Compare/Contrast nationalist movements and the unifications of Italy and Germany
By 1871, Europe was much different with the rise of two newly united nations - the Kingdom of Italy and the German Empire. The unification movements of both countries took place at about the same time in the mid-19th century and were both motivated by the same historical trends, liberalism and nationalism. Before the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte, both Italy and Germany shared some features. Italy was divided into a number of separate states, but the Italians shared a common language and a common history, the Roman Empire. Many still had memories of the ancient unity and glory. Germany was actually more divided than Italy. It had more than three hundred independent states, and they didnt have a form of common government. Nonetheless, the Germans had a common language and shared some memories of unity in medieval times. Both the French Revolution and Napoleon affected the two countries. Italy was particularly influenced by the career of Napoleon who first came to fame with his Italian campaign in 1796. At first, Napoleon and his invading armies were treated as liberators who taught them liberalism and nationalism. In fact, Napoleon instituted some reforms in Italy and created a united Kingdom of Italy. These reinforced the impact of liberalism and nationalism. However, Napoleon started to became more of a dictator, he was opposed by Italians who went into rebellion against him. As for Germany, the French Revolution and Napoleon gave the first nationalist and liberal forces. On the one hand, Napoleon decreased the number of German states from over three hundred all the way down to thirty nine and grouped them into a Confederation of the Rhine. On the other hand, both Austria and Prussia, major German states, were soundly defeated by Napoleon in several different battles. Their bad treatment nursed strong patriotism among the Germans. In particular, Prussia modernised there army and government in order to fight Napoleon back. This was successfully carried out in the Battle of Leipzig when Prussia led other German states to defeat Napoleon. Overall, liberal and nationalist opinions in Italy and Germany were much awakened by the French Revolution and Napoleon.