There was a revolution against the Spanish Bourbons in Spain itself which triggered the revolutions that occur in Italy. There was a revolution in the […]

Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in June 1815 and was exiled to Saint Helena. Louis XVII is restored as King of France for the second […]

BASIC BACKGROUND Italy was first united by Rome in the third century B.C. It remained for over 700 years the de facto extension of the […]

Increased nationalism in Germany made it more powerful. Germany was the strongest military power on the continent. Germany’s position geographically was between large military powers. […]

After 1848, nationalism in Europe moved away from its association with democracy and revolution. Nationalist sentiments were often mobilized by conservatives for promoting state power […]

Bismarck wanted to unite all German speaking states into one nation state. By 1870, all the German states which fought against Prussia were coerced and […]

In 1866 the conflict between Prussia and Austria erupted over the control of Schleswig and Holstein, the German speaking territories that were occupied by the […]

Schleswig and Holstein were primarily populated by Germans and had been under the rule of the Danish King for centuries. In 1863, Denmark formed a […]

Bismarck’s ultimate goal was to unite the German states into a strong German Empire with Prussia as its core. On September 30, 1862 Bismarck made […]

In 1862, Otto von Bismarck was appointed Prime minister of Prussia. Bismarck was a ruthless politician and a believer in “Realpolitik” who pursued aggressive policies […]