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4. Nation-State System
Nationalism: State building in Germany and Italy
• GERMAN UNIFICATION:
• BEFORE 1806:
• Germany was just a geographical entity.
• There was no political existence of Germany - German speaking Central Europe included more than
300 political entities, most of which were part of the Holy Roman Empire or the extensive Habsburg
hereditary dominions.
• Small territories to large kingdoms of Bavaria and Prussia.

• NAPOLEON AND GERMAN UNIFICATION:

• He defeated Austria in the battle of Austerlitz in 1805 and imposed the treaty of Pressburg on Austria.
• As per the provision of this treaty, the holy Roman Empire was dissolved and Confederation of the
Rhine was organised.
• German Mediatisation (territorial restructuring) of 1803: transferred large portions of the Holy Roman
Empire to the dynastic states and secularised ecclesiastical territories.

• Rise of Nationalism:
- German nationalism thrived under the French Empire .
- Political Unification of Germany: The German states were consolidated into 39 states, which
advanced the cause of German nationality.
- They had a common language.
- Napoleon initiated reform in the Rhine confederacy to spread modernisation in Germany. The
influence of these ideas resulted in the growth of awakening amongst the Germans and when the rule
of Napoleon turns despotic during the last years of his reign, a strong wave of German nationalism
emerged. . It was this spirit of German nationalism that guided and inspired German Unification.
- Sense of common cause to remove the French.
- Napoleon’s invasion of Russia included nearly 125000 troops from German and Napoleans
Continental System nearly ruined the Central European economy.
- 1813: Battle of Leipzig ended French power east of the Rhine.It gave an indirect boost to the
creation of a German national myth.

• CONGRESS OF VIENNA-GERMAN DUALISM:

• Vienna Congress of 1815 made every possible effort to restore the pre-Napoleon picture in Germany.
• The Holy Roman Empire was restored.
• The thirty nine states of Rhine confederacy could not be reconverted into the original more than three
hundred states.

• A German Confederation (Deutscher Bund) was se t up - loose conglomeration of the now 39 German
states :
• Headed by Austria.
• Federal Diet called Bundestag, (an assembly of appointed leaders) that met in the city of
Frankfurt.
• The emperors of Austria became the titular presidents of this parliament and Prussia became
Vice President.
• So, Austrian-Prussian dualism got established
• This Diet had two defects:
• (a) Its members were the representatives of the German princes, not of the people
• (b) It had no machinery to enforce its decision.
• (c) In effect, however, it was a redundant organisation and continued to depend upon
cooperation between Austria and Prussia.

• Problematically, the built-in Austrian dominance failed to take into account Prussia's 18th century
emergence in Imperial politics. Ever since the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg had made himself King in
Prussia at the beginning of that century, their domains had steadily increased through war and
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inheritance. Prussia's consolidated strength became especially apparent during the War of the Austrian
Succession and the Seven Years' War under Frederick the Great.

• CARLSBAD DECRESS (1819):

• In the following period, a conservative reactionary system emerged all over Europe under the influence
of the Austrian Chancellor Metternich - wanted to weaken, loosen German Confederation.
• A set of reactionary restrictions introduced in the states of the German Confederation by resolution of
the Bundestag.
• Desire of Austrian foreign minister Metternich to persuade governments to combine for the suppression
of liberal and nationalistic tendencies:
• Censorship was imposed.
• Burschenschaften (nationalist student clubs) were disbanded.
• Faculties of schools and universities be placed under supervisory curators;
• A central investigating commission, armed with inquisitional powers, was set up to ferret out
conspiratorial organisations .
• These efforts failed in the long run to stifle German nationalism.

• ZOLLVEREIN (CUSTOMS UNION):

• The Zollverein (German Customs Union), comprising 17 states excluding Austria and Bohemia, was
formed in 1834. Customs barriers of member states were levelled and a uniform tariff was instituted
against non-members. This economically hurt the Austrians and gave Prussia a new role of economic
leadership and domination in Germany .
• Austria refused to be a part of the customs Union. As a result of this, the lesser German states moved
away from Austria and closer to Prussia.The economic interest of the lesser German sates got
interlinked with Prussia.
• This customs union paved the way for the development of means of transportation such as roads and
railway lines as a result of which the geographical distance prevailing amongst the Germans got
reduced.
• These means of communication was used by Bismarck to move his forces swiftly during wars and
battles. This swift movement of Prussian forces facilitated by these means of communication had
enabled Bismarck to defeat Austria and France easily.
• Zollverein has enabled in the growth of modern industries in Germany, as a result of which strong
capitalist groups emerged. These German capitalists were in favour of political unification of Germany
because they knew that only a strong German nation could provide them safety from British import and
could establish colonial empire to work as a source of cheap raw material and as a market for German
products.
• The competition between German and British capitalists was extremely favourable for the political
unification of Germany. These German capitalists supported Bismarck as a result of which he could
complete the task of German Unification.
• The economic progress brought about by the success of Zollverein allowed Bismarck to raise a large
army without scarcity of resources. This military strength imparted the winning edge to Germans as
with the help of a strong military Bismarck could overcome all challenges standing in the way of
German unification.
• This rapid expansion of the economy united Germany economically, and partially culturally, before
1871. This led John M. Keynes to comment, with some justification, that “The German Empire was
created more by coal and iron than by blood and iron”. Coal and iron provided a strong material base of
the political unification of Germany. The favourable economic situation made it easier for Bismarck to
separate nationalism from liberalism.
• However this alone was not sufficient. German unity was now brought about by a sequence of
diplomatic manuevers and wars, in which Bismarck played a major role.

• REVOLUTION OF JULY 1830 - EXPRESSION OF GERMAN NATIONALISM:

• Successful revolution in France against autocratic Charles X.
• Spread to Germany.
• Crushed by Metternich with the help of Carlsbad decrees.
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• But rulers of all states except Austria and Prussia were compelled to introduce liberal constitutions in
their respective states.
• Charles, the King of Brunswick, was divested of his throne.
• In 1833: some revolutionaries made an attack upon the Federal Diet. Ruthlessly repulsed with the help
of army, clear that the people of Germany had no faith in the functioning of the Federal Diet.
• Overall effects of the 1830 revolutions were neutralised

• 1848 – IMPACT OF THE FAILURE OF REVOLUTION:

