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https://www.britannica.com/biography/Camillo-Benso-conte-di-Cavour/Statesman

Camillo Benso was born on August 10th, 1810. He was entered into the military where he quickly reached the rank of Lieutenant. Later in life, his interest in politics grew and he became the Prime Minister of Italy.

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Gradually, as the year 1848 drew near and the first gusts of the great revolutionary storm of that year could be felt, Cavour's interest in politics began once more to dominate all others. This is shown by the chronological sequence of his writings. His transition to politics was completed when King Charles Albert decided to embark on measures of reform and to concede a certain amount of freedom to the press. Cavour took advantage of this to found the newspaper Il Risorgimento, which soon became the champion of increasingly drastic reforms. After taking a leading part in persuading Charles Albert to grant a liberal constitution, Cavour used Il Risorgimento to propagate the idea of an immediate war with Austria (which still ruled Lombardy and Venetia) as a historical necessity. Once elected a member of Parliament in June 1848, however, he assumed an intermediate position between the conservatives and the revolutionaries, thus calling forth the enmity of both left and right.

The war against Austria was undertaken, but developments went against the Piedmontese. This prompted Cavour to offer his services as a volunteer until, on being elected a deputy in the third Legislature (July 1848), he began to fight for the approval of a peace treaty with Austria, although the extremists of the left wanted to continue a war that was, in effect, already lost. The intelligence and expertise he displayed in the debates on financial and military questions gained him a prominent place among the deputies of the majority that supported the right-wing government of Massimo d'Azeglio. In October 1850, he was offered the post of minister of agriculture and soon became the most active and influential member of the Cabinet. Through a series of treaties with France, Belgium, and England, Cavour attempted to bring about the greatest possible amount of free trade. He also sought to form a network of economic interests with the great powers to pave the way for a political alliance against Austria. His appointment as minister of finance in 1850 was evidence of his growing ambitions.

Cavour now sought to create an alliance between the centre right and the centre left that would form a new majority with greater ability to move toward a policy of secularization and modernization in Piedmont. The alliance, called the connubio ("marriage"), brought about the resignation of d'Azeglio, whose parliamentary standing had been completely destroyed. After vain attempts to restore an effective d'Azeglio ministry, Victor Emmanuel II, who had succeeded his father Charles Albert in 1849, resigned himself to entrusting the formation of a government to Cavour, who from that time (Nov. 4, 1852) until his death was his country's acknowledged political leader.

The European drama into which Cavour was drawn against his will began in 1854 with the Crimean War (1853-56), which saw France and England allied against Russia in order to defend the integrity of the Turkish territory threatened by Russia's determination to open the Dardanelles for passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Victor Emmanuel immediately pledged his help to the French and English representatives. Cavour, whose ministers voted against the Crimean venture, was on the point of being dismissed by the King if he rejected the alliance or of being forced to resign by his colleagues if he accepted it. Accepting the alliance with customary boldness and self-confidence, he averted dismissal by the King and embarked upon war. The turning point of the war came with the Anglo-French-Sardinian victory that persuaded Austria to cast aside its neutrality and, by means of an ultimatum, force Russia to make peace.

With some difficulty, Cavour secured the participation of the small power of Piedmont in the peace negotiations at the Congress of Paris (1856), at which the greatest European powers were represented. By supporting Napoleon III's undeclared yet obvious intention to intervene militarily in Italy in the near future and by taking advantage of the general animosity toward Austria, which had joined the allies in the Crimean War only when victory over Russia was assured, Cavour succeeded in proposing the discussion of the Italian problem on the grounds that it was one that threatened European peace. In his view, peace was threatened by Austrian encroachment, papal misgovernment in central Italy, and the autocratic rule of the Spanish Bourbons in southern Italy. Thus, for the first time, the Italian question was presented for diplomatic consideration in a manner favouring the liberation of the peninsula. The difficulty was to persuade the two great powers, France and England, to persevere in their support of an anti-Austrian policy on the part of Piedmont.

In Paris, Cavour had occasion to meet and appraise the stature of Europe's most capable diplomats and to examine the reasons behind the policies of the great powers. He knew full well that it was illusory to hope for the disinterested assistance of Europe in the Italian cause; nevertheless, with his tireless energy and unlimited capacity to take advantage of the most adverse situations, he finally succeeded in winning Napoleon III over to his side. His trump card was the proposition to reestablish France as the leading power on the Continent by an expedition into Italy that would replace Austrian domination of the peninsula with French rule.

