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Displays OBV and how he unified the German states.

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Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) / German Unification

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Article
Talks about OVB and all his accomplishments and impact on 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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Impressionism artist

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Impressionism Artist

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This talks about why Mexico broke away and won their independence from Spain.

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Art of the Mexican independence movement (article) | Khan Academy

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Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.

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This videos talks about how the war started with Spain and how mexico was creating their own governments.

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Mexican War of Independence | 3 Minute History

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Impressionism art

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Map at the time of the revolution.

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In this article you read about how the revolution begins and then goes into detail about all the uprisings and how Pedro comes to power.

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The accident of independence: 1807-1825

As it turns out, Brazil is the only Latin American country in which there is no need to deter revolutionaries. The colony drifts into independence in almost complete unanimity, and with the minimum of disruption.

The catalyst, as elsewhere, is Napoleon's invasion of the Iberian peninsula. But whereas the Spanish colonies in Latin America are confronted with a complex choice of allegiances (to a deposed Bourbon monarch, to a usurping Bonaparte monarch, or to neither), the Portuguese in Brazil have no such problem. Rio de Janeiro finds itself, unexpectedly, the centre of the Portuguese empire.

In 1816 the regent succeeds to the Portuguese throne, as John VI. His initial popularity in Brazil has by now faded. The extravagance of his court arouses republican opposition, fuelled by the example of the neighbouring Spanish colonies - all of which fight vigorously for their independence during this same decade.

An uprising in 1817 in the north of Brazil, in the province of Pernambuco, is only suppressed after a three-month military campaign. But it is a revolution across the Atlantic, in Portugal, which transforms the situation. John VI hurries home in 1821 to confront this threat to his crown. He leaves his 22-year-old son, Dom Pedro, as regent.

In September 1822, in a great open-air assembly at Ipiranga (today a suburb of São Paulo), Dom Pedro proclaims the independence of Brazil. Three months after this grito do Ipiranga (cry of Ipiranga) he is crowned emperor, as Pedro I. During 1823 the practical necessity is undertaken of driving out of Brazil the various Portuguese garrisons. With the help of Admiral Cochrane, recently arrived from Peru to guard the coast against relief from Portugal, this task is largely completed by the end of 1823.

With independence now an accomplished fact, the United States becomes the first nation to recognize Brazil - in May 1824. Portugal follows suit as early as 1825. The prize has been won with astonishing ease.

Pedro I: 1822-1831

The early years of this inexperienced empire are politically difficult. The problems are predictable. One question, in a continent elsewhere coming out in a rash of new republics, is the extent of the emperor's personal power. The other is the clash between native-born Brazilians of European stock and newly arrived Portuguese (the equivalent of the rivalry in the Spanish colonies between Creoles and peninsulares).

The Brazilian royal court, which has itself arrived from Portugual as recently as 1807, tends to favour the Portuguese - inevitably causing local resentment.

The issues come to a head within the first twelve months. In 1823 the constitutent assembly, under the leadership of the liberal José Andrada, puts forward a constitution reducing the powers of the emperor and of his Portuguese advisers. In response Pedro I dissolves the assembly and exiles Andrada.

Nevertheless the emperor soon recognizes that absolutist rule along European lines is impossible in Brazil. In 1824 he accepts a liberal constitution. It serves very effectively as the basis of the country's government until the end of the empire in 1889.

The second half of the 1820s is a period of mounting difficulties for the emperor Pedro. In 1826, on the death of his father John VI, he succeeds to the throne of Portugal. His attempt to rule his European kingdom without returning from Brazil proves disastrous; in 1828 his younger brother Miguel seizes the throne.

Meanwhile Brazil becomes involved in a war with Argentina over the disputed region known to the Brazilians as the Provincia Cisplatina (this side of the river Plate, on the Roman analogy of ' Cisalpine'). A defeat of the Brazilian army in 1827 leads to the loss of this neighbouring area, which becomes the republic of Uruguay.

Pedro II: 1831-1889

Overwhelmed by these difficulties Pedro I abdicates in favour of his five-year-old son, also Pedro, and returns in 1831 to Portugal. Against all the odds the dynasty in Brazil somehow survives a chaotic ten-year regency, interrupted by frequent disturbances and civil war in the provinces. In 1840 parliament decrees that the 14-year-old Dom Pedro has come of age. In 1841 he is crowned emperor.

During the next half-century Pedro II proves the very model of a constitutional and conscientious monarch. He is modest in his personal life (he is even credited with the remark 'Were I not a monarch, I would be a republican'). He is modern in his passionate interest in developing Brazil's industries, banks, railways and telegraph network.

Even Brazil's military adventures go well under this mild monarch. Brazilian involvement in the War of the Triple Alliance leads to the toppling of the Paraguayan dictator López in 1870 and the annexation of a large slice of Paraguay.

A major issue throughout Pedro's reign is slavery. African slaves have been brought to Brazil in large numbers, from the 17th century onwards, to work in the sugar plantations. At the time of independence, in the 1820s, the slaves comprise half the population (of nearly four million, about 52% are black, 24% European, 17% mestizo, 7% indigenous Indian). With these numbers Brazil ranks second only to the USA on the most urgent moral topic of the times, slavery and the slave trade.

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The accident of independence: 1807-1825 As it turns out, Brazil is the only Latin American country in which there is no need to deter revolutionaries. The colony drifts into independence in almost complete unanimity, and with the minimum of disruption. The catalyst, as elsewhere, is Napoleon's invasion of the Iberian peninsula.

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This video begins with how the Portuguese decided to help Brazil and then goes on and talks about how Dom Pedro came to power and no blood was shed.

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The Brazilian Revolution - Dom Pedro 1800s