AP European History

## Learning Outcomes

- Explain how the **Crimean War (1853–1856)** weakened the post-1815 European order
- Identify why the war mattered more directly for **Italian unification** than for **German unification**
- Recall the roles of **Cavour**, **Napoleon III**, and **Bismarck** in using diplomacy and war
- Trace the link between **Austria’s diplomatic isolation** and later defeats in **1859** and **1866**
- Distinguish between the Crimean War as an **enabling condition** and the later wars that directly unified Italy and Germany
- Build stronger causation arguments for SAQ, DBQ, and LEQ responses on nationalism and state-building

## AP European History Syllabus

For the AP European History, you are expected to understand how the **Crimean War contributed to the breakdown of the Concert of Europe and created conditions for national unification**, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

- Know that the **Crimean War (1853–1856)** helped weaken the **Concert of Europe**
- Identify why **Sardinia-Piedmont** joined the war and what **Cavour** gained diplomatically
- Understand the significance of the **Congress of Paris (1856)** in raising the **Italian question**
- Explain the **Plombières Agreement (1858)** and how it led to war with Austria in **1859**
- Know that Austria’s conduct during the Crimean War helped leave it **diplomatically isolated**
- Explain why **Russia remained neutral in 1866**, helping Prussia defeat Austria
- Distinguish between the Crimean War as an indirect cause of **German unification** and Bismarck’s wars as the direct mechanism
- Understand how this topic fits larger AP themes of **states and other institutions of power** and **national and European identity**

## Test Your Knowledge

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. Why did **Sardinia-Piedmont** enter the Crimean War if it had little direct interest in Crimea?
2. How did the **Congress of Paris (1856)** help Cavour advance Italian unification?
3. Why did Austria emerge weaker after the Crimean War even though it was not defeated in the main fighting?
4. How did the Crimean War help Prussia in the **Austro-Prussian War of 1866**?
5. Why is it inaccurate to say that the Crimean War directly unified Germany?

## Introduction

The Crimean War did not itself create Italy or Germany. No peace treaty in 1856 suddenly produced unified nation-states. Yet for AP European History, this war matters because it changed the diplomatic setting in which unification became possible.

Before the war, the **Concert of Europe** had helped the great powers cooperate to preserve order after 1815. Austria and Russia often worked together to resist nationalism and revolution. After the Crimean War, that cooperation was badly damaged. This left Austria more exposed, opened space for ambitious leaders such as **Cavour** and **Bismarck**, and made war a more effective tool of state-building.

> **Key Term: Concert of Europe**
> The post-1815 system in which the major European powers cooperated to preserve stability, maintain the balance of power, and resist revolution.

### Why the Crimean War changed the diplomatic map of Europe

The Crimean War lasted from **1853 to 1856**. It began partly over disputes connected to the Ottoman Empire and holy sites, but the larger issue was Russian expansion and the fear that Russia might gain stronger access to the Mediterranean. Britain and France opposed this. The Ottoman Empire fought Russia, and later **Sardinia-Piedmont** joined the anti-Russian side.

The war’s military details matter less on AP Euro than its political effects. The main result was not territorial change alone, but the weakening of the Vienna settlement.

> **Key Term: Crimean War**
> A war fought mainly between Russia and an alliance including the Ottoman Empire, Britain, France, and later Sardinia-Piedmont, from 1853 to 1856.

The most important effect was the **breakdown of trust among the great powers**. Austria had pressured Russia diplomatically during the war but did not become a reliable wartime ally. Russia felt betrayed. This mattered because Austria and Russia had long shared an interest in suppressing nationalist upheaval. Once that relationship soured, Austria lost one of its main supports.

This is the key causation chain students need:

- **Crimean War**
- weakening of great-power cooperation
- **Austria diplomatically isolated**
- nationalist leaders gain room to act
- Austrian defeats make Italian and German unification easier

The war also made Britain more cautious in continental affairs. Britain did not become irrelevant, but it was less eager to intervene to preserve the old order. That reduced outside support for Austria.

> **Key Term: Austria’s diplomatic isolation**
> The weakening of Austria’s foreign relationships after the Crimean War, especially its damaged ties with Russia, leaving it more vulnerable in later conflicts.

