Key Idea: In 1815, the Congress of Vienna deliberately blocked Italian and German unity — Austria controlled most of Italy directly or through Habsburg relatives, and chaired a toothless 39-state German Confederation. For over 30 years, Metternich's system of congresses, censorship, and military intervention crushed every liberal and nationalist stirring, including Italy's Carbonari revolts and the 1848 revolutions in both Italy and Germany. Real unification only came between 1849 and 1871, and it was won not by romantic nationalists but by two cold, pragmatic state-builders — Cavour in Piedmont and Bismarck in Prussia — who used diplomacy and short, timed wars to expand their own state into a 'nation', defeating Austria along the way.
How this topic is tested
You'll answer two essays, each a 'To what extent do you agree...' question worth 15 marks. There's no source booklet — you argue from your own knowledge of Italy and/or Germany 1815-1871.
The examiner wants a clear thesis in your opening line, evidence weighed on both sides of the claim, and a substantiated judgement at the end — never a flat 'yes' or a list that just stops. You do NOT need historiography (naming historians) to reach the top band; what matters is your own reasoned argument built on precise facts, dates, and named examples. A classic version of this question style: 'To what extent do you agree that [leadership/foreign powers/nationalism/military force] was the main reason for the unification of Italy and/or Germany?' You must be ready to argue several different factors, because you cannot predict which claim the question will make you test.
Must-know facts from every sub-topic
This topic has three micros. Together they cover why unification was blocked after 1815, why early nationalism failed, and how it finally succeeded.
| Micro | Focus | Key names, dates & facts |
|---|---|---|
| 13.5.1 | 1815 settlement, Metternich's system, early Italian nationalism | Congress of Vienna (1814-15) gave Austria Lombardy-Venetia plus Habsburg-ruled Tuscany/Modena/Parma; Piedmont-Sardinia stayed free of Austrian troops. German Confederation = 39 states, no government, chaired by Austria via the Frankfurt Diet. Metternich (Austrian chancellor) built the Congress System (Aachen 1818, Troppau 1820, Laibach 1821, Verona 1822) and the Carlsbad Decrees (1819). Carbonari revolts 1820-21 (Naples, Piedmont) and 1831 (Modena, Parma) — both crushed. Mazzini founded Young Italy (1831, republican, revolutionary); Gioberti proposed a Pope-led federation (1843, neo-Guelphism). Last revolts 1843-44 (Bandiera brothers, Calabria). |
| 13.5.2 | Vormärz nationalism/liberalism, the Zollverein, 1848 revolutions in Germany | Vormärz (1815-48): Romanticism (Herder, Fichte), Burschenschaften/Turnvereine, 1817 Wartburg Festival. Carlsbad Decrees (1819) banned student societies and imposed censorship. Zollverein (1834), Prussian-led customs union excluding Austria. 1848: revolution spreads from Paris; Frankfurt Parliament (May 1848-May 1849) tries to write a constitution; faces the Grossdeutsch/Kleindeutsch choice; offers the crown to Prussia's Frederick William IV, who refuses it (April 1849) — the 'crown from the gutter'. Parliament dissolved May 1849; Punctation of Olmütz (1850) reasserts Austrian dominance. |
| 13.5.3 | Cavour and Garibaldi unify Italy; Bismarck and three wars unify Germany | Cavour (Piedmont PM from 1852): modernised Piedmont, Pact of Plombières (1858) with Napoleon III, war with Austria (1859) wins Lombardy, central states join 1860. Garibaldi: 1,000 Redshirts conquer Sicily and Naples (1860), hands power to Victor Emmanuel II — Kingdom of Italy proclaimed 1861 (Venetia added 1866, Rome 1870). Bismarck (Prussian minister-president from 1862): 'blood and iron' speech (1862); army reformed by Roon and Moltke; three wars — Danish War (1864), Austro-Prussian War (1866, Sadowa/Königgrätz, Austria excluded from Germany), Franco-Prussian War (1870-71, Ems Telegram, Sedan). German Empire proclaimed at Versailles, January 1871, Kaiser Wilhelm I. |
- Congress of Vienna (1814-15) — restored old rulers and deliberately built anti-unity structures: Austrian Lombardy-Venetia and the powerless German Confederation.
