Realpolitik and the Unification of Italy and Germany

The Shift from Romanticism to Realpolitik

• The failures of the revolutions of $1848$ marked a definitive end to the Romantic era in art, music, and literature.
• Romanticism previously emphasized elements such as sentiment, feeling, and the notion of the "inexpressible."
• Post-$1848$, the consensus emerged that sentiment was insufficient for political change; the primary requirement was power.
• Power was redefined specifically in terms of military force and arms.
• This cultural and political shift led to the emergence of the term Realpolitik, or the "politics of realism."

Defining Realpolitik and the Rejection of Utopia

• Realpolitik meant different things to various actors, but its core tenet involved the abandonment of utopian dreams.
• Robert Palmer is cited defining the era's attitude: individuals should content themselves with the "blessings of an orderly, honest, hardworking government" rather than seeking perfection.
• Conservatives used this ideology to maintain the status quo, telling subjects to appreciate stability over revolutionary ideals.
• Radicals, meanwhile, adopted Realpolitik by concluding that dramatic change could only be achieved through military force and violence.
• Radicals argued that protests were ineffective because governments would simply use cannons against crowds in central squares; therefore, force was required to overthrow established powers.
• Foreign politics lost its ideological character; alliances were no longer based on shared religion (Catholic vs. Protestant) or shared values (conservative vs. conservative) but strictly on national benefit and power.

The Unification of Italy: Preliminary Efforts and the $1848$ Revolutions

• The romantic ideal of a united Italy emerged through the pragmatic application of Realpolitik.
• In $1858$, the Italian peninsula consisted of $8$ distinct states; by $1870$, it was a single unified nation.
• The process traced back to the $1848$ revolutions when several regions attempted to expel Austrian rulers:
  • Milan (Northwest Italy) threw out the Austrians.
  • Venice (Northeast Italy) threw out the Austrians.
  • Tuscany established a republic.
• These movements represented a melding of nationalism and liberalism.
• Liberal revolutionaries in $1848$ demanded constitutions to limit the power of monarchs.

The Leadership of Piedmont and Sardinia

• Sardinia and Piedmont (centered in modern-day Turin) became the leaders of the unification movement.
• King Charles Albert of Sardinia granted a constitution to his subjects, encouraging other Italian states (Tuscany, Naples, and the Papacy) to join him in a war against Austria.
• The Italian forces were eventually defeated by the superior Austrian army at the Battle of Custoza on July $25$, $1848$.
• Following this defeat, the Austrians regained dominance and Charles Albert abdicated his throne.
• His son, Victor Emmanuel, became the new King of Piedmont and Sardinia.

Camillo Benso di Cavour and Internal Modernization

• Victor Emmanuel appointed Camillo Benso di Cavour as Prime Minister.
• Under a constitutional monarchy, Cavour wielded significant power, with the King generally following his lead.
• Cavour’s strategy for Italian unity was to make Piedmont and Sardinia so efficient, modern, and well-run that other Italian states would desire to join them.
• Key modernization efforts included:
  • Building railroads and docks.
  • Improving agricultural techniques.
  • Limiting the power of the Church (reducing religious holidays, seizing Church land, and terminating independent Church courts).
• These steps were viewed as essential for improving the lives of average citizens and modernizing the state.

The Crimean War as a Diplomatic Tool

• The Crimean War began in $1853$ when Russia attacked the Ottoman Empire to annex Crimea and potentially gain control of Constantinople.
• France and Britain joined the Ottomans to prevent Russia from becoming too powerful.
• Cavour involved Sardinia in the Crimean War, despite having no direct interest in the region, to ensure Sardinia was viewed as an equal to major European powers.
• At the resulting peace treaty, Sardinia was recognized as a major diplomatic player alongside Russia, France, Britain, and the Ottomans.

