AP Euro - 7.3 - National Unifications and Diplomatic Tensions

The Crimean War

• Began in 1853 and sparked from religious tension in the Ottoman Empire

• Russia and France wanted to weaken the Ottoman Empire

• Russian also wanted access to the Crimean peninsula, which supported shipping and receiving

Religious Tensions

• Napoleon III had pressured the OE to grant special privileges to Roman Catholics in Jerusalem

• Russia also demanded these for Orthodox Christians but was refused

Outcomes of the Crimean War

• The Ottoman Empire, supported by Britain and France, defeated Russia and broke the Concert of Europe

• Britain and Russia withdrew from continental affairs, allowing German and Italian leaders to seek unification

Count Cavor

• Prime minister of the Piedmont region of Italy in 1852 and a leader of Italian unification

• Asked Napoleon III to drive the Austrians out of Northern Italy and allowed France to keep their possessions on the Italian peninsula and some other territories

• Although Napoleon III did not fully commit to the deal, the northern Italian regions agreed to join Piedmont

Giuseppi Garibaldi

• Military leader who led the Redshirts to unify the Southern region of Italy

• Gave over sovereignty to the ruler of Northern Italy, Victor Emmanuel II

Franco-Prussian War (Italian unification)

(1870) In this war, Napoleon III withdrew his troops in Central Italy to fight elsewhere, allowing Victor Emmanuel to claim the central region and complete Italian unification

realpolitik

sought practical results

Prussian-Danish War

(1864)

• There were two German provinces (Schleswig and Holstein) controlled by Denmark

• Bismarck asked Austria to help, and they had almost immediate success and evenly distributed the provinces

• However, Bismarck did not want Austria to interfere with German provinces

Austro-Prussian War

(1866)

• Prior to this war, Bismarck negotiated non-interference treaties with major European powers like Russia and Britain to prevent them from interfering with his plans

• Bismarck provoked an argument over the two German provinces and began war

• He correctly assumed that most northern German states would join Prussia

Franco-Prussian War (German unification)

(1870)

• Bismarck falsified a document in which a Prussian diplomat insulted Napoleon III and released it to France, leading him to declare war

• The German provinces supported Prussia, and France was defeated

• Kaiser Wilhelm I was crowned king of Germany, completing the unification

What did Bismarck do after?

• In 1871, he was appointed as the chancellor of the united German state

• He wanted to strengthen Germany and thus created alliances with other states to stay strong against France

Three Emperors’ League

Included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, who all controlled Eastern Europe, especially the unstable Balkans

Collapsed in 1887

Reinsurance Treaty

Included Russia and Germany who promised each other to remain neutral if either got involved in a war, with the exception of:

• Germany vs. France

• Russia vs. Austria

Triple Alliance

After the relationship between Russia and Germany fell, this included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy

What happened to Europe?

By the time Bismarck was dismissed as chancellor in 1890, Europe consisted of mutually antagonistic alliances, which made it almost impossible for negotiation and flexibility

Unrest in the Balkans was driven by

a growing nationalist center

Congress of Berlin

• Established by Bismarck in 1878 to solve the tension in the Balkans

• However, the major powers of Europe ignored the nationalist Balkan desires for self-rule in favor of the balance of power

• This led to an increased tension in the Balkans (the region was multi-ethnic)

First and Second Balkan Wars

• Put the alliances on display

• The great powers of Europe fought on different sides

• Cemented the divisions which would eventually lead to World War I