Section 11: Italy (1815–1871) and Germany (1815–1890)
Germany pre-1815
Factors likely to enable unification | Factors likely to hinder unification |
Common language (different dialects) | Peasantry were uneducated and not politically engaged, therefore harder to mobilize in support of unification |
All states part of the Holy Roman Empire (abolished 1806), therefore somewhat unified prior to 1815 | Loyalty to local leaders rather than to one unifying German leader |
Large peasant population, therefore less likely to resist change due to political inactivity | Religious divides between southern Catholics and northern Protestants |
250 States in 1792, therefore susceptible to larger state taking over the weak | Austria had more plentiful resources and fertile soil than Prussia |
Prussia had no empire to defend, unlike Austria, therefore in position to expand/unify | |
Austria was divided/diverse: 1.5 million Czechs, 3.3 million Hungarians, Slovaks, Croats, Italians, Poles, Romanians, Serbs, Slovenes and Belgians in the Empire (limited loyalty to the Hapsburgs) |
Congress of Vienna 1814-1815
Aims: re-establish balance of power, limit French power, compensate winners of the Napoleonic Wars and create “lasting peace”
Germany was re-shaped:
Prussia was split into two halves, in the east and the west, with smaller states in the middle. Prussia was intended as a buffer for French and Russian expansion
39 states, as opposed to the previous 250
Kingdom of Hanover was the most powerful state in the North. Strong links to Britain and enlargement of the state meant that it was seen as a potential buffer for Prussian expansion
Prussia established rail-links between the two states for shipping and military
Prussia received the Rhineland, which was rich in raw materials for industrialization
France, Britain and Austria formed the Triple Alliance for mutual defence of other states after 600,000 Russian troops occupied Poland
Prussia got ⅗ of Saxony, Poland remained independent but was ruled by Russia
Diet was formed: assembly of Bund with Austria as the permanent President, limiting German autonomy
France was allowed to keep the “rightful German clay” of Alsace-Lorraine/Elsass-Lothringen
Growth of Nationalism Between 1815 and 1848:
Followers of philosophers Goethe and Schiller argued that the role of Government was to protect freedom of speech, religion and property, thus they wanted the Bund to grant constitutions to the 39 states
Groups led by Fichte, Arndt and Jahn argued for a German state, with a government that was to preserve culture and language (Volksgeist). German culture was superior and no german could be free unless united under a German government.
A 3rd group argued that the economic prosperity of Britain should be the ideal to strive towards. The 39 states, with their own tariff barriers, bureaucracies and 7 currencies hindered economic growth.
Jahn and Hegel led the push for “Großpreußen” and “Kleindeutschland”, but there were others who felt that “Grossdeutschland”, a german state featuring Austria and other nations.
1817: 700 students and professors joined nationalist demonstrations in Wartburg
1818-1820: 6 South-German states adopted constitutions, granting representation and liberties
July 1830: Revolutions began in France; spread to different European nations
“Romantic Revolutions”: social and liberal revolt
Charles X was overthrown, replaced by King Louis-Philippe, who introduced illiberal reforms such as indemnities and death penalty
There were “three glorious days” of revolution before the french military stepped in to own the libs
Their example was followed in Belgium (successful), Holland, Poland, Italy and Germany (all of which failed)
1832: Hambach, Bavaria had a nationalist demonstrations with 35,000 marchers, however protests were scattered and ineffective
The constitutions were limited, as state rulers retained veto powers, upper aristocrats houses remained and votes were limited to the wealthy or disproportionately represented the wealthy
Metternich halted progress:
1819: Kotzebue, a german writer, murdered by a student. Metternich used this to convince the Diet that a breakdown in law and order was imminent. Carlsbad Decrees were passed, giving all 39 states power to censor all books over 20 pages and dismiss outspoken professors and students
1834: panic after Hambach protests, Metternich does the same shit again
Nationalism was censored:
List was sent to prison for 10 months and exiled after trying to get a public trial in Württemburg
Arndt was banned from teaching for 20 years
Jahn was imprisoned for 2 years and banned for 20 years from living in towns with secondary schools or universities
1837: 7 professors, including Grimm Bros. and Dahlmann, protested the King of Hanover’s overthrow of the constitution of 1833. They were all fired from their universities.
