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Nationalism was a central driving force in the unification of both Italy and Germany. This ideology, which emerged during the French Revolution and the era of the Napoleonic invasion, became a central feature of the XIX Century Europe. It consisted of the idea that each nation (people that shared a common language, history, customs, etc) should have its own State, that is why Nationalism united people of the same nationality in a single unified political entity. In the case of Germany, it created a single State after three wars occurred (against Denmark- 1861, Austria-1866, and France- 1871), a state that remained under the influence of the former Kingdom of Prussia. On the other hand, the Kingdom of Italy was created after the Italians could eliminate the influence of foreign powers ever the Italian Peninsula after three independence wars. The new kingdom was created around the figure of Victor Emmanuel II. However, nationalism would also function as a driving force: it was one of the main reasons why several wars occurred during the XIX Century, like the independence wars discussed above. Furthermore, it would act not only as a centripetal but also as a centrifugal force in the European political geography: many multinational empires would suffer recurrent crises and revolutions organized by different national minorities who wanted to create their own national state. What is more, Nationalism, the nationalist ideal, is believed to have been one of the main causes of the First World War. Also, nationalism was also linked with more extreme political ideas, such as state racism and segregation of minorities.
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