7 - The ambiguous Nation-state Flashcards
Crimean War
1853-6
Russian ambitions clashed with Ottoman hegemony + unending rivalry and regular wars between the 2
1853 : OE declares war on RU because RU is towards Moldavia and Wallachia
1854 : BR & FR vs RU
» allied troops towards port of Sebastopol
9/10/54 + : siege
30/03/56 : Treaty of Paris
The first “modern war” : steamboats, telegraph, photography, guns
Great losses : 120k OE and 140-500k Russians
Beginning of the rise of humanitarian concerns : cf Florence Nightingale
“The Eastern Question”
= diplomatic problem posed by the decline of the Ottoman Empire»_space; contest for control of former Ottoman territories. Any internal change (quite unstable) caused tension among the European powers, each of which feared that one of the others might take advantage of the political disarray to increase its own influence.
a European issue as Britain and France++ felt very concerned (Russian ambitions notably)
Treaty of Paris
30/03/1856
> Neutrality of the Black Sea
> Autonomy of Moldavia and Wallachia
> Independence of Turkey
= weakening of the Russian influence in the region BUT no real solution to the “Eastern Question”
The Second French Empire - Key concepts
1852-70
2 December 1852 : plebiscite LN Bonaparte became Napoleon III Emperor of the French
> Economically, bring progress through strong involvement of the centralized state
> Politically, 18-year rule divided in two parts :
- The authoritarian and conservative empire * 52-59
- The “liberal” empire * 60-70
The authoritarian and conservative empire
1852-1859
France only European power with universal male suffrage BUT
> Press censorship
> Repression against opponents
> Official candidates sponsored/chosen by gov for legislative body
> Very strong executive power and weak Parliament
> Emperor could alone propose legislation
> Promotion of economic growth - support of Bourgeois
Social and political order - support of Legitimists
= Conservative trend and regime reinforced
The “liberal empire” - dates and political reforms
1860-1870
Nap III considered his regime strong enough to diffuse the opposition by implementing some of the reforms claimed
> NA gained power (approval of budget ≠oppose)
Leg Body can draft and propose bills
relaxation censorship
right to strike
right to organize»_space; unions
right to assembly if not political or religious
Spring 1870 : new and liberal constitution - government accountable to the legislative body - approved by plebiscite (May)
The “liberal empire” - Education and Art
> greater access to public education to girls, development of education (new unis, research institutes and subjects)
support of artistic avant-garde - helped artists to display their work
The “liberal empire” - Economy
> Considerable industrial take-off (50s++) - major exporter of capital all over the world
= informal imperialism
> common entrepreneurial spirit (involvement of the state, bankers, industrials…) ≠ orleanist regime
- Agriculture : Ø famine, exports
- Industry : steady dev and some concentration
- Transportation : railways expanded 5x
+ (re) building projects in Paris, Marseille and Lyon
> opening of French markets : Cobden-Chevalier Treaty (1860) between France and Britain to lower tariff barriers
then same with other neighbors
The “liberal empire” - Foreign Policy
very active and vast
China (2nd Opium War – 1856-1860)
Italian unification
Expansion in Senegal
Lebanon and Syria (1860-1861)
Indochina : Cochin (1862) and Cambodia (1863) French colony and protectorate
+ Mexico (61-67) : taking advantage of civil wars in Mexico and the US but fail
+ Algeria (1830 ; 1852)
quite liberal intentions, soften the rule BUT FR-PR war bam fall of empire
Italian unification
17/03/1861
after series of plebiscites
Largely the result of the expansion of Piedmont-Sardinia (King Victor Emmanuel II and Count Camillo)
» impulse 1852-61
Many obstacles - logistics, nationalist disagreements (monarchy vs republic)
Succeeded by playing on nat feelings, hatred of Austria, memories of 1848 and diplomacy&war
> Second phase of the Risorgimento (1859-1861)
Jan 1859 : secret treaty with France against Austria
war more and more likely
April 1859 : Austrian ultimatum to Turin - rejected so invasion of Piedmont alone = defeated by France at Magenta and Solferino
11 July 1859 : armistice btw France and Austria without consulting Italian rulers
- Austria kept Venetia but almost all Northern and Central Italy united under the constitutional monarchy of Piedmont-Sardinia
BUT feeling of betrayal from King and Cavour
» Republican Garibaldi took advantage of the situation and took Sicily and Naples
German unification
18/01/1871
Prussian King William I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
“in blood and iron” - diplomacy and war - “realpolitik”
Obstacles :
- Upper classes wary of any change that might threaten the status quo and feared revolution
- Who would lead the process - aus/pru
- German democrats and socialists in exile
Late 1850s early 1860s : more and more voices (liberals++) for unification
3steps :
* 64 : victory against the Danes
* 66 : victory against A-H
» Treaty of Prague (Aug) + North German Confederation
+ further expansion of territories and Zollverein
* 71 : victory against France, German Empire proclaimed at Versailles
> > Parliament (Reichtag) but limited powers, diplomatic and military affairs in the hands of Emperor an Chancellor
support of industrials and merchants - economic appeal
Middle classes largely out of political life
authoritarian and reactionary German Empire
European balance of power crucially altered
The Battle of Solferino
24 June 1859
Context : Austro-french Piedmontese war
📍 Lombardy : Austrian army vs Franco-Piedmontese army
» Austria decisively defeated and resulted in the annexation of most of Lombardy by Sardinia-Piedmont = contributing to the unification of Italy
> Largest battle in Europe since Leipzig 1813
At Magenta and even more at Solferino: wounded soldiers quickly found themselves in a terrible situation = dead because of horrible conditions
Henry Dunant
– Businessman and social activist
– At Battle of Solferino
– Horrified => Assistance to the wounded deeply needed
– “A Memory of Solferino” (1862)
– Promotion of his ideas through Europe - there should be an organization to provide care to wounded soldiers
> > 1st meeting of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva conventions, 2 Hague conventions, Geneva Protocol
= New ideas and considerations of war and soldiers
+ nationalism at stake»_space; international Humanitarian Law, a soldier is a human being not only a foreigner to be killed at all costs
> Diplomacy : from nation-states to an international community
National identities in Canada
37-8 : Rebellions
> Reforming process
»1/7/1867 : Federal dominion of Canada
// then in Australia and NZ in 1807
National identities in Ireland
48-9 : stronger nationalist movement - with American support
1858 : Irish Republican Brotherhood - revolutionary organization
> but mutual failure, no proper solution found
