Nationalist Revolutions Sweep the West, 1789-1900

Chapter Eight

Political Philosophies

• Conservative– Protected the traditional monarchies of Europe– Usually wealthy and/or nobility

• Liberal– Wanted to give more power to parliament– Wanted educated and landowners to vote– Middle class merchants and business owners

• Radical– Favored drastic change for democracy for all– Government should embrace Enlightenment ideas

Nationalism

• What is nationalism?– The belief that the greatest loyalty should be

to a nation of people who share a common culture & history

• What was the effect of nationalism? – Tore apart centuries-old empires– Gave rise to the nation-state– Opposed by conservatives

Types of Nationalism

• Unification merges culturally similar lands

• separation splits off culturally distinct groups

• state-building binds separate cultures into one

Views of Nationalism

• Nationalists use their common bond to build nation-states

• Rulers use nationalism to unify their subjects

A Nation-state…

Above all else…

…defends the nation’s territory & way of life

…Europe 1815: France, England, & Spain could be called nation-states

Ethnic Uprisings in 1848Numerous ethnic uprisings occurred throughout Europe

Nationalism Shakes Aging Empires

• Austrian Empire– Empire included

people from many ethnic groups

– 1866 defeat to Prussia forces the split into Austria & Hungary

– Still ruled by emperor Francis Joseph

Nationalism Shakes Aging Empires• Ottoman Empire

– Internal tensions among ethnic groups weakens empire

– Conservative Turks led the genocide and deportation of thousands of Armenians in 1894-1896

– Empire ultimately falls soon after World War I

Nationalists Challenge Conservative Power

• The Balkans– Region controlled by the Ottoman Empire

• Present day Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and the former Yugoslavia

• Battle of Navarino (1827)– British, French, & Russian fleet destroyed the

Ottomans– Greece gained independence

Radicals Change France

• Demand for democratic government the main goal of the revolution of 1848

• Establishment of The Third Republic– People overturned a monarchy & est. a

republic– New republican gov’t began to fall apart

almost immediately • The radicals split into factions• A moderate constitution was drawn up in 1848

Radicals Change France (cont)• France Accepts a Strong Ruler

– Louis-Napoleon (nephew of Napoleon) won the presidential election December 1848

• Four years later took the title of Emperor Napoleon III • A majority of French voters accepted this without complaint

– French were weary of instability

– Louis-Napoleon’s policies• Built railroads• Encouraged industrialization• Promoted public works• Unemployment decreased• The country experienced real prosperity

Reform in Russia• By the 1800s, Russia still

had not industrialized– Society and economy

based on the feudal system • By the 1820s, many

Russians believed that serfdom must end

• Problem was the czar did not want to free them– It would anger the

landowners – Czar needed support from

landowners to stay in power

Reform in Russia

• Defeat Leads to Change• 1853, Czar Nicholas I wanted to take over

part of the Ottoman Empire in the Crimean War– Industries & transportation system failed to

provide adequate supplies for the troops– 1856, Russia lost the Crimean War– Nicholas II decided that Russia needed to

modernize and industrialize

Reform in Russia• The Reforms of Czar Alexander II

– Freed the serfs in 1861– Peasant communities received about half the

farmland– Nobles kept the other half– Government paid nobles for their land

• Terrorists assassinated Alexander II, 1881 – Political & social reforms stopped

• Alexander III tightened control – Encouraged industrial development– Nationalism was force behind Russia’s drive toward

industrial expansion

Alexander II

Assassination of…

Nationalism Shakes Aging Empires

• Russian Empire After 370 years, Russian Czars begin losing

control over empire– Controlled over a dozen different ethnicities

with different cultures– Used the policy of “Russification”

• Forcing Russian culture on all peoples• Actually strengthened ethnic cultures

– Ultimately empire falls in 1917 • Due to the problems during World War I

Nationalism: The Unification of Italy• Italian Unification

– Italy forms from crumbling empires– 1815-1848 Italians want independence from

foreign rulers

• Cavour Leads Northern Italian Unification– Camillo di Cavour - Prime Minister of Kingdom

of Sardinia (1852)– Gets French help to win control of Austrian-

controlled Italian land

Nationalism: The Unification of Italy

• Giuseppe Garibaldi Brings Unity– Leads nationalists who conquer southern Italy– Known as the “Red Shirts” for their attire during battle

• Cavour convinces Garibaldi to unite southern Italy and Sardinia– Garibaldi steps aside, allowing King of Sardinia to rule– 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was crowned King of Italy– A Constitutional Monarchy is formed

• Control of Venetia, Papal States completes unification (1870)

Camillo di Cavour

Giuseppe Garibaldi

The Unification of Germany

• Beginning in 1815:– 39 German states formed the German Confederation– Austria controlled the Confederation– Prussia lead the unification movement

• Prussian Advantages that promotes German Unification

– Mainly German population– Very powerful army– Creation of liberal constitution

The Unification of Germany

• Bismarck Takes Control• Prussia controlled by the Junkers

– Conservative wealthy landowners – Support Prussian Wilhelm I

• Otto von Bismarck named Prime Minister (1862)– Junker “realpolitik” master

• Power politics without room for idealism• Based on the needs of the state• Used military force to achieve political gain

Otto von BismarckKaiser Wilhelm II

The Unification of Germany• Prussia Expands

– Prussia & Austria fight Denmark, gain two provinces• Quick victory makes other German nations respect Prussia

• Seven Weeks’ war– Bismarck creates border dispute with Austria to provoke war– Prussia seizes Austrian territory, northern German– Eastern & western parts of Prussian kingdom joined for first time

• The Franco-Prussian War– Bismarck provokes war with France to unite all Germans

• Manufactured a political incident

– Prussia defeats France• Wilhelm is crowned Kaiser – emperor of a united Germany – at

Versailles• Bismarck creates a Germany united under Prussian dominance

A Shift in Power

• Balance is Lost– In 1815, the Congress of Vienna established five

powers in Europe• Austria• Prussia• Britain• France• Russia

– By 1871, Britain & Prussia (now Germany) have gained much power

– Austria & Russia are weaker militarily & economically