• Revolutions broke out all over Europe inspired by Paris .
• As in the rest of Europe, liberal and nationalist insurrections directed against the existing political order
broke out in Germany in 1848.
• Prelude: a popular assembly organised in Mannheim on February 27, 1848, by Democrats from Baden.
• Demands formulated:
• Freedom of the press.
• Trial by jury.
• Creation of a German parliament.
• These demands were raised everywhere in the March days, usually supplemented by local or regional
wishes for reform.
• Led by the liberal bourgeoisie.
• Monarchs soon declared their willingness to install basic democratic principle.
• King of Bavaria abdicated.
• Hungarian parliament was stormed by students - Metternich was forced to flee.
• The uprising in Berlin (Prussia) on March 18 was preceded by powerful oppositional
governments in almost all Prussian provinces King Frederick William IV of Prussia was
frightened into granting a constitution and his example was followed by Saxony, Hanover
and Bavaria.
• Frankfurt Parliament:
• tried and failed to create a united German state.
• Met in May 18.
• Moderate liberals in majority but the entire political spectrum was represented.
• Proposed a constitution which provided for universal suffrage, parliamentary government, and a
hereditary emperor.
• Germany was to have a unified monetary and customs system but would maintain the internal
autonomy of the constituent German states.
• Austria: either the entire Austrian Empire or none of it would enter the new Germany.
• Blow to those who had hoped to include German speaking parts of Austria.
• It was deeply divided over the question of the frontiers of the new German state. Two conflicting
programmes soon emerged: The first was the idea of a ‘Greater Germany’ (Grossdeutsch), which
would include Austria, Bohemia and Moravia but leave out Hungary. They were impatient at any
separatist Slav nationalisms - German was seen as the master race and other “un-historic” races were
inferior races, with no right to self-determination. The other alternative was the idea of a’Little
Germany’(Kleindeutsch), which excluded Austria completely and looked at Prussia for leadership.
Eventually the majority voted for the Kleindeutsch solution.
• Now German unification would have to be under the leadership of Prussia.
• When the position of the emperor was offered to Prussia, he refused:
- He was conservative.
- He would accept the crown only from the princes and not from an elected body.
- Afraid of war with Austria.
• Diet was dismissed.
• The Prussian king voluntarily gave the people a constitution, though not democratic.
• By the beginning of 1849 ,the revolution was over. It failed, among other reasons, due to the lack of
central leadership, lack of unity of purpose and the threat of the big powers. Also, it was led by
intellectuals, not “men of action”. It resulted in a return of the monarchical order in a more absolutist
form.Its failure also discredited liberal ideas. Romantic idealism was replaced by a more materialistic
and realistic spirit as nationalists came to believe that what liberalism and democracy failed to give
them might be got by more militaristic means.
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• PRUSSIA WAS THE NATURAL LEADER:
• Stimulated national resistance to Napoleon.
• Important in his defeat.
• Leader of the Zollverein.
• Had a constitution and a parliament.
• King Wilhelm I (crowned 1861) gave a new vigour to Prussian policy:
- Appointed Von Moltke as Chief of Prussian General Staff who redesigned Prussian defence.
- Appoint Von Soon as Prussian minister for war who reorganised the Prussian army.
- Both believed in autocracy and militarism.
- Appointed Otto von Bismark as Minister-President of Prussia in 1862.
• After a constitutional crisis over control of the military budget, the king dissolved the Diet. Bismark,
Roon and Moltke took charge.
• With the appointment of Bismarck as the Prussian Chancellor, the process of German Unification
commenced in the real way.
• Bismarck believed in realpolitik: politics or diplomacy based primarily on considerations of power and
on practical and material factors, rather than explicit ideological notions or moral or ethical premises.
• Bismarck remained a conservative from the beginning to the end. But 1848 marked a change in his
thinking. Thereafter he became isolated from his class, which could no longer understand his actions.
He realised that the age of mass politics had arrived and thus he tried to preserve the existing monarchy,
yet base it on some kind of popular vote by introducing universal suffrage. He also opposed socialism.
In order to avoid a revolution, he attempted a compromise and even introduced social welfare
legislation like food insurance, accident insurance etc.
• Bismarck was a radical nationalist. He had no faith in the efficacy of liberal methods and believed that
only militarism could succeed in accomplishing the task of German Unification. Bismarck believed in
the policy of blood and iron i.e., violence and strength. This policy stood for the ruthless suppression of
opponents and strong responses to challenges.
• When the liberal dominated lower house of Frankfurt Parliament refused to approve budget for military
reforms, Bismarck started bypassing it and raised a large army. He got the budget approved from the
upper house only.
• Bismarck used his ruthless diplomacy to create a favourable environment for German unification. He
ensured the neutrality of Russia and France during war against Austria. His pragmatism comes out most
clearly in his foreign policy. Unlike typical Junkers, Bismarck laid out a foreign policy that was not
ideologically but politically motivated.
• HIS VISION OF GERMAN UNITY
• Wanted to carry of the prussianisation of Germany.
• Bismarck wanted to carry out German unification in such a way that the Prussian interest would be
preserved. He did not want to sacrifice any German interest for the sake of Germany unity.
• There was no place for Austria in Bismarck’s vision of Germany. He wanted to oust Austria from
Germany as that the Prussian dominance could be imposed on lesser German states.
• Bismarck wanted that the German prestige must be highest in Europe. He wanted to carry to the
German Unification in such a way that the Austrian and French prestige would be shattered.
Bismarck did not fight his war for the sake of German Unification but in reality he used the process
of German Unification as an excuse to fight his wars.
• Bismarck wanted to create external enemies to unify Germany by rallying all Germans behind a cause.
Provoked three wars to achieve this, and subsequently achieved the unification of Germany.
• 1. War with Schelswig in 1864.
• 2. Austro-Prussian was in 1866.
• 3. War with France in 1870.

• SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION:
• Population of Schleswig: Danish in north, German in South.
• Holstein almost entirely Germany.
• Both ruled as separate duchies by kings of Denmark.
• Denmark formally annexed the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein in 1863.
• The duchies vied for independence and a closer association with the German Confederation.
• Germany was again seized with a patriotic fervour, since it was seen as a region which had historical
and cultural ties to the ‘mother country’.
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• Prussia intervened militarily - allied with Austria.
• German-Danish war: 1864.
• Peace of Vienne: Schleswig to Austria and Holstein to Prussia.
• Both duchies were admitted into the Zollverein.
• The result was a political division, with Austria and Prussia now fighting for dominance of the
Germanic states.
• Bismarck then provoked a war against Austria to further German unification.