Zollverein 1834:
Prussia had 10.5 million people scattered throughout Germany with 67 different tariff barriers
Prussia removed all internal customs barriers (free market)
External tariffs amounted to approx. 10%
Other states joined the Prussian system, leading to the creation of the Zollverein on 1 January 1834
18 states joined. Zollverein had 23.5 million people
Decisions about customs were made at yearly congress. Unanimity was required
Income obtained from tariffs was divided among member states
1841: 25 states; Zollverein formed a trade treaty with Belgium
Economic unity was the beginning of a unified Germany
The 1848-49 Revolutions
Causes:
Series of poor harvests in central Europe
Dissatisfaction amongst peasantry
Austria had been weakened and struggled to control its empire
In Germany: growing liberalism, nationalism, desire for unification and constitutionalism
The economic growth of Germany created growing confidence in independence and unification
Unrest of 1830 had not disappeared - 1848 spread in same manner
Economic growth, prior to recessions of 1847/48, had led to higher standards of living, but there was no safety net, therefore impacts of recession were exacerbated
February 1848: French monarchy overthrown after demonstrations in Paris
Peasant revolts in Germany: Saxony, Thuring, and Prussia
Middle class demanded more press freedom and accountability from gov't
March 1848: Collapse in authority due to:
Nationalism
Continued feudalism
Rise in population without safety net
Harsh conditions in factories
Industrialization threatened traditional production methods
Weakened Austria (Metternich fled to Britain on 13 March 1848 after riots)
Frederik Wilhelm IV announced new Prussian constitution amid Austria’s struggles
Failure of the Revolutions:
Since 1835: New railways spread all over Germany, except East Prussia
Prussian Junkers needed rails to link farmlands via Berlin to rest of Europe
1840: Frederik WIlhelm IV, new King of Prussia, believed that he needed to be popular, therefore government should build railways
Since 1815: Prussian constitution promised 5 times, never delivered
United Diet refused to grant funds for rails without constitution
18 March 1848: Revolutions broke out all over Europe
The King announced his decision to recall Diet to draft a constitution
Riots in Berlin left the King surrounded in his palace
19 March: forced to pay respects to 216 citizens killed in riots
Hapsburgs were busy with revolts in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, a new constitution being drawn up in Vienna and war in North Italy, therefore couldn’t interfere in Germany
22 February: Start of revolution in France, therefore they also couldn’t intervene
31 March - 3 April: meetings in Frankfurt. Parliament decided to hold elections in all 39 states
18 May: Elections. Diet replaced with new National Assembly
28 May: People’s house to be governed by universal male suffrage
Centralized gov’t but power to the 39 states with elected House members at local level to represent each state (federalism)
Frankfurt assembly had no army, therefore relied on Prussia
August 1848: Prussian army withdrew from Schleswig due to foreign hostility. Pissed off radicals in Frankfurt
26 September: Frankfurt radicals initiate new revolution, put down by Prussian army
The Habsburgs started getting their shit together:
17 June 1848: Bohemian Czechs were defeated; order restored
31 October: army regained control of Vienna
2 December: Francis Joseph became new emperor, with Prince Felix Schwarzenberg as new chief minister
3 April 1849: In desperation, the Frankfurt assembly offered crown of new “Kleindeutschland” to Frederik, in the hopes of protecting their revolution from Austria
21 April: Rejected
3 May: Radicals were driven out of Frankfurt, but they still encouraged revolution in rest of Germany. Dresden: 100 barricades erected. Baden: Republic proclaimed.