At a secret meeting at Plombières in July 1858, Napoleon III and Cavour agreed to provoke a European war against Austria in the following year. At the first suspicions of a secret agreement, the European powers-especially England-began a campaign to prevent the French and Piedmontese from carrying out their intentions, a campaign so intense that Cavour saw himself being dragged toward the brink of personal and national catastrophe. He was saved by an incredible blunder on the part of Austria, which sent an ultimatum threatening war unless Piedmont disarmed at once. The Franco-Piedmontese alliance accordingly came into force, and this time Austria's superior military power was counterbalanced by the French contribution. Franco-Piedmontese victories followed one after another until Napoleon signed an armistice with Emperor Francis Joseph I at Villafranca in July 1859.

The war had unleashed revolutionary movements in Tuscany, in the duchies of Modena and Parma, and in the papal states between the Po and the Apennines, from Bologna to Cattolica; the ducal rulers had been expelled, as had the papal legates. The armistice seemed to call everything into question, except for Victor Emmanuel's acquisition of Lombardy, which was a minimal gain compared with Cavour's dreams of liberating Italy from the Alps to the Adriatic. At Villafranca, Cavour vented his rage and frustration on the King and resigned his office.

Contrary to his usual perception, he realized only later the advantages to be derived from the armistice. The revolutionary landslide in Italy could no longer be checked, nor could the French emperor withdraw from his position as protector of Italian self-determination. After being returned to power by the reluctant king in January 1860, Cavour worked for the annexation of the central duchies that had formerly belonged to the ancient rulers of Piedmont; he was able to do this only by ceding Savoy and Nice to France.

Unification of Italy

The surrender of Nice to France vastly sharpened the conflict between Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi, for Nice was the popular hero's birthplace. The surrender of Piedmont's Alpine bulwark could be compensated for only by territorial expansion into central Italy (at the pope's expense) and into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. But Cavour, by now the black sheep of European diplomacy for having disturbed its tranquillity too often, was not in a position to take the initiative, even though England now favoured his policy.

It was Garibaldi who resolved the stalemate caused by Cavour's enforced inactivity. Sailing with his famous Thousand to Sicily, he destroyed Bourbon rule there and in the south. The daring diplomacy of Piedmont and Cavour seemed momentarily to be eclipsed by the military exploits of the red-shirted hero, but more important, there now appeared the first outlines of rivalry between a moderate, monarchist Italy and a revolutionary, republican Italy. The danger of a rupture was averted by the good sense and magnanimity of Garibaldi and by a diplomatic stratagem of Cavour. Cavour, taking up his stance before Europe as the defender of law and order against revolutionary excesses, and before Napoleon as the defender of the last strip of papal territory against attack by Garibaldi, sent an army under Victor Emmanuel across Marche and Umbria in order to check the "hero of the two worlds" and to weld the two Italies into one united kingdom.

There still remained the problem of establishing a capital. Cavour felt that only Rome could be the capital of the new state; but that meant he had to face the most complex problem of his life-that of the position to be assigned to the pope, the head of Catholicism, once Rome had become the capital of Italy. Cavour wholeheartedly accepted the concept of the separation of church and state; in his negotiations with the papacy he became a passionate supporter of the idea. He maintained that the liberty of the church was to be the fulcrum of the renewal of the world, even though this involved the renunciation of its temporal power and the surrender of Rome to the Italian nation. An entirely spiritual church and papacy, he asserted, would revive mankind. Pius IX's answer to these proposals was negative. But while Cavour was still vigorously promoting his formula of "a free church in a free state," he fell seriously ill and died, after having formed a nation in 10 years of impassioned and restless activity.
Umberto Marcelli The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Camillo Benso, count di Cavour - Italian Statesman, Unification, Risorgimento

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Camillo Benso, count di Cavour - Italian Statesman, Unification, Risorgimento: Gradually, as the year 1848 drew near and the first gusts of the great revolutionary storm of that year could be felt, Cavour's interest in politics began once more to dominate all others. This is shown by the chronological sequence of his writings.

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https://www.biography.com/political-figure/toussaint-louverture

Toussaint was born on May 20th, 1743 and was soon sold into slavery. He was able to read about Enlightenment ideas and was freed later in life. When slaves revolted, he joined the cause and led various battles to force the French to free Haiti slaves.

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https://owlcation.com/humanities/Otto-von-Bismarck

Otto von Bismarck was born on April 1, 1815 in Prussia, and later studied law and agriculture. He was soon well known by politicians and later became chancellor. He led the unification of Germany, and united all German speaking countries in less than 10 years.

