Europe: Rivalries and Alignments in the Age of Bismarck (1861-1871) PDF

International History (Prof. Gianluca Pastori) Script 06 – Europe: rivalries and alignments in the age of Bismarck International History (Prof. Gianluca Pastori) Script 06 – Europe: rivalries and alignments in the age of Bismarck 1. At the Congress of Vienna, the Holy Roman Empire was not restored;...

International History (Prof. Gianluca Pastori) Script 06 – Europe: rivalries and alignments in the age of Bismarck International History (Prof. Gianluca Pastori) Script 06 – Europe: rivalries and alignments in the age of Bismarck 1. At the Congress of Vienna, the Holy Roman Empire was not restored; instead, its German territories were banded into a German confederation of 36 states, presided over by the Emperor of Austria. These decisions laid the foundations for Austria/Prussia’s antagonism for hegemony over Germany. The first sign of this rivalry was Prussia’s decision to promote a customs union between German states (Zollverein, 1833); however, until the end of the 1850s, Prussia adhering to the legitimism principles prevented it from openly taking a stance against Austria. In 1849, a revolutionary parliament convened in Frankfurt offered the crown of German Emperor to the King of Prussia, Frederick Wilhelm IV (r. 1840-61; de facto, in 1858, he relinquished his powers to Prince Regent Wilhelm – later Wilhelm I – for health reasons), who disdainfully rejected it. Two programs for the unification of Germany were looming: the “Little Germany” led by Prussia and the “Greater Germany” led by Austria. These two programs were not simply the product of the Austria/Prussia rivalry but also reflected a more profound social, economic, and cultural cleavage between northern and southern states, the former looking at Prussia as their reference, the latter at Austria. After the revolutionary storm and during the ‘Second restoration’, the situation returned to the status quo ante. Until the mid-1860s, the competing Prussian and Austrian efforts to strengthen their respective positions in the German confederation turned to nothing. Wilhelm I’s formal accession to the Prussian throne (1861-88; as Prince Regent: 1858-61) wiped away the last Hohenzollern’s legitimist qualms and paved the way to a more assertive Prussian politics. 2. The decade 1861-71 saw the completion of the German unification process under Prince Otto von Bismarck, Prussian Prime minister (Chancellor) and Foreign minister since September 1862. The path to the German Empire was marked by three victorious wars prepared by Bismarck: (1) The war against Denmark for the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, waged in 1864 on the side of Austria; (2) The Austro-Prussian War in 1866, which Prussia waged together with the Kingdom of Italy (Third war of [Italian] independence); (3) The Franco-Prussian war (1870) against Napoleon III’s Second Empire, which led to the collapse of the Empire and the formal establishment of the Second [German] Reich. After the 1866 defeat, Austria relinquished the presidency of the German Confederation, which was dissolved and replaced by a North German Confederation led by Prussia. The war’s outcome also hastened the internal transformation of the Habsburg Monarchy and its division into two separate states personally united under the same sovereign: the Empire of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary, each with its government and foreign affairs, military affairs, and finances in common. Austro-Germans and Magyars were the main communities in the two territories, with several other ethnic groups (mainly Slavs) in a subordinate position. Finally, from a geopolitical perspective, the end of Austrian hegemony in Italy and Germany led to a re-orientation of the Dual Monarchy’s interests, which increasingly turned to the Ottoman Balkans. The consequence was a further deterioration of the already tricky Habsburg/Russian relations, especially when Russia, during the 1870s, refocused its attention on the Black Sea region. 3. At the domestic level, the Franco-Prussian War countered the anti-Prussian tendencies of Germany’s southern states (especially Bavaria) and mobilized all Germans in a patriotic effort. At the political level, rapid French defeat led to the fall of the Second 1 International History (Prof. Gianluca Pastori) Script 06 – Europe: rivalries and alignments in the age of Bismarck Empire, and the peace treaty signed by the French Third Republic provided for the cession of Alsace and Lorraine to the German Reich, which was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles on 18 Jan. 1871. The Reich had a federal structure: the ancient states with their rulers survived, but the supremacy of Prussia was clear. The Kingdom of Italy also benefitted from the war that forced France to recall the troops deployed to protect the Papal States from Lazio. On 20 Sept. 1870, Italian troops invaded the Papal States, conquered Lazio and Rome and overthrew the Pope’s temporal power, opening