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The Age of Nation-States
Chapter 23
General Overview
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The Crimean War(1854-1856)
Italian Unification
German Unification
France: From Liberal Empire to the Third Republic
The Habsburg Empire: the emergence of dual
monarchy in Austria-Hungary
• Reforms in Russia: emancipation of the serfs
(Most of this liberal agenda was enacted while
conservatives were in power)
Politics after 1848
• The failures of 1848 vanished the hopes of
many liberals and reformers.
• Europe entered another post-revolutionary
restoration.
• Struggles for constitutionalism continued.
The Eastern Question and The
Crimean War, 1853-1856(I)
• One of first major political developments in Europe
following Year of Revolutions was Crimean War.
• During the congress of Vienna in 1815, the European
statesmen had found no long-term solution to the
Eastern Question. They did not pay attention to their
rivalries in the East.
• The Eastern Question: instability in the Ottoman
Empire/ growing Russian hegemony in the region.
• Weakened Ottoman Empire posed security problems in
the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean.
• This provided an opportunity for Russia to extend her
influence.
The Crimean War, 1853-1856(II)
• In 1853, diplomatic crisis drifted into the
Crimean War.
• There were minor confrontations in the Baltic
and Kamchatka, but most of the fighting was
confined to the tiny Crimean peninsula on the
northern cost of the Black Sea. (therefore the
name Crimean War)
• This was the most serious international
conflict since 1815.
The Crimean War(III)
The Crimean War(IV)
Ottoman Empire was regularly shaken by
revolts like the War of Greek Independence
and by power struggles between the Sultan in
Constantinople and local pashas in the farflung regions of his Empire during 1830s and
1840s.
The Crimean War(V)
• With the Ottoman Empire in a weakened state, Russia
began to press demands on its southern neighbour,
including for special rights concerning Empire’s
Orthodox Christian population & Orthodox places of
worship in Holy Land.
• The Ottomans resisted these demands & Russia then
occupied the nominally Ottoman provinces of
Moldavia & Wallachia(historical and geographical region
of Romania)
The Crimean War (VI)
• Ottoman Empire, by 1854 supported by Britain &
France, & then by Piedmontese forces too,
declared war on Russia
• Though neither side fought very effectively the
Russians, (partly fearful of domestic repercussions
from a war-weary population), ultimately conceded
defeat & were forced to make important
concessions at an international conference held in
Paris in March 1856
Consequences of the Crimean War
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Perhaps even more impt. than details of the
Crimean War or specific conditions of the Treaty
of Paris were consequences of the war. These
included:
1) Perception of Russia as an invincible colossus that
had existed before the war was erased
2) Russian prestige in the Balkans decreased
3) The Concert of Europe seriously damaged
The Unification of Italy
• Incl. weakening of Concert of Europe & lessening faith in need
to preserve Vienna settlement, (partly because states had been
successful in suppressing revolution & so not now as fearful of
prospect of new revolutionary uprisings), encouraged further
dramatic change in Europe after Crimean War, most
importantly substantial re-drawing of European political map
following national unification of Italy & Germany.
• Italian uprisings of 1848/1849, led largely by romantic
republicans(Mazzini and Garibaldi were dedicated to driving
Austria from the peninsula and establishing a republic in Italy),
failed to achieve objective of Italian unification. Yet, only a
decade later, to an impt. extent as consequence of leadership &
diplomatic maneuvers of Count Cavour of Piedmont, a new,
united kingdom of Italy was successfully established.
The Italian Peninsula – post 1848
Count Camilo di Cavour
• Cavour appointed Prime Minister Piedmont in 1852 by new king
Victor Emmanuel II. Cavour liberal, but also loyal to monarchy.
• Cavour supported national unification of Italy so long as it was
unified under Piedmontese leadership. To this end he backed
establishment of pro-Piedmontese ‘National Society’ in many
different Italian states. He wanted to unify Italy under a constitutional
monarchy.
• Cavour realized Piedmont could only defeat Austria with support of a
Great Power - specifically he saw France, now under leadership of
pro-Italian Napoleon III as potential ally *
• Cavour’s first impt. diplomatic move was to take Piedmont into
Crimean War, thereby increased Piedmont’s prestige among Italians
& gaining good-will/respect of Britain & France
* Keep in mind Napoleon III was also someone seeking fame & glory, hoping to return
France to great days of his uncle, & saw Piedmont as potential ally vis-a-vis Austria
The ‘Pact of Plombieres’
• July 1858 Napoleon III & Count Cavour met at
Plombieres-les-bains where they formulated a
secret deal, signed later in December 1858 &
known as the ‘Pact of Plombieres’
• France promised to help Piedmont against Austria,
& in return for its help would receive provinces of
Nice & Savoy from Piedmont.