- Metternich's repression — the Congress System, Carlsbad Decrees, and Holy Alliance crushed every revolt from 1820 to 1844 and kept the Vormärz lid on until 1848.
- 1848 revolutions — proved nationalism had real popular energy but collapsed because middle-class liberals, workers, and peasants wanted different things, and the Frankfurt Parliament had no army or tax power.
- Cavour's realpolitik — diplomacy and a limited war (not popular revolution) turned Piedmont into the core of a united Italy.
- Garibaldi's Redshirts — popular, romantic nationalism conquered the south in 1860, but Cavour made sure the king, not Garibaldi, took control.
- Bismarck's three wars (1864, 1866, 1870-71) — 'blood and iron', not parliamentary debate, unified Germany under Prussia and excluded Austria for good.
Modelled exam question 1
To what extent do you agree that the failure of early Italian and German nationalism before 1848 was caused more by the strength of Metternich's system than by weaknesses within the nationalist movements themselves?
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Modelled exam question 2
To what extent do you agree that Italian and German unification between 1849 and 1871 was achieved primarily through the actions of individual leaders rather than through foreign powers or existing social and economic conditions?
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Important: Treating unification as one continuous nationalist success story from 1815 to 1871. It is not — it is three very different stories: 1815-1848 is a story of nationalist FAILURE under Metternich's repression, 1848 is a story of popular revolution that COLLAPSED within a year, and only 1849-1871 is the story of unification actually succeeding, driven by pragmatic leaders rather than the earlier romantic nationalists. Keep these phases and their different lessons separate in your essay.
What did the Congress of Vienna (1814-15) do to Italy and Germany? It restored the old rulers and blocked unity: Austria took direct control of Lombardy-Venetia and placed Habsburg relatives in Tuscany, Modena, and Parma, while Germany became a loose 39-state Confederation with no central government, chaired by Austria.
Why did the Carbonari revolts of 1820-21 and 1831 fail? They were local, not national (a revolt in Naples did not spread to Piedmont), relied on secret societies with little mass support, and were crushed by Austrian troops acting under the Congress System's approval within weeks each time.
What was the Zollverein and why does it matter? A Prussian-led customs union founded in 1834 that abolished internal tariffs between most German states, excluding Austria. It built Prussian economic dominance and habits of cooperation, though historians debate whether it directly caused political unification.
Why did the Frankfurt Parliament (1848-49) fail? It had no army, no tax power, and no way to enforce its decisions. When it offered the imperial crown to Frederick William IV of Prussia in March 1849; he refused it that April, and the Parliament was dissolved in May 1849 without achieving unification.
How did Cavour engineer war with Austria in 1859? Through the secret Pact of Plombières (1858), in which Napoleon III agreed France would help Piedmont fight Austria in exchange for Nice and Savoy. The resulting war won Piedmont Lombardy and encouraged central Italian states to join it in 1860.
What were Bismarck's three wars and what did each achieve? The Danish War (1864) gave Prussia and Austria joint territory to later quarrel over; the Austro-Prussian War (1866) crushed Austria at Sadowa and excluded it from German affairs; the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) defeated France and led to the German Empire being proclaimed at Versailles in January 1871.
1) Name specific dates and people (Pact of Plombières 1858, Sadowa 1866, Ems Telegram 1870) — vague answers score low. 2) Always state your extent-judgement in words ('largely', 'only to a limited extent'), never just 'both sides mattered'. 3) Keep the three phases distinct: failure (1815-48), collapse (1848), success (1849-71) — do not blur them into one story. 4) Structure every essay the same way: thesis, evidence for, evidence against, judgement — that rhythm is what the top band rewards.