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The Late 19th Century and WWI

The Unification of Italy and Germany

19th-century nationalist movements that forged two new European powers.

Wikimedia Commons · Silvestro Lega · Public domain

60-Second Review

Express review

A condensed, point-by-point summary of the module, for reviewing right before a test or exam.

  1. Europe restored: Italy and Germany after the Congress of Vienna (1815). The 1815 Congress of Vienna fragmented both Italy and the German lands into small, Austrian-dominated states.
  2. Romantic nationalism and conspiracy: Carbonari, Mazzini, and the German Volksgeist. Secret societies and romantic intellectuals built the cultural nationalism that later fueled both unifications.
  3. Building blocks 'from below': the Zollverein and the Piedmontese model. Prussia's customs union and Piedmont's surviving constitution built the institutional groundwork for unification.
  4. 1848: the revolutions and their failure. The revolutions of 1848 briefly united liberals and nationalists in Italy and Germany but collapsed by 1849.
  5. Cavour, diplomacy, and the making of the Kingdom of Italy (1859-1861). Cavour's alliance with France and Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand created the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
  6. Bismarck, Realpolitik, and Prussia's wars of unification (1862-1866). Bismarck used 'blood and iron' diplomacy and short wars against Denmark and Austria to build Prussian hegemony.
  7. Completing unification: Venetia, Rome, and the German Empire (1866-1871). Italy gained Venetia and Rome while Prussia defeated France, both completing unification within five years.
  8. Aftermath and unfinished business: the Southern Question, the Roman Question, and the Kulturkampf. Unification left both states with unresolved conflicts — Italy's Southern and Roman Questions, Germany's Kulturkampf.

This module continues after "The Peace Treaties" in the syllabus. If you haven't reviewed it yet, it may help set the context.

Key points

Visual module map

1Europe restored: Italy and Germany after the Congress of Vienna (1815)
2Building blocks 'from below': the Zollverein and the Piedmontese model
3Cavour, diplomacy, and the making of the Kingdom of Italy (1859-1861)
4Bismarck, Realpolitik, and Prussia's wars of unification (1862-1866)
5Aftermath and unfinished business: the Southern Question, the Roman Question, and the Kulturkampf

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

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Final test

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Optional mini-games

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Review Flashcards

Review each key point with cards that flip to reveal the summary.

Memory

Match each concept with its definition in as few attempts as possible.

Time Attack

Answer true or false statements before time runs out.

Chronological Order

Put the module's key points back in their original order.

Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Lucy Riall, Risorgimento: The History of Italy from Napoleon to Nation-State.
  • Denis Mack Smith, Cavour and Garibaldi 1860: A Study in Political Conflict.
  • Christopher Duggan, The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796.
  • Otto Pflanze, Bismarck and the Development of Germany.
  • Hans-Ulrich Wehler, The German Empire, 1871-1918.
  • A.J.P. Taylor, Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman.
  • Otto von Bismarck, Gedanken und Erinnerungen (Thoughts and Recollections).
  • David Blackbourn and Geoff Eley, The Peculiarities of German History.