Italy and Germany 1815–71

Welcome to AS 1: Italy and Germany (1815–1871)

Welcome to one of the most exciting periods in modern European history! In this unit, we explore how two fragmented geographical regions—Italy and Germany—transformed from collections of divided states dominated by foreign empires into united nation-states by 1871.

Don't worry if all the names, treaties, and battles seem overwhelming at first. We will break everything down into bite-sized, logical steps across four core themes, followed by essential exam guidance tailored specifically for your CCEA AS 1 exam.

Part 1: Italy 1815–1848 (Restoration, Secret Societies, and Early Revolutions)

1. The 1815 Post-Napoleonic Settlement

After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the major European powers met at the Congress of Vienna to restore stability. For Italy, this meant turning back the clock and establishing Austrian dominance across the peninsula:

• Direct Austrian Control: Austria directly annexed and ruled the wealthy northern provinces of Lombardy-Venetia.
• Austrian Habsburg Influence: Austrian archdukes and Habsburg princes were placed on the thrones of central duchies: Tuscany, Parma, and Modena.
• Restored Absolute Monarchies: The Bourbon monarchy was restored in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples and Sicily), the Pope was restored in the Papal States, and the House of Savoy ruled the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia.

Analogy: Think of Italy in 1815 not as a single country, but as a jigsaw puzzle where Austria held most of the corner pieces and controlled the board.

2. Early Revolutionary Insurrections (1820s–1830s)

Discontent with restored absolute rule led to underground opposition through secret societies, most notably the Carbonari ("charcoal burners"):

• 1820–1821 Revolutions: Uprisings broke out in Naples and Piedmont demanding constitutional government.
• 1831 Revolutions: Insurrections erupted across the central duchies (Modena, Parma) and parts of the Papal States.

Why did these early revolts fail?
1. Narrow Support: Led by small groups of military officers, students, and educated elites; they failed to gain the support of the broad peasant masses.
2. Regional Division: Revolutionary groups operated in isolation and refused to coordinate across regional borders.
3. Austrian Military Power: The Austrian army crushed the insurrections swiftly whenever local rulers called for aid.

3. Ideological Currents of the Risorgimento ("Resurgence")

During the 1830s and 1840s, thinkers debated how Italy should achieve freedom and unity:

• Giuseppe Mazzini and Young Italy (Giovane Italia, founded 1831): Mazzini believed in a united, democratic, and republican Italy created through popular revolution by the people. His famous slogan was "God and the People".
• Moderate / Neo-Guelph Movement: Moderates rejected violent revolution. Thinkers like Cesare Balbo, Massimo d'Azeglio, and Vincenzo Gioberti (who wrote Del primato morale e civile degl'Italiani in 1843) argued for a loose confederation of Italian states under the presidency of the Pope (Neo-Guelphism) or led by Piedmont.
• Pope Pius IX (Elected 1846): Initially introduced liberal reforms in the Papal States (such as an amnesty for political prisoners and establishing a consultative assembly, the Consulta), raising nationalist hopes that he might lead the national cause.

Quick Review Box: Italy 1815–1848
• 1815 Settlement: Austria dominated Lombardy-Venetia and central duchies.
• 1820–31 Revolts: Led by Carbonari; failed due to lack of mass support and Austrian intervention.
• Key Thinkers: Mazzini (Radical/Republican/Unitary) vs. Gioberti/Balbo (Moderate/Confederation).

Part 2: Italy 1848–1871 (The Course of Unification)

1. The 1848–1849 Revolutions

In 1848, a wave of revolutions swept across the Italian peninsula:

• Initial Outbreaks: Began in Palermo (Sicily) in January 1848, followed by popular uprisings in Milan (the Five Days of Milan / Cinque Giornate) and Venice, where Daniele Manin proclaimed a restored Venetian Republic.
• The Statuto Albertino: King Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia granted a liberal constitution (the Statuto) in March 1848.
• The First War of Italian Independence (1848–49): Charles Albert declared war on Austria to liberate northern Italy. However, unity shattered when Pope Pius IX issued the Papal Allocution (April 1848), declaring he could not fight fellow Catholic Austria. Piedmont was defeated by Austrian forces at Custoza (1848) and Novara (1849). Charles Albert abdicated in favor of his son, Victor Emmanuel II.
• The Roman Republic (1849): Radical nationalists established a republic in Rome led by Mazzini and defended by Giuseppe Garibaldi. It was crushed by French troops dispatched by Louis Napoleon to restore the Pope.

