SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE UNIFICATIONS OF ITALY AND GERMANY (COMPARING AND CONTRASTING THE UNIFICATIONS OF ITALY AND GERMANY).
By 1850, the unification of Italy and Germany were faced with
internal and external obstacles that rendered the unifications of the two
nations a failure. However, after 1850, there were changes internally and
externally that favoured the unification of both nations. The two unifications
were stimulated by the French revolution and completed by the Franco-Prussian
war of 1870-1871. The main architects of Italian unification were Mazzini,
Garibaldi, Cavour and Victor Emmanuel II while the German unification was
achieved through the efforts of Bismarck, Von roon, Von Moltek and King William
1. A critical analysis of the origin, course and consequences presents us with
striking similarities (comparison) amidst some differences (contrasts) as the
foregoing analysis reveals.
SIMILARITIES:
1. The greatest obstacles to the two unifications by 1848 were
Austria and Prince Metternich. Metternich used a combination of diplomacy and
force to block all attempts to unify Italian and German states up to 1848. It
was only after his downfall in 1848 that the two unifications progressed. Even
after the downfall of Metternich, Austria continued to have direct and indirect
control over Italian affairs. In the German affairs, Austria dominated the
Confederation Parliament, which she manipulated to oppress and exploit the
Germans. Thus, Metternich and Austria were the greatest bottlenecks in the
unifications of both Italy and Germany.
2. Foreign assistance was another key element in both
unifications. The unifications of both states were hindered by lack of foreign
assistance before 1848 and favoured by the role of it after 1850. The Italians
were assisted in the liberation of Lombardy and Venetia by France and Prussia
respectively. On the other hand, the Germans were assisted in the liberation of
Schleswig and Holstein by Austria and Italy respectively.
3. The unification of both states were championed by the most
dominant states. The Italian unification was led by Piedmont (Sardinia) which
was the strongest of all the Italian states while Prussia on her own terms
united the rest of the German states. These leading states (Piedmont and
Prussia) were first strengthened politically, economically and militarily as a
firm foundation for a successful unification. This is why the unification of
Italy and Germany were sustained by Piedmont and Prussia's military and
economic strengths respectively.
4. In both unifications, force and violence were used. The
Italians used force against Austria in 1859 in the liberation of Lombardy and
1861 in the liberation of Sicily and Naples. On the other hand, Bismarck used
the policy of blood andiron in the three quick wars against Denmark in 1864,
Austria in 1866 and France in 1870-71. All these were possible .because of the
leading states.
5. Diplomacy was also employed in the Italian as well as German
unifications. Cavour won international sympathy and support by sending the
Piedmontese troops to help the allied powers. In the Crimean War, she also
allied with France in 1859 and Prussia in 1866 against Austria. While in the
German case, Bismarck diplomatically isolated Denmark, Austria and France as a
step towards hosting them from German territories. These diplomatic moves and
schemes quickened the process of German and Italian unifications after 1850.
6. The foundation of the two unifications was laid by the
French revolutionary ideas and Napoleon's conquest and re-organization of the
Italian and German states. Napoleon I reduced the number of both states and
preached the revolutionary ideas of equality, liberty and fraternity. These
made the Italians and Germans to start thinking and acting as one people hence
developing the idea of unification. Napoleon's exploitation and oppression of
the Italians and Germans made them to use the same revolutionary principles to
start fighting for freedom, independence and later unity. It should be noted
that the success of the French revolutions of 1830 and 1848 had yet another
morale boosting effect on the Italian and German unifications. Apart from
giving them morale, the French success also taught the Italians and German
nationalists some lessons, which they learnt. This was why Cavour and Bismarck
embarked on domestic reforms as a preparatory measure for a successful
unification after 1850.
7 -The unifications of both Italy and Germany were largely
brought about by the roles of the Chief Ministers of the dominant states. These
were Cavour of Piedmont and Otto Von Bismarck of Prussia. Cavour and Bismarck
were men of noble birth and had military and diplomatic experiences that they
used in the course of the unification. They embarked on political,
socio-economic and military reforms as a stepping-stone towards a sustainable
unification struggle. Their foreign policy created a favourable international
environment that explains why countries like Britain and France developed a
positive attitude towards Italian and German unifications.