• In line with agreement, Cavour mobilized army on
border of Austrian controlled Lombardy
The Rise of Piedmont
• Cavour’s decision to mobilize on the border of Lombardy was
designed to antagonize Austria & find a pretext for going to war.
Unaware Piedmont was in secret agreement with France, Austria
gave Piedmont an ultimatum, which Piedmont rejected, leading to
Austria declaring war & appearing the aggressor.
• With backing of France, Piedmont heavily defeated Austrian forces in
the battles of Magenta & Solferino in June 1859, took over Lombardy
& was about to occupy Venetia too.
• Meanwhile, encouraged by defeat of Austria, revolutionary uprisings
calling for Italian national unification under Piedmontese leadership
were initiated throughout much of Italian peninsula. Everything
appeared to be going right for Cavour...
The Treaty of Villafranca
• Then, to Cavour’s surprise & disappointment, Napoleon III
changed course, & now signed the Treaty of Villafranca
with Austria (July 11th 1859),. France would withdraw its
support from Piedmont & Piedmont would get only
Lombardy, not Venetia.
• Why had Napoleon III abandoned Cavour? Perhaps a
combination of the following:
i) lacked resolve (unlike his uncle)
ii) feared entry of Prussia in war on side of Austria
iii) becoming concerned Piedmont might become too
powerful a southern neighbour for France
Garibaldi
• For a while Cavour was helpless, but forces of Italian nationalism
had been set in motion & by end of the year several central Italian
states had voted in plebiscites to unite with Piedmont.
• Then, in May 1860, veteran republican nationalist Giuseppe
Garibaldi, (a leader of nationalist uprisings 1848), landed in Sicily
taking over island held by king of Naples & later proceeding to
take Naples itself.
• Fearing Italy might now unite as a republic, or that Garibaldi might
provoke Roman Catholic states in Europe by attacking Rome,
Cavour pre-empted Garibaldi’s movement further north. He sent
troops south, taking over remaining central Italian states
controlled by Pope (i.e. papal states), but being careful to avoid
the region around Rome.
Italian Unification & Rome
• Cavour’s caution regarding
Rome was a consequence of
2 factors:
i) He didn’t want to
offend Catholics
POPE PIUS IX (1846-1878)
ii) Rome was
protected by French
troops
The Kingdom of Italy
• Potential for war between Cavour & Garibaldi’s respective
forces, the former defending a united Italian kingdom under
rule of King Victor Emmanuel II, the latter preferring a united
Italy as a republic. Garibaldi, however, apparently so as not to
jeopardize national unification of Italy by fighting against forces
of Piedmont, accepted that a united Italy could be a kingdom &
in late 1860 people of Naples & Sicily voted in a plebiscite to
unite with Piedmont.
• 17th March 1861 Victor Emmanuel II was crowned king of the
newly united Italy. Less than 3 months later Cavour had died.
But for 2 major exceptions (Venetia & Rome), Cavour had lived
to see his dream come true.
The Kingdom of Italy (2)
Cartoon showing
Garibaldi help
Victor Emmanuel
II wear the “boot”
of a united Italy.
The Formation of a United Italy (1)
The Formation of a United Italy (2)
German Unification
• Unification of Germany could be
regarded as most significant European
development till World War I, one that
greatly affected the political,
economical & military balance of power.
It was achieved largely through military
power & diplomatic maneuvers, rather
than through idealist liberalism of
participants in earlier Frankfurt
Assembly. Leading role played by Otto
von Bismarck, the great Prussian
statesman first appointed Prime
Minister in Sept. 1862 by the new King
of Prussia William I.
OTTO VON BISMARCK
Otto von Bismarck (1)
• Bismarck was more of a Prussian patriot rather
than a German nationalist, who aimed to
strengthen Prussia & make sure the people
remained loyal to their king & conservative
institutions rather than follow the liberals who had
begun to dominate Prussian parliament.
• For Bismarck successful politics was not based on
ideals or principles or debates or democratically
made decisions, but on effective exercise of power.
Otto von Bismarck (2)
“The great questions of
the day will not be
decided by speeches &
majority decisions –
that was the mistake of
1848-1849 – but by
iron & blood.”
German Territorial Unification
3 Wars in the Process of
German Unification
Through the process of 3 major wars in
less than a decade, Bismarck ended up
engineering the unification of Germany
• Prussia+Austria vs. Denmark  1864
• Austro-Prussian War  1866
• Franco-Prussian War  1870-71
War with Denmark - 1864
• War with Denmark began as result of the Schleswig-Holstein
Problem. These 2 duchies, though not officially part of the Danish
state had come under domination of Denmark even though they had
substantial German populations (a majority in Holstein) & though
Holstein was a member of the Bund.
