The Making of Germany and Italy - Concepts - Chapter 1 Class 10 History - Rise of Nationalism in Europe - History

• After 1848 , nationalism in Europe drifted away from its association with democracy and revolution .
• Conservatives often mobilised the nationalist sentiments to promote state power and achieve political dominance .
• This process was first observed in the case of Germany and Italy when they unified as nation - states .

Germany - Can the army be an architect of the nation ?

• The nation - state of Germany was governed by an elected parliament till 1848 .
• The parliament was repressed by the combined forces of the monarchy and military and the attack was supported by large landowners (Junkers) of Prussia .
• After this, Prussia took the responsibility of national unification which was carried by its chief minister Otto von Bismarck .
• Three wars , with Austria, Denmark and France , were won by the Prussian army .
• In January 1871 , the Prussian King, Kaiser William I , was crowned as the emperor of Germany at a ceremony held at Versailles .
• This nation building process in Germany demonstrated the dominance of Prussian power.
• Strong emphasis was placed at modernising currency, banking, legal and judicial systems.
• The Prussian model became an example for Germany.

Italy Unified

• Like Germany, Italy also had a long history of political fragmentation .
• Italians were scattered over several dynasty states along with the multi - national Habsburg empire.
• In the middle of the 19th century, Italy was divided into 7 states .
• Out of 7 , only 1, Sardinia Piedmont , was ruled by an Italian princely house .
• The north region was ruled by Austrian Habsburgs , the centric regions were ruled by the Pope whereas the southern regions were ruled by the Bourbon kings of Spain .
• Even the Italian language had many forms depending upon the regions it was spoken in.
• During the 1830s , Giuseppe Mazzini had sought to put together a program for a Unitary Italian Republic .
• He had also formed a secret society called Young Italy for achieving his goals but failed .
• These failures , of 1831 and 1848 , meant that the mantle fell on Sardinia - Piedmont under its ruler King Victor Emmanuel II to unify the Italian states through war.
• Only a unified Italy offered a possibility of economic development and political dominance .
• Chief minister Cavour led the movement to unify the Italian regions .
• Through tactful diplomatic alliance with France , Cavour was able to defeat the Austrian forces in 1859 .
• Large number of armed volunteers , under the leadership of Gieseppe Garibaldi joined the fray.
• The troops marched to South Italy and the kingdom of Two Sicilies in 1860 and won against the Spanish rulers .
• In 1861 , Victor Emannuel II was elected the King of united Italy .

The Strange case of Britain

• Britain has always been considered as a model of a nation or nation - state by scholars .
• It was only after the 18th century that Britain became a nation and it was a result of a long - drawn out process and not just sudden upheaval or revolution .
• As the English nation steadily grew in wealth, importance and power , it was able to extend its influence over the other nations of the island .
• As the kingdom grew , its parliament was dominated by Englishmen and other ethnicities like the Scottish, Welsh or Irish were suppressed systematically.
• The Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland resulted in the formation of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’ .
• As a result of this act , the Scottish Catholic Clans suffered terrible repression as they were forbidden to use their Gaelic language , wear their national dress and were driven out of their homeland .
• Just like the Scottish Catholic Clans , the Irish Catholics suffered a similar fate and all of their revolts , including the one led by Wolfe Tone in 1798, failed and suppressed .
• Finally, Ireland was also incorporated in the United Kingdom in 1801 .