8. The Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 was the final event that
completed the unifications of both Italy and Germany. The war forced Napoleon
III to withdraw the French troops from Rome and this gave an open chance for
Rome to be annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. For the Germans, the war eliminated
France that was the last obstacle in the liberation of the southern German states.
The defeat of France made it easy to incorporate the south German states plus
French states of Lorraine and Alsace as a final stage in the unification of
Germany. Thus, the Franco-Prussian war was the last event in the unification of
both Italy and Germany.
9. Although the unifications of both nations were completed in
1870 and 1871, many Italians and Germans were left outside the orbit of a
united Italy and Germany. For instance, the Italians in the states of Nice,
Savoy, Trieste and Trientino were left under French and Austrian domination
only to be incorporated in 1919. In the German unification, Bismarck united
Germany on Prussian terms and left out the Germans in Austria and parts of
Bohemia.
10. In both cases, the earlier struggles were frustrated by
negative attitudes and roles of Kings in the leading states and were favoured
when there were changes. The Italians were frustrated by the negative attitude
of Charles Albert of Piedmont and that is why the earlier struggle flopped.
However, they were favoured by the positive attitude and support of Victor
Emmanuel II who replaced Charles Albert in 1848.
For the Germans, King Fredrick William IV who was too fearful
of Austria failed them. However, the Germans were blessed by the active role of
King William I from 1858 who supported Bismarck’s ideas, policies and programs
for the unification of Germany.
DIFFERENCES / CONTRAST
1. The unification of Germany was relatively easier than that
of Italy. Unlike the Italians, the Germans had a Confederation Parliament and a
Custom Union (Zollverein) which brought some form of political and economic
unity. For the Italians, there was no form of such unity but were instead
directly and indirectly dominated by Austria.
2. The actual unification of Italy took a longer period
compared to that of the Germans. The first territorial achievement in the
Italian unification was in 1859 and it dragged on until 1870 when the
Franco-Prussian war broke out. For the Germans, they were only actively
involved in three quick wars between 1864 to 1871.
3. Although Cavour and Bismarck played the greatest roles in
the two unifications, Bismarck played a much greater role than Cavour. Cavour
was assisted by Mazzini who politicized the Italians about the benefits of a
united Italy, Garibaldi who liberated Sicily and Naples and the central states
who voted in favour of Piedmont through a referendum. After Cavour's death,
Victor Emmanuel II and Garibaldi were the ones who completed the unifications.
Much as Von roon; Moltek and William I assisted Bismarck, the degree of
assistance was less than that of Cavour. Infact, it was through Bismarck's
diplomacy, blood and iron policy that Prussia became successful in ousting
Denmark, Austria and France from German territories.
4. There was more foreign assistance in the unification of
Italy than that of Germany. The liberation of Italian states was directly or
indirectly due to the role of foreign powers. More importantly, the liberation
of Venetia and Rome would not have been realized if it was not due to Prussia's
role. As far as the Germans were concerned, there was less foreign assistance
compared to Italy. The German unification was spearheaded by Bismarck' who
manipulated international politics and united Germany on Prussian terms. In
other words, he relied more on Prussian's military might in the 3successive
wars through which the unification of Germany was achieved.
5. The unification of Italy was achieved at the expense of Nice
and Savoy that were given to France as a compensation for her assistance in the
liberation of Lombardy (in 1859). However, no single state was battered in the
German unification. Although Bismarck had promised Napoleon III at the Biarritz
Agreement of 1865 some territories along the Rhine, he violated the agreement
and refused to cede any German state to France after the war. He instead
propagandized and annexed those states to complete the unification of Germany
in 1871.
6. The unification of Germany was on Prussian terms and Berlin
the capital city of Prussia became the city of a united Germany. But in the
unification of Italy, Piedmont with her capital Turin were not considered to be
the capital city of a united Italy in 1870. Instead the city of a united Italy
was shifted from Turin where it had been declared in 1861 to Rome in 1871.
7. The consequences of the two unifications also differed. The
final unification of Italy was relatively peaceful without much bloodshed in
1870. In other words, the liberation ofRome was relatively peaceful because of
the favourable circumstances provided by the Franco-Prussian war.
Contradictorily, the unification of Germany was achieved by humiliating France
in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871.
This destroyed the balance of power that hitherto favoured
Britain and France. This created a hostile relationship between France and
Germany that led to arms race and alliance system which disorganized Europe and
led to the outbreak of the First World War.
the notes are quite helpful...thank you
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