• 1863 Denmark tried to annex these territories. Germans everywhere
were outraged & call rose for pan-German war. Bismarck resisted this
call because he didn’t want smaller German states to gain prestige, &
instead arranged for war with Denmark to be fought by Prussia in
alliance with Austria.
• Denmark was quickly defeated & in Convention of Gastein it was
agreed that Austria would administer Holstein & Prussia would
administer Schleswig.
Austro-Prussian War of 1866
• Bismarck now looked for an opportunity to attack Austria,
he needed to develop right circumstances. First he
purposefully increased tensions between the two states
over administration of Schleswig-Holstein, incr. these
tensions further when he felt international circumstances
had become suitable.
• Bismarck had already gained friendship of Russia by
supporting Russian suppression of new uprising in Poland
in 1863. He now convinced France to remain neutral in
war with Austria & made a deal with Italy in April 1866,
promising it Venetia if it gave its backing.
Austro-Prussian War of 1866 (2)
• When in June 1866 Austria appealed to Bund over
Prussian activities in Schleswig-Holstein, Bismarck
declared that according to Treaty of Gastein the issue
was between the two great powers, not a matter for
Bund; a new German confederation should be formed,
one that this time excluded Austria. Bismarck (as he
had planned), had tested Austrian patience too much,
& the Austrians now declared war against Prussia.
• Known as ‘Seven Weeks War’, Austria was quickly
defeated by superior Prussian military forces (&
technology – incl., e.g., the ‘needle gun’)
The Treaty of Prague & the Results of the
Austro-Prussian War
• Outcome of Austro-Prussian War determined in Treaty of Prague,
signed between Prussia & Austria on August 23rd 1866. Accordingly:
1) Austria was to give Venetia to Italy
2) Prussia annexed several German states which backed Austria in
war (incl. Hannover, Hesse, Nassau & Frankfurt)
3) A North German Confederation, dominated by Prussia & headed
by the Prussian king was formed
4) Austria promised not to get involved in German affairs
5) Prussia’s (& Bismarck’s) prestige was further enhanced. Greater
numbers of Germans now looked to Prussia for leadership & popular
support in Prussia shifted from liberals towards conservative
administration of Bismarck.
Crisis of Succession to the Spanish
Throne (1)
• Bismarck’s final initiative for unification of Germany
came with his finding of a pretext to go to war against
France (which was becoming incr. concerned by
growing power of Prussia). Bismarck’s excuse was
related to succession to Spanish throne.
• Spanish queen Isabella overthrown by a military coup
in 1868, but for almost 2 years Spaniards could not
agree on a suitable replacement as monarch. Spanish
eventually chose Prince Leopold who accepted offer
on June 19th 1870.
Crisis of Succession to the Spanish Throne (2)
What was special about
Leopold was that he was a
member of the Hohenzollern
family, the royal family ruling
Prussia. For France his
monarchy in Spain was
completely unacceptable.
French did not want another
neighbouring state ruled by
Hohenzollern family.
Prince Leopold
The Ems Telegram (1)
• French ambassador Count Vincent Benedetti was sent to see
Prussian king William I at a place called Ems to resolve the
issue. They had civilized gentlemanly discussions, but issue was
not yet resolved.
• On 12th July Leopold’s father withdrew his son’s candidacy for
the Spanish throne on behalf of his son. But, not yet satisfied,
Benedetti was sent to meet the king again to ask for secure
guarantees that there would never again be another
Hohenzollern candidate. Even though there was no intention to
support another Hohenzollern candidacy, this demand, William I
said was not possible to accept.
• A telegram, later infamously called the ‘Ems Telegram’ was then
sent to Bismarck to explain what had happened.
The Ems Telegram (2)
• While conversation between the ambassador & the king had been
quite open & frank, it was still civil. Yet Bismarck, the opportunist
that he was, saw a chance to create an excuse for war with France.
• Bismarck noticed that by slightly editing text of telegram, & leaking it
to press, he could make a war almost unavoidable.
• By playing with the words of the text, Bismarck made it appear as if
telegram had spoken of a v. hostile meeting where king was v.
offensive to representative of French government.
• When telegram, as edited by Bismarck, was released to public,
Germans felt pride in king’s tough stance, while French felt that their
national honour had been attacked. Tensions & pressures built-up &
on 19th of July 1870 France declared war ... Just what Bismarck had
wanted!
