the germans and the Italians achieved their unigication in 1871. the emergence of two newly-born nations marked a shifting balance of power in Europe, especially in favour og Germany. In fact, the unifications of Germany and Italy changed the balance of power in Europe in terms of substance and nature.
France was not the dominant power in European politcs after the unifications of Germany and Italy. Over the severaldecades before 1870,France reigned supreme in the continent. During the reign of Napolean
• », both Cavour and Bismarck had to take Napolean
• » into consideration in their unification movements. Thus, Cavour allied with him in 1859. However, the situation of France after 1871 was very different. By the Treaty of Frankfurt, which formally ended the Franco-Prussian War, France, being defeated, had to pay a large sum of indemnity and cede Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. These losses gravely weakened France military, economically and politically. Althought she tired desperately to recover her dominant position in Europe, she was no longer the leading in continental Europe.
It was germany that took over the dominant of Austria and France in the post-1870 years. Militarily, she had defeated Austria and France in her unification wars, Economically, Germany speeded up her industrial revolution after the unification and by 1913 she ranked second in industrial strengh in the world. She was the most populous country in Europe and thus faciliated her economic growth. Politically, the centre of Europe shifted from Paris and Vienna to Berlin, for instance, Congress of Berlin lied in where it met but not in what it did. The diplomatic and political scenes of Europe now centred upon Germany. In short, Germany gained preponderance in the new balance of power in Europe.
The success of Italian unification marked the end of a "geographical expression". Although she was troubled by grave domestic problems, Italywas still one of the great powers in Europe.
