FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR

Otto von Bismarck was the Prime Minister of Prussia since 1862, and he was miserable in his way of ruling. He didn’t take care about constitution, the parliament or any other thing that stayed on his way. He was really ambitious and smart, and that made him go for the expansion of Germany with allies that were later betrayed by Bismarck himself. By the end of 1867, Prussia controlled the North German Confederation but not the south. The South German States remained independent mainly because of their religion, which was Catholic.

France was having a tough time, new technological devices and engines were coming really fast and it was the perfect opportunity for Otto von Bismarck to fight the French. He tricked the Prussians to unify both German sides and fight against France. Prussians had breach-loading rifles which gave them a great advantage against the French, but then the Chassepot riffle turned the things against the Prussians when France started using them. At the front line France had powerful guns that would kill anyone who stepped forward, but war is not only about guns, it’s logistic the ability that will give you the victory and that’s why France lost. After this war Germany became unified.

After all that had happened France suffered from a terrible economic disaster. Big factories turned into little workshops and people suffered from hunger and poverty. The consequences of the war left France with an uprising discontent from the working class and the French Commune was established as government, it wasn’t well defined and it wasn’t socialist or communist or anarchist or republic but a great chaos. There was a lot of violence in France, all kinds of work protests happened. Finally the commune was disabled by the remains of the previous regime and they restored the past government.

Who was Otto von Bismarck?

The Prime Minister of Prussia

Why was he important?

He was a very important diplomat because he unified Germany. 

What did he want?

He wanted to expand Germany by unifying it and by fighting France.

How did he trick France?

He made a false telegram in which he pretended to be the King of Prussia and supposedly declared that they will not accept the future successor for the Spanish throne.

What was the result of the Franco-Prussian War for France and Germany?

It took the power that France had in Europe from them and gave it to Germany, of course under Prussia

What was the role of the various guns used – the Dreyse needle gun, the Chassepot rifle, and the mitrailleuse?

It affected drastically the advantage between countries, for example the Dreyse was heavy and had gas problems which affect for bad the aiming. Also the rifles gave advantage because they were faster and produced greater damage, and mitrailleuse lasted more in combat so they had more advantage.

Why are breech-loading weapons superior to muzzle-loading weapons?

The time of reloading is faster because it has a special reload space, unlike the muzzle-loading because you reload from the muzzle by inserting the bullet with a tube.

What was the Paris Commune?

A brief government that ruled Paris 

Why was the period of the Commune a time of great suffering?

Social and economic life was depressing. Living circumstances and there were rumors of a civil war coming

What are some examples of the suffering?

Poverty, hunger, misery; they were in very bad circumstances

What finally happened with the Commune?

It didn’t work out and it fell on May 28, 1871.

GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI

Giuseppe Garibaldi was a great leader from Italy’s history. He was good, loyal and generous since he was a child; he also had a great spirit. The sea was his passion and at the age of 13 he saved some of his friends. He spent all his youth sailing and one day in a harbor he felt the desire to serve his country.

In 1848, he came back from South America because his country needed him. He fought at the head of some volunteers in Lombardy. Garibaldi also ran into the defense of the Roman republic, but then he abandoned Rome and looked for refuge in the Apennines. In 1859, the hero started a second independence war. Lots of volunteers came to him for the Expedition of the Thousand and on May 11 they landed in Marsala. They had their first and tough battle in Calatafimi and Galibardi said “Here is Italy or you will die” to Nino Bixio. They kept going with a good number of victories like Calatafami, Palermo and Milazzo. He goes forward to Naples and does a triumphal entrance, and right after that he fought the final battle. At Carnell, he greets the king of Italy Vittorio Emanuel II. After this a time of peace came, but in 1866 after problems with the king Garibaldi gave the order to stop the war of independence. 
Giuseppe Garibaldi did a great job for his country because kept fighting for it until the last breath.

CRIMEAN WAR

It all started when France forced the Ottoman Empire to declare them the authority of the Holy Lands. When Russia found out about this they forced the Ottomans to declare them the protectors of Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire, also France tried to force the Ottomans to retrieve their decision. Russians moved to the Danube and negotiations between Russia and France began. Britain was also involved in the negotiations and helped to convince the Ottomans to reject the treaty with Russia saying that it decreased Ottoman independence.

 In July 1853, Russia annexed the two Ottoman territories of Moldavia and Wallachia saying that the Ottomans could not protect their Christians there. Britain responded by sending a fleet to join a French fleet and in October 1853, the Ottomans declared war on Russians. On November 30th, 1853; a battle was fought causing the loss of several Ottoman boats, and after this battle Britain and France demanded Russia to stop, but Russia refused so they joined to the battle on March 28th, 1854. The Allies kept fighting until they got to the black sea and then moved to the Azov Sea and tried to attack a Russian port but they failed. However they disrupted Russian operations in the sea. Finally in 1856, negotiations started once again and the Ottoman Empire was declared independent from any other nation in the world. A few important factors that influenced the victory were the use of railways and the telegraph which provided great advantages.

10 FACTS ABOUT NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

1. Napoleon Bonaparte was born Napoleone di Buonaparte and his parents called him Nabulio, he was born on August 15,1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica;  he died on May 5,1821 in St. Helena Island.

2. Autopsy report concluded that Napoleon died of stomach cancer, but some scientists believed he was poisoned with arsenic.

3. Napoleon was one of the greatest military commanders in history. Oftentimes portrayed as a power hungry conqueror, this strong and ambitious man is indeed one of the greatest. Napoleon is considered to have been a military genius, and is known for commanding many successful campaigns but also known for some spectacular failures.

4. Napoleon took the pride and honor for being the first Corsican to graduate from the Ecole Militaire. He was trained as an artillery officer in France and eventually crowned himself the Emperor of France.

5. Napoleon spoke with a marked Corsican accent and was teased by other students for this and he never learned to spell properly.

6. Josephine and Napoleon were married in 1796 but she did notbear Napoleon any children which resulted to a divorced in 1810.


7. Napoleon sold to the United States their French possession – the so-calledLouisiana Purchase for less than three cents per acre or $7.40 per km².

8.Thegreat Napoleon Bonaparte could have won the Battle of Waterloo by attackingearlier in the day, but Napoleon Bonaparte delayed his attack because he suffered greatly from hemorrhoid pain that morning.


9.Napoleon was also a writer, he wrote a romantic novella.


10. Napoleon was Roman Catholic, but did not believein the existence of a living God.