Transcript Italian and German Unifications

Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872)
•Father of Italian Republicanism
•Founder of “Young Italy”- 1831
•Head of Roman Republic – 1848-9
1810-1861
•Founder of Il Risorgimento, 1847
•Prime Minister – 1852-9, 60-61
•Proclamation of Kingdom of Italy, March, 1861
Napoleon III
Premises of Napoleon’s Foreign Policy
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Main failure of Louis Philippe’s regime was
its ineffective foreign policy, viz., it did
nothing to restore France to its rightful
position of Continental leadership.
No one would be able to make the same
charge against his regime.
Need to allay suspicions/fears created by
the Napoleonic name/legacy and the
manner of his assuming position of
Emperor.
Premises of Napoleon’s Foreign Policy
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Curry favor [alliance] with Britain
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A factor in pressing for Crimean War
War had made French military look good by
comparison to the British and Russian efforts
Dismantle the basic settlement of 1815
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But not for direct French territorial acquisitions
A new European order based on “completed
nationalities and satisfied general interests”
achieved under French patronage
Orsini’s Assassination Attempt on Napoleon III and
Eugénie, Jan. 14, 1858, Outside Opera House
Casualties Included 8 dead and 150 wounded.
Orsini’s Statement Before the Court Which Condemned
Him to Death
Giuseppe Garibaldi, 1807-1882
•Mazzini Ally in Young
Italy
•Comm.-in-Chief of
Roman Republic
•U.S. Citizen in
Early1850s
•Leader of Red Shirts
(or The Thousand) Who
Conquered Sicily and
Naples in 1860-61
•Tried to capture Rome
in 1862 and 1867
•Fought for France in
1870
Garibaldi Leads Redshirts Into Sicily
Victor Immanuel II, King of
Piedmont-Sardinia; 1st King
Of Italy, 1861
“The Right Leg in the
Boot at Last!”
Garibaldi: “If it won’t go
on, Sire, Try a little more
powder.”
Victor Emmanuel II, King of Piedmont-Sardinia 18491861; First King of the Kingdom of Italy, r. 1861-1878
Pitti Palace, Florence
Royal Residence of
King Victor Emmanuel
As King of Italy
Monument to king Victor Emmanuel II
Construction began in 1885; dedicated in
1911 for the fiftieth anniversary of the
kingdom of Italy.
Victor Emmanuel II’s
Tomb in the Pantheon,
Rome
Otto von Bismarck, Prime Minister
Of Prussia; Chancellor of Germany
Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, 1862-1
Emperor of Germany, 1871-1888
Wars of German Unification
I. Danish-Prussian/Austrian War, Feb.-June, 1864
•New Danish constitution of 1863 appeared to lay
foundation to incorporate Schleswig (in violation
of an 1852 treaty restoring it to Danish king in
aftermath of revolution of 1848, but guaranteeing
it would not be incorporated into Denmark)
•German Confederation (dominated by Austria)
sent troops to Holstein; Bismarck not willing to let
Prussian action be controlled by Confederation
•Posed as champion of international law by
condemning both Danes and Confederation
•Then persuaded Austria to join in issuing
ultimatum to Denmark to revoke constitution in
48 hours – a condition he knew it could not
meet.
Wars of German Unification
I. Danish-Prussian/Austrian War, Feb.-July, 1864
•Danes itching for fight and expected help from
Russia, Britain, Sweden, and maybe even France
•Austro-Prussian ultimatum condemned as totally
unreasonable and a mere provocation
•Austria & Prussia declare war
•Britain offers to mediate after initial military
action left Danes in weak position – hosts
conference in London in late April
•Danes reject Bismarck’s proposals, thus incurring
blame for war’s resumption in late June
•Treaty of Vienna in Oct., 1864
• Denmark surrenders all claims to Schleswig &
Holstein
II. Austro-Prussian (Seven Weeks) War
oConvention of Gastein, August, 1865, creates
joint sovereignty but separate administration of
Holstein (Austria) and Schleswig (Prussia)
o Bismarck’s attempts to expand Prussian
influence thwarted by Austria at every turn
o Austrian reorganization of Holstein’s gov’t. used
by Bismarck as pretext to accuse Austria of
violating Conv. of Gastein, obviously intended to
manufacture crisis and provoke war
II. Austro-Prussian (Seven Weeks) War
oBismarck’s pre-war diplomacy to isolate Austria
o Aided Russia during 1863 Polish revolt
o Bismarck’s agreement with Napoleon III at
Biarritz, Oct. 1865:
oFrench pledge neutrality in pending war
oBismarck makes vague promises of
territorial compensation to France in Lux.,
Belgium, or Rhineland
oPrussian alliance with Italy (April, 1866) to
force Austria into 2-front war; Venetia promised
to Italy; treaty had 3 month shelf life
o Prussia sends troops into Holstein, June, 1866
o Austria persuades Confederation to order
mobilization against Prussia
o Battle of Koniggratz (Sadowa), July 3
II. Austro-Prussian (Seven Weeks) War
oKeys to Victory:
oAustria confronted with 2 front war
oPrussian mobility (railroad), weaponry
o
(needle gun), and
leadership (general staff)
Results
oAustria looses Venetia but
suffers no further humiliation
o Prussia annexes Austria’s
northern German Conf. Allies –Holstein,
Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassua, and
Frankfort
o Creation of the North German
Confederation
Franco-Prussian War, 1870
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Background
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Dashed French expectations of its neutrality in
Austro-Prussian War
Expected Austrian victory (nearly all of Europe
thought so)
 Austria had agreed to the creation of a Rhineland
state under French “protection”
 Bismarck’s vague promises of compensation at
Biarritz come to nothing but ill will
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Determination to block further Prussian expansion
Pursue triple alliance with Austria and Italy
 Nurture anti-Prussian (anti-Protestant) sentiment
in south German states
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Background (cont.)
