Was nationalism more important to german unification or italian unification in the 19th century?
More in Italy, where there was actually a widespread nationalist movement with groups in all pre-unification states. The original idea of a united Italy goes back to Napoleon, who created the first unified political body on Italian soil since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In Germany things were more diverse and several of the German states were in fact not that keen to join a unified nation. Bavaria in particular resisted quite long, and only Bismarck’s intrigues and manipulations with Bavarian politicians behind the back of (the mentally disturbed) King Louis II brought this important and strong kingdom on board. For most of the Northern states it was more a question of financial and economic benefit than nationalism, as they could see an increase in trade in a united Germany, especially after the Kingdom of Hanover had lost independence and fell to Prussia after the War of 1866. And even after the official formation of the second German Empire and the proclamation of Emperor