A common mistake is to think “breakdown of the Concert of Europe” means diplomacy stopped. It did not. States still made alliances and bargains. The change was that cooperation to preserve the old settlement became less dependable. Power politics became more open.

> **Test Tip:** In an SAQ or LEQ, avoid saying the Crimean War “caused” unification by itself. A stronger phrase is that it **created favorable diplomatic conditions** for unification.

### How the Crimean War helped Italian unification directly

Italy shows the clearest link between the Crimean War and national unification. In **1848**, Italian liberals had already learned a hard lesson: Austria could not be expelled from northern Italy without help from another great power. That lesson shaped **Count Camillo di Cavour**, prime minister of **Sardinia-Piedmont**.

> **Key Term: Sardinia-Piedmont**
> The kingdom in northwestern Italy, including Piedmont and the island of Sardinia, that became the leading state in Italian unification.

Cavour did not rely mainly on romantic revolution. He used diplomacy. Sardinia-Piedmont entered the Crimean War in **1855** not because Crimea itself mattered much to Italian interests, but because Cavour wanted a place at the peace table. This was classic practical politics.

At the **Congress of Paris in 1856**, Sardinia-Piedmont gained something far larger than its military contribution might suggest: diplomatic visibility. Cavour used that platform to raise the **Italian question**, meaning the problem of Austrian domination and political disorder in Italy.

> **Key Term: Italian question**
> The issue raised in European diplomacy over foreign domination, especially Austrian control, and political fragmentation in the Italian peninsula.

This was crucial because it turned Italian unification from a local nationalist cause into a European diplomatic issue. Cavour was telling the great powers that Italy was not just a regional disturbance; it was a matter tied to the balance of power.

From there, the next steps became possible:

1. Sardinia-Piedmont wins prestige through Crimean War participation.
2. Cavour raises the Italian question at Paris in **1856**.
3. Austria appears more isolated.
4. Cavour negotiates with **Napoleon III**.
5. The **Plombières Agreement** of **1858** sets up French aid if Austria attacks first.
6. War breaks out in **1859**.
7. Austria loses **Lombardy**, and unification gains momentum.
   > **Key Term: Congress of Paris (1856)**
   > The peace settlement ending the Crimean War, where Sardinia-Piedmont gained a seat among the powers and Cavour raised the Italian question.
   >
   > **Key Term: Plombières Agreement**
   > A secret 1858 understanding between Cavour and Napoleon III in which France agreed to aid Sardinia-Piedmont against Austria if Austria appeared the aggressor.

The war of **1859**, often called the **Austro-Sardinian War**, brought French and Sardinian forces against Austria. Although Napoleon III stopped short of full Italian unification, Austria lost Lombardy. Just as important, the war triggered nationalist revolts and plebiscites in central Italian states. That widened unification beyond Cavour’s original limited plan.

This is why AP essays should stress both diplomacy and contingency. Cavour aimed at northern unification under Piedmontese leadership. Popular revolts and later **Garibaldi’s** campaigns carried events further than he fully controlled.

Yet none of that likely happens in the same way without the Crimean War. It gave Cavour:

- diplomatic credibility
- access to the great powers
- a chance to isolate Austria
- the opening to secure French support
  > **Test Tip:** If asked to compare Italy and Germany, write that the Crimean War affected **Italy immediately through Cavour’s diplomacy**, but affected **Germany later through Austria’s isolation**.

### How the Crimean War helped German unification indirectly

The link to Germany is more indirect, but still significant. Germany was not unified at the Congress of Paris. No German state gained land there. The key change was that Austria, one of the two dominant German powers, came out of the Crimean era weaker diplomatically.

Before Crimea, Austria and Russia had often cooperated in containing revolution and nationalism. After Crimea, Russia had little desire to rescue Austria. This mattered enormously in **1866**, when **Prussia** and **Austria** went to war.

Prussia already had major advantages before then:

- leadership in the **Zollverein**
- stronger industrial growth
- a more clearly German identity than multiethnic Austria
- the leadership of **Otto von Bismarck**
  > **Key Term: Zollverein**
  > The customs union led by Prussia that promoted economic integration among many German states and increased Prussian influence.