Facsimile of the Abeken Text & Bismarck's
editing.*
* Available at http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/Ems%20Telegram.htm
The Abeken Text: *
Ems, July 13, 1870.
To THE FEDERAL CHANCELLOR, COUNT BISMARCK, No. 61 EOD. 3:10 P.M. (STATION
EMS: RUSH!)
His Majesty the King writes to me: "M. Benedetti intercepted me on the Promenade in
order to demand of me most insistently that I should authorize him to telegraph
immediately to Paris that I shall obligate myself for all future time never again to give
my approval to the candidacy of the Hohenzollerns should it be renewed. I refused to
agree to this, the last time somewhat severely, informing him that one dare not &
cannot assume such obligations à tout jamais. Naturally, I informed him that I had
received no news as yet, & since he had been informed earlier than I by way of Paris &
Madrid he could easily understand that my Government was once again out of the
matter."
Since then His Majesty has received a dispatch from the Prince [Charles Anthony]. As
His Majesty informed Count Benedetti that he was expecting news from the Prince, His
Majesty himself, in view of the above-mentioned demand & in consonance with the
advice of Count Eulenburg & myself, decided not to receive the French envoy again
but to inform him through an adjutant that His Majesty had now received from the
Prince confirmation of the news which Benedetti had already received from Paris, &
that he had nothing further to say to the Ambassador. His Majesty leaves it to the
judgment of Your Excellency whether or not to communicate at once the new demand
by Benedetti & its rejection to our ambassadors & to the press. [Signed] A[beken]
13.7.70
* Available at http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/Ems%20Telegram.htm
The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71
• With nationalist passions incr. by dispute with France,
the southern German states now joined forces with
Northern German Confederation led by Prussia.
• The French armies were destroyed relatively quickly,
though Paris continued to resist till January 1871.
• Napoleon III was captured by the Prussians following
the Battle of Sedan in Sept. 1870 & eventually sent
into exile in England.
The German Emperor
• During the war, often under public pressure, leaders of
the southern German states had called upon William I to
become emperor of a united, but federal Germany, in
which they would maintain some authority within their
own territories. On 18th Jan. 1871, William I was
crowned emperor of a united Germany in the famous
‘Hall of Mirrors’ in Palace of Versailles, which had been
home to generations of French monarchs, (& which
therefore was esp. humiliating for the French – they did
not forget! – n.b. They sought revenge after World War I)
Outcomes of the
Franco-Prussian War
Apart from the key outcome of the formation of a united
German national state, & the exile of Napoleon III, the war
had certain other significant consequences:
• In the Treaty of Frankfurt the French were made to accept
payment of reparations & to give the disputed territories of
Alsace & Lorraine to Germany
• German forces of liberalism were out-staged by the
conservative forces led by Bismarck
• A 3rd republic was declared in France (The first was in
1792, the 2nd in 1848)
The Dual Monarchy:
Austria-Hungary
Habsburg
Emperor of
Austrian
Empire
Habsburg
Emperor of
Austria

Habsburg
King of
Hungary
Nationalities within Habsburg Empire
The Magyar – German Compromise
• Dual Monarchy was basically a compromise between
Magyars & Germans. Empire divided into 2
autonomous halves, Austria in west (dominated by
Germans) & Hungary in east (dominated by Magyars). A
critical tie between 2 halves was that they would have
same monarch, Habsburg ruler being simultaneously
Emperor of Austria & King of Hungary. (Technically the
new name for this new arrangement was ‘AustriaHungary’, though many sources continue to refer to
‘Austrian Empire’).
Reasons for the Habsburg Acceptance of the
Dual Monarchy
• Growing recognition that defeat of Magyar nationalist demands
in 1848 was only temporary & would again surface unless
Magyars were satisfied.
• Belief that Magyars (more than e.g. Slavs) were a noble &
ancient nation.
• Inability to rely on further Russian support. (Russia helped
Habsburgs in 1848, but Austria failed to provide support for
Russia during Crimean War).
• Successive military defeats of Empire (first against Piedmont
(+France) & then especially against Prussia had increased belief
that a domestic reorganization of Empire was needed.
The Abolition of Serfdom in Russia
• As in Austrian Empire, abolition of serfdom in Russia was again
based largely on pragmatic politics, not principles.
• Serfdom in Russia officially ended in Feb 1861. In evaluating military
failures of Russia during the Crimean War, it was decided that a major
cause had been low morale & motivation of serfs fighting for Russian
armies, defending a state in which they had virtually no rights.
• Though “officially” freed, circumstances of serfs did not improve
greatly in short term. Had to pay for compensation given to nobles
who had lost their serfs & were not given title to land they worked till
compensation was fully paid. So serfs economic servitude continued
by other means.