Chapter 23- Nationalism Triumphs in Europe

By James Kazlausky

Section 1-Building a German Nation

• After the invasions made by Napolean, territorial changes developed in German speaking lands. Many people welcomed the French ruler, others were sparked with German nationalism and demanded a unified German state. Metternich for example, felt Germany should have dismantled the German states in order to unify them. Instead the German Confederation was created, a weak body headed by Austria. The position as king was offered to the Prussian King Frederick IV of Prussia; he declined.

• Otto Von Bismarck, the Prussian prime minister, helped in the unification of Germany. He believed in the way of “the ends justified the means.” Unfortunately, Bismarck was not a German nationalist. He was a Prussian nationalist. He had the purpose to strengthen the Prussian army and pursue an aggressive foreign policy.

• Bismarck ventured Prussia into 3 main wars:• Schleswig and Holstein- Austria and Prussia took

over these provinces and divided them.

• War with Austria- Prussia won and took all lands won in the Schleswig and Holstein war. They also got rid of the German Confederation led by Austria and added the new North German Confederation led by Prussia.

• Franco-Prussian War- Napoleon declared war on Prussia after seeing it take over Austria and after the Spanish offered Bismarck a spot on the throne. With the help from the Germans, Prussia crushed the French giving Prussia yet another victory.

• *Bismarck also set up a two house legislature, but the way it was set up, it was far from democratic. Real power was in the hands of the emperor and his chancellor.

Section 2- Strengthening Germany

• William I and his chancellor, Bismarck, are now running Germany and have made it very powerful. German shipping was second only to England among European powers.

• Germany’s industry was very popular and was very well developed, due to a strong work force and a larger population of 50,000 employees.

• Germany was also very supportive of their scientific developments. They developed new chemicals and dyes.

• Economic development was very supported. A single currency was made, banking system was new, and the railroads were coordinated.

• They wished for economic and military power.

• Bismarck tried to eliminate all threats to his country. He isolated the French so his ties could grow with Austria and Russia. He also caused tension with Britain’s navy.

• He also tried to eliminate the Catholic church and socialists from his government.

• He tried to make Catholics focus on loyalty towards the throne and not towards the pope. He launched the Kulterkampf to try and supervise Catholic activities.

• This idea backfired and the church rebelled. He realized his mistake and quickly made peace with the church.

• Bismarck also felt that socialists would undermine the loyalty of German workers and turn them to a revolution.

• He tried to shut socialism down, but his idea backfired, they united against him.

• Instead he steered people away from socialism by giving them benefits by following his ways.

• It partly worked, but socialism was still a belief of many.

• William II soon followed, who asks Bismarck to resign due to his belief in divine right to rule. He introduced many reforms and strengthened the navy to fight rivals, Britain and France at sea.

Section 3- Unifying Italy

• Around the 1830’s, Italy was a very separated country and was lacking unity.

• Giuseppe Mazzini was the first to step forward and wanted to form a united Italy.

• After the Congress of Vienna, Austria had held land in Northern Italy. Now revolts were brought up against them and they in turn sent troops to crush these rebels.

• Mazzini founded young Italy, which was a secret society to help unite Italy.

• Although his rebellion failed, it gave life to other nationalists and united the country.

• Nationalism soon arose in Sardinia, led by Victor Emmanuel II. He then appointed Count Camillo Cavour as his prime minister. Cavour wished to expell Austria from Italy and add land to Sardinia.

• Cavour later helped Britain and France against Russia. It gave them support from other countries and a say at the peace conference. With this power Sardinia and France got rid of the Austrians in Italy and Sardinia got the land they wanted.

• Soon, Garibaldi and his red-shirts were taking control of Sicily and unifying it as one. He also later took control of the major parts of Italy. He turned these lands over the Victor Emmanuel II and crowned him king of Italy.

• Soon after Rome was retaken and named capital since the fall of the Roman empire.

• Although Italy was now united as one country it still was not truly united.

• There was a split between the north and the south due to their economies. Their was also a split between the religious organization of the people, concerning the pope and the government.

• Still some people went against this united government but the turmoil was handled. Italy’s industry rose as well as its economy. Italy lacked resources but they made up for it in other industries.

