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When Otto von Bismarck was born, Germany was a collection of 39 weak states cowering between the superpowers of France, Austria, and Russia. By the time he died, the German nation had been forged in blood and iron and Central Europe had a new sheriff in town. But while we all know the modern Germany he gave us, few of us know much about Bismarck himself.

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The Mexican Revolution was a defining moment of the 20th century. The Mexican fight for democracy, equality, and justice sent shockwaves around the world. No other episode in its history has left a deeper mark. It is a three-act drama full of politics, persecution, and war, not to mention earthquakes, signs in the sky, and even spiritualist sessions, while being populated by larger-than-life villains, international spies, and the universally known figures of Poncho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. In fact, our modern idea of “revolution” owes much to what happened in this country between 1910 and 1920.

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The Mexican Revolution Explained in 10 Minutes

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The Unification of Italy was a 19th century political and social movement that resulted in the unification of the different states of the Italian Peninsula, into a single state – the Kingdom of Italy. Beginning in the 1840s, the unification was completed in 1871, the same year as the unification of Germany.

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Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian politician who became Germany’s first-ever chancellor, a position in which he served from 1871 to 1890. Through a series of wars, he unified 39 individual states into one German nation in 1871

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Who was Otto von Bismarck? What is he known for? And how did he unify Germany? Here's everything you need to know about the Prussian politician dubbed the founder of 'modern Germany'...
Who was Otto von Bismarck?

Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian politician who became Germany's first-ever chancellor, a position in which he served from 1871 to 1890. Through a series of wars, he unified 39 individual states into one German nation in 1871. His policies as chancellor were aimed at holding the newly-formed state together in the face of religious, political and social divisions - all while trying to maintain the fragile peace in Europe.

What is Otto von Bismarck's background?

When Bismarck was born in April 1815, Napoleon was about to be defeated for good by a coalition that included a collective German force with many enthusiastic volunteers. The warm afterglow of this joint effort coloured Bismarck's childhood with bloodthirsty war stories about heroism and sacrifice. His father Karl was a junker (Prussian aristocrat) with staunchly conservative views. By contrast, his mother Wilhelmine was the daughter of a cabinet secretary and was keenly intelligent and witty. Their son Otto would be a combination of the two: an arch-conservative junker with the Machiavellian mind of a politician.

How did Otto von Bismarck rise to power?

As a young man, Bismarck led a drifter's life, trying to find purpose and meaning as the second son of a minor noble family. But in 1847 his life changed forever. By chance, he was asked to step in for a member of the Prussian parliament who had fallen ill. There, he found his calling in the intrigues and machinations of the political world. He quickly made a name for himself as a sharp-tongued supporter of Prussia and its king, which gained him the position of Prussian envoy to Frankfurt (1851), St Petersburg (1859) and Paris (1862) before becoming Minister-President in 1862. In this position, he gained near-total control of the political course the kingdom would take.

How did Bismarck unify Germany?

When Otto von Bismarck was born in 1815, Germany did not exist as a single country. Instead, there were 39 individual states. As minister-president, he sought to bring more and more of the German-speaking lands under Prussian control. Having grown up in the aftermath of the successful fight against Napoleon's troops, he knew that the states would rally together when faced with foreign enemies, so Bismarck provoked wars against Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France (1870). All three victories gained Prussia increasing respect for its military strength and allowed the German people to feel a sense of common identity. After the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck seized the opportunity to invite even the most sceptical German states in the south, such as Bavaria, to join his Prussian-led North German Confederation - having refused Bismarck's previous overtures, this time they agreed.

What was Otto von Bismarck like?

Bismarck is now mostly known for his political acumen; he was a good judge of character and unusually knew whether threat, bribery, argument or flattery was required. At 6ft 2in, he was also physically imposing with steely-blue eyes and broad shoulders. Sharp-tongued, witty and extremely eloquent, he knew how to reach the desired effect with almost any audience. Bismarck also had a strongly impulsive side, examples of which are his tragic love for Marie von Thadden-Trieglaff, the occasional pistol duel with political rivals, and the frequent tears shed in frustration, anger or genuine sadness.

