of foreign affairs

Cavour He recognized Austria as an enemy of unification he arranged a defense agreement between Sardinia & France Austria declared war on Sardinia  French & Italian soldiers pushed the Austrians east to Venice and gained the regions of Lombardy Romagna, Modena, Parma, & Tuscany united with Sardinia & turned against Austria

Giuseppe Garibaldi- “The Sword” Garibaldi was a revolutionary most of his life and joined the secret society, Young Italy- a soldier in the battle for freedom Failed rebellions forced Garibaldi to flee Italy or face death- He returned in 1848 to fight under Mazzini- When the revolution failed, he went into exile again

Red Shirts Returned to Italy to fight for King Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia Garibaldi led an army of 1,000 volunteers to Sicily- called the “Red Shirts” The Sicilians joined Garibaldi’s army and later became free Led his army north to Naples while Cavour sent his army south

Kingdom of Italy By 1860, the two armies had freed most of Italy King Victor Emmanuel II became ruler of an almost completely united Italy (former king of Sardinia) Victor Emmanuel II

Conquering Venetia & Rome Only Rome and the northern kingdom of Venetia were still not free The pope ruled Rome & Austria ruled Venetia the Italians helped Prussia defeat Austria in war- in return for its support, Italy was given Venetia Garibaldi tried to take Rome twice, but failed- he was defeated by French troops who came to aid the pope France was at war with Prussia and pulled its troops out of Rome to help fight the Prussians The pope’s small army could not fight off the Italian troops  Rome became part of the united nation of Italy Rome became the capital of Italy

Nationalism in Germany Napoleon joined together the small kingdoms of Germany to make them easier to rule– the Confederation of the Rhine – People living within the Confederate began to have a sense of loyalty towards each other Napoleon was defeated and a new Confederation was formed  the Confederation joined 39 states together including Austria & Prussia – Since Austria was large, it considered itself the leader – Prussia had a well-organized government and military strength

German Unification Many Germans wanted to unify the German states under a central government Only Austria was against German unification – they thought they could remain more powerful with the German states divided Germany moved toward becoming one nation Prussia was the strongest German state – ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm, however, the person with the most power was Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck

Reich= (German) realm or empire The First Reich: The Holy Roman Empire (800/ ) The Second Reich: The German Empire ( ) The Third Reich: Nazi Germany ( )

Otto von Bismarck The King of Prussia, Wilhelm I, was having trouble with his law-making group, the legislature  he wanted to add to his army and they would not give him the money he needed King Wilhelm turned to a Prussian landowners & soldiers to help him  Otto von Bismarck Wilhelm appointed Bismarck prime minister Bismarck had a strong sense of loyalty to Prussia He did not believe in democracy or individual rights  he believed that duty to one’s nation was more important

Bismarck’s Policies Realpolitik (practical/realistic politics)= Bismarck used Realpolitik in his quest to achieve Prussian dominance in Germany – He manipulated political issues to provoke other countries and cause wars if necessary to attain his goals – a Machiavellian "end justifies the means" approach to strengthening and uniting Germany Iron and Blood = speech given by Bismarck before the Prussian parliament to encourage them to approve more military spending "The position of Prussia in Germany will not be determined by its liberalism but by its power... Prussia must concentrate its strength and hold it for the favorable moment, which has already come and gone several times. Since the treaties of Vienna, our frontiers have been ill- designed for a healthy body politic. Not through speeches and majority decisions will the great questions of the day be decided - that was the great mistake of 1848 and but by iron and blood.”

“Blood & Iron” Bismarck thought the goals of the individual and the state were the same He promised the Prussian king a firm hand over the legislature (lawmakers) and the people– “Iron Chancellor” Bismarck thought this could be done with a strong army The prime minister followed the policy of “iron and blood”— unification of Germany with military force Bismarck encouraged King Wilhelm to unite German states under one rule- Prussian rule

Blood and Iron Blood represented the sacrifices the German people would have to make in achieving the goal of unification A culture of militarism, or the glorification of the military, was created by the crafty Bismarck – This played out in a series of wars against the Austrians and the French Iron represented the need to industrialize Bismarck saw that in order to be a world power, Germany would have to catch up with much of the rest of Europe in the areas of technology and factory production

Second Reich Bismarck began a war with Denmark – After 7 months of fighting, Prussia seized 2 provinces from Denmark Prussia & Italy defeated Austria in the Seven Weeks’ War  this brought the German Confederation to an end Prussia formed the North German Confederation without Austria – Most of the German states joined – The Confederation's seat of power was in Prussia and its leader was Wilhelm I

Second Reich Bismarck would not be satisfied until all of the German states were under Wilhelm’s control  he decided the best way to join the states was to rally them against a common enemy Bismarck started a war with France  France lost and Prussia took the provinces of Alsace & Lorraine At the end of the war, all German states joined with Prussia  they formed a united German empire Jan. 18, the new German empire was officially declared and it was called the Second Reich (Second Empire) King Wilhelm I of Prussia was crowned emperor, or kaiser

New German Nation There were two main features of the new Germany: 1.Germany was not a democratic nation- loyalty to strong leaders Germans were ruled by a single person Bismarck became the head of government, the Chancellor, of Germany- he was responsible to only Kaiser Wilhelm I Neither the Kaiser or the chancellor had to answer to any legislature or elected representatives – two men had complete power in Germany 2.Germany had a strong tradition of militarism Militarism was Germany’s policy where they kept a powerful army and were always ready for war Bismarck’s “blood and iron” policy became the German way  German nationalism meant pride in a mighty military force German gave their soldiers respect and honor – it was an honor to fight for the empire Large businesses supported the army- some factories devoted to making war machines Germany was ready for war!