Final - Week 12 - Unification Italy and Germany Flashcards
Napoleon III:
On December 2, 1852, Louis-Napoleon became Napoleon III, Emperor of France. The Second Empire had begun. The government of Napoleon III was authoritarian. He controlled the armed forces, police, and civil service. Only he could introduce legislation and declare war. There was a Legislative Corps that gave an appearance of representative government, but its members could not initiate legislation or affect the budget. Napoleon III completely controlled the government and limited civil liberties.
Giuseppe Mazzini
: apodado «el alma de Italia»,1 fue un político, periodista y activista italiano que bregó por la unificación de Italia. Ayudó al proceso de formación y unificación de la Italia independiente moderna2 a partir de los numerosos Estados, muchos dominados por potencias extranjeras, que existieron hasta el siglo XIX. También contribuyó a definir el movimiento europeo en pro de una democracia popular en un Estado republicano. Escribió los textos: Italia republicana y unitaria (1831) y Una nación libre (1851).
Victor Emmanuel II:
After the failure of the revolution of 1848, people began to look to the northern Italian state of Piedmont for leadership in achieving the unification of Italy. The ruler of the kingdom of Piedmont was King Victor Emmanuel II.
Camilo Cavour
The king Victor Emmanuel II named Camillo di Cavour his prime minister in 1852. Cavour knew
that Piedmont’s army was not strong enough to defeat the Austrians. He would need help, so he made an alliance with the French emperor Louis- Napoleon. He then provoked the Austrians into declaring war in 1859. The final result of this conflict was a peace settlement that gave the French Nice and Savoy. (Cavour had promised Nice and Savoy to the French for making the alliance.) Lombardy was given to Piedmont, but Venetia was still controlled by Austria. Cavour’s success caused nationalists in some other northern Italian states (Parma, Modena, and Tuscany) to overthrow their governments and join their states to Piedmont.
Giuseppe Garibaldi
In southern Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian patriot, raised an army of a thousand volunteers. They were called Red Shirts because of the color of their uniforms. Garibaldi’s forces landed in Sicily, which was ruled by France. By the end of July 1860, they controlled most of the island. In August, they crossed over to the mainland and marched up the Italian peninsula. Naples, which was ruled by France, fell in early September. Garibaldi turned over his conquests to Piedmont. On March 17, 1861, a new kingdom of Italy was proclaimed under King Victor Emmanuel II. But the task of Italian unification was not yet complete, because Venetia was still held by Austria and Rome was under the control of the pope.
Bismarck
In the 1860s, King William I tried to enlarge the Prussian army. When the Prussian legislature refused to levy new taxes for the army, William I appointed a new prime minister, Count Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck is known for his practice of realpolitik (“the politics of reality”)—politics based on practical matters rather than on theory or ethics. From 1862 to 1866, he governed Prussia without the approval of the parliament. He collected taxes and strengthened the army. He also followed an active foreign policy that soon led to war. Bismarck created friction with the Austrians and forced them into a war on June 14, 1866. The Austrians were no match for the Prussian army and were defeated on July 3.
Realpolitik
(“the politics of reality”)—politics based on practical matters rather than on theory or ethics
The Franco-Prussian War
Bismarck took advantage of the misunderstandings between the French and Prussians and pushed the French into declaring war on Prussia on July 19, 1870. This conflict was called the Franco-Prussian War. The French were no match for the Prussian army. The southern German states also joined the war effort against the French. On September 2, 1870, an entire French army and the French ruler, Napoleon III, were captured. France surrendered on January 28, 1871. France had to pay 5 billion franks (about $1 billion) and give up the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to the new German state.
How did the Congress of Vienna try to restore the balance of power in Europe following the
Napoleonic Wars?
To maintain the new balance of power, Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria, and later France, agreed to have meetings that would maintain the peace in Europe. These meetings were called the Concert of Europe.
What obstacles to unity did Italian nationalists face?
fragmentation into multiple states, regional loyalty, foreign interference
