To what extent was Cavour a leader of the unification of Italy?

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To what extent was Cavour a leader of the unification of Italy?

  Cavour’s contribution to Italy’s unification is a momentous one. This is why to  a certain extent he can be justly acclaimed as the leader who converted Italy from a geographical expression to a unified country.

  The turning point in the process to Italy’s unification can begin with Cavour’s appointment  as prime minister of Piedmont in 1852. For Italy to ever have a chance of unification they had to defeat their biggest obstacle, which was to combat Austria’s domination over their country.  Austria had previously ceased Lombardy and Venetia during Charles Albert’s reign, making it increasingly impossible for Italy to have their independence. Cavour as prime minister had a distinct aim, he endeavoured to make his policy of modernizing Piedmont a reality. This was important as it would require a strong Piedmont to take the lead in a national movement against Austria. Subsequently, his plan of action involved creating a series of programmes which ultimately helped the Kingdom of Piedmont to become the leading Italian state. He introduced progressive internal reforms, reorganised the administration, the financial system, industry and the army.

  Although at the time of 1852, Cavour did not originally favour unification, he never departed from his main objective which was to oust Austria. The fact that he concentrated on Piedmont’s aggrandisement and defeating the Austrian’s  was so that Piedmont could control Lombardy and Venetia. This meant that Piedmont would be in the position to dominate the rest of Italy without having to take it over. However, ironically it was this motivation which initiated the concept that unification was no longer an impossibility.

  Cavour was highly intelligent and a skilful diplomat, he learned from the failures of the 1848 revolutions, as he accepted that internal strength and external aid were necessary for Italy’s success. Therefore he manipulated the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854 to his advantage, as he seized this as his opportunity to enhance his nation’s international standing by becoming an important ally of Great Britain and France. In choosing to involve Piedmont in the war against Russia, alongside Britain and France it meant once Russia was defeated in 1856 Piedmont was able to attend the Paris Peace Conference.

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If Cavour had not made this decision he would not have been able to succeed in gaining the sympathy of Britain and France in his bid to oust Austria. Consequently, Napoleon III would not have agreed to sign a secret treaty of alliance with Piedmont (at Plombieres in 1858), which allowed the French to intervene on the side of the Piedmontese once Cavour had provoked Austria into war.  Acknowledging that Cavour was a pragmatist and willing to compromise by ceding Nice and Savoy to France in return for the states of Lombardy and Venetia, again prompt the notion that Cavour ...

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