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Sent as delegate to New Prussian Parliament, and was against Liberal Anti-Autocratic Revolution of 1848. Was appointed prime minister, in which a series of wars captured German-speaking territories. Won Franco-Prussian war and unified southern German states; became chancellor. Used Real Politik & Kulturkampf as keys to his ultimate success. Aimed to make the German empire the largest in Europe, and used the Dual Alliance to check power of France & Russia.

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Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) / German Unification

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Leaders of Paraguay, including Francia, became angry that their province's significance was on a decline. The Spanish governor wanted to find assistance in defending the colony from future Buenos Aires attacks, after Argentine independence. Due to military leadership, they got rid of the governor, and declared independence in 1811.

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Paraguayan Independence | 3 Minute History

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The Cisplatine War was between Brazil & Uruguayan patriots. Over the span of three years, Uruguayans harassed Brazilian regiments in their own territory. As the war ended in 1828 the British brought a Brazilian recognition, which ended the war, declaring Uruguay an independent country.

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Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was born in 1815, his father was a junker & his mother an academically successful family. He was educated in Berlin, and was married in 1847. Before chancellor he served as a delegate, also in a series of ambassadorships. He created a series of wars that established Prussian power, and won in the Franco-Prussian war as chancellor, uniting all states of Germany.

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Table of Contents

1. Otto von Bismarck: Early Years

2. Otto von Bismarck: The Iron Chancellor

3. Otto von Bismarck: Kulturkampf, Welfare State, Empire

4. Otto von Bismarck: Final Years and Legacy

Germany became a modern, unified nation under the leadership of the "Iron Chancellor" Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), who between 1862 and 1890 effectively ruled first Prussia and then all of Germany. A master strategist, Bismarck initiated decisive wars with Denmark, Austria and France to unite 39 independent German states under Prussian leadership. Although an arch-conservative, Bismarck introduced progressive reforms-including universal male suffrage and the establishment of the first welfare state-in order to achieve his goals. He manipulated European rivalries to make Germany a world power, but in doing so laid the groundwork for both World Wars.

Otto von Bismarck: Early Years

Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was born April 1, 1815, at his family's estate in the Prussian heartland west of Berlin. His father was a fifth-generation Junker (a Prussian landowning noble), and his mother came from a family of successful academics and government ministers. Throughout his life Bismarck would emphasize his rural Junker roots, underplaying his considerable intellect and cosmopolitan outlook.

Did you know? Although German leader Otto von Bismarck wore a general's uniform in public for much of his later life (and successfully prosecuted three wars as chancellor), his only prior military service was a brief, unwilling stint in a reserve unit.

Bismarck was educated in Berlin and after university took a series of minor diplomatic posts before retiring, at age 24, to run his family's estate at Kneiphof. In 1847 he married and was sent to Berlin as a delegate to the new Prussian parliament, where he emerged as a reactionary voice against the liberal, anti-autocratic Revolutions of 1848.

From 1851 to 1862 Bismarck served a series of ambassadorships-at the German Confederation in Frankfurt, in St. Petersburg and in Paris-that gave him valuable insight into the vulnerabilities of Europe's great powers.

Otto von Bismarck: The Iron Chancellor

William I became Prussia's king in 1861 and a year later appointed Bismarck as his chief minister. Though technically deferring to William, in reality Bismarck was in charge, manipulating the king with his intellect and the occasional tantrum while using royal decrees to circumvent the power of elected officials.

In 1864 Bismarck began the series of wars that would establish Prussian power in Europe. He attacked Denmark to gain the German-speaking territories of Schleswig-Holstein and two years later provoked Emperor Franz-Josef I into starting the Austro-Prussian War (1866), which ended in a swift defeat for the aging Austrian empire. At the time, Bismarck wisely declined to levy a war indemnity against the Austrians.

Bismarck was less circumspect in his conduct of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Seeing the opportunity to unify Germany's loose confederations against an outside enemy, Bismarck stirred political tensions between France and Prussia, famously editing a telegram from William I to make both countries feel insulted by the other. The French declared war, but the Prussians and their German allies won handily. Prussia levied an indemnity, annexed the French border provinces of Alsace and Lorraine and crowned William emperor of a unified Germany (the Second Reich) in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles-a tremendous insult to the French.

Otto von Bismarck: Kulturkampf, Welfare State, Empire

With Germany unified, William I and Bismarck turned to entrenching their domestic power. For much of the 1870s Bismarck pursued a Kulturkampf (cultural struggle) against Catholics, who made up 36 percent of Germany's population, by placing parochial schools under state control and expelling the Jesuits. In 1878 Bismarck relented, allying with the Catholics against the growing socialist threat.

In the 1880s Bismarck set aside his conservative impulses to counter the socialists by creating Europe's first modern welfare state, establishing national healthcare (1883), accident insurance (1884) and old age pensions (1889). Bismarck also hosted the 1885 Berlin Conference that ended the "Scramble for Africa," dividing the continent between the European powers and establishing German colonies in Cameroon, Togoland and East and Southwest Africa.

Otto von Bismarck: Final Years and Legacy

William I died in 1888 and was succeeded by his son Frederick III and then his grandson William II, both of whom Bismarck found difficult to control. In 1890 the new king forced Bismarck out. William II was left in control of a flourishing unified state but was ill-equipped to maintain Bismarck's carefully manipulated balance of international rivalries. Respected and honored by the time of his death eight years later, Bismarck quickly became a quasi-mythic figure invoked by political leaders calling for strong German leadership-or for war.

