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A History of the Modern World

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The French Empire of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, Nation-State, Crimean War, Unification

of Italy, and Germany, Establishment of The Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Compromise

of 1867.

1. Economic developments under Louis Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte, a famous French general, had a significant role in shaping European

history. After the revolutionary period's deep economic depression, he established the Bank de

France to aid the country's economic revival (Palmer, 1950). The discounted trade bills were the

new institution's currency in exchange for issuing payables to the bearer on sight. Furthermore,

Napoleon built the Bank de France, the first central bank in French history, along with other

reforms, including higher education, a tax law, and road and sewer networks. Although taxes

were raised under Napoleon, it was redistributed more fairly across social strata on a land-based

basis. It produced more revenue for the state, which helped stabilize the French economy.

2. Corporations, labor unions, and trade under Louis Napoleon Bonaparte

The railways and banking industries were the first industries to see the rise of

megacorporations. In 1863, the government guaranteed stockholders the protection of "limited

liability," which ensured that no stockholder would ever lose more than the stock's par value if

the corporation went bankrupt or was heavily indebted. This increased the efficiency with which

the nation's resources and savings were mobilized and put to work by encouraging investment by

people of modest means and capitalists of all sizes in businesses about which they understood

little (Palmer, 1950). Napoleon profoundly impacted the development of France and Europe as a

whole. It's strange to think of, given our history in the United States. Still, Napoleon arrived just
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after French Revolution, which aimed to overthrow the king and establish a republic. The French

managed to go through the process and emerge with an enlightened tyrant. Napoleon's views on

how society must be governed were well-formed and unambiguous. Around this period, crafts

and related guilds began to cluster in French urban centers, which had implications for labor

relations. The passbooks that Napoleon enacted served as identification and restricted people's

freedom of movement. He outlawed labor unions as well.

3. The ideology of the nation-state

The nation-state concept assumes that the people living inside its borders are a cohesive

group with similar ancestry, language, and other aspects of culture. Although many people point

to France following the French Revolution (1789–99) being the initial nation-state, other experts

argue that England's founding of the Commonwealth in 1649 was the first (Palmer, 1950). From

the late 18th century, nation-states have supplanted earlier forms of political legitimacy as the

primary mechanism for ruling over geographical territory. The rise of nation-states can be traced

back to polity-seeking national movements, the transformation of preexisting policies into

nation-states (for example, the French Revolution), or the retreat or dissolution of imperial

empires.

4. Crimean War

From October 1853 to February 1856, Russia and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire,

France, and the United States battled in the Crimean War. According to official accounts, Czar

Nicholas of Russia and Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire clashed about who would

protect Orthodox Christians residing within Ottoman territory (Palmer, 1950). The European
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nations used this theological conflict as an excuse to project force against one another. The

churches settled their issues with Ottomans and reached an accord, but Napoleon III of France

and Tsar Nicholas I of Russia would not budge. Nicholas issued a direct order that all Orthodox

subjects of the Ottoman Empire be brought under his protection. The British government tried to

negotiate and set up a settlement that Nicholas accepted.

5. Peace of Paris in 1856

The Crimean War was officially over once the Treaty of Paris was ratified in Paris on

March 30, 1856. Russia, France, Great Britain, Sardinia-Piedmont, and Turkey signed the pact.

The pact established Turkey's sovereignty, declared the Black Sea a neutral zone off-limits to

armed conflict and banned any weapons from the coasts (Palmer, 1950). Bessarabia, a territory

near the river's entrance, was also taken from Russia. The Treaty of London likewise nullified

the naval rearmament in the Black Sea. In return, however, the emperor of the Ottoman Empire

was given more authority to seal the straits during times of war.

6. Italian nationalism before the Crimean War

Against popular belief, Italian nationalism did not emerge as a political movement until

the 1830s, when Giuseppe Mazzini was at the helm. During the 1860s through the 1870s, it was

a driving force behind the Risorgimento. In the wake of the 1848's revolutions, Italy's nationalist

movement flourished (Palmer, 1950). Nationalist activities grew once press rules in Piedmont

were liberalized. There was a strong sentiment among many Italians for a unified Italian country.

