Begum Cogal
I.B History HL
How and why did Piedmont-Sardinia play an important part in Italian Unification?
Piedmont-Sardinia played a colossal role in the achievement of national unity in Italy. Piedmont’s determination and commitment to the endorsement of its own interests, inadvertently paved the way for Italian unification. After 1848, the ideas of Gioberti, Mazzini and other such republicans no longer seemed feasible and Piedmont was recognized as the hope of liberal Italy. After the 1848 revolutions the old regimes had survived but they were still clearly vulnerable and too dependent on the weakened Austria. On the other hand, Piedmont had a constitution and a liberal government. Only in Piedmont had the 1848 Constitution survived, confirmed by the new King Victor Emanuel II on his accession. Arguably, according to some, Italy was finally united because the 1848-49 revolutions had produced only one constitutional monarchy (Piedmont), instead of a series of them, which thus had a greatness thrust upon it.
Throughout the years leading up to and following the 1848 insurrections, Piedmont took part in many undertakings that led to economic progress and to the building of stronger ties between progress of Italy itself but for its own interests. However, Piedmont’s interests, be it economic or political coincided with those of most other regions in Italy. One of the most significant undertakings was the campaign for the building of railways. It was clear to men like Cavour (who in the 1840s was active in providing rails for the Turin-Genoa line, and in helping to found banks to fund the operations) that railways would transform the Italian economy by linking the various regions together and creating new trading opportunities. Even D'Azeglio (prime minister of Piedmont before Cavour [1852]) was noted to remark that railways, which started with the Lombardo-Venetian line in 1835, “would provide stitching for the Italian boot”. The campaign for railways was not only economical but it was also political. Railways needed a common gauge, coordinated timetables and so forth and it made the existing custom barriers seem even more ridiculous: the trains could not stop every several miles. As a solution, a Customs League was proposed for Italy and a treaty was signed in November1847 by Tuscany, Piedmont and the Papal States. If it turned out to be successful this Customs League would most likely bring an end to the Austrian control over Italian economics and politics. Through this agreement they hoped to achieve not only a mere customs league but also an “eventual federation with a diet in Rome, which not only coordinated common weights and measurements but also exerted powers over foreign policy and defense”1. Unfortunately, the goals of the agreement were short lived and were never realized mainly due to political reasons. (The league was perceived by Ferdinand II as a cover for military support against Austria and the pope was reluctant to get on bad terms with the Austrians)
