Cavour and the Italian War of 1859: The Unification of

Italy

Section 13.64:

Italian Nationalism: The Program of Cavour• Several small and large states in Italy

existed• Reorganized by Napoleon and the

Congress of Vienna• The governments were content with

their independence– but governments were distant from

their people• The people desired a nation that

reflected the past glories of Italy and were generally disgusted with their govs (Risorgimento=resurgence)-

• Movement gained steam during French Rev and Napoleon

– Mazzini promoted similar ideas• Saw the cause of Italian unity with

almost holy character

GIUSEPPE MAZZINI

Barriers• 1848 efforts failed when the

Pope denounced the radical movement

• Austria’s far reaching influence was another barrier

• Outside assistance would be needed to separate Italy from Austria’s umbrella of control

• King Victor Emmanuel of the Piedmont (Sardinia)

– Designs on surrounding territories

Pius IX

Francis Joseph

Camillo di Cavour• King Victor Emmanuel’s (Savoy)

minister• Cavour was a Western liberal/

Realpolitik practitioner • Directed an efficient government• Built up the infrastructure (RR, docks)• Limited the role of the Church• Cutting down number of holidays,

limiting right of church bodies to own real estate, abolishing church courts without consulting the Holy See

• Opened up free trade

Camillo di Cavour• Opened up free trade• Engineered the unification process• Embraced the toughness of mind and

the politics of reality• Had no sympathy for revolutionary

romantics like Mazzini• was no fan of war but was OK with it to

unify Italy under house of Savoy• he took Piedmont in Crimean War• Realized that ousting Austria required

the help of France• Supported France in the Crimean War• Wanted to pit French against Austria

Napoleon III• Was agreeable to war

against Austria • Had traveled Italy and

participated in insurrections there in 1831

• Saw himself as the apostle of modernity

• Italy was Bonaparte family’s ancestral home

• Believed in idea of “doctrine of nationalities”

– Consolidation of nations meant progress

Napoleon III• Would show France that he

supported liberal causes (by fighting reactionary Austria)

– Silence his critics• Orsini’s assassination

attempt• An Italian republican who in

1858 attempted to kill Napoleon with a bomb

• this motivated Nap to make up his mind

• 1859 French troops move against Austria

Napoleon’s Quandary • French defeat Austrian resistance• But Prussia was mobilizing

– Nervous about French sphere of influence• Italy began to erupt with revolutionary activity• local governments were overthrown• Calls for unification with Piedmont were made

– Napoleon is no fan of revolution• Papacy was threatened so French soldiers were sent in

to protect pope– French Catholics resented the loss of the Pope’s

temporal power– Blamed Napoleon for this godless war – Napoleon III was fighting on both sides of the war

• Napoleon III made peace with Austria• This stupefied Cavour

Franco-Austrian Agreement• Piedmont received

Lombardi• Austria kept Venetia• Offered compromise to

the Italian unity question • Created a federal union

of existing governments with the Pope in charge

• Not what Cavour or the Piedmontese, or the patriots wanted

Franco-Austrian Agreement• Revolution continued and

drove out rulers of Tuscany, Modena, Parma, Romagna

• Piedmont annexed these territories and held a plebiscites

• Pope excommunicated leaders– Romagna had been part

of Papal States• Reps from north Italy

(except Venetia) met in Turin in 1860 and held first parliament of the new and improved Italy

• This was supported by English and French

The Completion of Italian Unity• 1860 Italy consists of three parts

– Northern Piedmont– Papal States – Southern States (Kingdom of the

Two Sicilies) ruled by Bourbon king in Naples

• Under the House of Bourbon• Giuseppe Garibaldi from the

Piedmont• The Lafayette of Italy (Hero of 2

worlds)• Soldier of fortune in Uruguay and

the United States

The Completion of Italian Unity• Organized “Garibaldi’s Thousand”

or “Red Shirts”• 1,150 personal followers• Led them on armed expedition to

southern Italy• Cavour closed his eyes to

Garibaldi’s bold move• Garibaldi sailed south and attacked• The corrupt and unpopular

governments (2 Sicilies) collapse• Garibaldi turned north toward Rome• Potential move against the French

in Rome and the Papacy threatened Cavour’s unification efforts

The Completion of Italian Unity• Cavour anticipated Garibaldi’s

move and sent troops southward while carefully avoiding Rome

• Garibaldi accepts Victor Emmanuel’s leadership and the north and south are joined with seceding Papal states

• Garibaldi now thought a monarchy was best solution for unification

• Rode in open carriage with Victor Emmanuel thru streets of Naples

• Plebiscites confirmed willingness to join

The Completion of Italian Unity• 1861 Kingdom of Italy is

proclaimed• 1866 Venetia was added

in return for Italian support of Prussia against Austria

• 1870 Rome was annexed after French troops withdrew during the Franco-Prussian War

• Italy was made by apostolate of Mazzini, audacity of Garibaldi and cold policy of Cavour

Persistent Problems After Unification• Claims for an expanded Italy

continued • They want Trentino, Dalmatian

islands, Nice, Savoy added• Italia Irredentism-An

unredeemed Italy– Irredentism has come to

mean a vociferous demand for territory on nationalistic grounds

• Deep political differences between the Pope and the new nation of Italy continued

Persistent Problems After Unification• Occupation of Rome 1870 (after French

left) renewed Pope’s condemnation– they took the Papal states and he

remained in Vatican secluded – Great differences between northern

and southern Italy continued to exist• North looks upon South as

backward• Few within Italy possessed the vote

– Only 600 thou out of 20 mil can vote– Disenfranchisement fueled

revolutionary discontent– Gradually the revolutionary movement

shifted• Marxian socialism, Anarchism,

Syndicalism• However Italy was united and an age old

dream of recapturing past glory is closer to being realized