Bismarck: why was the WW2 German battleship named after the Iron Chancellor so feared?

What were Otto von Bismarck's most notable policies?

Having unified Germany through war, Bismarck tried to hold the country together as chancellor by suppressing minorities such as Catholics with his so-called Kulturkampf policies, and by 'Germanising' the Poles, Danes and Frenchmen that ended up within the new boundaries. He also spun an intricate web of foreign policy connections in Europe that allowed the new German state to become a respected entity on the continent.

What is Otto von Bismarck's legacy?

When he died in 1898, Bismarck was an embittered man. His successors had allowed the new German kaiser, Wilhelm II, to direct policy from 1890. Thus, tensions in Europe began to mount and threaten to engulf the newly formed Germany. However, Bismarck also inspired a cult following that would continue long after his death. Hundreds of monuments, such as the famous Bismarck Towers, were erected in his honour across the German empire. Many people still regard him as a brilliant statesman today.

Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian and bestselling author. She specialises in the history of modern Germany with a focus on the Second Reich. Her book Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871-1918 is out now, published by The History Press. You can find her on Twitter @hoyer_kat

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Otto von Bismarck: a brief guide to the 'founder of modern Germany'

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As a Prussian politician, Otto von Bismarck transformed a collection of small German states into the German empire, his style of rule later gaining him the nickname the 'Iron Chancellor'. Katja Hoyer shares a brief guide to one of 19th-century Europe's most influential statesman...

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Agustín de Iturbide (1783-1824) was a Mexican general and politician. Raised as a Spanish gentleman in New Spain, he rose through the ranks of the military and commanded royalist forces against the Mexican independence movements of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and José María Morelos.

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Agustín de Iturbide, also called (1822-23) Agustín I, (born September 27, 1783, Valladolid, Viceroyalty of New Spain [now Morelia, Mexico]-died July 19, 1824, Padilla, Mexico), Mexican caudillo (military chieftain) who became the leader of the conservative factions in the Mexican independence movement and, as Agustín I, briefly emperor of Mexico.

Like many young men of the upper classes in Spanish America, Iturbide entered the royalist army, becoming an officer in the provincial regiment of his native city in 1797. In 1810 Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla offered him a post with his revolutionary army, but Iturbide refused and pledged himself to the Spanish cause instead. His defense of Valladolid against the revolutionary forces of José María Morelos dealt a crushing blow to the insurgents, and for this victory Iturbide was given command of the military district of Guanajuato and Michoacán. In 1816, however, grave charges of extortion and violence caused his removal.

By 1820 the radical independence movement was almost entirely extinguished. Both Hidalgo and Morelos had been captured and executed; only guerrilla bands (under the command of General Vicente Guerrero) prevented the complete victory of the royalists. The Mexican independence movement then performed a curious about-face. In reaction to a liberal coup d'état in Spain, the conservatives in Mexico (formerly staunch royalists) advocated immediate independence. Iturbide assumed command of the army and, at Iguala, allied his reactionary force with Guerrero's radical insurgents. Iturbide's Plan de Iguala, published on February 24, 1821, proclaimed three guarantees: (1) immediate independence from Spain, (2) equality for Spaniards and Creoles, and (3) the supremacy of Roman Catholicism and a ban on all other religions. The Army of the Three Guarantees quickly subjugated the country; on August 24, 1821, Juan O'Donojú, the new representative of the Spanish king, signed the Treaty of Córdoba, recognizing the independence of Mexico.

The revolutionary coalition quickly fell apart as Iturbide removed Guerrero and his insurgent following from influence. On May 19, 1822, Iturbide placed the crown upon his own head and became Agustín I, emperor of Mexico. An arbitrary and extravagant ruler, he proved unable to bring order and stability to his country, and all parties soon turned against him. Opposition solidified behind Antonio López de Santa Anna, whose own plan called for Iturbide's overthrow and exile. On March 19, 1823, Iturbide abdicated and went first to Italy and then to England. In 1824, however, he returned to Mexico, unaware that the congress had decreed his death. Captured on July 15, he was executed four days later. Although regarded by most scholars as a self-serving military adventurer, he has remained for the Roman Catholic church and for the conservative classes the great hero of Mexican independence.