The Alliance with Napoleon III and Provoking Austria

• Cavour aimed to use France against Austria, which still controlled Venice and Milan.
• Napoleon III, the Emperor of France, felt insecure in his rule; he wanted to appear liberal and supported the principle of national self-determination, yet he was an emperor.
• Cavour and Napoleon III formed a secret treaty: if Austria attacked Piedmont, France would assist.
• In exchange, Napoleon III received a marriage alliance between his family and the royal family of Piedmont/Sardinia to bolster his legitimacy.
• Cavour also coordinated with the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi to organize a volunteer corps, framing the conflict not as Piedmont vs. Austria, but as Italy vs. Austria.
• On April $19$, $1860$, the Austrian emperor rejected a congress proposed by the powers and issued an ultimatum demanding the disarmament of Piedmont.
• Cavour used this ultimatum to portray Austria as the aggressor, leading to a war in which the French-Piedmontese alliance defeated the Austrians in two major battles.

Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Red Shirts

• Tuscany, Modena, Parma, and Romagna joined Piedmont (Italy) via plebiscite, while Nice and Savoy were ceded to France.
• Giuseppe Garibaldi organized a force of $1,000$ volunteers known as the "Red Shirts."
• The Red Shirts targeted the corrupt government of Naples and Sicily in the South, which collapsed easily.
• Garibaldi, a lifelong revolutionary and advocate for a republic, was convinced by Cavour that a united Italy under a monarchy was preferable to a divided republic.
• Garibaldi yielded to Victor Emmanuel, riding with him through Naples to symbolize unity.
• Southern Italy joined Northern Italy via plebiscite.
• Venice was added in $1866$ after Italy sided with Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War.
• Rome was annexed in $1870$ after French protection was withdrawn; the Pope lost his secular power and remained in Vatican City for the rest of his life.

German Unification and the Role of Industrialization

• Germany was composed of various states, with Prussia being the largest ($11,000,000$ people growing to $18,000,000$).
• Nationalist sentiment had been fostered by figures like Fichte and the Grimm brothers, but the $1848$ revolution failed to unite the nation through the "Medellin Frankfurt" (Frankfurt Parliament), which lacked real power.
• Unification was ultimately driven by industrialization, which necessitated larger markets and led to trade agreements and economic dependence among German states.

Otto von Bismarck and "Blood and Iron"

• Otto von Bismarck became Chancellor of Prussia in $1862$.
• A member of the conservative Junker (landlord) class, Bismarck prioritized military power and rural values.
• When the Prussian Parliament (elected by the wealthy since $1850$) refused to raise taxes for the military, Bismarck collected the taxes anyway, ignoring the legislature's authority.
• He modernized the army with "needle guns," which could fire $5$ bullets a minute.
• Bismarck famously stated that the great questions of the day would be decided not by speeches or majority votes, but by "blood and iron."

The Wars for German Hegemony

• The Danish War ($1864$): Prussia and Austria fought Denmark for Schleswig and Holstein. Prussia took Schleswig, while Austria took Holstein. Bismarck strategically ensured Austrian territory separated Prussian lands to provide a future pretext for war.
• The Austro-Prussian War ($1866$): Bismarck provoked Austria over Holstein. Despite most German states siding with Austria, the Prussian army defeated them in just $7$ weeks using needle guns and railroads.
• Prussia annexed Hanover, Nassau, Hesse-Cassel, and Frankfurt.
• Bismarck introduced universal male suffrage in Prussia, correctly calculating that the conservative masses would support him over liberals, while the King retained actual power.

The Franco-Prussian War and the German Empire

• Napoleon III’s authority in France was weakened after a failed expedition in Mexico.
• Both France and Prussia desired war: Napoleon III to restore his prestige, and Bismarck to force the Southern German states to unite with Prussia.
• The pretext for war was the candidacy of Leopold of Hohenzollern for the Spanish throne.
• Bismarck edited an official dispatch (the Ems Telegram) to make it appear as though the Prussian King had insulted the French ambassador, leading France to declare war in July $1870$.
• Southern German states joined Prussia, and the combined forces reached Paris by September $4$.
• After a $4$-month siege and the formation of a communist commune in Paris, France surrendered.
• On January $18$, $1871$, the King of Prussia was declared Emperor of Germany in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
• Consequences for France:
  • Forced to establish a democratic parliament with universal suffrage by the Prussians.
  • Required to pay an indemnity of $5,000,000,000$ gold francs.
  • Ceded the territories of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany.