Notes on Italian unification - background and main events

International Baccalaureate History

Italy and the Congress of Vienna 1815

Napoleon had conquered Italy and rearranged it into a small number of Italian republics
To some degree, he left behind a sense of Italian nationalism in the country
Napoleon has just been defeated at Waterloo in June 1815 and was exiled to Saint Helena
Main representatives at Vienna:

Britain; represented by Lord Castlereagh
Habsburg Emperor
Russian Emperor
King of Prussia
France; represented by Talleyrand

Louis XVII is restored as King of France for the second time in 1815 after Napoleon’s exile
All the leaders wanted to establish a Cordon Sanitaire on France to prevent the spreading of revolution
The decision- makers at Vienna decided to return Italy to strong dynastic rulers;

The Habsburgs were given two states of Northern Italy; Lombardy and Venetia. They had four fortresses in these two states; Mantua, Pieschiera, Legnano and Verona
Most other Northern Italian states were given to minor Habsburg rulers
Central Italy was more or less part of the Papal States; under the Pope’s rule. They would support monarchial principles and be ruled as a monarchy by the Pope
In the south, Naples and Sicily were ruled by Spanish Bourbons

What were the main obstacles to Italian Unification and how were they overcome?

The territorial adjustments of Italy made by the peacemakers in Vienna were deliberately set up to hold back Italian Unification
Austria was put in the North with a great deal of power and was prepared to send troops outside their assigned territory to put down revolutions, especially between 1815 and 1848
Austrian armies always defeated Italian armies
Count Metternich was Chancellor of the Habsburg Empire. His political system was to use secret police against revolutionaries to support Monarchial rule
Rulers, courters and often officers opposed revolutions, as they were aristocrats living in an autocratic system which they benefitted from
There was no sense of Italian Nationalism; the average person in Italy had no perception of being Italian. Particularism; e.g. people from Milan would consider themselves Milanese, and etc… especially among the peasantry; the peasants were more interested in the harvest rather than Italian unification and Italian Nationalism → No demand for Italian Unification
Economic and social backwardness; terrible poverty in the South (the Papal states were particularly backward)
The lack of an effective common language; the regional accents and dialects created communication difficulties
There was a 19th century mindset; the idea that Italian nationalism was associated with political radicalism and immense social changes

Giuseppe Mazzini and the Awakening of Italian Nationalism 1815-1848

Mazzini- soul
Cavour- brain of the unification
Garibaldi- the sword
Carbonari: a brotherhood created for the purpose of overthrowing the Italian government. They were charcoal- burners, and a small number of them were peasants. They sought to create a liberal, unified Italian, lower-class uprising. Their program was an anti-clerical movement where they believed that priests should not have exclusive power in a church system. They were concentrated in the South (the most economically and socially backward part of Italy). It is believed that there were between 60, 000 and 150, 000
The Carbonari failed for several reasons:

They weren’t well organized
They were easily infiltrated by the authorities (spies, etc…)
They betrayed each other quite easily

Due to the numerous failures, Mazzini began to abandon the Carbonari

The Revolution of 1820- 1821

There was a revolution against the Spanish Bourbons in Spain itself, which triggers the revolutions that occur in Italy
There was a revolution in the Kingdom of the two Sicily’s but only in the province of Naples
This revolution was led by a Carbonaro, Pepe
Naples was conquered by the revolution
The King of Naples and Sicily was Ferdinand I; he agreed to a constitution which looks very good to the revolutionaries
As things settled down, Ferdinand invites Austria to send troops which are easily able to defeat Carbonaro and put down the revolution and the revolutionaries were persecuted. He then abolishes the constitution
Another revolution occurs in 1821, in the Kingdom of Piedmont by Santarosa
Aims of this revolution:

Remove Austrian influence
Unite Italy under the house of Savoy

They adopted the Tricolor Cisalpine Republic flag
Regent of Piedmont, Charles Albert approved a constitution. But then the King himself, Charles Felix, returns. He then dissolves the constitution. He appeals to the Holy Alliance; Austria sends troops which easily put down the revolution. Santarosa fled to Paris
The revolutions of 1820 and 1821 did not achieve anything significant