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Agustín de Iturbide | Mexican Emperor, Independence Leader

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Agustín de Iturbide, Mexican caudillo (military chieftain) who became the leader of the conservative factions in the Mexican independence movement and, as Agustín I, briefly emperor of Mexico. Like many young men of the upper classes in Spanish America, Iturbide entered the royalist army, becoming

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Giuseppe Mazzini, (1805-1872) Italian nationalist and patriot, who, together with Giuseppe Garibaldi, Camillo Benson di Cavour, and Victor Emmanuel II, is considered one of the "patron saints" of the Italian Risorgimento. While still in his teens Mazzini committed himself to the cause of Italian independence and unity.

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Table of Contributors Table of Contents Return to Encyclopedia Home Page

Guissepe Mazzini

GIUSEPPE MAZZINI, (1805-1872) Italian nationalist and patriot, who, together with Giuseppe Garibaldi, Camillo Benso di Cavour, and Victor Emmanuel II, is considered one of the "patron saints" of the Italian Risorgimento. While still in his teens Mazzini committed himself to the cause of Italian independence and unity. Forced into exile in 1831 for his revolutionary activities, he began to recruit followers and organize uprisings against the rulers of the various Italian states. His association, Giovine Italia (Young Italy), founded in the 1830s, attracted adherents throughout the peninsula and among Italian political exiles everywhere. With the exception of Giuseppe Garibaldi, no other Italian Risorgimento leader enjoyed greater international renown than Mazzini in his time. His revolutionary vision extended beyond the limited objective of Italian national unity. Mazzini's primary goals were the end of Austrian hegemony in Italy and of the temporal power of the pope, Italian unity, republicanism, democracy, and the liberation of all oppressed peoples. Imbued with a messianic zeal, he believed that, united under the banner of "God and people", Italians would succeed in ridding themselves of their various rulers and establish a democratic unitary republic with its capital in Rome. This new Italy would lead other subject peoples to freedom and liberty and embody a "third" Rome, successor to ancient and papal Rome. A new Europe, controlled by the people and not by sovereigns, would replace the old order. By the 1840s Mazzini had become the recognized leader of the Italian nationalist revolutionary movement. His appeal to Italians, restive under oppressive governments, was unrivaled, if not unchallenged. Intellectuals and artisans, men and women, all responded to him. Many lost their lives in abortive revolts inspired by his teachings.

In 1848 Mazzini's dreams seemed to be realized, when news of the successful revolutions throughout Europe reached him in his English exile. As the revolutions progressed like brush-fires up the Italian peninsula, Mazzini arrived in Milan. He was greeted enthusiastically by the people, less so by their leaders. Divided among themselves on whether to accept the invitation of Piedmont-Sardinia to become part of a greater kingdom under its king Charles Albert in return for the latter's military help against Austria, they resented Mazzini's presence and his advice to set political differences aside for the moment and to cooperate with Charles Albert in the name of national unity. On April 30, 1848, Carlo Cattaneo, Giuseppe Ferrari, and other republican leaders of the Milanese revolt proposed to overturn their pro-Piedmontese provisional government and request French assistance against Austria. Mazzini opposed them, urging support for the efforts of the Italian monarch and army, rather than appealing to foreign troops. This drew angry criticisms from the republican leaders who accused Mazzini of betraying his republican principles. The quarrel proved futile. Marshall Radetzky was already regrouping his forces against the Piedmontese army which he would eventually defeat at Custozza on July 25, 1848, to reestablish Austrian control over Lombardy. Meanwhile events in Rome were becoming radicalized. After the assassination of the papal minister Pellegrino Rossi and the departure of Pope Pius IX from the city on November 24, 1848, the Romans proclaimed a republic in January 1849 and invited Mazzini to join them. Mazzini's arrival marked the beginning of the most dramatic period in his life. Elected to the Triumvirate, the republic's executive body, he finally had the opportunity to participate actively in laying the foundations for what he hoped would be a new democratic united republican Italy. His slogan "thought and action" became reality. Since 1834, he had planned revolutions from afar, while others had risked their lives. Now, as Triumvir of the Roman Republic he became an active participant in what was to remain his supreme revolutionary experience.

