Italy and Prussia

Italian Unification 1871

(Similarities)
(SOS) Italy vs Germany
Mastermind : Cavour vs Bismark
Area: Sardinia vs Prussia
Year: 1871 vs 1871
Leader: King vs King

Crimean War (1853-1856)
Russia attacked Ottomans, French, English
Italians helped ottomans

Peace negotiation => Cavour approached French, they secretly helped him
Italians helped French but they were abandoned as soon as France got Savoy and Nice

1859 – Italians got Lombardy
Cavour used England to put diplomatic pressure on Austria

“Plebiscite”- questionnaire asking people whether they want to join Italy
Tosany, Modena, Parma said “Yes”

Garibaldi attacked South Italy and Sicily and proclaimed kingdom in 1861
Got Venetia in 1866 and Rome in 1871

Pope only had the Vatican left.

Prussia

The king wanted to modernize the army & the parliament refused to give him the money => Crisis

Bismark was appointed chancellor = briefed in Potsdam (residence of the king) by the king
 Bismark advised him to tax people for money
 Noone opposed the taxation (Bismark highly charismatic)
“Realpolitik” – “The target is what matters”
Prussia fought: (SOS)
1- vs Denmark (1864)
2- vs Austria (1866)
3- vs France (1870/71)

He promised support to Russia to keep them out of the picture

Made a deal with French to help them but then he used their demands to betray them by publishing them.

- Austria was defeated fast, nothing left for france to get
- He waited for a chance to attack
- (SOS) Spain took a German as a king, who refused in the end
- French Delegation dispatched to Ems
- Bismark asked what happened and he was informed.
- By changing the wording and feeding it to the press, he led them into trouble and a French – Prussian war
- Sedan: Victory of Prussia
- 1870-1871- Prussian Victory in Paris
- -> Celebration in Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors

=> France lost Alsace-Lorraine (cornfields)