26 May: Proposed Erfurt Plan, a federation in which Prussia controlled army and foreign policy. Württemberg, Hanover, Saxony and Bavaria refused. Bismarck decried it, as he felt Prussia sacrificed too much power.
June: Prussian army crushed all uprisings
80,000 of Baden’s 1.5 million population emigrated after revolution was ended
August: Italy, Hungary defeated by Austria
Tsar Nicholas backed Austria’s control over the Erfurt Plan
May 1850: Diet restored
29 November 1850: Prussia agrees to rejoin Diet, restore 1815 settlement
The Road to the Unification of Germany (1851-1863)
5 April 1852: Prince Schwarzenberg died, depriving Austria of strong leadership
1853-56: Crimean War, Austria broke with its ally, Russia.
Threatened to join Britain and France if Tsar Nicholas I didn’t give in.
Prussia and other German states not involved.
1859: Bismarck removed from Diet, made ambassador to Russia
29 April 1859: Austria enters war with Piedmont-Sardinia and France
Russia refused to assist Austria militarily
Mobilized 6 army corps on the Rhine, making Napoleon III withdraw without driving Austria out of North Italy
January 1861: Prince Wilhelm I became King of Prussia as Frederik William IV was nuts at that point
March 1862: Bismarck recalled from Russia; made ambassador to Paris in May
22 September 1862: Bismarck made Minister President by King WIlhelm I to push through military reform
Increase army from 150,000 to 220,000
Add 39 infantry and 10 cavalry regiments
40,000 prussians drafted each year to be trained for 2 years, then spend 2 years in reserves. Wilhelm wanted 63,000, 3 years, and then 4 years in reserves.
Landtag refused to pass Wilhelm’s reforms, as they sought checks and balances
Bismarck tried to compromise, but after failing to do so, decided to ignore the Landtag and pass reform unilaterally
Bismarck continued collecting taxes illegally to fund reforms, hoping to take over Germany with Prussia to end Landtag opposition
18 August 1862: Prussian treaty with France on behalf of Zollverein, essentially eliminating any chance of Austria joining
9 February 1863: Alvensleben Agreement with Russia, committed to help Russia put down Polish rebellion. Pissed off France, Britain, and german liberals
With Austrian encouragement, South German states refused the treaty with France
Bismarck threatened to break up Zollverein completely
October 1864: issue resolved, Zollverein was safe without Austria
March 1863: King Frederick VII of Denmark issued new constitution, which would united Schleswig and Holstein and bring them closer to the danish kingdom
Broke the 1852 Treaty of London: all powers to protect Denmark if the provinces retained their privileges
30% of the population was german, so Germany was not on board with the new constitution
15 November 1863: King Frederick died. New King, Christian IX, immediately prepared to enforce the new constitution
The local assembly of Holstein refused to accept new King, demanding that Frederick of Augustenburg be made Duke of Schleswig and Holstein
Bismarck saw an opportunity to bypass Landtag by using Prussian power to support this nationalist cause that had widespread german support
The Wars of Unification (1863 - 1871)
Bismarck persuaded Austria to ally with Prussia to defeat Denmark
December 1863: Austria and Prussia announced that they would be sending troops into Holstein and Schleswig to “protect the Treaty of London”
20 April 1864: Danes defeated at Battle of Duppel, however, Denmark refused to attend the international conference in London, therefore…
26 June: Prussia and Austria renewed the war to unite the provinces under the Duke of Augustenburg
30 October: the Danes, lacking foreign support, handed the provinces over and surrendered
February 1865: Bismarck insisted that the army and navy of the Duke be under Prussian control and that he take his duchies into Zollverein.
