Nation States, Unification of Italy & Germany

 Formation of Nation States in Europe 

earlier Europe was ruled by 1000's of feudal lords 

kings had little power 

there was no sense of common nationality 

Only Holy Roman was considered as universal church/empire 

Kings tried to establish their supremacy over feuds 

they were helped by merchants, because they(merchants) also wanted to free themselves from 
conservatives 

They thought kings would remove restrictions and bigger markets would be achieved 

king would also protect them from foreign invasions ; sponsor them foreign trips 

introduction of gunpowder also helped kings to overthrew feuds 

New views: Christians must obey their rulers because the rulers were the Representatives of God

Machiavelli" king is above all restrictions and authority"

Rise of national language also gave impetus to growth of nation states 

new sea-routes and lands were discovered 

the first nation states were strong monarchies of France & England.

they helped people of same culture uniting with each other.  

later on this reversed again, now new ideas people opposed absolutism of monarchies
 

Glorious Revolution 1688-1689

parliamentary democracy came after glorious revolution 

aka bloodless revolution  

birth of constitutional monarchy 

earlier king were absolute, high taxes, 

{In 1215 : Magna Carta by King John had to sign, king has to take permission to increase taxts; however this was mainly led by rich barons; Parliament was established}

people were unable to pay taxes. 

Unification of Italy

A new epoch began, when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered the kingdoms of Austrian and French princes. He even annexed the Papal State. He brought together the city states. Napoleon gave Italy an uniform system of administration. The Italians learnt the French ideas of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. They were introduced to concepts like self-government and freedom of press. This intensified their sense of patriotism.

Napoleon undertook military operations against the European coalitions that were formed against France. He conquered parts of Italy, Austria, Spain, Holland, Germany, etc. In Germany he created the “confederation of the Rhine” consisting of 38 German states.

Account for the role played by Napoleon in the unification.

The process of the ‘Unification of Italy’ was as following-

1. During the middle of the nineteenth century, Italy was divided into seven states, of which only one, Sardinia-Piedmont, was ruled by an Italian princely house.


2. The north was under Austrian Habsburgs; the center was ruled by the Pope and the southern regions were under the domination of the Bourbon kings of Spain


3. The unification of Italy started with the secret societies formed by Giuseppe Mazzini like the Young Italy and the Young Europe.


4. Chief Minister Cavour led the movement to unify the regions through a tactful diplomatic alliance with France, and Sardinia-Piedmont succeeded in defeating the Austrian forces in 1859.


5. Garibaldi with his armed volunteers called red shirts defeated the Bourbon kings of Spain freeing the kingdom of 2 Sicilia’s


6. In 1861 Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of united Italy.

Note- The Unification of Italy was the work of 3 main leaders: Giuseppe Garibaldi, Count Cavour, and Victory Emmanuel II. 

Unification of Germany

• It started with liberal Nationalist movement of 1848 with the formation of Frankfurt Parliament however the attempts failed.
• Then the initiative was taken by Prussia and the responsibility was handed over to the Chief Minister Otto Von Bismarck.
• Bismarck led three wars over a period of seven years with Austria, Denmark & France that ended up with Prussian Victory.
• Finally, Germany got unified in January 1871.
• The Prussian king, William I, was proclaimed German Emperor in a ceremony held at Versailles.

Was German unification achieved more by ‘coal and iron’ than by ‘blood and iron’? Examine. 

German Unification had seen the use of both 'Coal and Iron' means economic actions and 'Blood and Iron' means war. Otto Van Bismark had planned and executed the entire plan of Germany Unification. In his grand plan of unification the major rivals were Austria in South and France in North.

His entire plan (as many historian claims that it was planned) to devolve the power of Austria then France and build diplomatic ties with other empires like Russia and Italy in the process to unify Germany. He used the economic tools to build Purussian capabilities first and isolate Autria on economic front then defeat and usurp states from them.

Coal and Iron Strategy

Prussia led the Zolleverian, this was the free trade agreement between Prussia and other German states but excluded Austria. Later, they made a free trade agreement with France as well and kept Austria away again. Prussia led the railway tracks and set up industries. These steps made the other states dependent on Prussia so much that in war against Austria they supported Prussia.

Blood and Iron Strategy

Bismark used war very strategically and many a times fueled the situation to create war. He used the states won from Denmark by joint effort by Prussia and Austria as a tool to defeat Austria and later got compensation. Austria defeat made them very weak compared to Prussia, he also provoked the war with France and defeated them once they attacked.

So, Germany unification has been achieved by 'Blood and Iron' majorly but the base has been prepared using the 'Coal and Iron' strategy.