7.1 Context of 19th Century Politics

From 1815 to 1914, nationalism and imperialism gained power as the post-Napoleonic order came under pressure. After the Congress of Vienna tried to freeze the old order, the breakdown of the Concert of Europe opened the door to national unification in Italy and Germany, a shift toward a realist and materialist worldview after 1848, and a new wave of global empire building.

Why This Matters for the AP European History Exam

This topic is the setup for everything in Unit 7, which carries roughly 10 to 15 percent of the exam and covers about 1815 to 1914. Getting the context down helps you write stronger contextualization in essays and answer multiple-choice questions that ask why nationalism, unification, and imperialism happened when they did.

The most useful skill here is causation. You want to be able to explain how the post-1815 order broke down and how that breakdown connected to bigger changes in politics, technology, and ideas. When you can describe the conditions of the era in a sentence or two, you have material for the contextualization point on the essays and a frame for analyzing primary and secondary sources from this period.

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Key Takeaways

• The Congress of Vienna (1815) tried to restore the old order and balance of power, but liberal and nationalist pressures kept building underneath that stability.
• The breakdown of the Concert of Europe opened the door to national unification in Italy and Germany and to liberal reforms elsewhere.
• The unification of Italy and Germany changed the European balance of power and pushed states to build a new diplomatic order.
• Industrial and technological growth, including the second industrial revolution, helped European states expand and control global empires in Asia and Africa.
• After the revolutions of 1848, European thought leaned toward a realist and materialist worldview, in tension with earlier romantic and idealist currents.
• European culture in this era held a tension between objectivity and scientific realism on one side, and subjectivity and individual expression on the other.

Context: After the Congress of Vienna

After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Europe entered a period of relative political stability, but the peace was fragile. The Congress aimed to restore the old order, keep a balance of power, and block the revolutionary ideas that spread during the French Revolution. The major powers, including Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Britain, worked to suppress liberal and nationalist movements that threatened their control.

• Conservative governments tried to roll back gains of the French Revolution, like constitutionalism and republicanism, and restore strong monarchies.
• Liberal and nationalist ideas became a source of unrest across Europe, especially among the rising middle classes and ethnic groups seeking independence or unification.

This tension between an enforced old order and growing demands for change is the starting point for the whole unit.

The Rise of Nationalism

Nationalism, built on shared language, culture, and history, became one of the strongest forces in 19th-century Europe. National movements aimed to create nation-states, either by uniting fragmented territories or by winning independence for ethnic groups inside larger empires.

• The breakdown of the Concert of Europe, which had been set up to keep the balance of power, gave nationalist movements room to grow. Nationalism in Italy and Germany directly challenged the existing political order.
• Regions with shared cultural and historical ties pushed for unification, which redrew the European map and shifted the balance of power.

You will get the full story of Italian and German unification in Topic 7.3. Here, just keep the big picture: unification was possible because the old diplomatic system was weakening.

Italian and German Unification (Preview)

• In Italy, diplomacy associated with Cavour combined with the military campaigns associated with Garibaldi to bring fragmented states together into one nation.
• In Germany, leaders used Realpolitik, including diplomacy and industrialized warfare, to unify the German states into a single empire.
• Both unifications transformed the balance of power and forced European states to rethink their alliances and diplomacy.

Political and Diplomatic Shifts

The creation of Italy and Germany, plus rising nationalist movements elsewhere, forced Europe to rework the diplomatic system built at the Congress of Vienna.

• New nation-states changed the relationships among the Great Powers and led to efforts to build a new diplomatic order.
• These shifts increased competition for influence and territory, which fed into later rivalries.

Nationalist and liberal movements often pushed together for political and social reforms, such as wider suffrage, constitutions, and civil liberties, though the pace and success of those reforms varied across states.

Imperialism and Global Expansion

With limits on expansion inside Europe, the Great Powers turned outward. Industrialization gave European nations the tools to extend their reach across Asia and Africa.

• European states competed for raw materials, markets for manufactured goods, and strategic territory, which drove a wave of new imperial ventures abroad.
• Industrial and technological developments, including those from the second industrial revolution, made it possible to build and control global empires.

Topics 7.6 and 7.7 dig into the motivations, methods, and effects of this new imperialism. For 7.1, the key idea is that empire-building was tied directly to Europe's industrial growth and Great Power rivalries.

Industrialization and Rising Tensions

• The second industrial revolution brought advances in areas like steel, chemicals, and electricity, giving European powers strong military and economic capabilities.
• As industrial strength and imperial ambitions grew, so did competition among European states for global influence, which strained relationships among the Great Powers.

These tensions did not appear out of nowhere. They built on the same nationalist energy and Great Power competition that runs through all of Unit 7.

Shifting Ideas and Worldviews

Europe's intellectual life in this period held a tension between objectivity and scientific realism on one hand and subjectivity and individual expression on the other.

• Romanticism emphasized emotion, intuition, nature, and individual expression, often pushing back against a rational, industrialized world.
• Realism focused on portraying life as it actually was, with attention to ordinary people and social problems.
• After the revolutions of 1848, many European thinkers shifted toward a realist and materialist worldview that prioritized science, industry, and observable reality.

This back-and-forth between scientific realism and individual expression shows up again in Topics 7.4, 7.5, and 7.8, so it helps to lock in the basic contrast now.

How to Use This on the AP European History Exam

Multiple Choice

Expect questions that ask you to connect a cause to an effect, like linking the breakdown of the Concert of Europe to unification, or linking industrialization to imperial expansion. Use the time frame (1815 to 1914) to rule out answers that belong to earlier or later periods.

Free Response

This topic is most useful for the contextualization point. If you get a prompt on nationalism, unification, imperialism, or 19th-century thought, you can open by describing the post-1815 order, the breakdown of the Concert of Europe, and the shift toward industrial and realist Europe. Keep it short and relevant to the prompt, then move into your argument.

Using Sources Effectively

When you read a source from this era, place it in context. Ask whether the author is reacting to nationalism, unification, imperial competition, or the realist and materialist turn after 1848. That context helps you explain point of view, purpose, and historical situation.

Common Trap

Do not turn your contextualization into a full essay on its own. The goal is a brief, accurate frame for the period, not a complete narrative of every event in the unit.

Common Misconceptions

• The Congress of Vienna did not create lasting peace by itself. It set up a fragile order that liberal and nationalist pressures steadily challenged.
• Nationalism was not always tied to liberal democracy. Conservative leaders also used popular nationalism to build or strengthen states, so nationalism could serve very different political goals.
• Unification did not simply make Europe more stable. By changing the balance of power, the creation of Italy and Germany actually raised competition and tension among the Great Powers.
• New imperialism in this period was not just about land for its own sake. It was driven by economic needs, Great Power rivalry, and claims of cultural and racial superiority, and it was powered by industrial technology.
• The shift after 1848 was not a total end to romanticism. Europe held an ongoing tension between scientific realism and individual expression, not a clean switch from one to the other.

Related AP European History Guides

• Unit 7 Overview: 19th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments
• 7.6 New Imperialism: Motivations and Methods
• 7.2 Nationalism
• 7.7 Imperialism’s Global Effects
• 7.3 National Unification and Diplomatic Tensions
• 7.4 Darwinism and Social Darwinism