Giuseppe Mazzini, a patriot, established the Young Italy movement in 1831. The intention was

to turn Italy into a republic governed by a democratic government.

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7. Camillo di Cavour

Camillo Cavour was an essential actor in the drive for Italian unity and an Italian

politician, merchant, economist, and noble. He was the son of an aristocratic Piedmontese family

and went on to become the figurehead who established the Kingdom of Italy, drew up the

constitutional framework of the unitary state, and served as the country's first prime minister

(Palmer, 1950). Cavour positioned Italy advantageously in 1858 by allying with France against

the Austrians, perhaps Italy's most prominent opponent in the unification fight. Cavour inflamed

the Austrians in 1859 at Vienna to start a war that the French would eventually win for Italy.

8. Guiseppe Garibaldi

Italian commander, patriot, revolutionary, and republican Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi. He

helped pave the way for establishing the Kingdom of Italy and the unification of Italy. Through

his efforts, Garibaldi practically single-handedly unified the regions of Northern and Southern

Italy (Palmer, 1950). To form the Kingdom of Italy, he gave southern Italy to King Victor

Emmanuel II of Piedmont and commanded a volunteer army of guerilla troops to seize

Lombardy for Piedmont. As a result of his efforts, Italy was unified, and the Kingdom of Italy

was established. With the other "fathers of the fatherland" of Italy, such as Camillo Benso, Count

of Cavour, Victor Emmanuel II, and Giuseppe Mazzini, he is often regarded as one of the finest

generals in modern history.

9. Italian nationalism after unification

After the war and the death of Mussolini, a new period of Italian nationalism began.

When WWII ended in 1945, Italy formally transitioned into a republic the following year, in
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1946. The Italian Constitution explicitly forbids recognizing a fascist party to prevent a fascist

revival (Palmer, 1950). They ended up with a centralized government that was quite powerful,

while the individual states had very little say. The former Kingdom of Sardinia was renamed the

Kingdom of Italy, and its new provinces were incorporated into its existing administrative

framework.

10. German nationalism before the Crimean War

Early German nationalism may be traced back to the emergence of Pan-Germanism and

romantic nationalism during the Napoleonic Wars. With France's conquest of German territory

under Napoleon, advocates of a German nation-state emerged as a significant political force

(Palmer, 1950). Nationalists in Germany believe that the many groups who identify as German

should unite to form a single state. In the year 1770, a new German nationalism emerged. The

German state didn't appear until the middle of the nineteenth century, when it consolidated

several formerly independent kingdoms and duchies.

11. Germany in the 1850s

The 1850s saw Germany's first attempts at national unity under liberal reform, and the

1870s under conservative statesmanship. While Frederick William IV had rejected the imperial

crown because of the taint of parliamentary rule, he was ready to assume the presidency of a

confederation of nations in which the monarch's prerogatives were not compromised (Palmer,

1950). Prussia started political pressure on the lesser German countries to join the construction of

a new national league called the Prussian Union. At the same time, Austrian soldiers still were

engaged in the fight against the revolution in Hungary. There was an unrestrained outpouring of
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outrage in the years that followed. Individuals who ventured to challenge the monarchy were met

with threats, banishment, incarceration, and even execution.

12. Prussia before Bismarck

On August 18, 1866, the North German Confederation Treaty was adopted, forming the

North German Confederation, a Prussian-dominated military alliance that was later strengthened

through the adaptation of the North German Constitution (Palmer, 1950). This was the first phase

of establishing the modern German nation-state with national attributes based on the idea of

Lesser Germany. German-speaking inhabitants of the ancient Civilization had a similar literary,

cultural, and legal legacy, notwithstanding the legal, economic, and political upheaval brought

about by the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.

