What Was The Balance Of Power In The 1850's

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Explain and evaluate why the balance of power in Europe shifted between the years 1848 and 1859? The balance of power is the concept by which a government is organized to provide a certain level of control between the federal government and smaller governing bodies such as states or provinces. In general this concept is known as federalism. This balance of power can either be predominantly shifted to the central government or the smaller bodies depending on the particular structure the nation has chosen. During 1815 till mid 1850, Europe was mostly dominated by absolutist powers. This included Austria, Prussia and Russia which were the reason to why the Vienna settlement had been defended and protected. However, France was least powerful…show more content…
The reason behind Napoleon III agreeing the armistice without consulting his piedmontese allies was because he was shocked by the lives lost during the war. This made the French public opinions turn against the war as they were loosing out on a lot of troops/people of France. Also, Austria was in a strong defending position that France would need thousands of troops to smash through them. There was also a unstable relationship between Cavour and Napoleon III as Cavour’s agents had overturned the rulers of central Italy and this resulted a demand in union with Piedmont so, therefore, this went against the agreements made in the plombieres. Furthermore, the nationalist’s opinion in Prussia and the other German states encouraged Prussia mobilisation on French border and this was a fear for France as they feared a war against 2 great powers. From the armistice, France formed a peaceful move and therefore formed a powerful but calm balance. In terms of the previous powerful European powers, Russia was already defeated from the Crimean war but Prussia, another powerful power also helped balance Austria and France as Prussia was not interested in
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