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Otto von Bismarck - Biography, World Wars & Facts

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Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898)-also known as the "Iron Chancellor"-was Chancellor of the newly-united German Empire from 1862 to 1890. During his tenure he modernized the nation and helped set the stage for World War I.

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Francia was born in 1766 in what is now Paraguay. He practiced law, and became secretary to the junta in 1811, overthrowing Spanish rule for independence. He was elected dictator in 1814, and obtained it for life in 1816. He wasn't satisfied with just the Spanish independence, so he also made the nation independent from Argentina. During his reign he controlled many of the qualities of Paraguay, which showed his honesty, but also highlighted his cruelty.

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José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, (born Jan. 6, 1766, Asunción, Río de la Plata-died Sept. 20, 1840, Asunción, Paraguay), dictator of Paraguay whose intensely personal rule and policy of self-sufficiency left the nation both isolated and without alternative political institutions.

Francia was trained in theology but turned to the practice of law. In 1811 he became secretary to the junta that had overthrown Spanish rule and in 1813 served as co-ruler. The next year he was elected dictator, and in 1816 he obtained the dictatorship for life.

Not content with freedom from Spain, Francia in 1813 declared independence from Argentina, though Paraguay's only tie to the outer world lay on the river route through Buenos Aires. Determined to keep his country independent, Francia forbade all river traffic to Argentina and banned all foreign commerce. Paraguay thus became a hermit nation; few people were permitted to enter or leave.

Francia, or "El Supremo," controlled the national revenues; fostered internal industries to make the nation self-sufficient; introduced modern methods of farming and livestock raising; and organized and equipped the army. He abolished the Inquisition, suppressed the college of theology, swept away tithes, and deprived the aristocracy of their privileges.

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Francia was a frugal and honest ruler but unspeakably cruel. The nation survived at a primitive level of self-sufficiency but at a terrible cost in political liberty.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

Paraguay: The Francia regime

...dominated by a civilian lawyer, José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia. Francia proposed the idea of a confederation of equals to Buenos Aires. The city was hoping for eventual domination but settled for a vague military alliance, which was signed in October 1811. That constituted de facto recognition of Paraguayan independence,...

Under the dictatorship of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (1814-40), an admirer of Napoleon, the French colours were adopted and arranged horizontally red-white-blue. The central emblem was the national coat of arms-a golden star surrounded by a wreath and the words "República del Paraguay" ("Republic of Paraguay"). After the...

Paraguay, landlocked country in south-central South America. Paraguay's recent history has been characterized by turbulence and authoritarian rule. It was involved in two of the three major wars on the continent-the War of the Triple Alliance (1864/65-70), against Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay,...

José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia

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José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia | dictator of Paraguay

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José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, dictator of Paraguay whose intensely personal rule and policy of self-sufficiency left the nation both isolated and without alternative political institutions. Francia was trained in theology but turned to the practice of law. In 1811 he became secretary to the

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Artigas was born in 1764 in what is now Uruguay. In 1810, he served in the Buenos Aires junta, and while in the face of the Portuguese forces, he withdrew 16,000 people into the Argentine territory. In 1814, a civil war had broken out over the 350,000 square miles he ruled over. He lost the control over this land, and just a few years later his native lands gained independence as Uruguay.

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José Gervasio Artigas, (born June 19, 1764, probably Montevideo [now in Uruguay]-died September 23, 1850, Ibiray, near Asunción, Paraguay), soldier and revolutionary leader who is regarded as the father of Uruguayan independence, although that goal was not attained until several years after he had been forced into exile.

As a youth Artigas was a gaucho, or cowboy, in the interior of what is now Uruguay. In 1797 he entered the Spanish military forces, which then were mainly engaged in exterminating bandits. Several years later (1810) he offered his services to the Buenos Aires junta that was leading an independence movement against Spain. After winning a brilliant victory at Las Piedras, he besieged Spanish-held Montevideo for a time. In the face of superior Portuguese forces (called in from Brazil by the Spaniards), Artigas led a dramatic withdrawal of about 16,000 people from the region into Argentine territory.

Artigas then became the champion of federalism against the efforts of Buenos Aires to assert centralized control over the whole Río de la Plata region. In 1814 this struggle became a civil war. At first Artigas ruled over about 350,000 square miles (900,000 square km) of what is now Uruguay and central Argentina. His hold, however, was weakened by his insistence on decentralized government and was finally broken by a Portuguese invasion, which he resisted for three years. From 1820 he lived in exile in Paraguay; the independence of his native Uruguay was finally achieved on Aug. 27, 1828.

Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

history of Latin America: The southern movement in South America

...Portuguese Brazil, the regional leader José Gervasio Artigas formed an army of thousands of gauchos. By 1815 Artigas and this force dominated Uruguay and had allied with other provinces to oppose Buenos Aires....

Uruguay: The struggle for national identity

...was led from 1811 by José Gervasio Artigas, commander of the Blandengues, a mounted corps that the Spaniards had originally created to police the region. Artigas's small army, which soon included a battalion of freed African slaves, was supported by rural inhabitants, antiroyalist Montevideo leaders, and an army from Buenos...

Uruguay, country located on the southeastern coast of South America. The second smallest country on the continent, Uruguay has long been overshadowed politically and economically by the adjacent republics of Brazil and Argentina, with both of which it shares many cultural and historical similarities. "On the map, surrounded by its...

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José Gervasio Artigas | Uruguayan revolutionary

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José Gervasio Artigas, soldier and revolutionary leader who is regarded as the father of Uruguayan independence, although that goal was not attained until several years after he had been forced into exile. As a youth Artigas was a gaucho, or cowboy, in the interior of what is now Uruguay.