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Otto von Bismarck: Biographical Details

Birth Name: Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck - Schonhausen

Date of Birth: 1 April 1815

Place of Birth: Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Date of Death: 30 July 1898 (Eighty Three Years of Age)

Place of Death: Friedrichsruh, Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire

Cause of Death: Gangrene Infection

Place of Burial: Bismarck Mausoleum, Friedrichsruh, German Empire

Spouse(s): Johanna von Puttkamer (Married in 1847)

Children: Marie; Herbert; Wilhelm

Father: Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Bismarck

Mother: Wilhelmine Luise Mencken

Siblings: Bernhard Bismarck (brother); Malwine Bismarck (sister)

Alma Mater/Education: University of Gottingen; University of Berlin; University of Greifswald

Occupation(s): Lawyer; Politician; Minister of Foreign Affairs; Chancellor of the North German Confederation; Minister President of Prussia; Chancellor of the German Empire

Political Affiliation: Independent

Quick Facts About Bismarck

Otto von Bismarck was born in the town of Shonhausen, Prussia on 1 April 1815 to Karl and Wilhelmine Bismarck. Bismarck was one of three children that included, Bernhard and Malwine. From the beginning, Bismarck was brought up with a good education, as his family was quite wealthy and influential throughout Prussia. Aside from German, young Bismarck was a polyglot of sorts, and was fluent in Russian, Polish, Italian, French, and English. After finishing school, Bismarck set out to study law at the University of Gottingen, and later the University of Berlin. He later studied agriculture at the University of Greifswald while simultaneously serving as an army reservist (becoming an officer after only a year). Following his mother's death, however, young Bismarck returned to his family home, where he ran the family estate for some time.

Around thirty years of age, Bismarck married a young woman by the name of Johanna von Puttkamer (28 July 1847). His wife was a devout Lutheran; a trait that Bismarck soon acquired himself for the remainder of his life. Together, the couple produced three children: Marie (Born in 1847); Herbert (Born in 1849); and Wilhelm (Born in 1852).

In his early political career, Bismarck served as a representative to the Prussian legislature known as the "Vereinigter Landtag." Bismarck was well known among his fellow politicians for his royalist leanings, as well as his strong gift for rhetoric. In 1849, he was elected to the Lantag and was later appointed (1851) as Prussia's envoy to the "Diet of the German Confederation in Frankfurt." After nearly a decade in politics, Bismarck began to understand the need for German unification, due to the overriding influence of foreign countries (such as Austria) that tended to override the interests of Prussia itself.

In 1862, Bismarck was appointed "Minister President of Prussia" by King Wilhelm I, after it was clear to Wilhelm that Bismarck was the only politician capable of handling the liberal Prussian Diet (Landtag). Using his new powers, Bismarck restricted freedom of the press, and sought out ways to silence political opponents and critics. Bismarck maintained his position, despite fierce calls for his resignation from the parliament. This lied, in part, due to his staunch support of German Unification which had been a major component of the 1848 Revolution only a decade prior. Bismarck garnered additional support on 30 September 1862 with his famous "iron and blood" speech, where he argued that speeches and majority-decisions would not solve the great problems of Prussia. Only through iron and blood could Prussia achieve his goals, he believed.

Quick Facts Continued

Through Bismarck's leadership, Prussia sought out to achieve total German unification. Through the engineering of three separate wars that included the Schleswig-Holstein War, Austro-Prussian War, and Franco Prussian War, Bismarck was able to consolidate all of the German-speaking localities that surrounded Prussia into a unified German state under the banner of the German Empire (in less than ten years). Using deception, diplomatic maneuvering, and lightning-fast military strikes against his opponents (blitzkrieg), Bismarck's endeavor was highly successful for the German people, and garnered him tremendous support from both the people and former political opponents. By 18 January 1871, unification was completed as Wilhelm I was declared German Emperor.

After unifying his nation, Bismarck's remaining years as Chancellor were focused on bringing peace to Europe. Using his diplomatic skills, Bismarck devised an elaborate alliance system to prevent the outbreak of war between European nations. Through a balance of power, Bismarck believed that European peace could be achieved. Bismarck's plans were short lived, however, as Wilhelm II ascended to the throne in 1888 and attempted to counter Bismarck's plans for peace in every conceivable way. Rather than using diplomacy, Wilhelm II preferred direct confrontation with Germany's enemies. After growing tired of Bismarck's careful and methodical use of diplomacy, Wilhelm II forced Bismarck into retirement in 1890, and pursued a policy of rapid territorial expansion as well as a policy of aggressive military buildup. Europe responded, as Bismarck predicted, by expanding their own militaries and territories, leaving Europe in a precarious situation (both militarily and diplomatically).

