Nationalism and the
Creation of Modern States
Nationalism—A Definition
Desire for nation-state
Based on heritage, common background
Culture, religion, history of a people
Treitschke—Militant nationalist
Arndt—German Fatherland
Mazzini—Risorgimento
Herder—Volkgeist
O’Connell—Irish Nationalism
Theodore Hertzl—Zionism
After the Revolutions of 1848
Austrians had reimposed their control over
Italian and German affairs
German Confederation reestablished
Desire for National unification continued
Leadership of regions
Passed into hands of professional politicians
Possessed power and the will to use power
Political experience
Clear vision of their goals
Conservatism and Liberalism
continued
Cavour, the liberal
Bismarck, the
conservative,
Prussian patriot
Napoleon III
combined the two
ideologies in
France
A Little Background in Europe—
France and the Crimean War
Louis Napoleon takes over in
France
United popular and conservative forces
in an authoritarian government
Elected 5.5 million to 1.5 million
Romanticized power of his name
Middle class wanted protection from
socialism
Napoleon believed
Government
should represent
the people and
help economically
State and leaders
had a sacred duty
to stimulate the
economy thus
benefiting all
classes
National Assembly deprived
almost 3 million people from
voting
Napoleon declared himself the protector of
universal suffrage
Dec. 1, 1851 troops loyal to Napoleon arrested
opposition leaders
Napoleon asked the people to elect him president
for 10 years to restructure the gov’t
Dec. 1852 asked people to
restore the old Empire
97% said yes
Took title Napoleon III
Controlled army, police, and had power to
declare war
Legislative body was a mere shell
Second Empire
Successful economy
Massive public works schemes
Railroads and canals
Modernization of Paris
Sewage system
Widened streets
Encouraged industry, credit, and
banking
But…
Censored the press,
prohibited free speech,
limited the right to assemble
The Crimean War (1854-56)
Major issue that concerned European
powers—
Who would benefit from demise of the sick
old man of Europe?
Who IS the sick old man?
Russia and the religious connection with
Greece
Austria wanted to control the Balkans
Britain and France both shared economic
concerns about the Mediterranean Sea
Background
1853 Russia demanded right to protect
Christian shrines in Palestine
Turkey refused
Oct 4 1853 Turkey declared war on Russia
March 1854 Britain and France declared
war on Russia
Austria decided to stay neutral
1855 Britain and France attack
the Crimean Peninsula
Atrocious conditions, disease, incompetent
leadership
Early 1856 Tsar Alexander II sued for peace
Effects
Destroyed the Concert of Europe
Russia humiliated, forced to retreat from
European affairs
Britain focused on her Empire
Austria was a Great Power, but no friends
France gained most, but Napoleon III was
no Napoleon I!