20 August: Convention of Gastein, Austria took Holstein, Prussia took Schleswig (temporary peace)
Prussia had a naval base in Holstein and Austria let them purchase the adjoining territory, Lauenburg. (collision course for Austro-Prussian War)
October 1865: Bismarck met with Napoleon III to ensure that he wouldn’t aid Austria
8 April 1866: alliance with Italy. In return for Venetia they would attack Austria’s southern territories.
Bismarck also communicated with Hungarian nationalists, to see if they could attack Austria simultaneously
30 May 1866: Austrian ultimatum to force Bismarck to make a final agreement or bring the issue to the Diet
7 June: Prussia invaded Holstein
14 June: German confederation agreed to mobilize against Austria by a vote of 9-5
15 June: Prussia mobilized
Austria, Hanover, Baden, Saxony, Hesse and Württemburg fought the Prussian forces
By the end of June, Prussia had defeated Hesse, Hanover and Saxony.
Bavarians had opted to keep their army separate from Austria (useless support)
Prussia took 14 days to mobilize fully, Austria took 7 weeks
3 July 1866: Battle of Königgratz-Sadowa. Prussia defeated Austria. Benedek salvaged 180,000 troops, but they were scattered and disorganized.
1929 Prussian deaths
5793 Austrian and Saxony deaths
Bismarck realized that this battle had won the war for Prussia, shifting his focus to a lasting peace treaty, even as the King and other hawks wanted territory to be annexed
23 August 1866: Treaty of Prague.
Austria lost no territory to Germany, but surrendered Venetia to Italy
Lost all further influence in Germany
Agreed to Prussian annexation of Hanover, Hesse, Nassau, Frankfurt, Holstein and Schleswig
End of the Bund
North German Federation incorporating territories north of the Main river
South Germany had a seperate federation, however they signed a treaty with Bismarck in which they agreed that their railways and armies would fall under Prussian control if Germany was attacked
3 September 1866: Landtag passed Indemnities Bill, permitting all of Bismarck’s illegal taxes that he had been collecting since 1861
Bismarck was beloved in the new Landtag
1 June 1867: new constitution of North German Federation
Religious divide between the Protestant North and Catholic South
France insisted that Prussia’s borders could not expand past the Main
29 August 1866: France proposed to allow unification if they were allowed to procure Luxembourg and Belgium
19 March: King of Holland agreed to sell both to France, but Prussia was outraged
5 April: King changed his mind amid Prussia anger
September 1869: King of Spain offered throne to Leopold of Hohenzollern, son of a Prussian prince
6 July 1870: France sent a telegram, threatening force if Leopold did not withdraw
12 July: Prince Charles Anthony withdrew his son’s candidacy
13 July: France sends new telegram to King to demand he never be considered again
Bismarck edited the Ems Telegram from the King to France and leaked it to the press, making it appear that the King had humiliated France after gross disrespect
19 July 1870: France declared war
Prussia, the Federation and South German troops accounted for 1.18 million, whereas France only had 500,000
2 September: France was already all but defeated, as its first army was trapped in a fortress in Metz, while its second army of 100,000 troops surrendered at Sedan
French mobilization was a disaster
4 September: Yet another revolution in France, new government refused peace
Paris was surrounded by 50 miles of Prussian siege lines
Communications and transport were cut off
19 September: Paris was cut off from the rest of the world
2 January 1871: Bombardment of Paris began (400 shells per day at its peak)
26 January: Paris surrendered
10 May: Treaty of Frankfurt ended the war
18 January 1871: new German Empire declared
Alsace-Lorraine was integrated into the German Empire
Prussia occupied France until 5 billion francs in indemnities were paid
28,208 dead; 88,488 wounded in the Franco-Prussian War
Bismarck’s Domestic Policy
Bismarck wanted to maintain the newly formed German state
“Kulturkampf” - the conflict between the German imperial government and the Roman Catholic Church from about 1872 to 1886, predominantly over the control of educational and ecclesiastical appointments
Under the new constitution, Parliament was elected by universal male suffrage
Bismarck vs. the Catholic Church:
Bismarck’s main goal was to limit the power of the Catholic Church and maintain the new German state
1871: The Catholic division of the Prussian Ministry of Culture was disbanded and Adalbert Falk, and anti-clerical, was made head of the ministry