Although Bismarck returned to politics for only a short period in 1894, the remained of his life was dedicated to running his estates at Varzin and Friedrichsruh. In 1897, Wilhelm II made one last visit to Bismarck. Bismarck famously warned the German Emperor that his actions would cause irreparable damage across Europe, and predicted that a European war would one day ensue (a prediction that came true in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I). Wilhelm ignored Bismarck's prediction, however, and continued in his aggressive military and territorial expansion of the German Empire. A year later, Bismarck died in 1898 after suffering from a gangrene infection.

More Fun Facts

After being proclaimed Emperor of the German Empire, Kaiser Wilhelm I thanked Bismarck for his services by giving him an entire forest and manor.

Although Bismarck often donned a general's uniform in his public life, he had only served in Prussia's military reserve for a year.

Bismarck was responsible for the development of a social security plan in Prussia and the German Empire. His intentions for the plan, however, did not derive from generosity or goodwill. The implementation of social security was set in motion in order to garner additional votes during election time.

Otto von Bismarck holds the record for longest time served in office for the position of German Chancellor (22 years of service); a feat that will likely never be broken.

In his prediction concerning a future European War, Bismarck told Wilhelm II that war would likely result from "some sill business in the Balkans." Bismarck's prediction could not have been more accurate, as a major component to the First World War's origins were the result of issues in the Balkans.

In more recent years, Prinz Carl Eduard von Bismarck, who was Bismarck's Great Great Grandson, was asked by German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, to resign his post in the German Parliament, as she felt that he was "the laziest MP in Germany."

A German battleship was named after Bismarck. However, it was sunk off the coast of France.

Bismarck greatly admired American President, Abraham Lincoln. At one point in his career, he also entertained the thought of forming a strategic alliance between Germany and the United States.

Bismarck Quote
"The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions, but by iron and blood."

- Otto von Bismarck

Quotes by Bismarck

"Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war."

"When you want to fool the world, tell the truth."

"Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made."

"The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions, but by iron and blood."

"When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice."

"All treaties between great states cease to be binding when they come in conflict with the struggle for existence."

"A government must not waiver once it has chosen it's course. It must not look to the left or right but go forward."

"A statesman must wait until he hears the steps of God sounding through events, then leap up and grasp the hem of His garment."

"With a gentleman, I am always a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I try to be a fraud and a half."

"Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness."

Poll

Conclusion

In closing, Otto von Bismarck remains one of the most important political figures to have arose from the Nineteenth Century. His incorporation of "realpolitik" as well as his skills in diplomacy and political maneuvering helped shape European politics for decades to come. More importantly, his unification of the German people not only reshaped the European continent, but it also set the stage for bloody conflict in the Twentieth Century, as the German Empire (and later Nazi Germany) became central figures in the two bloodiest wars of human history. As more and more is learned about Bismarck, it will be interesting to see what new historical interpretations about the famed "Iron Chancellor" will arise in the near future.

Works Cited
Images/Photographs:
Wikipedia contributors, "Otto von Bismarck," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Otto_von_Bismarck&oldid=888959912 (accessed March 27, 2019).
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional. © 2019 Larry Slawson

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Birth Name: Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck - Schonhausen Date of Birth: 1 April 1815 Place of Birth: Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Date of Death: 30 July 1898 (Eighty Three Years of Age) Place of Death: Friedrichsruh, Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire Cause of Death: Gangrene Infection Place of Burial: Bismarck Mausoleum, Friedrichsruh, German

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This is realism because it is a detailed, realistic painting.

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Peasants in Italy were upset with the poor conditions in Italy, so they rebelled. 4 people led the revolution and led to the unification of Italy. This brought nationalism to Italy.

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Italian 1848 Revolutions | 3 Minute History

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This is impressionism because it uses vibrant colors and is not exact detail.

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The French government enslaved Haiti people. In 1791, the slaves in Haiti rebelled against the French government. Led by Toussaint L'Ouverature, the slaves received freedom.

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This is romanticism because it shows angels bowing down to Otto

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In 1871, Bismarck unified Germany into a nation-state, forming the German Empire. He provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in its defeat of France.

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Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) / German Unification