- Cavour’s decision to send his King’s troops to the Papal States in order to stop Garibaldi’s invasion. He wanted to hand Naples and Sicily to the new King and stop Garibaldi’s progress.
Piedmont and Cavour
Victor Emmanuel II was King of Piedmont from 1849-1878.
A new declaration was issued after the Austrian defeat of the Piedmontese. It was called the Proclomation of Moncalieri. Even though they made an unconditional armistice with Austria, they could retain their statuto or constitution.
The first Prime Minister appointed by Victor Emmanuel II was Massimo
d’Azeglio ( 1849-1852 ). Cavour took his place.
He wanted to see a limited monarchy. This is the opposite of absolutism and autocrat. He would work within the framework of the constitution because of his support of a moderate liberal constitutional monarchy. This would put some rules on the monarch’s power.
Piedmont had a bicameral parliamentary system which contained two chambers. The upper house was made up of the senate who were placed there by the will of the King and his ministers. The lower house included the house of representatives who were elected on a franchise of voters. However this was a limited franchise. Only 2.5% of the population voted. Only the very rich, elite, aristocratic males voted. This small electorate shows a hardly a democratic system.
Piedmont’s relatively free press greatly benefited Cavour. Piedmont was not a closed society. The freedom of assembly meant that political groups could hold meetings in a parliamentary system.
The King’s attitude to Piedmont meant he ruled in a way where he believed he knew what was best for his people. He had a dominant say in the appointment of ministers and worked with parliament to achieve this goal.
Piedmont-Sardinia was more respected abroad compared to any other of the states in the peninsula because of its liberal constitution. The British and French admired Piedmont because of its trial by jury and the fact that there was no political oppression as such on comparison with Naples under King Bomba which was not a liberal democratic state.
1850 Siccardi Laws drawn up by d’Azeglio
The Siccardi Laws were an anti-clerical legislation. They were laws that would limit the power of the Church and Roman Catholic clergy that had been granted by Charles Albert. Charles Albert gave more powers and privileges to the Roman Catholic Church. The Siccardi Laws were the first step to secularisation. The process of politics would be less Church based. There would be a Church State separation where Piedmont would be independent of the power of the Church.
The RC Church is seen as a barrier to progress because it is very conservative and is based on biblical tradition or rules and regulations of Catholicism. The RC Church along with the majority of the peasantry who supported it were very hostile to change. The Middle Classes who saw the RC Church against liberalisation. They thought that the RC Church couldn’t see the development of a modern economy or the expansion of trade and commerce. Therefore, The Siccardi Laws cleared the way for commercial growth and development. This was a motive for weakening the powers of the Church. This enabled schools and universities to express their opinions. It created a diversity of opinion and ideas where the Church’s laws were seen as an obstruction. This was the first stepping stone to the Risorgimento.
The second step was the career of Cavour. By 1850 he got into government but not into cabinet. Cavour became the minister for marine, agriculture and commerce. In 1851 he became finance minister in a cabinet post and by 1852 he was Prime Minister.
This happened because there was a cabinet crisis in the chamber of deputies. This caused d’Azeglio to step down. This event got the nickname “Connubio” which means “marriage”. Cavour did a deal with the left-wing party and minister called Ratazzi. D’Azeglio would leave and he would combine with Ratazzi who was a socialist to form a coalition government. Cavour then persuaded the King he could be Prime Minister. The ministers would work under Cavour only. They would support the ministry and carry on the King’s government. It was a trick to ensure the government can change and set a precedent for the future of politics. This was called Tranformismo.
It was the practice of keeping political powers in power to keep the administration going. E.g. In England the first coalition was under Lord Aberdeen who took part in the Crimean War.