1872: Jesuits were expelled from Germany
March 1872: religious schools were forced to undergo official government inspection, all religious protections were removed from the constitution, and state subsidies for the Catholic Church were ended
1873: the “May Laws” were enacted:
Giving the state control of education
Civil appointment of bishops
Limited power of the papacy
Prussia became a police state for Catholics
Archbishops of Cologne and Posen were imprisoned
1400 parishes were left without priests
The May Laws made a martyr of the Catholic Church, and generally pissed of liberals, Catholics, and Austria
1874: Church refused to accept May Laws, to which Prussia responded by giving government power to expel clerics
Catholics were convinced that they needed their own party to represent them, leading to the rise of the Zentrum party, which won 95 of the 100 seats needed for a Reichstag majority
1875: letter from the Pope declared measures invalid
1878: Pope Pius IX died; replaced by Leo XIII, who reached out to the Kaiser for friendly relations
1879: Falk was dismissed and most May Laws were repealed
Bismarck recognized that he had overestimated the Catholic threat and, more importantly, needed the Zentrum votes to pass tariffs
Bismarck’s Economic Policy:
Investment in tech development
1876: internal combustion engine
1879: electric train
1881: telephone network in Berlin
1875: 45,000 km of rails, 47.8 million tons of coal, and 1.76 million tons of iron
1900: 74,800 km of rails, 142.6 million tons of coal, and 7.5 million tons of iron
General production was up 213%;
He initially wanted free trade, as the National Liberals controlled Parliament
1879: abandoned free trade for tariffs, because trade wars are good and easy to win
Support of Zentrum and conservative parties
Bismarck abandoned his political alliance with the libs to get his goals
The tariffs increased state revenue, allowing for the army to be well funded
Bismarck and the Socialists:
Rapid industrialization and population growth led to a rise in Socialism, which Bismarck wasn’t on board with
1878: 12 Socialist Party reps. in Parliament
There were also two attempted assassinations of the Kaiser in 1878. Coincidence? Bismarck didn’t think so.
Because correlation equal causation, Bismarck introduced anti-Socialist laws in 1878
Of the 47 socialist papers, 45 were banned
Stripped of right to assembly
November 28: Minor state of siege declared in Berlin, 67 social democrats expelled
April 2, 1886: Reichstag votes 173 to 146 to renew the anti-socialist laws
12 January 1912: Socialists win their first ever majority in Reichstag
1883: Bismarck introduced compensation to sick workers
1884: accident insurance policy provided by the state
1889: Old-age pension scheme started
Bismarck introduced one of the strongest social welfare states in Europe
Historiography
Nationalism |
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Zollverein |
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1848/49 Revolutions |
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Bismarck |
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Role of Prussia |
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Domestic Policy |
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21.“Garibaldi was the most significant leader in the process of Italian unification.” Discuss.
22. Evaluate the importance of Bismarck’s policies in the achievement of German unification by 1871.
21. Evaluate Metternich’s role in the growth of nationalism and liberalism in Italy between 1815 and 1848. 22. Discuss the successes and failures of Bismarck’s domestic policies
21. Examine the impact of the Congress of Vienna on Germany.
22. “Cavour was the most significant figure in the unification of Italy by 1871.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
2021 nov
21. “Cavour’s political skills were the most significant factor in the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy by 1861.” Discuss.
22. To what extent did the establishment of the Zollverein lead to the decline of Austria and the rise of Prussia?
2022 may
21. “Foreign intervention was the main cause of the defeat of the 1848–1849 Revolutions in Italy.” Discuss.
22. Examine the role of Prussia in the consolidation of the new German state after 1871
2022 nov
“Regional discontent was the main cause of the 1848–1849 Revolutions in Italy.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
22. Examine the contribution of diplomacy and militarism to the unification of Germany