“(The plan for) Piedmont was to expand over northern Italy once Austria had been defeated, but the Pope and the King of Naples were to be left alone, and no stipulations were made about the form of government to be adopted in the proposed Kingdom of Central Italy”.
What they needed was an operation to provoke Austria into war, making them look like the aggressors. “In April 1859 Austria issued an ultimatum demanding unilateral demobilization by
Piedmont. The Austrians had mobilized a large army in northern Italy, but could not afford the expense of maintaining it for long”. This began the War of 1859. Cavour played it so if Austria lost, Lombardy and Venetia would be released from Austrian control, in which they did.
Garibaldi however, had different ideas for Italy. He wanted Rome, Venetia, Naples and Sicily to become part of a united Italy as soon as possible. Cavour believed in using diplomacy and limited war to unite Italy while Garibaldi's plan was for a military expedition. Garibaldi was able to invade Sicily and appointed himself the dictator. While there, he abolished many tax collections upon crops, but also helped suppress peasant revolts, winning the support of landowners but not the peasants. This caused much more violence and instability, which prevented his idea of using Sicily as a starting ground for an attack upon the mainland, which he considered a stage in the unification. With Garibaldi's invasion of Sicily a success, Cavour wanted to annex Sicily to Piedmont immediately. However, Sicily was part of the Kingdom of Naples and though they wanted their independence from Naples, they did not want to be controlled by Piedmont. Meanwhile,Garibaldi began his march to Rome to over the Papal States.
. Cavour greatly feared that the growing popularity of Garibaldi in Sicily, Naples and now Piedmont could eventually make him the leader of a successful revolutionary coup and take over Piedmont and then all of Italy. Cavour knew that something had to be done to stop this from happening. He organized an invasion of the Papal States with the Piedmontese army to stop Garibaldi before he reached Rome. When this interception occurred, all of south Italy and central Italy became under the control of Piedmont and gave Cavour the opportunity to unify. “Cavour's decision to take the drastic step of invading the Papal States had been successful and had made the unification of Italy a reality.”
After Cavour's success, he arranged for plebiscites in Naples, Sicily and then the Papal States. The question asked, 'Should there be a united Italy under Victor Emmanuel?' had a overwhelming in favor vote. In March of 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed with th exception of the Papal States and Venetia.
Cavour's motives for Piedmont and Italy are questionable. At certain points in his lifetime, he seemed to have felt that complete unification was not necessary nor desirable. His exact motives are unclear. Did he react to stop Garibaldi's attack on Rome to prevent him from becoming a leader of Italy, was it because he saw a chance through intervention to bring together a hoped unification of Italy or was it both? The evidence upon his actions are not clear enough to draw an exact conclusion. What is known for sure though is that Cavour wanted freedom of Italy from Austrian control and to strengthen the power of Piedmont in the north.
“The view of late nineteenth-century historians that Cavour was a patriot 'maker of Italy' has become less acceptable; more convincing is the view that he united Italy not so much as the result of intervention or conviction by more through force of circumstances.”
Garibaldi was a far more different man compared to Cavour. All of his actions can be explained by his total devotion to Italian unification. He always reacted in what he thought were the best interests of Italy. He always cared more about united Italy than his own power for he could have established himself as a dictator of an independent Italy. But like Cavour, he also had limitations. He was known much for reacting first before thought. Many of his actions were dominated by his heart , not his head and he had little understanding of politics. He was not fully aware of what his actions may have upon international relations, evident in plans to march on Rome. However, even if he was more aware of his actions, it is doubtful whether or not it would have changed much, for the way he reacted, a united Italy would have been more important than international repercussions.
Both Cavour and Garibaldi accomplished many well known achievements throughout their lives that will never be forgotten. Despite their differences or the jealousy between them, without either one of them, Italy would not have been unified when it was. The actions of movements of these men were what brought Italy together, but also Germany together not long after. The decisions that these men made for their country had a large impact on all of Europe at the time and can still be recognized in what is still a united Italy.
Bibliography
Beales, Derek. The Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy, Great Britain, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1971.
Delzell, Charles. The Unification of Italy, Illinois, The Dryden Press, 1965.
Stiles, Andrina. The Unification of Italy London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1986.
Whyte, A.J. The Political Life and Letters of Cavour, London, Humphery Milford, 1930.
Derek Beale, The Risorgimento And The Unification of Italy (Great Britain, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1971).
Derek Beale, The Risorgimento And The Unification of Italy (Great Britain, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1971).
Andrina Stiles, The Unification of Italy (London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1986).
A.J. Whyte, The Political Life and Letters of Cavour, (London, Humphery Milford, 1930).
Charles Delzell, The Unification of Italy, (Illinois, The Dryden Press, 1965).