Like the other insurgent regimes throughout the peninsula, the Roman republic had a brief, intense life. In response to an appeal by Pope Pius IX, French soldiers appeared at the outskirts of Rome on April 30, 1849, and there began the city's futile, brave defense. The various reforms planned by Mazzini could never be effected as survival became the dominant concern. Finally, the city could no longer hold out against the French, and Rome opened its gates to the troops of the Second Republic on July 3, 1849. On July 1, two days before the entry of the French troops, the Constitution of the Roman Republic, was passed by the popularly elected Assembly, and it was solemnly proclaimed in the Campidoglio (City Hall) two days later while the French occupied the city. A disconsolate Mazzini, unmolested by the French garrison, lingered in Rome until the middle of July, when he left Italy once more for exile. He continued to conspire, but the revolutionary élan that had inspired Italian nationalists to follow Mazzini before 1848 faded in the 1850s. The revolutions of 1848-1849 ended the revolutionary phase of the Risorgimento and marked the beginning of a realignment of political forces in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. While Mazzini continued to be held in high esteem, respect, and even affection, Italian nationalists began to turn to the monarchical leadership offered by Camillo Benso di Cavour and his king Victor Emmanuel in Piedmont-Sardinia. In 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed at Turin, capital of Piedmont-Sardinia, by a Parliament in which sat elected representatives from all of Italy except Venetia and Rome. A disillusioned Mazzini never accepted monarchical united Italy and continued to agitate for a democratic republic until his death in 1872.
Emiliana P. Noether
Bibliography

Ivanoe Bonomi. Mazzini triumviro della Repubblica romana. (Turin, 1936).

Franco Della Peruta. Giuseppe Mazzini e i democratici. (Milan-Naples, 1969).

F. Della Peruta. Mazzini e i rivoluzionari italiani: Il Partito d'Azione, 1830-1845. (Milan, 1974).

Giorgio Falco. G. Mazzini e la Costituente. (Florence, 1946).

Gwylim Griffith. Mazzini, Prophet of Modern Europe. (London, 1932).

Bolton King. Mazzini. (London, 1902).

Giuseppe Mazzini e la repubblica romana. (Rome, 1949).

G. Mazzini. "Note autobiografiche," Scritti editi ed inediti. (Imola, 1935), vol. 77, 3-397.

Emilia Morelli. Giuseppe Mazzini: Quasi una biografia. (Rome, 1984).

E. Morelli. Giuseppe Mazzini. Saggi e ricerche. (Rome, 1950).

Emiliana P. Noether. "Mazzini and the Nineteenth Century Revolutionary Movement," Consortium on Revolutionary Europe Proceedings 1984. (Athens, GA: Consortium on Revolutionary Europe, 1986), 277-285.

_______. "Mazzini and the Radical Movement in Nineteenth Century Italy," International Journal of Social Education, 3 (April 1987), 59-72.

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JGC revised this file ( http://www.ohiou.edu/~chastain/ip/mazzini.htm) on October 23, 2004.

Please E-mail comments or suggestions to chastain@www.ohiou.edu

© 1999, 2004 James Chastain.

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GIUSEPPE MAZZINI, (1805-1872) Italian nationalist and patriot, who,
together with Giuseppe Garibaldi, Camillo Benso di Cavour, and
Victor Emmanuel II, is considered one of the “patron saints” of the
Italian Risorgimento. While still in his teens
Mazzini committed himself to the cause of Italian ind…