The 19th century was a period of significant political and social changes in Europe. During this time, many countries were divided into smaller states and territories. The idea of national unity was closely tied to the rise of nationalism, which gained momentum in the aftermath of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars.

Struggle for national unification in the 19th century Europe:

• Napoleon’s ambitions to establish a French-dominated empire in Europe were fulfilled to an extent with his successful campaigns till 1812.
• Napoleonic France directly annexed territories in the Low Countries and western Germany, applying revolutionary legislation in full. Satellite kingdoms were set up in other parts of Germany and in Italy, Spain, and Poland.
• After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815, victorious powers also acquired new territories under the Treaty of Vienna.
  • Prussia gained new territories in western Germany.
  • Russia took over most of Poland.
  • Britain acquired some former French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies.
• In 1820, revolutionary agitation broke out in the fringe areas. Risings in several Italian states were put down. A rebellion in Spain was also suppressed.
  • However later, a series of wars and political struggles led to the unification of the Italian states into a single kingdom in 1861.
• Other countries, such as Ireland, Poland, and the Balkan states, also experienced nationalist movements seeking unification during this time.

Similarly, before 1871, Germany was fragmented into a large number of small states. The struggle for German unification is also marked with various wars:

• The first effort at unifying the German states came in the revolutionary year 1848 when revolts started in all German states to overthrow the present political system of Monarchy. However, due to the lack of strong executive power, the revolution disintegrated by 1849.
• The next attempt at German unification, a successful one, was undertaken by Otto von Bismarck, the Prime Minister of Prussia.
  • The first war of German unification was the 1862 Danish War, begun over the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.
  • The second war of German unification was the 1866 Austro-Prussian War. Prussia won and directly annexed some of the German states that had sided with Austria (such as Hanover and Nassau). In 1867, Bismarck created the North German Confederation, a union of the northern German states under the hegemony of Prussia.
  • The third and final act of German unification was the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, orchestrated by Bismarck to draw the western German states into alliance with the North German Confederation. With the defeat of France, the remaining German states agreed to join the North German Confederation to form a unified German state under Prussian leadership.

On January 18, 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. All the above-mentioned movements helped to shape the political, social, and cultural landscapes of Europe, and their legacy can still be seen today in the identities and boundaries of many modern nation-states.