German Unity National Health and Unity
What events, occurrences, and personalities contributed to the unification of Germany and national feeling between 1815 and 1830?
Between 1825 and 1850 there was a growth in national feeling in Germany. In this essay I will discuss why nationalism was not an issue before 1815, in what ways Napoleon and the French Revolution affected nationalism, the setbacks Germany faces and the advances made.
Germany had never existed as a nation in the centuries before 1815, Nationalism and Democracy was never been heard of and class was seen to be more important than nation. Despite sharing a common language and culture Germany was far from united. The spread of new idea was held back due to several reasons, most people felt the need to obey "the divine right of kings." Powerful forces such as monarchs and emperors opposed to nationalism. The rulers of the German states were jealous of one another and were keen to preserve their own independence. To add to the problem most Europeans could not read or write hence the reason communication was poor. A broad mass of people were uneducated and uniformed and not interested in learning. However communications continued to be non -existent due to the fact that travel was expensive and dangerous and movement of people and ideas was not easy. There were many people who did not want to see a unified Germany such as Austria and France. Two powerful countries that surrounded Germany and it were in their interests to keep her weak so that they could easily dominate her. The only way of doing this was to keep her disunited as they feared a powerful Germany and they tirelessly worked against unification. People back then were afraid of change and new ideas however in 1789 the French Revolution led to an increased interest in democracy and nationalism.
The French Revolution began in 1789 and it started as a series of protests about bad government however it led to monarchy being overthrown and the king being executed. It had a large impact on Germany and it would never be the same. It showed oppressed people that they could rise up and change the established order of things. Germany was made up of 360 states and Napoleon saw this reduced to 16. People saw this as a chance to gain freedom and...