Unification of Italy - Factors of Success.

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                       Unification of Italy

                         Factors of Success

“Various ideological, political and economic forces made the Italian unification movement in the 19th century possible.” To what extent is this statement valid? (1990)

「各種思想、政治及經濟力量令十九世紀的意大利統一運動變得有可能。」此話是否成立?(1990)

Ideological

  1. Ideas of nationalism and liberalism had been sown播下了 during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era. Firstly, Napoleon united the whole of Italian peninsula, grouping all Italians into one nation-state, letting Italians re-taste national unity after the fall of the Roman Empire. It was especially true to Italians who were proud of their glorious ancient history. Though Italy was broken again in 1815, Italians still wanted national unity again. Secondly, Napoleon’s reforms like those in education, laws, administration and economy had spread ideas of liberty and equality, and encouraged the rise of middle class.
  2. Before 1848 there were three ideas of unification. Yet the failure of the 1848 Revolution made it clear that both republicanism共和主義 and papal federalism教皇聯邦主義 were infeasible. Constitutional monarchism君主立憲主義 advocated提倡 by Piedmont皮德蒙was the only feasible可行choice to unite Italy.

Political

  1. International:
  1. Despite the limitations set by the Vienna Settlement, Greece and Belgium succeeded in struggling for national independence respectively. Then both Bulgaria and Serbia managed to obtain autonomy from Ottoman Turkey. All these inspired激勵 the long-suppressed Italians.
  2. Though the 1848 Revolution failed, the decline衰落of Austria looked obvious. She was unable to solve the problems of racial rivalries種族鬥爭 and economic stagnation停滯 in her great empire. Metternich梅特涅 had fled逃亡. Austria was also being threatened by Prussia in the German Confederation. The 1848 Revolution also gave rise to Louis Napoleon in France. He was determined決心 to raise his own prestige by liquidating廢除 the Vienna Settlement and grasp把握 any chance to increase French territories.
  3. The Crimean War克里米亞戰爭 of 1854-56 changed the international relations in Europe dramatically. Russia was defeated and the new czar Alexander II was then busy with internal reforms, retreating撤走Russia from major international events for the time being暫時. France won the war, and Napoleon III became more ambitious and expansionist 擴張性. The British army was utterly defeated. The Indian Mutiny兵變 of 1857 also shocked震動Britain. She withdrew to Splendid Isolation光榮孤立 and was willing to exert發揮 only diplomatic influence on international events. The main loser was Austria. Her neutrality中立 during the war pleased neither side. She was internationally isolated. It was beneficial有利於 to both the Italian and German unification movements. Hence因此, A.J.P. Taylor泰勒 says that Cavour加富爾and Bismarck were “the real victors勝利者of the Crimean War”. The War also put an end to the Concert協調 of Europe. Henceforth自此 every power was less eager熱心 to keep the status quo現狀of 1815 but worked mainly for self-interests.
  4. Foreign aid was a crucial重要 factor contributing to the success of Italian unification. Napoleon III was willing to help Piedmont in 1858-59 unite northern Italy by defeating Austria partly because Cavour had promised him Nice尼斯 and Savoy薩伏衣爾 in the secret Treaty of Plombieres卜諾姆比爾, and partly since he himself was a member of the Carbonari燒炭黨 in the 1830s. To secure the territorial gains, Napoleon III exerted diplomatic influence to prevent other great powers, mainly Russia, from stepping in the plebiscites全民表決 held in the Austrian duchies公爵國 in mid-1860. As for Britain, Prime Minister Disraeli狄斯雷里 welcomed a united Italy. Britain never wanted to see France dominate Italy but wished that a strong Italy could help protect British interests in the Mediterranean地中海. So in 1860 a British fleet protected Garibaldi加里波的 and his 1,000 Red Shirts千人紅衫志願軍, and like France, Britain prevented other powers from interfering介入 in the plebiscites held in the Papal States教皇國 and Two Sicilies雙西西里. At last, the German unification movement contributed to the success of the final stage of Risorgimento復興運動. In 1866 Italy allied with Prussia to defeat Austria. Bismarck rewarded Italy with Venetia威尼西亞. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Italy sent troops to capture攻佔 Rome as the French garrison駐軍 had been called back召回 to go home. Thus, France, Britain and Prussia all contributed both direct and indirect help to the success of Italian unification. (Foreign help might not be absolutely reliable可靠. First, Piedmont had to sacrifice犧牲 Nice and Savoy in exchange交換 of the French help to oust排斥 Austria. It was conditional有條件的. Second, in 1859 Napoleon III suddenly retreated from the Austro-Piedmontese War and signed the Treaty of Villafranca維拉富蘭卡 with Francis Joseph法蘭西斯約瑟夫. Thus, by 1859 Piedmont got Lombardy倫巴底 only)
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  1. Domestic:
  1. The Vienna Settlement of 1815 had to some extent strengthened加強 Piedmont and made her a potential有潛實的 leader in the Italian unification movement. To become a buffer state緩衝國 against France, Piedmont was given additional population and extra-territories like Sardinia薩丁尼亞, Nice, Savoy and Genoa熱那亞. The House王室 of Savoy was also made the only native本土 ruler on the peninsula. By comparison, the Austrian annexation of Lombardy and Venetia, the Austrian cadets侯王 in the three duchies (Parma巴馬, Modena摩德那 and Tuscany都斯多尼) and the Bourbon波旁 rule in the Two Sicilies were unpopular.
  2. The suppressive Metternich System and the misrule暴政 of the ...

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