Section 4- Nationalism Threatens Old Empires

• The Hapsburg Empire consisted of Austria, Romania, Poland, Ukraine and Italy and was led by Metternich and Francis I. They tried to keep the kingdom conservative and steer them away from nationalism. They tried to limit industry and keep the country traditional. Despite their efforts, factories were popping up everywhere and socialism was stirring.

• Of the 50 million people in the Hapsburg empire, less then a quarter of them were German-speaking Austrians. Austria was the main land of the empire. Due to this wide spread of nationalities, rival groups often shared the same region. When nationalist revolts erupted, the government quickly crushed them.

• Young Francis Joseph soon inherited the throne and set up a constitution and a legislature. This body was mainly German-speaking Austrians which angered other countries of the empire. The Hungarians especially would settle for nothing less than self government.

• In 1866 Austria loses to Prussia in a war. A year later Francis Deak, a Hungarian leader, compromises a Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.

• Under the agreement Austria and Hungary were two separate states led by Francis Joseph. They shared the same ministries of finance, defense, and foreign affairs. Other then that they were independent of each other.

• The Balkans in the Ottoman power was as bad as the Hapsburg empire. Nationalism erupted and caused crises and wars.

• The Russians saw the empire in a weak state and started an invasion. So did other countries like Britain, France and Austrians.

• The empire was divided up and taken by other countries. In between all these wars, nationalities revolted and fought among themselves. This region was later referred to as the “Balkan powder keg”, the explosion that came in 1914 helped set off World War I

Section 5- Russia: Reform and Reaction

• By 1800 Russia was the biggest nation in Europe. It had great natural resources and it size gave it global interests and influence.

• Unfortunately it fell behind and was highly undeveloped. By the 1800’s, czar’s feared modernization because it would undermine absolute rule. The country was ruled by rich landowners but was mostly made up of serfs. Serfdom had disappeared in Western Europe by the 1700’s but still remained in Rusia.

• Alexander I took the throne in 1801. He seemed interested in reform and even talked about freeing the serfs. When Napoleon invaded in 1812 he drew back from the reform.

• Nicholas I takes the throne in 1825 and quickly suppresses any revolts for liberal ideas, the “Decembrist Revolt.”

• Nicholas was a very strict ruler and focused on the 3 pillars of Russian absolutism. “Orthodoxy, autocracy, and nationalism.”

• Even though he was strict, Nicholas did try to modernize towards the end of his rule.

• Alexander II took the throne in 1855 during the Crimean War. Russia lost, revealing how not modernized they truly were.

• Liberals demanded for change and in 1861 the serfs were freed. Other reforms like assemblies, trial by juries, woman’s liberation were made at this time.

• Many radicals were not happy with the reforms like the terrorist group called the “People’s Will.” They assassinated the czar and other officials.

• The new Alexander III, took the harsh methods of Nicholas I and shut down all liberal movements. He was strict and had a secret police to expel critics.

• He also persecuted Russian Jews. Pogroms, or attacks on the Jews, were performed and they were robbed and beat. They became refuges and had to escape to a safer area, like the U.S..

• Under Alexander III and his son Nicholas II, Russia entered and industrial age. The Trans-Siberian Railway was built stretching 5,000 miles long. He tried to industrialize.

• He faced socialist revolutionaries such as Vladimir Ulyanov, or Lenin. His brother was executed as being part of the assassination of Alexander III. He wanted revenge on the government. He was a follower of the ideas of Karl Marx and would take power in a revolution to transform Russia.

• War broke out in 1904 between Russia and Japan. Russia had been losing. Nicholas II feared his people revolting. As crisis deepened, Father George Gapon organized a religious march to show the czar how much the people were really suffering. When the people got to the palace of the czar, Nicholas II, in fear, called on his army. They fired at the march for no reason. This day is known as “Bloody Sunday”, the day when the people’s trust was lost in the czar.

• After Bloody Sunday, reforms needed to be made. He gave people more freedom and created a Duma, or a an elected national legislature. No law could be passed without going through the Duma.

• The Duma didn’t last. Nicholas tried to have a prime minister, but because of the prime minister’s conservative beliefs, he was assassinated. By 1914, Russia was still an autocracy, with peasant and worker unrest.