Lekha Ravichandran

Class #2

9/2/09

ITALIAN UNIFICATION:

Risorgimento, or Italian unification, was a nationalistic movement that attempted to unite all the different states of Italy into one country. Piedmont-Savoy actually led this Italian resurgence by aiding the Turks in the Crimean War in order to advance the cause of Italian nationalism. The Italians were hoping to get the help of Great Britain and France through this war to get rid of Austrians from their territory. Piedmont-Savoy did not get what it was hoping for, but Austria was left isolated.

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In 1852, the prime minister of Piedmont-Savoy, Camilo di Cavour, was willing to do whatever it takes to unify Italy under one nation since he was a firm believer of Realpolitik. Although he was anti-republic, he closely worked with two radical republicans, Mazzini and Garibaldi. Mazzini was a newspaper editor, poet, and revolutionary – and Garibaldi helped Mazzini. They were both anti-monarchial and anti-clerical.

Austria strongly opposes Italian unification, and Cavour identifies Austria as an obstacle. He enlists the French army under Napoleon III and they both sign a mutual protection pact. Then, Cavour tricks Austria into declaring war on ...

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