Nationalism: The Rise of Prussia and the Development of the Triple Alliance

Prussia 1815

Pan-Germanism as an ideology During the early nineteenth century, Prussia was beginning to match the power and influence of the Austrian Empire. Prussia was comparable in terms of size, population and wealth. Although Prussians were a minority, there was a significant percentage of German-speakers in the empire. In fact, 20% of the population were German. If Prussia broke away to create a unified German state, Austria would be smaller and weaker. For this reason Austria challenged/suppressed Pan-Germanic sentiments.

The Shift of Power Austrian empire was the second largest geographically and second most populous in Europe only second to Russia. Austria had refused to help Russia in its war against France and Britain (the Crimean War, ) and lost a major ally as a result. Austria was defeated in a war against the French and northern Italian states. As a result, it had been forced to surrender some territories. Prussia had become the most industrialized state in Germany. Prussia was producing more key resources such as coal and iron than Austria and it had surged ahead building road and rail networks to help promote trade. Prussia had successfully set up an economic alliance with other German states that made trade between states easier and more profitable.

The Seeds of War Prussia got its excuse for a war against Austria during a territorial dispute over two small German states, Schleswig and Holstein. In 1863, the King of Denmark declared Schleswig and Holstein to be a part of Denmark. In 1864, Prussia and Austria teamed up and declared war on Denmark. They won easily. Prussia engineered a treaty with Austria which they knew would not work. Prussia was to control Schleswig and Austria would control Holstein. This treaty was designed to provoke, since Austrians would have to go through a hostile Prussia to reach Holstein. The Austrians used their influence in the Bund to pressure Prussia to address the Schleswig-Hostein issue. The Bund backed Austria in the dispute over Schleswig-Holstein.

Prussia 1815

The 7 Weeks War Prussia said that the Bund was invalid and declared war on Austria. The Austrians were quickly defeated by the Prussian army in the Austro-Prussian War in 7 weeks with the help of Italy. Prussia kept all captured territory Austria promised to stay out of German affairs Austria paid compensation to Prussia but did not lose land to it. Prussia did not want to weaken Austria too much since it might be a useful ally in the future.

Prussian Boundaries Before and After

Turning Attention Toward France With Austria weakened, Bismarck now turned his attention to the other great stumbling block to unification - the French. France was fearful of Prussia's growing power. Prussia tried to weaken France as much as possible before war started by: Using diplomacy to make sure Russia a French ally stayed out of the up-coming war. Making sure Italy stayed neutral and wouldn't fight for France. Gambling that the British would stay out of the war since it didn't want France to become any more powerful than it already was.

The Franco Prussian War Fought from July of 1870 to May of 1871 In the Franco-Prussian war, France was heavily defeated and its ruler, Napoleon III, was exiled. As a result of the Franco-Prussian war, France lost the territory of Alsace-Lorraine on its border with Germany. It also had to pay Germany £200 million in compensation. A new imperial constitution was set up within the now unified German states, with William I as Emperor (Kaiser) and Prussia firmly in control.

The Creation of the Triple Alliance The Dual Alliance was a defensive alliance created in 1879 between Germany and Austria Hungary Both countries had a common enemy in Russia. Both countries agreed to assist one another in the event that one was attacked by Russia. Both countries promised neutrality in the event that war broke out in other European nations, namely France. Italy joined the Triple Alliance in Italy joined for to reasons: 1. To gain protection from its northern neighbor France. 2. Joining the alliance would was a more feasible strategy for acquiring land than war with Germany or Austria.

The Triple Alliance

Recap What is Pan-Germanism and how/why does it lead to conflict with other European nations? What events occur that turn the tide for the Prussians to seize power in Europe? Does Prussia’s goal to develop a independent nation state justify their actions? Explain why/why not. Is nationalism good or bad? Explain your position. STOP HERE

What are the Slavic Nations The Slavic world consists of the Slavic speaking states and populations in Eurasia. This consists of: Countries situated throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Northern Asia More specifically the Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.

Slavic Nations

Pan-Slavism as an ideology A cultural and political movement among Slavic peoples, in the 19th century, who believed in the union of all Slavs. Pan-Slavism began out of Slavs desire to unite and shed ties with the Ottoman Empire In the early 1800s Serbia began petitioning for independence from the Ottoman empire Upon gaining independence they sought to unify with other Slavs in neighboring countries. By the early 1900s Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro had all acquired independence of the Ottoman Empire