the socalled ‘Roman question’. In the following months, the Parliament approved the Law of Guarantees (‘Legge delle guarentigie’, 13 May 1871), which, among others, gave the Pope the use of the Vatican (but denied him sovereignty over its territory) and granted him the right to send and receive ambassadors and a generous yearly allowance. Pius IX officially rejected these offers since they were the product of a unilateral decision, which did not grant the papacy international recognition and could be changed at any time by the secular Parliament. Pius IX also refused to recognize the new Italian kingdom (which he denounced as an illegitimate creation of revolution) and excommunicated the country’s leaders, including King Victor Emmanuel II. 4. Between 1871 and 1914, Europe lived a period of peace, while the “European concert” of Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and the Kingdom of Italy dominated international politics. Albeit increasing difficulties, the “concert” could control international crises, avoiding a general war’s outbreak until 1914. It was the period of European apogee, and colonial empires owned about 60% of the world’s territory. This period can be divided into three main phases: – 1871-1890 – Age of the ‘Bismarck’s system’; his figure and initiatives dominated international politics, which revolved around his figure. – 1890-1902 – Beginning of the disintegration of Bismarck’s system; tension came from extra-European imperialistic contrasts. – 1902-1914 – International focus returned to Europe, where two competing blocs gradually consolidated (Triple Alliance v. Triple Entente). After 1870, Bismarck aimed to preserve the status quo in Europe, isolating France to prevent its revanche and keeping Russia tied to Germany. His ‘system’ developed in three phases and involved all the Great Powers but Great Britain, which, until 1902, remained in its ‘splendid isolation’ from European affairs. – The first phase pivoted on the League of the Three Emperors (Dreikaiserabkommen among Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, 1873); the League collapsed after the Congress of Berlin (1878), which provoked Russia’s resentment against Germany and Austria-Hungary for the diplomatic defeat suffered there. – The second phase pivoted on the Austro-German ‘dual’ alliance of 1879 and, later, on the Alliance of the Three Emperors (Dreikaiserbund among Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, 1881) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, 1882, repeatedly renewed until the eve of World War I). – Once the Dreikaiserbund collapsed due to the Austro-Russian rivalry in the Balkans, Bismarck tried to revive German/Russian relations by agreeing to the highly secret Reinsurance treaty (1887-90), providing for mutual neutrality in a war against a third party and marking the third phase of Bismarck’s ‘system’. 5. In Bismarck’s age, there were two main crises in the ‘Eastern question’’s framework, both related to Balkan nationalisms, the Pan-Slavism of Russian politics, and the growing 2 International History (Prof. Gianluca Pastori) Script 06 – Europe: rivalries and alignments in the age of Bismarck interest of Austria-Hungary in the region. In 1875-78, anti-Turkish uprisings in BosniaHerzegovina and Bulgaria led to Russia’s victorious war against the Ottoman Empire (Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78), ended by the St. Stephen’s peace treaty between Russia and the Ottomans (3 March 1878). The treaty’s clauses, favourable to Russia, aroused Britain’s and Austria-Hungary’s opposition, and Bismarck hastily convened the Congress of Berlin (13 June-13 July 1878) to mediate between the powers. The Congress’ outcome was a diplomatic defeat for Russia, which had to renounce the creation of a ‘Great Bulgaria’ in the former Ottoman eastern and central Balkans territories. Even worse, on the same occasion, Austria-Hungary obtained the administration of BosniaHerzegovina and the right to garrison the strategically critical Sanjak of Novi Pazar (roughly the area of today’s Kosovo). Another crisis broke out in 1884-87 over the war between Serbia (supported by Austria-Hungary) and Bulgaria (supported by Russia). In the war, Bulgaria gained Eastern Rumelia (roughly corresponded to today’s southern Bulgaria), but Russia saw its influence diminishing when Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg replaced Alexander of Battenberg on Sofia’s throne after Alexander’s abdication. Just like the Russo-Turkish war had ended the Dreikaiserabkommen, the Serbo-Bulgarian war ended the Alliance of the Three Emperors, forcing Chancellor Bismarck to mend Russo-German relations with the provisions of the Reinsurance treaty. 