Second Empire of France—
Collapsed after
the capture of
Napoleon III
during FrancoPrussian War
Italian Unification
Italy reorganized by the Congress
of Vienna
Rich northern provinces given to Austria
Sardinia and Piedmont ruled by Italian
monarch
Central Italy ruled by Pope
By 1848 idea of unified Italy appealed to
more people
Two main ideas to reorganize the
country
Risorgimento Movement led by
Guiseppe Mazzini wanted a centralized
democratic republic based on the will
of the people
Catholic priest Vincenzo Gioberti
federation of existing states under the
presidency of the pope
Piedmont—
Most successful
against the Austrians
King Charles Albert
emerged a possible
leader
1849 monarch Victor
Emmanuel retained a
liberal constitution,
civil liberties, real
parliament, and
elections
Cavour and Piedmont
Brilliant politician
Count Camillo Beso di
Cavour
Supported the
doctrines of middle
class
Moderate nationalist
Aristocratic liberal
Favored constitutional
government
Needed ally to push Austria out
of Lombardy and Venetia
Unify Northern
Italy under Victor
Emmanuel
Sought help of
Napoleon III
Secret alliance
against Austria
Austria attacked Piedmont in
April 1859
Napoleon came to Cavour’s aid
French defeated the Austrians at Magenta
and Solferino
July 11, 1859 Napoleon left Cavour and
joined the Austrians and signed a separate
peace at Villafranca
Piedmont received only Lombardy and parts
of Milan
Cavour resigned in a rage
Nationalist fervor overtook the masses
Leaders of other states called for joining Piedmont
People of central Italy overwhelmingly voted to
join Piedmont 1860
Napoleon III received Nice and Savoy for
agreeing to the annexation of the other states by
Piedmont
Guiseppi Garibaldi
Job of uniting Italy
only half done
Secretly Cavour
supported
Garibaldi’s plan to
liberate the
Kingdoms of the
Two Sicilies
Garibaldi’s Red Shirts
captured the
imagination of the
people
New kingdom of Italy
declared on March 17,
1861
Neither radical nor
democratic
Diplomacy, war, and
rebellion it was united
Parlimentary monarchy under
Victor Emmanuel—
Venice joined in 1866—as a
result of the Austro-Prussian
War
Rome added in 1870—
French troops returned to
France for the FrancoPrussian War
1864 Pope Pius IX issued
the Syllabus of Errors
denouncing rationalism,
socialism, and separation of
church and state
German Unification
Austria and Prussia
dominated German
Federation
Zollverein 1834 to
promote economic
growth
Austria tried to get
southern German states
to leave
Middle class supported
the economic goals, and
Prussia
1861 King William of Prussia
After Frederick William
IV died
Military reforms
3 years compulsory
service for all men
Higher defense budgets,
more taxes
Liberal middle class did
not support the move
Conservatives lose
control of parliament
Otto von Bismarck: diplomat,
military tactician
Born into the Prussian landowning aristocracy
Member of the Junker class
Fiercely supportive of the sovereign
Distrustful of socialism
Goal to make Prussia Great Power through
military strength
Quote—”one must always have two irons in the
fire”
Three Possibilities
Dominate Protestant
northern Germany and
A. Work with Austria
to divide the smaller
states
B. Combine with a
foreign power against
Austria
C. Use German
nationalism to expel
Austria
Realpolitik
“The politics of reality”
Resubmitted the budget
to parliament appealing
to the liberals that
Germany must be ruled
with “Blood and Iron”
Parliament rejected
budget; Bismarck
declared that the gov’t
would rule without
parliamentary consent
(1862-66)
Three wars waged by Bismarck
Austro-Prussian War 1866
Danish king tried to annex SchleswigHolstein
German speaking
German nationalists outraged
German Confederation urged troops to be
sent
Austria joins, gets Holstein,
Prussia gets Schleswig…
War with Austria 1866, Russia stays neutral
Seven weeks
Bismarck offered Austria generous peace terms,
would need Austria in future
German Confederation was dissolved, Austria
withdrew from German affairs
North German Confederation
1867 Prussia controlled all of northern Germany
and Austria was excluded from any major role
France is Next…
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1)
Issue—if a distant relative of William I would
become king of Spain
Would surround France with enemies
William withdrew the nomination of Leopold
French demanded apology from Germans
Bismarck’s Response
Altered the wording
of a telegram to the
French
Made it sound
insulting to the
French
French responded as
Bismarck expected…
French Second
Republic attacked
Germany
Once war began…
Southern German
states joined Bismarck
On Sept. 1, 1870
Prussia defeated
France at Sedan
French patriots in
Paris proclaimed
another republic and
vowed to continue
fighting
By January 1871
Paris was starving,
surrendered
William I
Proclaimed Emperor of Germany
Hall of Mirrors….Versailles
War seen as a struggle of Darwinism and released
a surge of patriotism in Germany
In ten years…Germany one of most powerful
countries in Europe!
Alsace Lorraine
Source of
competition and
anger between
Germany and
France
Eastern France
Industrial region