This document provides background information on nationalism and imperialism in Europe in the 1800s. It discusses the rise of nationalism and how it contributed to the unification of both Italy and Germany. For Italy, it describes how Camillo Cavour used skillful diplomacy and military alliances to help drive Austria out of northern Italian territories and unite most of Italy under one kingdom by 1861. For Germany, it explains how Otto von Bismarck helped Prussia defeat Austria and the other German states to forge a unified German empire through his policy of "blood and iron", achieving unification by 1871 despite religious and political divisions within Germany.

1. Age Nationalism & Imperialism

2. What is Nationalism?
I. What is Nationalism?
A. Nationalism is a feeling of strong loyalty and devotion to one's country and
culture and these bonded tie people together.
1. European empires were made up of many different ethnic groups.
B. Nationalists believed that people of a single “nationality,” or ancestry, should
unite under their own freely elected government.
1. Nationalists were not loyal to kings, but to their people and to those who
shared common bonds.

3. Nationalism: A Force for Unity or Disunity
I. Nationalism: A Force for Unity or Disunity
A. During the 1800s, nationalism fueled efforts to build nation-states.
B. Gradually, authoritarian rulers began to see that nationalism could also unify
masses of people.
1. They soon began to use nationalist feelings for their own purposes.
2. They built nation-states in areas where they remained firmly in control.
C. In Europe, nationalism also upset the balance of power set up at the Congress
of Vienna in 1815 and affected the lives of millions.
II. Extreme Nationalism is the belief that one's culture or country is better than
another.

5. Italy Before Unification (1858-1870)
I. Unification of Italy
A. Congress of Vienna had broken Italy into many small kingdoms after
Napoleon (French Emperor) was defeated.
1. Papal States- Kingdoms in Italy were ruled by the Catholic Church.
B. Austrian domination
1. Most kingdoms in Italy were controlled by Austria.
a. These kingdoms often had conflicting interests and fought each other.
C. Italians united to fight the foreign domination of their country.
1. Secret patriotic and nationalistic societies spread throughout Italy.
2. Austria and France often sent troops to crush rebellions.

6. Cavour Unites Italy
I. Cavour Leads Italian Unification
A. Italian nationalists looked for leadership from the kingdom of Sardinia,
the largest and most powerful of the Italian states.
B. In 1852, Sardinia’s king, Victor Emmanuel II, named Count Camillo di
Cavour (kuh•VOOR) as his prime minister.
C. Camillo di Cavour and his plans for Italian unification:
1. Took power away from the church.
2. Promoted industry and built railroads.
4. Improved agriculture and supported education.
6. Enlarged the army.
Victor Emmanuel II
Camillo di Cavour

7. Cavour Leads Italian Unification
I. Cavour Leads Italian Unification
A. Cavour was a cunning political leader who used skillful diplomacy to sign a
secret alliance in 1858 with France by giving Emperor Napoleon III land in
exchange for help with driving Austria out of the northern Italian provinces.
2. Cavour then provoked a war with the Austrians.
3. With France's help, Cavour defeated Austria and regained control of most
of northern Italy, except Venetia.
a. Only Southern Italy remained under Austrian rule.
Emperor Napoleon III
Savoy
Nice
Areas given to
Napoleon III in
exchange for his help
against Austria.
Area regained by
Italy from Austria

8. Garibaldi Giuseppe Brings Unity
I. Garibaldi Giuseppe Brings Unity
A. Giuseppe Garibaldi (GAR•uh•BAWL•dee), an Italian freedom fighter.
B. In May 1860, Garibaldi led a small army of one thousand Italian nationalists
to unite southern Italy.
1. Defeated the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily.
C. Garibaldi and Cavour united and established the Kingdom of Italy.
1. In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia became the king of Italy.
In battle, Garibaldi always wore
a bright red shirt, as did his
followers. As a result, they
became known as the Red
Shirts.

9. Rome Becomes the Capital of the United Kingdom of Italy
I. Rome becomes the capital of the United Kingdom of Italy.
A. In 1866, the Austrian province of Venetia, which included the city of Venice,
became part of Italy.
B. In 1870, Italian forces took over the last part of a territory known as the
Papal States.
1. With this victory, the city of Rome came under Italian control.
2. Soon after, Rome became the capital of the United Kingdom of Italy.
C. The pope, however, would continue to govern a section of Rome known as
Vatican City.
Vatican City

11. Unification of Germany
I. Unification of Germany
A. Prior to unification, Germany was a loose confederation of states controlled
by Austria.
B. Beginning in 1815, thirty-nine German states formed a loose grouping called
the German Confederation in which Austria dominated.
C. The German states entered into a union with the Zollverein (Prussia) in 1844.
1. This upset Austria because it promoted free trade with Prussia and other
German states without paying heavy tariffs (taxes on imported goods) to
Austria.
German States
[1815]
Prussia
Austria
German States
In the 1800s poets,
philosophers, and
students spread the
idea of a unifying
German
“Fatherland,”
which caused
German
nationalism to rise.

12. Prussia Leads German Unification
I. Prussia Leads German Unification
A. Prussia was a powerful independent country in northern Europe ruled by
King William I.
B. Prussia enjoyed several advantages that would eventually help it forge a
strong German state.
1. Unlike the Austro-Hungary, Prussia had a mainly German population.
a. As a result, nationalism actually unified Prussia.
1a. In contrast, ethnic groups in Austria-Hungary tore the empire apart.
2. Prussia’s army was by far the most powerful in central Europe.
Prussia was the strongest German state because it had
the largest coal deposits in Europe, which fueled
Prussia’s iron and steel industries.
Prussia was a
militaristic state with
an army that was
strong, disciplined,
and well equipped.
King William I

13. Otto von Bismarck Takes Control
I. Otto von Bismarck
A. In 1862, Wilhelm I chose a conservative Junker named Otto von Bismarck as
the Prussian prime minister.
1. The Junkers (YUNG•kuhrz) were the strongly conservative members of
Prussia’s wealthy landowning class.
B. Otto Von Bismarck was nicknamed, “The Iron Chancellor.”
C. The strong and skillful Otto von Bismarck desired to unite all of Germany.
1. Problems?
a. Northern Germany was mostly Lutherans. (Protestants)
b. Southern Germany was mostly Catholics.
Protestant
Germany
Catholic
Germany

14. Realpolitik
I. Realpolitik
A. Bismarck’s Realpolitik, or “realistic politics” meant taking the most practical
path to unification, even if it meant dishonest alliances or starting wars.
B. With realpolitik as his style, Bismarck declared that he would rule without the
consent of parliament and without a legal budget.
1. These actions were in direct violation of the German constitution.
C. In his first speech as prime minister, he defiantly told members of the
Prussian parliament,
1. “It is not by means of speeches and majority resolutions that the great issues of the day will
be decided, that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849, but by blood and iron.”
Realpolitik
Bismarck insisted
unification would be
achieved “not with
speeches and majority
decisions…but with blood
and iron.”