Question

My favourite historical figure essay

Answer 1

The Iron Chancellor (1815 – 1898), as they called him, was the first ruler of united Germany and the founder of the German empire. His role in history was very important: he transformed small German states into the single great empire, and that is the reason historians consider him one of the most powerful figures in history. The plan he had was to build a strong state based on a strong feeling of national identity, and he made it, he created Germany we know today.

In that time, Europe had five strong stands, and they were Germany, France, Britain, Russia, and Austria. Diplomacy was the key for good rulership, according to Bismarck, so Germany, Austria, and Russia signed Dreikaiserbund, or League of the Three Emperors, in 1873. He was very committed to keeping the peace in Europe, so he hadn’t ambitious in involving in the Scramble for Africa because he assumed that colonial expansion could make problems in good diplomatic relations he had with other European countries.

And actually, an answer to a question why Bismarck disliked colonies lies in diplomacy. The Iron Chancellor acquired some African colonies (Togo, the Cameroons, Tanzania, and Namibia) which had the size five times bigger than Germany, but, in fact, they were really poor. Bismark didn’t see any good reason for expanding German territory in Africa because it could seriously harm the balance in Europe and on the other hand the investment in colonies wasn’t really worth it.

Otto von Bismarck created a powerful empire, and all he cared about was to keep it safe and strong. Thanks to his intellect and strong will: he actually did it.