Italian Unification (review)Italian Unification (review)  Prior to 1860 Italy was nothing more than a region of competing city states  Italians, under French control during the reign of Napoleon, learned about liberalism and nationalism.  The conference of Vienna treated Italy less as a region of city states and more as a undefined series of territories.  One of the outcomes of the conference was significant Austrian control and influence over most Italian territories except Piedmont-Sardinia and the Papal States  Shared a common language and common history (Roman Empire)  Barriers to unification included the influence of the Catholic Church, economic concerns, local loyalties.

Italy Prior to UnificationItaly Prior to Unification

Early Attempts at Unification  Va lues of the French Revolution influenced some Italian radicals. These people fell into three camps  Italy should be a democratic state with universal suffrage  Italy should be a union of states under the authority of the Papacy  Italy should be a kingdom headed by the liberal monarchy of Piedmont-Sardinia.

Early Attempts Continued…  Giuseppe Mazzini – a republican nationalist and patriot  Called for a centralized democratic republic with universal suffrage  Established “Young Italy,” a nationalist group that wanted to created a united Italian republic and pushed for insurrection against the Austrian empire

Early Attempts Continued…  Vicenza Gioberti – a Catholic priest and the premier of Sardinia-Sardinia.  Wanted to create a federation of states under a progressive pope (Constitutional Monarchy)  Was against violence as a means to unification

Success of Sardinia- Piedmont  Autocracy was less radical than republicanism  Count Di Cavour  Prime Minister of Sardinia from  Wanted to unite northern and central Italy  Allied with Louis Napoleon to defeat Austria

Steps Toward Unification  War with Austria 1859  Piedmont mobilized it’s army  Austria demanded Piedmont to demobilize  Piedmont claimed that Austria was provoking a war.  France came to the aid of Piedmont  On June 4, The Austrians were defeated at Magenta.  The success of this war, coupled with revolutions across the peninsula caused Napoleon to fear too extensive of a victory for Piedmont  As a result, Napoleon independently reached a peace agreement with Austria. Piedmont received Lombardy, Austria retained Venetia.  Austria was driven from most of northern Italy.

Steps Continued…  Giuseppe Garibaldi  Military leader who united the Kingdom of Two Sicily's to Sardinia  In 1860, he landed in Sicily with more than 1000 troops  Captured Palermo and prepared to attack the midland.  By September, controlled kingdom of Naples  Cavour rushed to stop him (why?), conquered the papal states, except Rome  Garibaldi favored unification over republican ideology and accepted the rule of Piedmont.

A Unified Italy (sort of) Victor Emanuel II (1861)  First king of United Italy  Everyone but Piedmont is unhappy  Republicans are bitter about dominance of Piedmont over Garibaldi  Clericals are upset about the conquering of the Papal States  Resistance against the monarchy in the south

A Unified Italy Continued  Rome joins Italy in 1870  Disapproved by the Pope  Papacy removes to the Vatican  “Risorgimento” (Reawakening) – Term used to describe unification of Italy

German Unification  Why is it a big deal?  Transformed the balance of power in Europe  Was achieved by a conservative power structure rather than through liberal means  Had long lasting effects on Europe into the mid 20 th Century

Germany in the 1840’s  A confederation of 38 sovereign states  Each had it’s own leader and military  Dominated by Austria and Prussia  Lead to growing tension

Common Factors Uniting Germans  Similar dialect  Traditions and Customs  Literature and Music  Brothers Grimm – folktales/legends  Von Herder – Each nation has an individual spirit based on literature

Problems for Unification  No good natural boundaries  Religious tension – North was Protestant, South was Catholic  Competition between Austria and Prussia

Germany Prior to Unification

Early Attempts at Unification Frankfurt Assembly  Held in 1848 to appease liberals  Consisted of representatives from all 38 states  Attempted to exclude Austria  Prussian king refused offer to become King of unified Germany  Assembly failed and was disbanded  Divided confederation continued to exist  Many Germans began migrating to other regions

Strengthening of Prussia  Creation of Zollverein  A coalition of German states that managed customs and economic policies within their territories  Customs union allowed goods to pass more freely between states  Excluded Austria  Helped unify states both economically and socially  Seen as a means to strengthen Germany against French aggression

Strengthening of Prussia Continued… Otto Von Bismarck (1815 – 1898)  Appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1862  Member of the Aristocracy (Junker)  Conservative – supported monarchy, disagreed with parliamentary democracy  Unite Germany “Not by speeches, but by blood and Iron”

Bismarck’s Plan for Unification  Create national unity for Prussian leader  Isolate Austria and force it out of Germany  Use diplomacy to assure neutrality of France and Russia  Use military to unite Germany

Steps Toward Unification  Danish War (1864)  The king of Denmark wanted to annex Schleswig- Holstein  Germany/Prussia and Austria defeated Denmark  The Austro Prussian War (1866)  Aimed at reduce Austrian control of German states  Bismarck promised Venetia to Italy for it’s support.  Prussia won victory in seven weeks (Seven Weeks War)  Prussia establishes itself as the only major power among German states

North German Confederation  Hanover, Hess, Nassau and Frankfurt all annexed by Prussia, leaders removed  Each state retained local government, but military forces under federal control.  Southern states and Austria remained outside of the Confederation

Franco-Prussian War  Bismarck needed a common enemy to unite all Germans  A cousin of William I of Prussia, Leopold, was to take the Spanish throne, France protested.  France wanted assurances from William that Prussia would not tolerate candidacy for Leopold.  Bismarck disappointed that the issue was solved peacefully  Edited a telegram from William to the French king to make it appear as though William insulted France.  France declared war on July 19

Franco Prussian War Continued  Southern German states joined Prussia against France  Paris captured January 28, 1871  German Empire proclaimed – William I, King of Prussia