• AUSTRO-PRUSSIAN WAR (1866):

• On 1 June 1866 Austria asked the Federal Convention for a resolution on the status of Holstein, which
Prussia regarded as a breach of the mutual agreement.
• Bismarck used this as an excuse to start a war with Austria.
• Bismarck sent Prussian troops to occupy Holstein and expelled Austrians.
• But it was not enough for Bismarck to only provoke Austria to war.
• It was necessary that cause of war should involve the whole German question.
• So he proposed the reform of German confederation on the basis of universal suffrage, with Austria
excluded.
• He thus made Prussia appear not merely as an aggrieved party in regard to Shlesweig-Holstein question,
but as the champion of national unification.
• Austria naturally turned down Prussian proposal of reform and prevailed upon Diet to mobilise federal
troops against Prussia to punish Prussia for the infraction of Austrian region in Holstein.
• Prussia therefore seceded from the confederation and declared war upon Austria appearing to take up
arms in self defence.
• This war is called Seven Weeks War.
• Prussia won at the Battle of Sadowa.
• With the treaty of Prague, Austria was permanently excluded from German affairs.
• Schleswig Hollstein went to Prussia, which also got Hanover, Hesse- Kassel and Nassau.
• Austria ceded Venetia to Italy (step towards Italian unification).
• Austrian dominance ended.
• Prussia emerged as a great military power.
• Triumph of Bismarckism: militarism was justified; blow to German liberals.

• NORTH GERMANY CONFEDERATION(1867):

• Organised by Prussia.
• All states north of the river Maine .
• Austria and its allies excluded.
• The NGC adopted a constitution, flag and governmental and administrative structures.
• National parliament.
• Universal adult suffrage.

• FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR (1870-71):

• Causes:
- France wanted to show itself to be strong (the ruler, Napoleon IlI was considered weak. He also wanted
to distract the population from making demands for liberal democratic reforms).
- It was afraid of Prussia getting stronger .
- German nationalism was increasing and Bismarck wanted to capitalise on it.
- Immediate cause : the candidacy of Prince Leopold (who was related to the Prussian royal house) for
the Spanish throne. This alarmed France, who demanded that Leopold's candidacy be withdrawn.
- Bismarck diplomatically isolated France and then provoked France to attack.
• Prussia won at the Battle of Sedan.

• Seige of Paris:
- French emperor was captured.
- Paris was surrounded.
- Napoleon lll's government was overthrown.
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- On 18 January 1871, the German princes and senior military commanders proclaimed Wilhelm
"German Emperor" in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles in France.
- Treaty of Frankfurt: Alsace and Lorraine went to Germany.
- German administration was accepted for Paris and northern France.
- German empire was established.
- Papal States were annexed by Italy, completing its unification.

• IMPACT OF GERMAN UNIFICATION:

• Overturning balance of power in Europe,
• Indirect cause of WWI: France was humiliated and revengeful.
• Economic growth for Germany .
• Germany as a colonial power.
• No political or social reform in Germany.

• POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE:

• The 1866 North German Constitution became (with some adjustments) the 1871 Constitution .
• Democratic features: directly elected Imperial Diet with suffrage for all adult men.
• However, legislation required the consent of the Bundesrat, the federal council of deputies from the
states, in and over which Prussia had a powerful influence.
• Prussia thus exercised influence in both bodies, with executive power vested in the Prussian King as
Kaiser, who appointed the federal chancellor.
• The chancellor was accountable solely to, and served entirely at the discretion of, the Emperor.
• Officially, the chancellor functioned as a one-man cabinet and was responsible for the conduct of all
state affairs; in practice, the State Secretaries (bureaucratic top officials in charge of such fields as
finance, war, foreign affairs, etc.) acted as unofficial portfolio ministers.
• With the exception of few years, the imperial chancellor was always simultaneously the prime minister
of the imperial dynasty's hegemonic home-kingdom, Prussia.
• The Imperial Diet had the power to pass, amend, or reject bills, but it could not initiate legislation. (The
power of initiating legislation rested with the chancellor.) T
• he other states retained their own governments.
• Bismarck remained the foreign minister, Chancellor and the Minister President, so he had near complete
control over domestic and foreign policy.

• ADDITIONAL POINTS
• EARLY EFFORTS TOWARDS GERMAN UNIFICATION

1) ROLE OF GERMAN PHILOSOPHERS AND HISTORIANS:

German philosophers like Hegel, Herder etc propagated the spirit of German nationalism amongst the
people through their works. Their speeches and writings intensified the national awakening.
This was also the age of Romanticism, as opposed to the Reason of the Enlightenment.
It represented a belief in the diversity of human beings and attacked French culture. Certain writers and
poets like Lessing, Klopstock, Hamaan and Herder provided the solid foundation for a nationalist
literature. But these German intellectuals had no direct link with politics.
German historians reinterpreted the past of German people in a positive light. The achievement of rulers
like Fredrick the great were highlighted. Common elements prevailing amongst Germans living in
different parts were brought to the forefront. As a result of these efforts the spirit of German nationalism
developed in the hearts and minds of people.
The German philosophers and historians brought about cultural unity in Germany. Their efforts prepared a
solid cultural platform over which political unification of Germany could be carried out.

2)FAVOURABLE INTERNATIONAL SITUATION

Napoleon III, who came to power in France, wanted to redraw the map of Europe in order to reclaim lost
French pride. For this, he was willing to foster limited nationalism in Italy and Germany.
The Crimean War shattered the Holy Alliance.
Austria had adopted a policy of neutrality and instead of aiding Russia, had sided with
England and France. This left her virtually isolated at the end of the war.
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3) NATIONALVEREIN
The N a t i o n a l v e r e i n of 1859 drew liberal aristocrats, professionals, intellectuals and a few
industrialists as its members. It sought to unite liberals and democrats into a national movement behind
Prussian leadership. But its membership never exceeded 25000 and it lacked official support.
****

• ITALIAN UNIFICATION:
• Italian peninsula was political fragmented in the 18th century (North Italy - Austrian domination, Central
Italy - Pope, Southern Italy - A branch of French Bourbon dynasty) and it was just a geographical
expression.
• Role of Napoleon’s invasion in Italian Unification:
- Italy was conquered by Napoleon in 1796-97. He liberated Italy from Austrian domination.
- Italy was divided into three parts:
- Northern part annexed by France (Piedmont, Liguria, Parma, Piacenza, Tuscany, and Rome),
- the newly created Kingdom of Italy (Lombardy, Venice, Reggio, Modena, Romagna, and the Marshes)
ruled by Napoleon himself,
- and the Kingdom of Naples, which was first ruled by Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte, but then
passed to Napoleon's brother-in-law Joachim Murat.
• French invasion and occupation introduced revolution ideas, destruction of feudalism and ideas of
freedom, equality and nationalism. Restrictions on trade were removed and freedom of press was
implemented.