6. The Triple Alliance was another key element in Bismarck’s system. After 1870, Italy had found itself diplomatically isolated, facing the French advance in the Mediterranean and the Austrian advance in the Balkans, and had to choose the lesser evil and get out of the stalemate. To this aim, the cabinet signed the Triple Alliance (1882), with Germany and Austria-Hungary as a defensive alliance against France and Russia. Italy renewed the alliance five times (1887, 1891, 1896, 1902, and 1912), progressively widening its scope to fit its interests in the Balkans (due to its strategic position, Italy was particularly interested in Albania, which became independent in 1913) and the Mediterranean (Libya, annexed with the Italo-Turkish War in 1911-12). Since 1896, Italy also started signing agreements with other powers (France: 1900 and 1902; Britain: 1902; Russia: 1909) to promote its interests. These politics made it the needle in the balance between the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente emerging among France, Russia, and Britain. Germany and Austria agreed to this kind of ambiguity since Italy’s presence in the Triple Alliance allowed Germany to keep France isolated and Austria to free from the Italian front the military resources it needed in the Balkans. However, over time, the Triple Alliance met growing tensions. In 1904 Austria-Hungary and Russia reached an agreement to maintain the status quo in the Balkans, but the Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908, frustrated it. Italy, too, resented the Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, while nationalistic claims became more intense about the Italian-speaking Habsburg territories in South Tyrol (Trento) and Venezia Giulia (Trieste). 7. In the early 1890s, Bismarck’s forceful retirement and Wilhelm II’s decision not to renew the Reinsurance treaty led to a quick Franco-Russian rapprochement, which, in turn, laid the foundation of the future Triple Entente. The Entente was far different from the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance was based on a formal defensive treaty signed and regularly renewed by the parties. Instead, there is no treaty of the Triple Entente, which was the sum of three bilateral agreements signed in some fifteen years: (1) The Franco-Russian alliance of 1891-94; (2) The Anglo-French Entente cordiale of 1904; (3) The Anglo-Russian Treaty of St. Petersburg of 1907. The Franco-Russian alliance was the only agreement with a military character. The Entente cordiale regulated mutual 3 International History (Prof. Gianluca Pastori) Script 06 – Europe: rivalries and alignments in the age of Bismarck extra-European imperialistic interests, among others recognizing Egypt as a sphere of British influence and Morocco as a sphere of French influence, and the Treaty of St. Petersburg regulated Britain’s disputes with Russia in Afghanistan and Persia, closing the ‘great game’ that had opposed the two powers since the beginning of the century. The reason for these rapprochements was the shared fear of German hegemony over Europe, which Britain also saw as a possible springboard for global expansion. In the first decade of the 20th century, the Entente faced a string of local crises (the two Moroccan crises in 1905 and 1911, respectively; Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908; the Italo-Turkish war for Libya in 1911-12, and the Balkan Wars of 1912-13) that tested its strength: however, the convergence of its members’ interests proved strong enough to allow the Entente to survive until World War I. 8. The consolidation of the Triple Alliance/Triple Entente rivalry and the strengthening of the bonds within the two competing blocs were crucial elements in the path that led to World War I. Other important factors were growing competition among the European powers both in Europe and outside, the increasing militarisation of international relations, and the widespread feeling that a general war was inevitable. From the last decade of the 19th century until the eve of World War I, Britain and Germany were actively engaged in a naval race that, over time, extended to the other powers. The US decision to build the ‘Great White Fleet’ was part of this general attitude, also fostered by the idea that a ‘modern’ Navy was the backbone of one country’s wealth, power, and status. Technical evolution and the opportunities that contemporary industrial systems offered contributed to the process. For instance, in 1906, Britain launched its first all-big-gun, steam turbinepropelled battleship – the Dreadnought – making all the previous battleships obsolete overnight and starting a global ‘Dreadnought frenzy’. Similarly, in 1912, Britain again decided to replace coal with fuel oil as the propellant for the Royal Navy’s ships, starting a massive conversion program and opening a new global competition to gain safe access to oil, quickly becoming a strategic commodity. Chauvinism and aggressive nationalism (‘jingoism’) played their part. Finally, in public opinion, social Darwinism and ‘scientific racism’ provided intellectual justifications for European domination over Asian and African ‘inferior’ and ‘backward races’, as well as for the ‘struggle for life’ in which the different European powers were supposedly engaged. 4