Repetition Repeated - Another Week-End Summary

After a very eventful week ending with a DBQ on the perspectives leading up to German unification in 1848, I think we are all ready to move onward and outward--which is just what Europe is about to do. The final discussions that were had this past week mostly revolved around the Bismarck and German unification; most notably, connections were drawn between the German "archconservative" and Machiavelli (our favorite Italian). Attention was also paid to the unification efforts of Italy, and the views of Mazzini, Cavour, and Victor Emmanuel took center stage. All of this took place against the dramatic backdrop of Romanticism and did very little to please the so-called architect of European peace until WWI, Klaus von Metternich, because the balance of power that was so carefully measured in Europe was about to be upset. (He was right.) The Crimean War and Russian expansionism also factored into our review of 19th century Europe, both of which are events that have defined Europe to the present day. Expansionism in general will define the next era of European history as the continent becomes too small for the lot of them.