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Spanish Revolution, 1868, and Hohenzolleran
candidacy for Spanish throne, a distant relative of
Wilhelm I
Bismarck initially opposed project in hopes of a
moderating/liberalizing French policy
Plebiscite of May, 1870 gave Napoleon III
overwhelming majority in assembly and raised
prospects of more aggressive Fr. policy
Bismarck renewed Hohenzolleran candidacy for
Spanish throne
Initial French diplomatic victory (Wilhelm withdraws
Hohenzollern candidate) pushed too far (demand
for apology), resulted in French humiliation (the
Ems Dispatch) and French calls for war
The Ems Dispatch: Original Text
"Count
Benedetti [the French ambassador to Prussia] intercepted me
[King Wilhelm I of Prussia] on the promenade and ended by
demanding of me in a very importunate manner that I should
authorize him to telegraph at once that I bound myself in perpetuity
never again to give my consent if the Hohenzollerns renewed their
candidature.
I rejected this demand somewhat sternly as it is neither right nor
possible to undertake engagements of this kind [for ever and ever].
Naturally I told him that I had not yet received any news and since
he had been better informed via Paris and Madrid than I was, he
must surely see that my government was not concerned in the
matter."
[The King, on the advice of one of his ministers] "decided in view of the
above-mentioned demands not to receive Count Benedetti any more,
but to have him informed by an adjutant that His Majesty had now
received from [Leopold] confirmation of the news which Benedetti
had already had from Paris and had nothing further to say to the
ambassador.
His Majesty suggests to Your Excellency {Bismarck} that Benedetti's
new demand and its rejection might well be communicated to our
ambassadors and to the Press."
Bismarck’s Edited Version
"After the news of the renunciation of the Prince
von Hohenzollern had been communicated to
the Imperial French government by the Royal
Spanish government, the French Ambassador in
Ems made a further demand on His Majesty the
King that he should authorize him to telegraph
to Paris that His Majesty the King undertook for
all time never again to give his assent should
the Hohenzollerns once more take up their
candidature.
His Majesty the King thereupon refused to receive
the Ambassador again and had the latter
informed by the adjutant of the day that His
Majesty had no further communication to make
to the Ambassador.
French public opinion and Legislative Chamber outraged;
demanded war against Prussia
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Declaration of War – July 19,
1870
South German states ally
with Prussia and the North
German Confederation
French withdrew garrison
from Rome allowing
completion of Italian
unification
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Keys to outcome
 German railway system = fast mobilization,
deployment, and reinforcements give
Germans 2:1 advantage at outset
 German leadership and planning
 Prussian
General Staff meticulously planned
operations
 Napoleon’s disjointed and ad hoc approach with
proposed operations in Baltic and south Germany
French equal in weaponry
German breakout of Ardennes at Lorraine gap
Cut two French armies off from Paris
Battle of Sedan
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BATTLE OF SEDAN, SEPT. 2, 1870
FRENCH FORCES UNDER MARSHAL MacMAHON:
120,000
83,000 CAPTURED
20,000 MISSING
14,000 WOUNDED
3,000 KILLED
120,000
PRUSSIAN FORCES UNDER GEN. VON MOLTKE:
200,000
9,000 KILLED/WOUNDED
French Taken Prisoners at the Battle of
Sedan, 1870
Aftermath of Sedan
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Napoleon III’s government collapses;
republican regime proclaimed by Leon
Gambetta, outspoken critic of Empire
in the French Assembly, on 4th
Prussians lay siege to Paris – 19th
Gambetta escapes in balloon to raise
armies in the provinces
Paris starves; armistice signed,
Jan., 1871
Stage set for the tragedy of the Paris
Commune – May, 1871
Wilhelm I Proclaimed Emperor at Versailles
Jan. 18, 1871
Italian and German Unifications: A Comparison
1. Origins of Movements – Cultural
Nationalism
2.
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Young Italy
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Burschenschaften
Political Nationalism
Role of Napoleonic Conquests:
 Import ideal of popular sovereignty, national
unity/solidarity
 Reaction against foreign domination
3. Carriers of the Movement
 Secret Societies
 Significant Individuals
4. The Role of Austria in Opposing the Movement
• Position in Northern Italy
• Traditionally Dominant State in “Germany”
5. The Role of France and Napoleon III
• Initial Patron of National Unification (limited)
 Sardinian Alliance vs. Austria (1858)
 Neutrality in Seven Weeks War (1866)
• Opponent of Full Unification
 French Garrison in Rome (1849-1870)
 Franco-Prussian War (1870)
6. Role of Diplomacy and War in Unification
7. Leadership for Unification Within the Region
Role of Kings of Piedmont-Sardinia & Prussia
Role of Prime Ministers of “
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