Unification in Italy and Germany & Causes of World War I

Nationalism

Nationalism is a key concept for understanding the unification of Italy and Germany. It refers to the bonds that create a nation-state, where people share commonalities and form a political unit. Nationalism can either unite people or divide them. In the context of Italy and Germany, it acted as an attractive force, bringing people together despite their differences to form nation-states.

Italy Before Unification

Before the mid-to-late 19th century, Italy was decentralized and composed of many small units. Several factors prevented its unification:

• Commercial City-States: Cities like Venice, Florence, and Rome were commercial centers in competition with each other, hindering unity.
• The Roman Catholic Church: The Church owned land in the middle of Italy and sought to maintain its power by keeping the region divided, preventing the relinquishing of power.
• Austrian Interference: The Austrian Empire sought to keep Italy divided to prevent the emergence of a strong, unified state on its border, specifically influencing Venice.

Italy began to unify due to the rise of nationalism combined with Industrial Revolution. The people of Italy understood that they had to unify to compete against to other countries who become bigger because of the revolution

Key Figures in Italian Unification

• Kavore: Initiated the unification process in the North.
• Garibaldi: A fighter who played a crucial role in the Italian Wars of Unification.
• Victor Emmanuel: Became the symbolic king of a constitutional monarchy, unifying the country, agreeing with Kavore and Garibaldi to give a constitutional monarchy.

Germany Before Unification

Germany, like Italy, was decentralized. The Thirty Years' War, primarily caused by religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics, devastated the region and hindered its development.

• External Forces: Russia tried to prevent Germany from unifying, fearing a powerful neighbor. However, the Crimean War showed the Germans that the Russians were not as strong, paper tiger, as they seemed.

Otto von Bismarck and German Unification

Otto von Bismarck, the key figure in German unification, employed a political philosophy of "Iron and Blood" or "Blood and Iron". This meant:

• Iron: Industrializing and militarizing the German states.
• Blood: Using military force to create a common enemy and unite the Germans.

Bismarck instigated three wars:

1. Against Denmark
2. Against Austria
3. Against France (Franco-Prussian War)

Franco-Prussian War and its Significance

• German Victory: Led to German unification in 1871, disrupting the balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
• French Reparations: Germany made France pay reparations, a historical context for later demands after World War I.
• Alsace-Lorraine: Germany took Alsace-Lorraine from France, leading to French bitterness. These provinces had both German and French populations.

Effects of German Unification

• Bismarck's Alliances: After unification, Bismarck aimed to create a web of alliances to prevent war, particularly fearing France. He sought alliances with Russia and Austria.
• Kaiser Wilhelm II: Undermined Bismarck's strategy by not renewing the alliance with Russia and building a navy, spooking Britain and initiating a naval arms race.

Causes of World War I (MANIA)

Militarism

Building up military equipment and increasing personnel. The naval race between Britain and Germany exemplifies this.

Alliances

The two major alliances were:

• Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
• Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia.

The Triple Entente formed due to fear of Germany. Kaiser Wilhelm II's failure to renew the alliance with Russia led Russia to seek allies in France and Britain.

Imperialism

Global competition and empire building led to jealousy and tension, especially as Germany and Italy felt late to the game. Incidents in Morocco and public German siding with the Boers created tension with Britain and France and the Entente Corgel.

Nationalism

Southeastern Europe, known as the Balkans, was a problem area due to diverse ethnic groups within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Serbia sought to create a Greater Serbia, leading to conflict with Austria-Hungary.

The Spark: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Bosnian Serbs, associated with the Black Hand terrorist organization, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Austria-Hungary, after discovering Serbian involvement, issued an ultimatum to Serbia. When Serbia didn't comply fully, Austria-Hungary declared war.

• Blank Check: Germany gave Austria-Hungary a "blank check" of support, encouraging them to take action against Serbia.
• Domino Effect: Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary, and Germany declared war on Russia and France.

Schlieffen Plan

Germany's plan to quickly capture Paris by going through neutral Belgium. This violated Belgium's neutrality pact with Britain, causing Britain to join the war.

Two Sides of World War I

• Allies: Britain, France, Russia, and Serbia (later joined by Italy and the United States).
• Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.

Italy's Entry into World War I

Italy initially remained neutral but later joined the Allied side after being promised Austrian territory with Italian populations.

United States' Entry into World War I

The United States joined the Allied side due to several factors:

• Sinking of the Lusitania: A British vessel with Americans on board was sunk by a German submarine.
• Zimmerman Telegram: Germany attempted to get Mexico to attack the United States.
• Unrestricted Submarine Warfare: Violated "Freedom of the Seas".
• Wilson's 14 Points: President Wilson wanted the U.S. to have a say in the peace conference and promote democracy.

Treaty of Versailles and the Paris Peace Conference

1. Germany was defanged and was not allowed to have an airforce, or many troops. They were only allowed to have enough for defense. All of it's colonies were taken from Germany.
2. War Guilt Clause: Germany was assigned the full blame of the war, which then justified the rest of the world asking for money back from Germany.
3. League of Nations: United Nations was introduced to prevent the next world was ( but a lot of the countries didn't decide to join)

Territorial Changes

• New countries like Poland, The Baltics, Czechoslovakia reconstituted, mainly from the Austria and Hungary region.
• The ottoman empire also gets dissolved

The Ottoman Empire and the Middle East

During World War I, Britain and France made the Sykes-Picot Agreement to oversee the region after the Ottoman Empire's defeat.

British Mandates

Included territories like Iraq and Palestine.

French Mandates

Included Syria and Lebanon.

The Arabs, who had helped the British against the Turks, felt betrayed by the mandate system as they expected immediate independence. Those countries then got restricted rights.

Effects on Colonies

Colonies that aided the Allied powers expected expanded rights but instead faced restricted rights, leading to increased nationalism.

India

The Rowlatt Acts restricted public protest, leading to the Amritsar Massacre. This led to more activism because their expectations let down and that the British won't allow them certain freedom.

Turkey

*Turkey blocked what's below Turkey, which is the Middle East. They Blocked the soviet union from trading and having oil.

• Ataturk: After World War I, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk fought to create modern, secular Turkey, embraced by the Allies as a barrier against the Soviet Union.
• To prevent Turkeys charges on what they did with the Armenian, Ataturk modernized it and became a secular state. He also promoted women right and gave off a westernized secular state.
• After ww1 and the fact they created a well modernized country, the west let them get away with a few things.

Russia

1. Imperial Russia was a time referred to Russia Czar, they were defeated by Germany due to
2. Bolshevik Revolution
3. The Bolshevik gained power due to Lenin and eventually surrendered to get out of the war.
4. Imperial Russia-Germany- New territories. These all became new territories due to Germany losing.