2. Piedmontese Leadership and Cavour (1850s)

Following the failures of 1848–49, Piedmont-Sardinia emerged as the natural leader of Italian unification:

• Count Camillo Benso di Cavour: Appointed Prime Minister of Piedmont in 1852. Cavour was a pragmatic realist who modernized Piedmont’s economy through railway construction, trade treaties, and curbing church power (Siccardi Laws).
• The Crimean War (1853–1856): Cavour committed Piedmontese troops to support Britain and France (notably at the Battle of Cernaia). This gained Piedmont a seat at the Congress of Paris (1856), where Cavour brought the "Italian Question" to the attention of major European powers.
• The Plombières Agreement (July 1858): Cavour met French Emperor Napoleon III in secret. France agreed to assist Piedmont in a war against Austria provided Austria appeared as the aggressor. In return for driving Austria out of Lombardy and Venetia, France would receive Nice and Savoy.

3. The Final Steps to Unification (1859–1870)

• The Second War of Italian Independence (1859): Piedmont provoked Austria into declaring war. Franco-Piedmontese forces won bloody victories at Magenta and Solferino. Napoleon III, shocked by casualties and fearing wider conflict, signed the separate Armistice of Villafranca with Austria. Piedmont gained Lombardy, but Austria retained Venetia.
• Central Italian Plebiscites (1860): Tuscany, Parma, Modena, and Romagna voted via plebiscites to merge with Piedmont.
• Garibaldi’s Expedition of the Thousand (1860): In May 1860, Garibaldi and his 1,000 "Redshirts" landed in Sicily, rapidly defeated Bourbon forces, and captured Naples. To prevent Garibaldi from marching on Rome (which would trigger French intervention), Victor Emmanuel II marched south. At the Teano meeting (October 1860), Garibaldi handed over his southern conquests to King Victor Emmanuel II.
• Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy (March 1861): Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed King of Italy.
• Completing the Map:
- Venetia (1866): Acquired following Italy's alliance with Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War.
- Rome (September 1870): French troops guarding the Pope were withdrawn during the Franco-Prussian War. Italian troops entered Rome (breach of Porta Pia), and Rome officially became the capital of a united Italy in 1871.

Key Takeaway: Italian unification was a hybrid achievement combining Cavour's top-down diplomacy/statecraft and Garibaldi's bottom-up military radicalism.

Part 3: Germany 1815–1848 (Confederation and Economic Integration)

1. The 1815 German Settlement

• The Deutscher Bund (German Confederation): Established at the Congress of Vienna to replace the old Holy Roman Empire. It was a loose confederation of 39 sovereign states.
• Austrian Dominance: Austria held the permanent presidency of the Federal Diet (Bundestag) located at Frankfurt.
• The system was designed to keep Germany politically divided and maintain the traditional balance of power in Europe.

2. Nationalism vs. Metternich’s Repression

• Student Movements: University student fraternities (Burschenschaften) organized the Wartburg Festival (1817) to promote liberal and nationalist ideas.
• The Karlsbad Decrees (1819): Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich persuaded the Confederation to pass severe repressive laws: strict press censorship, the dissolution of student fraternities, and university inspectors to remove liberal professors.
• The Hambach Festival (1832): A mass demonstration of around 30,000 people demanding constitutional liberties and national unity, showing that liberal nationalism remained alive despite censorship.

3. Prussian Economic Dominance: The Zollverein

While Austria focused on political control and repression, Prussia built economic leadership:

• Foundation (1834): The Prussian Customs Union expanded into the Zollverein (Customs Union), abolishing internal trade tariffs among member states.
• Exclusion of Austria: Austria remained outside the Zollverein because of its highly protected economic system. By the 1840s, almost all German states had joined under Prussian leadership.
• Impact: Stimulated rapid industrialization, coordinated modern railway construction centered on Berlin, and created strong economic links between German states and Prussia rather than Austria.

Memory Trick: "Coal before Crown" — Prussia united Germany economically through coal, iron, and rails (Zollverein) decades before uniting it politically through war.

Part 4: Germany 1848–1871 (The Road to the Second Empire)

1. The 1848–1849 Revolutions in Germany

• Berlin Uprising (March 1848): Barricades went up in Berlin. King Frederick William IV of Prussia conceded to liberal demands, promised a constitution, and temporarily rode through Berlin wearing the revolutionary German tricolor colors.
• The Frankfurt Parliament (Nationalversammlung): An elected assembly of mostly middle-class professionals met in St. Paul's Church to design a united German constitution. They debated two visions:
- Großdeutschland (Greater Germany): Including Austria and its lands.
- Kleindeutschland (Lesser Germany): Excluding Austria, under Prussian leadership.
• Collapse: The parliament adopted the Kleindeutschland model and drafted the Paulskirche Constitution. In April 1849, they offered the imperial German crown to Frederick William IV of Prussia. He refused it, calling it a "crown from the gutter" because it came from an elected popular assembly rather than princes.
• The Capitulation of Olmütz (1850): Prussia attempted to set up a prince-led union (the Erfurt Union), but Austrian threats forced Prussia to back down at the Treaty of Olmütz, re-establishing Austrian control over the German Confederation.

