Revolutions in Europe and Unification
SOL WHII.7b, c, d
Revolutions in Europe
Unification of Italy
The spirit of nationalism
was spread with the armies of
Napoleon. After Napoleon’s
fall, nationalism was a powerful
force during the 19th century.
The people of Europe began to
demand political rights. This
led to revolutions throughout
Europe in the first half of the
19th century. These revolutions
eventually led to legislative
action giving the people of
Europe more voice in their
governments.
National pride, economic
competition, and democratic
ideals encouraged the growth of
nationalism. Opposing this
were the conservative and
repressive terms of the
Congress of Vienna. This led to
widespread discontent by the
people of Europe. There were
unsuccessful revolutions
throughout Europe in 1848.
These revolutions increased
nationalistic tensions.
During the 1800’s, Great
Britain expanded the political
rights of its people through
legislative reforms. More men
were given the vote. Slavery
was made illegal throughout the
British Empire.
By the 1800’s, Italy was still
made up of city-states,
kingdoms, and the Papal States
(lands controlled by the pope).
After the defeat of Napoleon
and the Congress of Vienna, a
unification movement began in
Italy.
The leaders of the
unification movement were
Giuseppe Mazzini, Count
Cavour, and Giuseppe
Garibaldi. Mazzini led the
unification movement in the
early 1800’s. He helped to set
up the philosophical and
idealistic basis of the unification
movement. Count Camillo di
Cavour was very practical about
unification. Through war,
alliances, and negotiations,
Cavour unified Northern Italy.
Giuseppe Garibaldi helped
Cavour, but also led his army of
Red Shirts to southern Italy to
defeat the Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies. He joined southern
Italy to northern Italy.
A barrier to Italian
unification was the Pope in
Rome. He did not want to lose
his political holdings in
Unification of Germany
Italy(Papal States). This was
the last area to join a united
Italy.
People/Terms
During the rule of Napoleon,
Germany experienced feelings
of nationalism. This was
encouraged by Napoleon who
reduced the number of
independent German states.
But even after Napoleon’s
defeat, Germany was still made
up of hundreds of small states.
The largest and most influential
were Prussia and Austria.
The leader of the unification
effort in Germany was Otto von
Bismarck, the prime minister of
Prussia. Bismarck used wars
and nationalism to unify
Germany. Through war,
Bismarck decreased the
influence of Austria. His actions
were seen as an example of
realpolitik, which means a
politician could justify any action
as a means to achieve and hold
power. An example of this was
the Franco-Prussian War.
Bismarck had unified all of the
northern German states under
the rule of Prussia by the
1870’s. He appealed to
German nationalism by
inducing France to declare war
on Prussia. The southern
Germany states joined with
Prussia against France creating
the new German state.
Count Cavour--unified the
northern Italian states
Giuseppe Garibaldi--joined the
southern Italian states to
Cavour’s united northern Italian
states.
Pope--resisted efforts to unify
Italy. The Papal States were
the last to unify with the rest of
Italy.
Otto von Bismarck--prime
minister of Prussia who used
war and feelings of nationalism
to unify the German states.
Realpolitik--this justified any
action which helped a ruler to
achieve and hold power
nationalism-- The belief that
people who share common
land, traditions, language,
religion, and blood belong
together in a state of self-rule.