• Congress of Vienna (1815) restored the pre-Napoleaninc patchwork of Italian states:

- 8 states set up.
- Only one, Peidmont-Sardinia had an Italian ruler.
- Hapsburg princes (connected with Austrian royal house) were re- established in the Grand Duchy of
Tuscany, Parma and Modena.
- Papal States to Pope.
- Bourbon rule was restored in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (fused together from the old Kingdom
of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily).
- Genoa was joined to Piedmont to bar the coastal route to the French.
- To Austria, two most prosperous provinces Lombardy and Venice went.
- These changes carried out by Veinna Congress were strongly against the Italian nationalist aspirations
as the Vienna order was keeping Italy in a politically fragmented condition.

• The struggle for unification was waged against Austria mainly.

• Literary works spoke about nationalism: Eg Manzoni's The Betrothed.
• The pope opposed unification

• THE CARBONARI-1810:
• Influential revolution group.
• Wanted liberation of Italy from foreign rule and grant of legal freedom to all Italians.
• Secret organisation of south Italy of the early 19th century.
• Inspired by French Revolution.
• Members: middle class and intellectuals.
• They were feared by the authorities.
• Early revolutionary activities: 1820 - Sicilies insurrection, 1821 - Peidmont insurrection, July 1830:
-echoes of the Revolution in France - Local insurrections sprang up in Italy. Revolts in Modena and
Papal States.
• Could not succeed - Lack of harmonious plan of action and effective leadership.

• MAZZINI’S YOUNG ITALY:

• Mazzini believed that Italy should be united.
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• Formulated a program for establishing a free, independent, republican nation with Rome as the capital.
• Mazzini became a carbonara in 1827.
• Arrested, released then he organised Young Italy in 1831.
• Motto: God and the People.
• Aim: Unification of Italy.
• Methods: education and insurrection.
• It superseded the Carbonari as the nucleus of the revolution.
• Opposed Marxism and communism.
• Spread nationalist awakening amongst the masses, spirit of fraternity and emphasised self-sacrifice for
the cause of nation.
• Described as the most influential revolutionary in Europe by Metternich.
• Sarvarkar was influenced by him; he inspired Mussolini.
• The efforts of Mazzzini brought about an intellectual revolution in Italy - Intellectual unification of all
Italians prepared the background for political unification of Italy in the future.

• GARIBALDI:
• Of Nice.
• Disciple of Mazzini.
• Participated in the 1834 Peidmont uprising.
• Sentenced to death, escaped to South America, learnt Guerrilla warfare, returned to ltaly in 1848.
• Wanted to infuse the national movement with a moral fervour and keep the spirit alive by insurrections.
• Make unification a popular movement.

• 1848 REVOLUTIONS IN ITALY:

• Peasantry suffering from hunger and poverty, inflation.
• Industrial workers suffering from lay-offs.
• Pope Pius IX initiated reforms:
- pardoned political prisoners.
- Created a Council of States to share his power.
- A municipal council for Rome.
- A citizen's guard etc.
- Granted a constitution.
- Project raised hopes for greater popular influence in the papal government and for Italian
unification.
- Metternich trend to stop this by occupying Ferrara with Austrian troops.
- Generated anti-austrian feeling in Italy.
• Revolt in Sicily and Naples provisional government formed for a while until the Bourbon army took
back.
• Lombardy Venetia was unaffected as it was under Austrian control.
• Tuscany got a constitution.
• Sardinia-Piedmont: King Charles Albert granted a liberal Constitution.
- Cavour (young editor of paper 'Risorgimento') wrote a stirring appeal to Charles Albert of Sardinia-
Piedmont for war against Austria.

• FIRST ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE WAR (1848-49):

- Led by Charles Albert of Sardinia-Piedmont against Austria.
- Aim: to unify Italy.
- Garnered support of Tuscany, Papal States etc.
- Lost at the Battle of Custoza.
- Supporters withdrew their support.

• AFTER DEFEAT:
- Rome rebelled against Pius's government - Assasinated Rossi, Pius' PM - The Pope fled.
- Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany fled because of internal insurrection.
- Piedmont was lost to Austria -Charles Albert abdicated in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel II.
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- Piedmont-Sardinia had to pay an indemnity of 65 million francs to Austria.

• REPUBLICAN MOVEMMENT IN ROME:

- After the Pope fled in 1849, patriots arrived in Rome led by Giuseppe Garibaldi.
- Elections 1849 for a Constituent Assembly.
- The Assembly proclaimed a Roman Republic.
- Appoint Mazzini the Chief Minister.
- Granted religious freedom, free public education.
- Abolished death penalty .
- Gave church's large landholdings to the poor Prison and insane asylum reforms.
- Did not give right to work.
- Garibaldi and Mazzini tried to build a 'Rome of the People’.
- Tuscany followed Rome's example.
- Fall of Rome:
- Inflation.
- They had sent troops to defend Piedmont-Sardinia and thus faced threat from Austria.
- Pope appealed to the French army.
- French and Austrians combined to defeat the Roman republic.
- The pope was escorted back.
- He ruled under French protection until 1870.
- Absolutism was restored in all the states except Piedmont where Victor Emanuel II remained
loyal to the Constitution.

• FAILURE OF THE 1848 REVOLUTIONS:

- Their aims were confused - Some wanted a federation, some a presidency under the pope, and some
a union of Italy under the house of Savoy.
- Issues were localised rather than nationalised.
- There was no real leadership Possible leaders: Pope, Mazzini, Charles Albert. None were acceptable
to all and Charles and Mazzini were defeated.
- Pope moved away from the national movement after Rossi's murder Declared that the papacy did to
support war against Austria or a united Italy Austrian and French interventions.
- Lack of involvement from the masses.

• SIGNIFICANCE OF 1848 REVOLUTIONS:

- .Shook off narrow provincialism.
- Build a common cause for a united Italy.
- Piedmont-Sardinia realised the importance of allies against Austria.
- Build relationships with France and Prussia Victor Emmanuel emerged as the leader.
- Republicans under Mazzini were discredited so a clear path for Italian unification emerged: a
Constitutional Kingdom under the King of Sardinia- Piedmont.

• DECADE OF PREPARATION(1850-70):
• WHY PIEDMONT-SARDINIA:
- Kept liberal constitution.
- People began supporting Piedmont because it had fought against Austria.
- Piedmont was the only Italian State which was never been controlled by Austria and her King was
only representative of the Native Italian dynasty.
• 1848-59:
- Camillo Cavour became the Prime Minister of Piedmont in 1852.
- Focused on economic progress.
- Weakened the church (the main pillar of reaction in Italy).
- Abolished ecclesiastical courts .
- Introduced civil marriages.
- Reduced privileges of the church.
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- Modernised Piedmont.
- Standardised the credit and banking.
- Developed railways and canals.
- Reorganised the army.

