From Metternich to Bismarck- A Textbook of European History

This concise work begins in 1815, marking the end of a tumultuous twenty-five years of near-constant warfare. The Congress of Vienna convened to deliberate the restoration of the old order, where our author notes, they rejected the ideal of nationality, the principle of the rights of peoples, in favor of stability, based on the recognition of the rights of sovereigns and the establishment of a balance of power. This was the essence of the Metternich system, which ultimately crumbled under the weight of the revolutions of 1848. The Crimean War marked a pivotal moment for emerging Italy, allowing Cavour to push forward the campaign for Italian unification. Meanwhile, the astute Prussian junker Bismarck used skillful diplomacy and swift military actions to dismantle both Austria and France, paving the way for the birth of the modern German state.