2. Bismarck’s Rise and the Constitutional Crisis

• In 1862, King Wilhelm I faced a deadlock with the liberal Prussian parliament (Landtag) over funding for military reforms.
• Wilhelm I appointed Otto von Bismarck as Minister-President.
• Bismarck defied parliament, collected taxes illegally, and declared in his famous "Blood and Iron" (Blut und Eisen) speech that the great questions of the day would be resolved not by speeches and majority votes, but by military strength and decisive action.

3. The Three Wars of German Unification

War 1: The Second Schleswig War (1864)

• Cause: Denmark attempted to integrate the duchy of Schleswig into the Danish state.
• Action: Prussia and Austria fought as joint allies, defeating Denmark.
• Outcome: By the Treaty of Vienna (1864) and the Convention of Gastein (1865), Prussia took administrative control of Schleswig, while Austria administered Holstein. This gave Bismarck a convenient pretext to provoke a dispute with Austria later.

War 2: The Austro-Prussian War / Seven Weeks' War (1866)

• Cause: Disputes over the administration of Schleswig-Holstein and dominance within Germany.
• Action: Prussian forces utilized rapid railway mobilization, the breech-loading needle gun, and the strategic planning of General Helmuth von Moltke to crush the Austrian army at the decisive Battle of Sadowa (Königgrätz).
• Outcome (Treaty of Prague): The German Confederation was dissolved. Austria was excluded from German affairs. Bismarck formed the Prussian-dominated North German Confederation (Norddeutscher Bund), while the southern German states remained temporarily independent but tied to Prussia through secret military alliances.

War 3: The Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871)

• Cause: Tensions over the Hohenzollern candidature (a Prussian prince was offered the vacant Spanish throne). Bismarck edited the diplomatic Ems Telegram to make it appear that King Wilhelm I and the French ambassador had insulted each other, provoking France into declaring war.
• Action: The southern German states joined Prussia. German armies encircled and defeated the main French army at the Battle of Sedan (September 1870) and placed Paris under siege.
• Proclamation of the German Empire: On 18 January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, King Wilhelm I was proclaimed German Emperor (Kaiser). Germany was officially united as the Second Empire.

Comparative Overview: Key Milestones at a Glance

Keep these parallel timelines clear in your mind:

• 1848–49: Revolutions fail across both Italy (Roman/Venetian Republics crushed) and Germany (Frankfurt Parliament collapses).
• 1859–60 vs. 1862–64: Cavour uses diplomacy/war in 1859; Garibaldi takes the South in 1860. Bismarck takes power in 1862 and fights Denmark in 1864.
• 1866 (Austro-Prussian War): Prussia crushes Austria at Sadowa and creates North German Confederation; Italy gains Venetia as Prussia's ally.
• 1870–71 (Franco-Prussian War): Prussia defeats France to create the German Empire (Jan 1871); France withdraws garrison from Rome, allowing Italy to claim Rome as capital (1870–71).

Exam Skills Guide for CCEA AS 1 (Paper SHY11)

The AS 1 examination lasts 1 hour 30 minutes and tests two distinct question formats for Option 4:

Question 1: Historical Enquiry / Analysis (10 Marks — AO1)

You will choose either Question 1(a) or Question 1(b).
• Focus on the Specific Factor: The question asks you to analyze a specific cause, individual, or factor (e.g., Cavour’s diplomacy, Garibaldi's campaigns, the Zollverein, or Bismarck's diplomacy).
• Avoid Narrative: Do not simply write a story or chronological list of events. Structure your answer analytically with clear explanations of how and why the factor influenced events.
• Quality of Written Communication (QWC): Write clear, well-structured historical paragraphs with precise terminology and dates.

Question 2: Historical Interpretations (20 Marks — AO3)

This is a compulsory question featuring two contrasting extracts (Interpretation A and Interpretation B).
• Secondary Viewpoints, Not Primary Sources: Do not treat these extracts as contemporary primary eyewitness accounts! They are viewpoints written by modern historians presenting contrasting historical interpretations (e.g., an Intentionalist view emphasizing Bismarck's personal planning vs. a Structuralist view emphasizing Prussian economic power and the Zollverein).
• Evaluate Both Extracts: Analyze the core arguments of Interpretation A and Interpretation B in detail.
• Deploy Contextual Knowledge: Use your own historical facts, evidence, and contextual knowledge to corroborate or challenge the claims made in both extracts, concluding with a supported judgment on the historical debate.

Common Mistake to Avoid: Never evaluate the extracts for "bias" based on the author's birthplace or the publication date as if they were written in 1860. Instead, evaluate the strength of their historical arguments and evidence against your own factual knowledge!