Nationlism in Italy and Germany

In the late 1800s a strong feeling of nationalism swept through Europe. Nationalism is a patriotic feeling of pride to ones country. Individuals who share a common culture, history, language, or religion often feel that he or she owes supreme loyalty to the nation-state. As people begin to feel more of a connection towards their country, countries themselves begin to unify. Political uprising and military actions began in various countries. Of these countries, two prove themselves the most significant in history. Italy, led by Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Prime Minister of Sardinia Camillo de Cavour; and Germany, led by Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismark. There were many similarities in the unification of both Germany and Italy.
Modern Italy owes its foundation most of all to Camillo di Cavour. Before his time the Italian peninsula was made up of scattered independent states. Giuseppe Mazzini inspired the Italians to make this “geographical expression” int...