19th Century Europe was greatly influenced by Nationalism. Nationalism sparked change in Europe through sovereignty and autonomy. Nationalism broke down aging empires and acted as force for disunity. In an act of loyalty to their country, people brought unification to Italy and Germany, the Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian empires began to crumble, and the outburst of wars such as the Franco-Prussian War and the Seven Weeks’ War came about. Nationalism was a key factor in building nations. Throughout the years Italians were growing impatient and dissatisfied under foreign rule. Count Cavour was responsible for the brains behind the unification of Italy. He believed that releasing the Italians from foreign rule would not only leave the country authoritative and superb but also supply the people with intelligence and knowledge (Doc. 3). Italian Nationalists looked up to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia because of their power over the Italian states. In 1848, the kingdom had adopted a liberal constitution. So to the middle class liberals, unification under Piedmont Sardinia was appealing. Giuseppe Garibaldi, the leader of army of nationalists, captured Sicily. After marching across the Italian mainland their was an agreement to let the Sardinian king rule. Like Italy, Germany achieved national unity around the same time. The Austrian Empire took over the German confederation; however, Prussia was prepared to unify them. Prussia had a mainly German empire. Therefore, nationalism truly unified Prussia. When Bismarck took control, he was a master of realpolitik. Bismarck’s method for uniting Germany was through blood and iron (Doc 5). He believed that the power of Germany should be allocated over all German People. In his eyes, war was the only option to achieving success. When nationalism emerged in the 19th Century, ethnic conflict threatened and eventually wiped out some of the remaining empires. After the Prussians victory in the
19th Century Europe was greatly influenced by Nationalism. Nationalism sparked change in Europe through sovereignty and autonomy. Nationalism broke down aging empires and acted as force for disunity. In an act of loyalty to their country, people brought unification to Italy and Germany, the Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian empires began to crumble, and the outburst of wars such as the Franco-Prussian War and the Seven Weeks’ War came about. Nationalism was a key factor in building nations. Throughout the years Italians were growing impatient and dissatisfied under foreign rule. Count Cavour was responsible for the brains behind the unification of Italy. He believed that releasing the Italians from foreign rule would not only leave the country authoritative and superb but also supply the people with intelligence and knowledge (Doc. 3). Italian Nationalists looked up to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia because of their power over the Italian states. In 1848, the kingdom had adopted a liberal constitution. So to the middle class liberals, unification under Piedmont Sardinia was appealing. Giuseppe Garibaldi, the leader of army of nationalists, captured Sicily. After marching across the Italian mainland their was an agreement to let the Sardinian king rule. Like Italy, Germany achieved national unity around the same time. The Austrian Empire took over the German confederation; however, Prussia was prepared to unify them. Prussia had a mainly German empire. Therefore, nationalism truly unified Prussia. When Bismarck took control, he was a master of realpolitik. Bismarck’s method for uniting Germany was through blood and iron (Doc 5). He believed that the power of Germany should be allocated over all German People. In his eyes, war was the only option to achieving success. When nationalism emerged in the 19th Century, ethnic conflict threatened and eventually wiped out some of the remaining empires. After the Prussians victory in the