Main Themes:

1.  The Crimean War (1854-1856) shattered the image of an invicible Russia and ended the "Concert
     of Europe.
2.  The emergence of a unified Germany and Italy revealed the weakness of both France and the
     Hapsburg Empire.
3.  While the continental nations became unified and struggled toward internal political restructuring,
     Britain continued to symbolize the confident liberal state.
4.  Between 1850 and 1875, the major contours of the political systems that would dominate Europe until
     World War I had been drawn.

I. Unification Movements:
        A.  Italy:
             -- Piedmont-Sardinia took the lead under Cavour (the "Head" of the It. Unif. Movement).
             -- Mazzini and "Young Italy" (the "Heart" of the It. Unif. Movement).
             -- Garibaldi and his "Red Shirts" from the south (the "Sword" of the It. Unif. Movement).
             -- the role of Napoleon III?
             -- Austro-Sardinian War (1866-1867).
             -- Italy's problems after unification:
                      -- weak government.
                      -- Church hostility.
                      -- poor economic conditions.
                      -- lack of major raw materials necessary for rapid industrialization.
                      -- Italian militarism and ambition for colonies.
        B.  Germany:
             -- Zollverein.
             -- the Frankfurt Assembly (1848).
             -- Bismarck --> the role he played in German unification?
             -- the Danish War (1864).
             -- the Austro-Prussian War (1866).
             -- the North German Confederation (1867).
             -- the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).
             -- Napoleon III --> what role did he play in German unification?
             -- the German Empire under Bismarck:
                      -- autocracy, yet some social reforms (national insurance, etc.).
                      -- Prussian domination (Junkers).
                      -- rapid industrialization.
                      -- militarism.
                      -- persecution of Catholics --> Kulturkampf laws.
                      -- measures taken against socialists.
                      -- anti-Semitic propaganda increases.
                      -- reconstruct a new balance of power on the European continent -- Congress of Berlin.
             -- the German Empire under Kaiser Wilhelm II (1888-1918):
                      -- militarism (built up the army and navy --> naval arms buildup contest with Britain).
                      -- the creation of a German colonial empire --> German imperialism, especially in Africa.

II.  Liberal Britain:
        A.  The Reform Act of 1867 --> further reduced property qualifications for voting.
        B.  Gladstone's ministries witnessed the culmination of British liberalism (Ex: the Education Act of 1870). -->
              "Lesser (or Smaller) Britain imperialist policy;  home rule for Ireland.
        C.  Disraeli and the Tory party cultivation of the growing labor vote through reforms of their own --> a "Greater
             Britain" imperialist policy --> The sun never sets on the British Empire! (Queen Victoria as Empress of India).
        D.  The "Irish Question" was a major issue in British politics in the late 19c.
        E.  Late 19c economic decline --> WHY??   (new eco. superpowers on the horizon --> US, Germany, Japan).
       

III.  Mid- to Late-19c France: 
        A.  France under Napoleon III ( ** See notes given in class ** )
        B.  The short-lived Paris "Commune."
        C.  The Third French Republic (1875-1940):
             -- several government scandals (Ex: the Boulanger Affair).
             -- the Dreyfus Affair (this split the politics of France into two ideological camps --> the socialists vs. the
                conservatives;   and caused social and political divisions and, suspicions that would continue to
                mark this government until the German occupation of France in 1940.
       

IV.  Disruption of Multi-National Empires:
        A.  The Austrian Empire under Emperor Franz Joseph:
             -- "divide-and-rule" policy.  (Keep the multi-national groups at each others' throats).
             -- Dual Monarchy (Compromise of 1867) --> co-empire of Austria-Hungary.
        B.  the Turkish (Ottoman) Empire --> the "Sick Man of Europe"
             -- Balkan discontent --> the "Powderkeg of Europe".
             -- Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) --> Russia became more influential in the Balkans (protector of
                Orthodox Christians).
             -- First Balkan War (1912-1913) --> when the Balkans became a series of independent nation-states,
                the largest being Serbia.
             -- the "Young Turk" revolution for Turkish modernization under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
        C.  Russia:
             -- Czar Alexander II was only a reformer within the limits of his own autocracy (emancipated the Russian
                serfs).   He was assassinated in 1881 by an anarchist.
             -- Czar Alexander III, his son, ended any reforms and ruled through strong autocratic measures.
                        -- a new Russification policy was enforced.

  V.  Major Political Trends at the End of the 19c:
        A.  The unity of nations was no longer based on dynastic links, but on ethnic, cultural, linguistic and
             historical bonds.
        B.  The major sources of future discontent would arise from the demands of labor to enter the political
             processes and the still unsatisfied aspirations of subject nationalities.