13. Otto von Bismarck

The German statesman and diplomat Otto von Bismarck were Prussian. Bismarck, who

came from affluent Junker landowner stock, served as Prussia's foreign minister and chancellor

between 1862 and 1890. Before, he had served as a Prussian ambassador in Russia and France

and as a member of a Prussian parliament (Palmer, 1950). In 1871, he orchestrated Germany's

unification, and from 1871 to 1890, when he became the first chancellor of the German Empire,

he had a tremendous influence across Europe. From 1867 to 1871, besides his duties inside the

Kingdom of Prussia, he served as chancellor of a North German Confederation. Having

established Prussian supremacy by 1871, Bismarck deftly employed power balance diplomacy to

keep Germany stable in a peaceful European order.

14. War over Schleswig and Holstein

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The Second Schleswig War, or perhaps the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War,

occurred in the nineteenth century and was the second military confrontation triggered by the

Schleswig-Holstein Issue (Palmer, 1950). Fighting broke out on February 1, 1864, after Prussian

and Austrian armies invaded the Danish fief of Schleswig. Danish territory in Schleswig,

Holstein, and Saxe-Lauenburg was ceded to Austria and Prussia as part of the Treaty of Vienna,

which officially concluded hostilities on October 30, 1864.

15. Austro-Prussian War

The Austro-Prussian War (also known as the Seven Weeks' War, the German Civil War,

the Brother's War, or the Fraternal War) broke out in 1866 between both the Austrian Empire

and indeed the State of Prussia, with support from other allies in within German Confederation

(Palmer, 1950). Because of Prussia's alliance with the Kingdom of Italy, this war is also

considered part of Italy's Third Independence War. Prussia and Austria had jointly occupied the

territory of Schleswig-Holstein after their successful conquest of the Danish province after the

2nd Schleswig War in 1864. Still, they soon found themselves at odds over how best to

administer the territory.

16. North German Confederation

Founded in August 1866 as a German military alliance led by the Kingdom of Prussia,

the North German Confederation was turned into a confederated state the following year, lasting

from July 1867 to December 1870 (Palmer, 1950). Legislation aimed at integrating Northern

Germany was the primary focus of the North German Confederation during its brief existence

(about three and a half years). Free mobility of residents within Confederation territory (1867)
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and a unified mail system were both topics of legislation passed upon by the Reichstag (1867–

1868)

17. Franco-Prussian War

In France, the struggle between the Second French Empire and the North German

Confederation commanded by the Kingdom of Prussia is commonly referred to as the War of

1870. Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-candidacy Sigmaringen's for the Spanish throne sparked

immediate tensions between Prussia and France since it opened the door to a potential alliance

between Prussia and Spain. Because of the conflict, Germany finally united as a single nation.

18. New German Empire

On January 18, 1871, the new German Empire was established after the North German

state of Prussia had won three wars. During seven years, the Danish, Habsburgs, and French fell

in quick and decisive battles (Palmer, 1950). From its unification in 1871 till the November

Revolution of 1918, when the German Reich changed its system of government from a

monarchy, the German Reich was known as the new German Empire, sometimes known as

German Empire, the Second Reich, or simply Germany. While serving as Minister President of

Prussia in the 1860s, Otto von Bismarck caused three brief but essential wars with Denmark,

Austria, and France, which united the minor German nations around Prussia through its defeat of

France. In 1871, under his leadership, Germany became a single nation, and the German Empire

was established.

19. Austrian Empire before 1867

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Austria-Hungary was a strong power in Central Europe and a constitutional monarchy

before 1867. Austria goes by several other names, including the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with

a dual Monarchy, and simply Austria (Palmer, 1950). The Hungarian Kingdom existed from

1526 until 1867 as a sovereign entity independently of the Holy Roman Empire but within the

region governed by the Habsburgs, who merged with the Austrian Empire in 1804. Two crowned

kings ruled the country following the 1526 Battle of Mohács. To wit: (Kings John I and

Ferdinand I).

20. Compromise of 1867

The Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary was founded by the Compromise of 1867, a

compact signed on February 8, 1867, that governed ties between Austria and Hungary.

Restoration of Hungary's geographical integrity and more internal freedom than it had known

since 1526 were both benefits of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, severely reducing

the monarch's authority over domestic matters.

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References

Palmer, R. R. (1950). A History of the Modern World. New York Knopf 1950.