Bismarck - From Blood and Iron

Have a little read: ... A.I.S.F. Giacomo Coppini IB History I SL April 10th, 2001 Bismarck From Blood and Iron The film we saw during the last two days, in my opinion was very interesting. I say this not only for the content, but also mostly for the fact that it was very easy to understand, things were well explained and also from various aspects. All this contributed in making in it interesting since you could follow better what was happening and the whole evolution of the German scene. Concerning the contents, we understood that under the "iron chancellor," Otto von Bismarck, Germany grew from a weak confederation of states to a powerful empire. For most of the last half of the 19th century, Bismarck's policies controlled the destinies of most of the countries of Europe. Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schonhausen was born on April 1, 1815, in Prussia. He studied law at universities, and then entered the Prussian civil service. After leaving the service he helped manage the family estates. He entered politics in 1847. At the time the German states were organized in a loose confederation. Bismarck was determined to free the states from Austrian domination and to unite them under Prussian rule. He first served as a representative at the assembly of the German Confederation and as ambassador to Russia and France. In 1862 he was appointed minister-president of Prussia; while in 1864 Prussia he allied with Austria to provoke war with Denmark. The victorious allies won the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, but two years later quarrels over the duchies led to war between Prussia and Austria. The defeat of Austria gave Prussia control over the states north of the Main River; consequentially Bismarck formed them into the North German Confederation. The relations between Prussia and its enemy France then became tense. In 1870 the nomination of a Hohenzollern prince to the vacant Spanish throne was withdrawn upon French demand. When the French ambassador asked King William I of Prussia to promise that the nomination would never be renewed, the king dismissed the ambassador. France then declared war to Prussia, and the Prussian army, with the armies of the other German states, attacked and defeated the disorganized French. The German states were then united, and William I became emperor, of the new German Empire. Bismarck, raised to the rank of prince, became chancellor. During Bismarck's chancellorship, Germany established colonies and built up its