Nationalism: Italy and Germany

Nationalism Chapter 8 Section 3

Main Idea Nationalism contributed to the formation of two new nations and a new political order in Europe.  Nationalism is the basis of world politics today and has often caused conflicts and wars. 

Background Nationalism…  Was the most powerful idea of the 1800s.  Created some new countries, but also divided old countries.  Upset the balance of power created by the Congress of Vienna.  Fed the desire of most of those groups to be free of the rule of empires and govern themselves in their traditional lands. 

Nationalism: A Force for Unity or Disunity 1800s – Nationalism fueled efforts to build nationstates.  Nationalists were not loyal to kings, but to their people.  Nationalists believed that a single “nationality,” or ancestry, should unite under a single government. 

Unity Authoritarian rulers began to see that nationalism could also unify masses of people.  Used nationalist feelings for their own purposes.  Built nation-states in areas where they remained firmly in control. 

Types of Nationalist Movements TYPE

CHARACTERISTICS

Unification Mergers of politically divided but culturally similar lands

Separation Culturally distinct group resists being added to a state or tries to break away Statebuilding

Culturally distinct groups form into a new state by accepting a single culture

EXAMPLES 19th

century Germany 19th century Italy Greeks in the Ottoman Empire French-speaking Canadians. The

United States Turkey

Nationalism Shakes Aging Empires       

Three aging empires: The Austrian Empire of the Hapsburgs The Russian Empire of the Romanovs The Ottoman Empire of the Turks All contained a mixture of ethnic groups. Control of land and ethnic groups shifted between these empires. Nationalism led to the end of these empires.

The Breakup of the Austrian Empire 1866 – Prussia defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War.  Prussia gained control of the newly organized North German Confederation. – Union of Prussia and 21 German political units.  Hungary pressured Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria to split his empire in half. – Austria and Hungary became independent states.  Empire became Austria-Hungary or the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 

The Breakup (cont.) Nationalists disputes continued to weaken the empire for more than 40 years.  After WWI, AustriaHungary split into several separate nation-states. 

The Russian Empire Crumbles 

Nationalism also helped break up the 370 year old empire of the czars in Russia.

Russification  





Romanovs were determined to keep control of their area. They instituted a policy called Russification, forcing Russian culture on all ethnic groups in the empire. – Ended up helping to disunify Russia. Russia could not hold up against the shock of WWI and the communist revolution. Last czar gave up power in 1917.

The Ottoman Empire Weakens 



1856 – Due to pressure from the British and French, the Ottomans granted citizenship to all the people under their rule. – Greeks, Slavs, Arabs, Bulgarians and Armenians. Conservative Turks did not agree with the new citizenship laws.

Armenians 



In response to nationalism in Armenia, the Ottomans massacred and deported Armenians from 1894-1896. – This happened again in 1915. Like Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire broke apart right after WWI.

Questions 1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

What did nationalist believe should unite people? How did authoritarian leaders use nationalism to their advantage? What are the three types of nationalist movements? What did the Austrian Empire become? What is Russification?