• LIBERATION AND UNIFICATION(1850-70)

• Cavour had pressed Albert to grant a constitution and war against Austria.
• He became an MP.
• Then minister for agriculture, industry and commerce .
• Then finance minister.
• Then PM in 1852.
• When Cavour took post Sardinia has suffered a terrible loss .
• When he died: Italy was among the great powers of Europe, Victor Emmanuel ruled a much larger
territory.
• He was a liberal - believed in free trade, freedom of opinion, secularism.
• Didn't support republicanism or revolutionaries.
• Felt only Sardinia could lead the unification of Italy.
• Staunch Monarchist.
• emphasis upon the social, economic, spiritual and intellectual issues along with the political problems.
• He considered that if Piedmont had to lead the national movement of Italy, she must be made a model
state of Italy by raising her up in the political, social, economic and spiritual fields.
• Thought of Austria as the main enemy, the oppressor of Italy.
• Believed in seeking foreign help for unity (Mazzini believed that only Italians could unify Italy).

• CAVOUR’S REALPOLITIK:
• Knew Italy needed foreign help.
• Crimean War (1853-56): Italy had no stake. Cavour participated to win French gratitude. Used the the
peace conference to give international publicity to the cause of Italian unification.
• A significant diplomatic victory was scored by tiny Piedmont that, although not being yet considered a
"great" European power, was nevertheless granted a seat at the peace conference at Paris by the French
Emperor Napoleon IlI.
• 1858: Assassination attempt on Napoleon III by an Italian. Now, he was determined to end
revolutionary activity in Italy.
• France promised Piedmont help secretly against Austria.

• SECOND ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE WAR (1859):

• Cavour provoked war with Vienna.
• Defeated Austria at Battle of Magenta with French help.
• Lombardy to Sardinia (Unification step #1).
• News of the evacuation of Lombardy by Austrians caused popular revolt in central duchies and Parma,
Modena and Tuscany. Provincial governments set up here.
• In 1860, these states were annexed by Sardinia with French and British help (Unification step #2).
• 1860: Expedition of the Thousand campaign undertaken by Giuseppe Garibaldi.

• Overthrew the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples) and permitted the union of southern Italy
and Sicily with the north. (Unification step #3).
• Garibaldi then started marching to Rome.
• Cavour declared: Italy must be saved from foreigners (i.e. French intervention), evil principle
(Republicanism of Garibaldi) and madman (Garibaldi) .
• Garibaldi agreed to hold a plebiscite in the south, which resulted in an overwhelming victory for
annexation under Piedmont.
• Now only Rome (held by Pope), Venetia (held by Austrian) and Savoy ( held by France) remained to
be added for complete unification of Italy.
• Italian Parliament:
- February 1861, Victor Emmanuel assembled the deputies of the first Italian Parliament in Turin.
- On 17 March 1861, the Parliament proclaimed Victor Emmanuel King of Italy.
 Page 11 of 19
- On 27 March 1861 Rome was declared Capital (but it was under a French garrison) .
- 3 months later, Cavour died

• ROME IN UNIFIED ITALY:

• A challenge against the Pope's temporal dominion was viewed with great distrust by Catholics around
the world, and there were French troops stationed in Rome. Victor Emmanuel was wary of the
international repercussions of attacking the Papal States, and discouraged his subjects from
participating in revolutionary ventures with such intentions.
• 1862: Garibaldi gathers volunteers to free Rome under the slogan Roma o Morte (Rome or Death) He
marched onto Rome.
• The pressure forced French and the Sardinians to reach a compromise: The September Convention of
1864:
- France to withdraw troops from Rome.
- Victor Emmanuel guaranteed frontiers of Papal States .
- Shifted capital from Turin to Florence, to indicate that the government would not attempt to take its
seat in Rome.
- This was opposed by the Pope, the French Catholics and the Italian Patriots.
- A huge upheaval followed, and the French garrison continued to keep the rule of the Pope in Rome.

• AUSTRO-PRUSSIAN WAR OF 1866:

• War of 1866 Peidmonts alliance with Prussia for it Venetia at the end of the was (Unification step #4).

• FINAL UNIFICATION:
• 1870 - Franco-Prussian war .
• Prussian diplomats were actively trying to convince Italy to join the war, so there was real concern that
Italy might use the French presence in Rome as a pretext to go to war with France .
• So France removed the garrison from Rome in exchange for Italian neutrality in the war.
• Italian army then annexed Rome on 20 September 1870
• Italian unification was complete under King Victor Emmanuel Il of the House of Savoy. (Unification
step #5)

****

Disintegration of Empires through the emergence of nationalities(EASTERN QUESTION).

The Habsburg Empire’s Multi-Ethnic Compromise and Balkan Nationalism

i) Habsburg Austria’s decline; like Ottoman Empire, lack of military, technological and economic progress,
failure of conservative Metternich System, damage done by nationalist Revolutions of 1848, Austro-
Hungarian Compromise (1867) to accommodate strong Magyar nobility, internal contradictions,
rising Balkan nationalism trends and competition from others powers like Russia that supported
nationalist groups like Serbs led to decline of the strong multi-ethnic empire; failure of Austrian
domination attempt by Germanized Staatsvolk (People of the State) to regional particularism and
Balkanized nationalism just like Ottomans ; even polyglot, tolerant Enlightened Despots like Joseph II
who spoked 19 languages failed to contain decentralizing trends of Magyars, Croats, Hungarians, Czechs,
Serbians and others; worsened by Habsburg defeat in Austro-Prussian War (1866) which made chances
of leading Grossdeutschland (Greater Germany) slim, forced Austro-Hungarian Compromise (1867)
 Page 12 of 19
for Dualism between Austrian Germans and Hungarian Magyars, but lack of Trialism with other
Slavic groups and peasantry that remained excluded.

ii) Hungarian nationalism; feudal elite of non-Slavic Magyar landed gentry had nationalism fueled by
romanticist poetry of Sandor Petofi, leadership of Lajos Kossuth during Revolutions of 1848 and
existence of earlier institutions like the Transylvania Diet parliament; emboldened by Habsburg
weakening after defeat with Prussia; boosted by Austrian support of Magyarization of Slavs for control
through introduction of Magyar as mandatory language for all education in 1883 and Russian foreign aid as
late as WWI.

