The Making Of Germany And Italy

Germany - Can the Army be the Architect of a Nation ?

• Nationalist feelings were widespread among middle-class Germans, who in 1848 tried to unite the different regions of the German confederation into a nation-state governed by an elected parliament.
• Prussia took on the leadership of the movement for national unification. its Chief minister, Otto von Bismarck (followed the policy of Blood and Iron), was the architect of this process carried out with the help of the Prussian army and bureaucracy. Three wars over seven years - with Austria, Denmark and France - ended in Prussian victory and completed the process of unification. In January 1871, the Prussian king, Willaim I was proclaimed German Emperor in a ceremony held at Versaillies. On 18 January 1871, an assembly gathered in the unheated Hall of mirrors in the Palace of Versaillies to proclaim the new German Empire headed by Kaiser William I of Prussia.
• The new state placed a strong emphasis on modernising the currency, banking, legal and judicial systems in Germany.

Italy Unified

1. During the middle of the nineteenth century, Italy was divided into seven states, of which only one, Sardinia-Piedmont, was ruled by an Italian princely house. Even the Italian language had not acquired one common form and still had many regional and local variations.
2. During the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini had sought to put together a coherent programme for a unitary Italain Republic. He formed a secret society called Young Italy for the dissemination of his goals. The failure of revolutionary uprisings both in 1831 and 1848 meant that the mantle now fell on Sardinia Piedmont under its ruler King Victor Emmanuel If to unify the Italian states through war
3. Through a tactful diplomatic alliance with France engineered by Cavour, Sardinia-Piedmont succeeded in defeating the Austrian forces in 1859. Apart from regular troops, a large number of armed volunteers under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi joined the fray.In 1860, they marched into South Italy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and succeeded in winning the support of the local peasants in order to drive out the Spanish rulers. In 1861 Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of united Italy.

Political Situation of Italy before Unification

1. Like Germany, Italy also has a long history of division.
2. The Italians are scattered in several powerful provinces and the Habsburg State.
3. In the middle of the nineteenth century, Italy was divided into seven provinces — one Sardinia-Piedmont — dominated by the Italian Prince House.
4. The North was under Austrian Habsburg, the center was under papal rule and the southern states were under Bourbon kings in Spain.
5. Even the Italian language did not find one common language and still had many regional and local variations.

Unification of Germany

1. It started with the liberal Nationalist movement of 1848 with the formation of the Frankfurt Parliament but efforts failed.
2. The move was then taken by Prussia and the responsibility shifted to Prime Minister Otto Von Bismarck.
3. Bismarck led three wars over a period of seven years with Austria, Denmark and France culminating in a Prussian victory.
4. Finally, Germany unified in January 1871.
5. The king of Prussia, William I, was proclaimed emperor of Germany at a ceremony held in Versailles.