Unification in Italy and Germany

Unification in Italy

So, beginning in Italy, we started to discuss some of those who made it onto the list of four important dead  guys . Just to refresh who was on said list we had :

-  Mazzini

- Cavour

-Garibaldi

- Victor Emmanuel

Now given this list :

Which one was most important out of them in the formation of a unified Italy?

• Based on his actions, it was determined that Cavour proved to be the most important in this process,  becoming a major force in catalyzing the unification under the Sardinian king, Victor Emmanuel. Further, Cavour took advantage of the situation as they were presented to him, as in the later case of Garibaldi, in order to promote his goals.

Cavour

Going off of this last point, how did Cavour take advantage of Garibaldi?

• Garibaldi was an ardent nationalist who wanted to free the kingdoms of the Two Sicilies using his group of fellow nationalist guerrilla fighters, known as the Red Shirts.

- This group of  Red Shirts are reminiscent of earlier nationalist radical, Mazzini, who employed the use of the il Risorgimento.

• Even though he promoted a more conservative constitutional monarchy political approach, Cavour secretly aided Garibaldi in his plan of opening up the kingdoms in Sicily. In this way, Cavour saw Garibaldi as an important tool to help get his ideas of breaking the local kingdoms down in favor of a singular state pushed forward.

- As we said, Cavour agreed with the mission, not the means of Garibaldi , but what did this mean?

• Favoring more diplomatic approaches, Cavour did not particularly like the more aggressive, guerrilla methods that were employed by Garibaldi and his men. 

- Force, however can sometimes do a lot more than lofty political agreements to further a cause.

• Although this force was a somewhat effective way to tear through kingdoms like Sicily, it ultimately proved problematic when Garibaldi wanted to go on into the Papal States which could incite foreign and domestic problems with leaders of the Catholic church.

• Almost more alarming to the conservative Cavour was the popular appeal that Garibaldi was gaining among the peasant classes in the areas he traveled through.

- Both issues lead Cavour to organize a plebiscite ,or vote, in the places where Garibaldi conquered.

Why was this so?

• Garibaldi was gaining a degree of support from the peasant classes. Cavour, although using Garibaldi in his plan for unification, did not want any actual threat to the monarchy that he was trying to extend across Italy. So, by doing this, Cavour prevented any more popular support from  fomenting for Garibaldi and instead instituted a vote for monarchy.

Cavour to Garibaldi

Because of this move, did it make Cavour the same as Metternich?

•  Although Cavour used a radical nationalist in a way that Metternich may not have, the two men can be seen as similar. In both leaders, there was a fear of radicalism and popular appeal. Neither Cavour nor Metternich aimed to remake society, but rather to establish a traditional form of government in the way of a constitutional monarchy.

Unification in Germany

From the unification efforts in Italy, we turned to those that were happening farther north in the German Confederation.

• Prior to this time :  nations within the German Confederation tried to unite through economic means  under the Zollverein, an overarching customs trade union.

However, the true force that ultimately did the most to unite the German nationalities was  Otto von Bismarck.

• Originally from the Prussian aristocratic class, known as the Junkers, Bismarck became the chief minister to the Hohenzollern  monarchy in Germany.

The two things that Bismarck said that united Germany was "blood and iron" rather than revolutions.

What did "blood and iron" stand for?

- Iron = industry of the nation

- Blood = international warfare that could expand and bind the confederation together

Another idea that  Bismarck  was a proponent of was  having "two irons in the fire"

• Two irons in the fire meant that in case one plan or course of action failed, there would be another one that could easily replace it as another adequate option that he could follow.

Adhering to his own advice, the three most influential steps taken by Bismarck to unify Germany included:

1. War against Denmark

• Fought over claims by both Denmark and Prussia over the provinces, Schleswig-Holstein
• The Danish king believed in the legal claims that he had to the provinces, however, with the majority of the population being German , Prussia also firmly held that the lands were theirs.

Looking at this issue, it can be viewed as having a Hitler-like quality where Hitler forcibly took present-day Czechoslovakia using the claim that the citizens wanted to go back to their German heritage and rule.

2. The Austro-Prussian War

3. The Franco-Prussian War

Based on what this information about Bismarck,

                       Was Bismarck a great visionary or a great manipulator?

• Given his actions until this point, Bismarck is more of a master manipulator than a visionary. While vision might have influenced him, Bismarck employed numerous calculated power plays to achieve the maximum benefit for the growth of his country. Therefore, he used cunning and the art of manipulation in his political position.