Count Camillo Cavour Vs Otto Von Bismarck

Essay, Research Paper

In their struggles for unification, Germany and Italy both had very strong leaders to aid them in this process. Count Camillo Cavour, an Italian politician, believed strongly that Italy should be united to become the strongest power in Europe. Otto von Bismarck, a German military officer, held the same belief as Cavour, but of course he thought Germany should become the strongest power in Europe. To reach their goals, these two leaders, from very different backgrounds, used many of the same strategies, yet differed in many of other ways, to achieve the same result: Unification of their countries.

One of the things that the two of them had in common was their high standing in government. Both of them were granted the role of Prime Minister by the kings of their countries. With this standing they were able to set rules and basically take any action they felt necessary for the unification. The two leaders abused this power due to the fact that the men basically took control of the country, completely ignoring the orders of their king. They also both felt that it was all right to disobey the laws of the country if it would help fight for their cause. Without their position both of these men would not have been able to succeed

One major difference that the two of them had was their backgrounds. Cavour before being made Prime Minister was the editor of a newspaper called the Risorgimento. In the paper Cavour expressed his nationalist ideas, and views about unification. Due to the fact that many people read the paper, new supporters began to have the same views as Cavour. Because of his political background Cavour had many different ideas then Bismarck and after he was elected into office he began many reforms such as building roads and canals which brought major economic growth to Italy. Unlike Cavour, Bismarck had a totally different background. He was born into a Prussian aristocratic family and eventually became a military leader who believed in royal power. Because of his military roots Bismarck was a strong leader who believed that the unification of his country would only come threw blood and iron, or the progression of the military and industry of Germany. Opposite from Cavour, Bismarck also had no respect for the government. He was willing to perform any action he felt was needed to unify his homeland and because of this he became a ruthless leader.

One other thing that the two leaders had in common was the policy they used for unification. Both men followed a strict policy that caused them to disregard all opposing forces in the way of their goal. Bismarck for example ignored the constitution of Prussia and used tariffs to fund his army. The two had the idea that if they did not abide to this policy their dreams of unification would never fully come true, and because they did choose to follow it they succeeded.

Both Bismarck and Cavour have many things in that were the same be it there dream of unification or the policy they used to achieve it. Although they did have there differences for example their backgrounds both men still ended up being successful in their campaign showing that because of their ideas Cavour and Bismarck were two of the greatest leaders of all time.