iii) Czech nationalism; Czech solidarity grew with Hussite Protestants of Reformation era, common
ethnolinguistic origins and opposition to growing German migrants into Bohemia’s Sudetenland
region; supported by Slovak writers like Frantisek Palacky who wrote independent Slavonic histories of the
Czech and Slovak original inhabitants of Bohemia; given fillip during WWI with National Society under
T.G. Masryk established in 1916 supported by Anglo-French allies to destabilize the Austro-
Hungarian Empire and give way to new nation Czechoslovakia by 1918.

iv) Slavic nationalism; while Magyars and Czechs entered into compromises with Habsburg state, Southern
Slav groups like Serbians and Croatians gained an autonomous common principality of Bosnia and
Herzegovina in 1867 due to international pressure of Eastern Question from Great Powers and
Nationality Act (1868) that allowed even Slavonic groups to conduct education and administration in
their own languages, along with Orthodox Christian solidarity of Serbs with Russians who gave
foreign support; inspired by Serbian Revolution of 1817 against Ottoman rule, Habsburg Serbs sought
greater representation in Habsburg state and Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke
Franz Ferdinand which directly triggered World War I.

v) Multinationalism of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia; post-WWI states created after dismemberment of

Austro-Hungarian Empire were multi-ethnic recognizers of nationalist forces but divided due to
ethnoreligious chauvinism, temporarily assuaged only by extension of Soviet and Communist atheist
influence in Eastern Europe, even attempt by Marshal Josip Broz Tito to create failed standardized
Yugoslav language; Yugoslavia (Serb Eastern Orthodoxy dominated Catholic Slovenes and Croats,
massacred Muslim Bosnians, Kosovans and sidelined Montenegro and Macedonia’s Greek Orthodox)
collapsed by 1992 and Czechoslovakia (Czech ethnic group and language dominated all other
minorities of Slovaks, Germans, Magyars) by 1993; so despite brief unifications under Habsburgs and
Communists, Balkan nationalism’s divisive, religious, ethnic pervasive nature dictated eventual
fragmentation and Balkanization of the region inevitably.

Evolution of the Eastern Question: Balkan Nationalism and Turkish Revolution in the
Ottoman Empire (1774-1923)

i) The Near Eastern Question;

 Page 13 of 19
a) Ottoman Decline-Ottoman Empire spanning Near Eastern territories of Balkans, Turkey,
Middle-East became sick man of Europe 18 th century onwards starting from first Ottoman. It was
defeated by the Russians in 1774 -ruined fragile balance of power in Europe. It suffered defeats due to
economic isolation, military decline of obsolete medieval Janissary armies, decentralization through local
Pasha administrators, losses to growing Russian power, intervention of Great Powers like Britain, France,
Austria in Near East and growing nationalist aspirations of provincial groups especially rebellious
Christian Slavs in the Balkan Peninsula region which became the volatile powder keg of Europe.

b) Multi-Ethnic Empires-ethnolinguistic nationalisms 19th century; also religious differences

with Islam in Turkey, Middle-East, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Albania; Eastern Orthodox Christianity in
Greece, Serbia, Albania; Catholic Christianity in Croatia and Albania; Protestant Christianity in Albania,
so diverse multireligious landscape of over four main denominations in Ottoman Empire unlike
Habsburg Austria which was mostly Catholic, failure of millet system of governance by religious elites
due to rise of religious fanatic peasant groups and intellectual class of European Christians opposed to
Turkish and Muslim domination, even rise of defiant pashas (governors) like Ali Pasha in Greece and
Mohammed Ali in Egypt.

c) Rise of Russian Influence-Russia got upper hand over declining Ottomans through military
conquest of Northern Black Sea with Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji (1774), annexation of Crimean
Khanate through Peace of Jassey (1792), brought Imperial Russia close to goal of warm-water ports with
access to naval power and possible dismemberment of Turkey like Poland.

d) Ambitions of Great Powers-Gravity of Russian expansionism in Eastern Europe through

Pan-Slavic nationalism, from Poland to Turkey, drew alliance between Britain, France and Habsburg
Austria to sustain Ottoman Empire for Europe’s balance of power and preventing Russian hegemony,
process that burst out through conflicts like Crimean War (1853-1856); Austria wanted to keep its Slavic
populations outside Russian control, France to protect Syrian and Egyptian holdings, Britain to save
Indian colony linkages.

e) Major Highlights-

I. Serbian Revolution (1804-1833)-Through two main uprisings, Serbia’s socio-national

rebellion against Ottoman Empire and recognition as suzerain state free from
Islamic jizya (non-Muslim tax) by 1833 marked beginning of Balkan nationalism and
Ottoman dismemberment; Serbia’s bourgeois elements even abolished feudalism in
1806, started Belgrade’s Great Academy in 1808 and made independent constitution in
1835 for self-determination; grew as strong Yugoslavian state with Russian-Bulgarian-
Greek support Vuk Karadzic’s literary reform of Serbian language for greater unity.
II. Greek Revolution (1821-1832)-After decline of conservative Metternich System, failure
of Great Powers to negotiate and Russian interventional military aid, Greeks declared
independence from Ottoman Sultan in 1821, fought long war of independence;
beleaguered Ottomans signed Treaty of Adrianople (1829) that gave Russia tighter
control over Black Sea, shipping rights to Dardanelles connecting Black Sea and
Mediterranean Sea and later Treaty of Constantinople (1832) recognizing Greek
independence; driven by secular poetry of Regas Pheraios and Philiki Hetairia (Society of
Friends), along with support of rebellious local governors like Ali Pasha, along with
Russian foreign support.
III. Straits Question (1833-1841)-With Treaty of Unkiar Sekessi (1833), Russia gained
control over of Dardanelles Strait linking Asia and Europe; led to Britain propping up
Ottoman Sultan against Russians and French supporting Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt
as independent power; by London Straits Convention (1841) old pattern of no European
 Page 14 of 19
warships being allowed in Dardanelles except Ottoman allies, Muhammad Ali Pasha
was granted hereditary de facto control of Egypt and Ottoman Sultan shifted from
Russian to Great Power protection.
IV. Revolutions of 1848-Disruptive nationalist uprisings that broke conservative Metternich
System of Congress of Vienna in Eastern European nations like Hungary and parts of
Balkans in Austrian Habsburg Empire riled up nationalist sentiments of Christian Ottoman
subjects; Sublime Porte or centre of Ottoman power at capital Constantinople/Istanbul
under Sultan refused to return nationalist refugees to Austrians or Russians leading to
souring of Ottoman relations with other European states.