But Prussia still needed the right international setting. Bismarck was a master of using limited wars for political ends. He first fought Denmark in **1864** with Austrian help, then turned against Austria in **1866**.

The Crimean War mattered here because Austria no longer had dependable Russian backing. Russia remained neutral during the **Austro-Prussian War**. That neutrality was not the only reason for Austrian defeat, but it was a major advantage for Bismarck.

> **Key Term: Austro-Prussian War**
> The 1866 war in which Prussia defeated Austria, excluded Austria from German affairs, and moved decisively toward Prussian-led unification.

Had Austria been able to count on Russian intervention or pressure, Prussia’s task would have been far harder. Instead, Austria fought in relative isolation. Prussia won in seven weeks, excluded Austria from German politics, and formed the **North German Confederation** in **1867**.

That was the decisive structural shift. German unification was then completed through the **Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871)**, when the southern German states joined under Prussian leadership.

So the clean AP chain is:

- Crimean War damages Austro-Russian relations
- Austria loses diplomatic support
- Russia stays neutral in **1866**
- Prussia defeats Austria
- Austria removed from German leadership
- Prussia can unify Germany on a **Kleindeutsch** basis

The direct mechanism of German unification was still Bismarck’s sequence of wars: **1864**, **1866**, and **1870–1871**. But the Crimean War made those later moves more feasible.

### How to write this as causation, comparison, and evaluation

The strongest AP argument is not “Crimean War unified Italy and Germany.” That is too simple and not accurate. A better claim is that the war **contributed to the breakdown of the Concert of Europe and weakened Austria’s position**, which helped make later unification possible.

For causation, explain multiple steps, not one jump. For example:

- Austria blocked Italian and German nationalism after 1815.
- The Crimean War weakened the old diplomatic system.
- Austria lost Russian goodwill.
- Cavour and Bismarck then exploited this new situation.
- Later wars produced the actual territorial unifications.

For comparison, stress the difference in timing and method:

- **Italy:** immediate, diplomatic, centered on Cavour, France, and the Congress of Paris
- **Germany:** delayed, indirect, centered on Austria’s later isolation and Bismarck’s wars

For evaluation, say the Crimean War was **important but not sufficient**. Other factors were also necessary:

- nationalism
- strong leadership
- military reform
- opportunism
- Austrian defeats in **1859** and **1866**
- Garibaldi’s campaigns in Italy
- Bismarck’s Realpolitik in Germany
  > **Key Term: Realpolitik**
  > Practical, power-centered politics focused on results rather than ideology, often associated with Bismarck and also useful in describing Cavour’s methods.

A high-level judgement might be: the Crimean War was not the sole cause of unification, but it was a major enabling condition because it weakened the diplomatic order that had protected Austria and suppressed nationalist state-building.

## Key Point Checklist

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- The **Crimean War (1853–1856)** helped weaken the post-1815 **Concert of Europe**
- The war damaged the old partnership between **Austria** and **Russia**
- **Austria’s diplomatic isolation** was the key link between the war and later unification
- **Sardinia-Piedmont** joined the war mainly for diplomatic advantage, not for direct interests in Crimea
- At the **Congress of Paris (1856)**, **Cavour** raised the **Italian question**
- The **Plombières Agreement (1858)** prepared the way for war against Austria in **1859**
- The war of **1859** brought **Lombardy** to Sardinia-Piedmont and accelerated Italian unification
- The Crimean War helped German unification more indirectly than Italian unification
- In **1866**, **Russia remained neutral**, helping Prussia defeat Austria in the **Austro-Prussian War**
- **Bismarck’s wars of 1864, 1866, and 1870–1871** were the direct mechanisms of German unification
- The best AP judgement is that the Crimean War **created favorable diplomatic conditions** rather than directly unifying Italy or Germany
- This topic is a strong example of **causation**, **comparison**, and the shift from Vienna-system cooperation to power politics

## Key Terms and Concepts

- Concert of Europe
- Crimean War
- Austria’s diplomatic isolation
- Sardinia-Piedmont
- Italian question
- Congress of Paris (1856)
- Plombières Agreement
- Zollverein
- Austro-Prussian War
- Realpolitik


National Unification and Diplomatic Tensions - Crimean War enabled Italian German unification