I.Great Power Politics, 1853-1878 A.The "Eastern Question" 1.Decline of Ottoman Empire 2.Protection of Holy Places in Palestine 3.Russian imperial designs in Balkan & Middle East a.Russian desire for hegemony in Middle East b.Russian desire to control Constantinople 4.Austro-Hungarian designs in the Balkans a.Reconquest of Christian lands from Ottomans b.Expansion of Austro-Hungarian empire/protectorate 5.Prussia/Germany seeks alliance with Constantinople/Baghdad B.The "German Question" 1.Will Germany be unified into a nation state? a.How? By Whom? Under what conditions? 2.German Confederation of states since 1815, but no Germany a.confederation dominated by Austria & Prussia b.Prussia & Austria jostling for power/influence C.The "Italian Question" 1.Will Italy be unified into a nation state? a.How? By Whom? Under what conditions? 2.Kingdom of Sardinia/Piedmont seeks to dominate Italy a.King Victor Emmanuel II (ruled 1861-1878) b.Prime minister Count Cavour (d. 1861) c.Guiseppi Garibaldi, military adventurer & revolutionary II.Wars and Crises, 1853-1878 A.Crimean War, 1853-1856 1.Russia occupies Moldavia and Wallachia (future Romania) 2.Turkey declares war on Russia 3.France, England, Sardinia/Piedmont ally with Turkey 4.Russia defeated at Savastopol, economically & militarily drained 5.Russian influlence in SE Europe temporarily diminished B.War of 1859 and Italian unification 1.Sardinia provokes Austria into declaring war 2.France joins Sardinia/Piedmont against Austria 3.Austria cedes Lombardy to France, which gives it to Sardinia 4.Sardinia cedes Savoy and Nice to France, and in return: 5.France consents to Sardinia annexing Parma, Modena & Tuscany 6.Sardinia conquers Sicily and Naples indirectly, through Garibaldi 7.Kingdom of Italy proclaimed, March 17, 1861 a.Venetia still ruled by Austria (until 1866) b.Papal states still independent (conquered 1870) C.The Danish War, 1863-1864 (the Schleswig-Holstein Question) 1.Denmark attempts to annex Schleswig-Holstein 2.German confederation, led by Prussia & Austria, defeat Denmark 3.S-H join German Confederation, under Prussian-Austrian administration D.Austro-Prussian War, 1866 (June 15-August 23) 1.Begins over Austrian administration of Holstein 2.Prussia/Italy versus Austria and its German allies 3.Prussia defeats Austria and its German allies 4.Austria expelled from the German Confederation 5.Prussia annexes Holstein, Hanover, Hesse, Nassau, Frankfurt 6.Prussia organizes North German Confederation under Prussian hegemony a.Southern states independent: Bavaria, Baden, Wurtenburg, Darmstadt 7.Austria cedes Venetia to Italy 8.Austrian Empire reorganized as Dual Monarchy: Austria-Hungary E.Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1871 1.Prussia (Bismarck) provokes France into declaring war 2.Other North German states join Prussia against France 3.France defeated and Paris occupied by 1871 4.Prussia organizes North German Confederation into German Empire 5.Kingdom of Italy invades and annexes Rome and the Papal States III.Great Power Politics, 1878-1905 A.General Conditions 1.Arms Race a.Britain seeks continued dominance b.Germany seeks parity with Britain c.France losing ground against Germany d.Russia seeks parity with Germany & A-H 2.Alliance system a.1882 - Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy b.1906 - Triple Entente: Britain, France, Russia 3.Congress of Berlin, 1878 a.Austria-Hungary guarantees Bosnia & Herzegovina b.Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria become independent B.The Eastern Question again 1.Russia & Europeans want pieces of the Ottoman Empire 2.Russian / Austrian competition in the Balkans 3.French / Italian / German competition in North Africa 4.German / British / Russian competition in Near East 5.Germany seeks good relations with Turks C.Austria-Hungary 1.Seeks hegemony in the Balkans 2.Seeks to recover land lost to Ottomans, 1300-1718 3.Sees itself as protector of Christendom in the Balkans 4.Seeks to maintain control of Dalmatia & Trieste D.Russia 1.Seeks hegemony in the Balkans 2.Sees itself as protector of Christendom in the Balkans 3.Seeks hegemony over Constantinople & the straights 4.Seeks Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean E.Germany 1.Plans Berlin > Baghdad Railway, the "Orient Express" 2.Seeks allies in Vienna, Constantinople, Baghdad IV.International Crises, 1905-1914 A.1905-06, First Moroccan Crisis 1.France asserts hegemony over Morocco w/ British support 2.Germany supports Moroccan independence 3.1906, Algeciras Conference to resolve Moroccan crisis 4.Britain, France & Italy oppose Germany at Algeciras 5.Germany backs down B.1908, Bosnian Crisis 1.Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia from the Turks 2.Serbia (which wanted Bosnia) appeals to Russia 3.Russia threatens Austria-Hungary 4.Germany threatens Russia 5.Russia backs down C.1911, Second Moroccan Crisis 1.France invades Morocco, occupies Fez 2.Germany supports Moroccan independence, sends warship 3.Britain & France threaten Germany with war 4.Germany backs down D.1911, Italy seizes Tripoli from the Turks E.1912, First Balkan War 1.Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro form Balkan League 2.Balkan League drives Turks back to Constantinople 3.Balkan League members begin to divide the spoils 4.Russia & Austria intervene, establish Albanian independence F.1913, Second Balkan War 1.Bulgaria attacked by Serbia, Greece, Montenegro 2.Serbia seizes territory from Bulgaria 3.Germany convinces Austria-Hungary not to intervene 4.England convinces Russia not to intervene 5.Serbia plans offensive against Austria-Hungary G.1914, Third Balkan War & outbreak of WW1 1.Spring: Major European powers prepare for war 2.June 28, Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Prinzip assassinates Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo 3.June, diplomatic posturing & military preparations a.Russia encourages Serbia b.Germany encourages Austria-Hungary 4.July 23, Austria-Hungary issues demands to Serbia 5.July 28, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia 6.Austria-Hungary invades Serbia, encouraged by Germany 7.Russia mobilizes against Austria-Hungary & Germany 8.Germany mobilizes against Russia & France a.Invades France through neutral Belgium b.Dismissed treaty with Belgium as "a scrap of paper" 9.France, England & Russia declare war against Germany & A-H 10.Turkey joins Germany & Austria-Hungary = Central Powers