ii) Crimean War (1853-1856);

a) Causes-

I. Religious-Dispute over control of Church of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by

Catholics supported by France and Ottomans against Eastern Orthodox Christians
backed by Russians especially after Emperor Napoleon III staked French Catholic
claim over the Holy City to chagrin of devout Orthodox Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, led
to revival of old Napoleonic Franco-Russian rivalry.
II. Territorial-Based on religious dispute, Russia had imperial expansion ambitions to take
Romanian territories of Moldavia/Bessarabia, Wallachia and Danubian principalities
near Black Sea to pressurize Turkey through aggressive new Russo-Turkish war 1853
onwards despite condemnations and demands for standing down issued jointly by
Anglo-Franco-Austrian alliance through Vienna Note (1853).
III. Balance of Power-To defend declining Ottomans and Catholic interests in Holy Land,
anti-Orthodox Great Powers of Catholic Turkey, France, Piedmont-Sardinia and
Protestant Britain teamed up to contain Russian expansionism through mutual
fear; Britain even refused Russian offers to partition Turkey to prevent new Black-
Mediterranean Sea naval power that would threaten Europe’s Eastern colonies like
India; despite anti-Russian support, German powers Austria and Prussia remained
neutral.

b) Course-The Allies (Britain, France, Ottomans, Piedmont-Sardinia Italians) attacked Russian

Crimea, defeated Tsarists at Alma river, took Sevastopol port in 1854; Russia suffered due to poor
railways and road transport, even defeated in successive famous winter battles like Battle of Balaclava
(1854) and Battle of Inkesman (1854) against British chargers, death of Tsar Nicholas I in 1855; new
Tsar Alexander II forced to accept Peace of Paris (1856) that neutralized Black Sea and
Danube, opened up to all nations with no arsenals allowed, surrender of Russian claims
to Christian subjects of Ottoman Sultan near the Black Sea and guarantee of Ottoman
independence by Great Powers as new part of Concert of Europe.

c) Results-

I. Direct-

A. Russian expansion into Black Sea region checked.

B. Ottomans included as Concert of Europe among Great Powers.

C. Aggrandizement of Second French Emperor Napoleon III.

 Page 15 of 19
II. Indirect-

A. Italian Unification made possible due to Piedmont-Sardinia’s contribution

to Crimean War, Cavour gained support from Napoleon III later for
unifying Northern Italy, most valuable indirect consequence of the war.
B. With Russian advance into Balkans checked, focus shifted to Central Asia
that led to start of 19th century Great Game between Tsarist Central Asia
and British India focused on Afghanistan .
C. Imperial discontent and rise of nationalist forces in both war-weary Ottoman
and Russian Empires.
D. Start of modern combat medical aid with first action by nurse Florence
Nightingale who later founded Red Cross.

iii) Treaty of Paris (1856); after Crimean War, Russian expansion into Black Sea, Danube, Balkans and
Turkey stopped, but local nationalist discontent started among ethnic Christian Slavs against Ottoman Sultan,
especially with rise of Russian Pan-Slavism 1870s onwards inspired by movements like Prussian Pan-
Germanism.

iv) Great Eastern Crisis (1875-1878);

a) Herzegovina Rebellion in Bosnia (1875)-Heavy taxation on local Slavic peasants, less freedom
than more autonomous Serbs, bad harvest rose up in rebellion with Austro-Serbo-Russian support, even
intervention of Great Powers including Italy due to Sultan Abdul Hamid II’s refusal for reforms in
Bosnia & Herzegovina as recommended by Constantinople Conference (1876) of foreign powers.

b) April Uprising in Bulgaria (1876)-Resurgence of Bulgarian Orthodox Church and oppressive

Ottoman policies in Balkans led to another revolt, brutally suppressed but led to European condemnation of
Ottoman treatment of ethnic minorities by figures like PM Disraeli of UK and leader Garibaldi of Italy,
isolated even Great Powers like Britain from possibly supporting Ottomans against Russian aggression after
Sultan’s refusal of London Protocol (1876) of compromise.

c) Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878)-After securing neutrality of Great Powers like Austria, Russia
attacked brutal Ottoman Turks with impunity and reached up to Constantinople, forcing Turkish
acceptance of harsh treaty.

d) Treaty of San Stefano (1878)-Russia forced independence of Serbia, Montenegro, Romania

from Ottomans, Bosnia & Herzegovina as autonomous principality, set up of Christian Govt. and
militia under Ottomans in Greater Bulgaria that included Greek Macedonia, parts of Romania
annexed by Russia, start of Armenian Question with Ottoman reforms in governance of Armenia that
was crucial for Russian campaigns in Asia Minor against Persians; Britain and Great Powers worried
about Greater Bulgaria being puppet Russian state to make Black Sea a Russian Lake, Austria got no gains;
considered final start of inevitable Ottoman decline.

v) Congress of Berlin (1878); revision of Stefano terms under chairmanship of Bismarck, with British
delegates Disraeli and Salisbury who dominated to alter terms;

a) Greater Bulgaria split into three viz. Macedonia and Bulgaria under Ottomans and Eastern
Rumelia under Christian Governor of Ottomans.
 Page 16 of 19
b) Territories in Ottoman Armenia given to Russia.

c) Habsburg Austria to administer Bosnia & Herzegovina on behalf of Ottomans.

d) Formal recognition of independence of Serbia, Montenegro, Rumelia, once former Ottoman

areas.

e) Through secret agreement with Sultan, Disraeli won island of Cyprus in Mediterranean as a
new British colony.

f) Aftermath led to new alliance formations, with Bismarck’s isolation from Russia and Dual
Alliance (1879) of Germany and Austria-Hungary, with common linkages like Baghdad Railway
(1903) economic investment in Ottoman Empire while Russia formed Anglo-French Entente Cordiale
(1904) and formed Anglo-Russian Entente; considered origin of the alliance system that led to World
War I vide GORDON MARTEL; though still Eastern Question remained unlocked.

vi) British Conquest of Egypt (1882); Anglo-French forces displaced weak Ottoman Khedive or Viceroy
in Egypt Tewfiq Pasha and his nationalist military commander and Mahdist rebel Ahmad Urabi
through Anglo-Egyptian War (1882), led to British occupation of Egypt under Lord Cromer in turbulent
climate of Ottoman decline; followed by financial reforms; British rule over Egypt questioned by locals who
attacked British officers in Denshawai Incident (1906); British then made Egypt a British protectorate under
puppet Sultan Hussein Kamel by 1914.

vii) Ilinden Uprising (1903); Thracian Question about Bulgarian nationalism was furthered with uniting of
Eastern Rumelia and Bulgaria as independent Ottoman principalities by 1885; led to joint Bulgarian-
Macedonian-Greek rebellion effort in 1903 suppressed brutally by Ottomans, caused vast refugee
displacement and considered severe bottling up of growing Balkan nationalism.

viii) Bosnian Crisis (1908); Bosnia & Herzegovina annexed by Austro-Hungarian Empire despite
Serbian opposition due to apathy of Great Powers and weakness of Russians after loss in Russo-
Japanese War (1904-1905).

ix) Young Turk Revolution (1908); Committee for Union and Progress (CUP) of reformist Young Turks
deposed autocratic Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, replaced him with ineffective Mehmed V for
constitutional monarchy through restoration of Constitution of 1876 for Second Constitutional Era of
Ottoman Empire; considered end of imperial Ottoman Sultanate, shadow of former self finished off by
Balkan Wars and Great War or World War I later vide MICHELLE CAMPOS; Young Turks who
controlled Ottoman Empire till 1918 pursued aggressive Turkification opposed by ethnic minorities, leading
to intense Balkan Wars; allied with Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary, ended on losing side
of World War I.

x) Balkan Wars (1912-1913);

a) First Balkan War (1912)-Ottoman misrule and suppression of nationalists in Macedonia, along
with weakness due to Italian invasion of Ottoman Libya, led to simultaneous nationalist uprisings in
 Page 17 of 19
Macedonia and Albania while Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro formed Balkan League
against Ottomans under King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, all defeated Ottomans who were forced by Great
Powers to surrender all European possessions except Istanbul through Treaty of London (1913); boost
to prestige of Russia, loss for Germany and Austria-Hungary, growing power of Russian-backed Serbia in
Balkans, but Albania put under Austro-German prince’s rule to prevent Balkan nationalist outlet to Adriatic
Sea.

b) Second Balkan War (1913)-Bulgarian dominance led to war challenges by Serbs for
Macedonia, Greeks for Thrace, Romania for influence and Ottomans for revenge; isolated from Great
Powers, Bulgaria forced to hand Macedonia to Serbia, Crete, Southern Macedonia and Western Thrace to
Greece, small territory to Romanians and Adrianople region to Ottomans through Treaty of Bucharest
(1913) which removed Bulgaria as a dominant stabilizing power in the Balkans, made all states equally
ambitious, especially Serbs; would later lead to Serbian Gavrilo Princip’s assassination of Austrian
Archduke Franz Ferdinand to trigger the Great War or World War I (1914-1918); so Balkan Wars were
foreshadowing of WWI due to decline of Ottoman Empire that allied further with Germany for
support, growth of Russian influence in Eastern Europe and rise of Serbian nationalism against
Austria vide GORDON MARTEL; Romania driven by new national awakening through national history
written by Mikhail Kogalniceanu and literature of Grigore Alexandrescu, like Bulgarian national
consciousness growing since late 19th century based on Father Paisy’s ‘Slavo-Bulgarian History’; by end of
Balkan Wars, Serbia emboldened against Austro-Hungarians who suppressed them more, while British
Foreign Secretary Edward Grey’s attempts at peace made Germans think Triple Entente would break
away.

xi) Treaty of Sevres (1920); while secret Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916) led to Anglo-French partitioning of
Ottoman Middle-East after Ottoman failure along with Austro-German Central Powers in World War I
(1914-1919), the harsh Treaty of Sevres (1920) led to final disintegration of Ottoman Empire into many
Balkan states, Greece and Turkey; led to dismemberment and partitioning even of Anatolian core in Asia
Minor between British, French and Italians, due to which signatories were condemned and declared
non-citizens by Turkish nationalist officer Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s Grand National Assembly of
Turkey that fought the signatory imperialists in long independence war.

xii) Turkish War for Independence (1919-1922); through meetings and conferences at Amasya, Erzurum,
Sivas, military officer Mustafa Kemal Pasha united independent Turkish groups into Grand National
Assembly against declining Young Turks and imperialist signatories of Treaty of Sevres (1920); former
member of secret opposition group Watan, Kemal declared Turkey a republic in 1920 and set up rival
Govt. at Ankara in heart of Anatolia as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief against Sultan Mehmed
VI at Istanbul; his Nationalist Party rejected foreign annexations of Turkey by Britain, France, Italy and
others.

xiii) Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922); Allied victors of WWI deputed Greeks to defend their position
against Turks, but Kemalists drew away French and Italians from Anatolia as well as Greeks from
Balkans, but both sides had violent massacres of each other; by Treaty of Lausanne (1923) based on
historical boundary claims from Misak-i-Milli parliamentary goals, Turkey retained Anatolia from
foreigners, only major parts of Balkans and Middle-East were lost; Kemal christened Ataturk (Father of the
Turks).
 Page 18 of 19

xiv) Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the Turkish Renaissance influenced by liberal Ottoman Tanzimat
Reforms and First Constitutional Era of 19 th century along with Western modernism and
Europeanization, saw the rebirth of Turkey through Ottoman decline after WWI vide IRFAN ORGA;
Ataturk became President of Turkey and leader of Grand National Assembly;

a) Principles of Kemalism-

I. Republicanism and abolition of monarchy.

II. Nationalism in every Turkish citizen.
III. Populism based on people’s sovereignty.
IV. Etatism to promote economic development through state control over enterprise.
V. Secularism through dropping of semi-theocratic character, abolition of Islamic
Caliphate, no official state religion, policy of laicite or no public display of religion.
VI. Revolutionism for sweeping changes in Turkish culture for Westernization like ban
on traditional Fez caps and adoption of Latin script for Turkish.

b) Domestic Policies-Adoption of unicameral parliament based on Grand National Assembly

with one-party state centred around Republic People’s Party; attack on Islamic orthodoxy in dictatorial
manner with abolition of Muslim Caliphate in 1924; introduction of new Constitution of 1925 for
administrative reforms; creation of secular new compulsory Western schooling; reorganization of legal
system for public secularism similar to modern French-like laicite through abolition of polygamy, ban
on traditional Fez caps, use of Latin script for Turkish, adoption of Gregorian Calendar, promotion of
female education, employment and even national franchise by 1934 elections;

c) Foreign Policies-Improvement of Greco-Turkish relations; renewal of Turkish influence over

Balkans through alliances with Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania; Turkish admission to
League of Nations in 1923 with actions like demilitarization of Straits of Bosphorus and Dardanelles in
response to Italian aggression in Abyssinia; pacts with Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and many Asian powers.

d) Economic Policies-Adoption of Soviet-like Stalinist Five-Year Plans 1934 onwards; push for
improvements in heavy industry based on factories of textiles, paper, sugar, steel, coal, petrol along with
irrigation and agriculture.
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