The Revolutions of 1830- 1831

The revolution in France has an impact on Italy
“If France sneezes, Europe catches a cold”; if France has a revolution, everywhere else will copy
Francis IV was Duke of Modena. He had hoped that one day he would be King of North Italy
There was a revolt in Modena but Francis IV had the leader of this revolt, Menotti arrested then executed → the revolt in Modena fails and Francis IV remains the Duke of Modena. Austrian troops are used to put the troops down
There was a revolution in the Papal States including the city of Bologna. The Papal flag was replaced by the Tricolor flag of revolution
There was a revolution in Parma as well
Duchess Marie Louise of Parma flees from the country and the Tricolor flag is also adopted
Spring 1831; the Austrian army started to march across the Italian peninsula. It crushed the resistance in each state as it went and all the previous rulers were restored
Giuseppe Mazzini (1805- 1872) had been a Carbonaro but the events of 1830-1831 made him leave the Carbonaro. He also felt that the Carbonaro were traitors
Mazzini called on Charles Felix to lead efforts to remove Austria from Italy. Charles Felix said Mazzini should be arrested if he enters Piedmont; he was clearly against overthrowing the Austrians
Mazzini spent 3 months in prison in Piedmont in 1830-1831. After leaving prison, he went off to Marseilles
To Mazzini, the unification of Italy had to involve radical, social and political change and had to be Republican no monarchist
He was born in 1805, Genoa. His father was a University Professor but had radical political views; he was influenced by the Jacobins (an extreme group in the French Revolution). When Mazzini was born, Genoa was in the Ligurian Republic, which was under the influence of Napoleon
To Mazzini, Italian Unification only has meaning if there is a popular revolution and a Republic
Mazzini’s contributions to the Italian Unification; a writer, agitator, philosopher and a theorist

Young Italy

Young Italy was an organization established by Mazzini. Joining patriots and nationalists were young people; they didn’t allow people above the age of 40 to join
Young Italy- a new young state
Mazzini founded Young Italy after leaving prison and after giving up on the Carbonari (he considered them failures). He did so when he was in exile in Marseilles
His greatest achievement was putting forth the idea of Italian national identity
Young Italy really only had emphasis in Central and Northern Italy
According to Mazzini, there were 40 members in 1831, ...

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Young Italy

Young Italy was an organization established by Mazzini. Joining patriots and nationalists were young people; they didn’t allow people above the age of 40 to join
Young Italy- a new young state
Mazzini founded Young Italy after leaving prison and after giving up on the Carbonari (he considered them failures). He did so when he was in exile in Marseilles
His greatest achievement was putting forth the idea of Italian national identity
Young Italy really only had emphasis in Central and Northern Italy
According to Mazzini, there were 40 members in 1831, and it grew up to 50, 000 members in 1833

Gioberti and the Idea of Unification under the Papacy

Vincenzo Gioberti was a Priest in Piedmont; he believed that the Papal States could help to unify Italy. He published these ideas in 1843
1846- Gioberti died and was replaced by Pope Pius IX (Pio Nono) who seemed to liberal because he released 2000 political prisoners
When Austrian troops occupied Ferrara (a Papal State) in 1847; the Pope protested

Italy and the Revolutions of 1858

1848- There were revolutions in almost every state in Europe apart from Russia (as it was too backward) and Britain (as it was too advanced)
In France, Louis Philippe was overthrown and the Republic was declared
In March the Revolution in Vienna overthrew Metternich; the Habsburg Empire was paralyzed for almost 2 years (it took a long time to recover)
However, the very first revolution took place in January 1848, and that was in Palermo in Sicily; the revolt in Sicily was really a revolt against the rule of Naples
Demands of the Sicilian revolution of 1848

A constitution as granted in 1812
Political autonomy (self- governance)
Freedom from Naples rather than unity from Naples
They didn’t want the Bourbon Monarch
They would accept another Italian Prince

There was a revolt in Naples itself that the King did reassert his control; he retained the constitution
With the fall of Metternich in March 1848, there was a revolution in Milan and Venice (against the Habsburgs); and the Habsburgs had to withdraw from both Milan and Venice
Tuscany; the Duke granted a constitution and sent troops to fight the Austrians. Parma and Modena also sent troops against Austria
April 1848; Pius IV announced that he would not lead the Nationalist cause. For a while, he actually had to leave Rome to escape the revolutions. By the end of these revolutions, Pope Pius IV emerged as one of the most reactionary popes in history totally opposed to Nationalism and Liberalism

Piedmont 1848- 1849-

Charles Albert was now King of Piedmont
Charles declared war on Austria but was defeated at the battle of Custozza (July)
Venice regained by Italy
Battle of Novara (March) was a defeat for Charles Albert
After defeat in his first campaign and peace with Austria, Charles Albert had now been defeated a second time
The Italian forces were no match for Radetzky’s Austrian troops
It seemed that Piedmont would not be able to force out the Austrians or unite Italy
Therefore, in 1848-9, it seemed that neither the Pope nor Piedmont could unify Italy

The Roman Republic 1848-9

There were other republics in Italy, but the republic of Rome was the great hope of the revolutionaries
Garibaldi and Mazzini were the two great leaders
Garibaldi began to have differences with Mazzini; he believed Mazzini was not practical and was too concerned with theory
They did not link up with the revolutionaries in other parts of Italy
A French Army sent by Louis Napoleon, President of France, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte but not yet Emperor, expelled the revolutionaries from Rome. After heroic defense, Garibaldi and Mazzini fled. French troops under Marshal Oudinot restored the Pope and occupied the Papal States (until 1870)
The French occupying force doesn’t worry the Pope because he knows that without these French troops, revolutionaries and rebels might take over again
All of the revolutions up until 1849 have all failed

Count Camillo Cavour

Cavour was the statesman of Italian Unification
Even so, Professor Grenville shows him as being unscrupulous and not trustworthy
Camillo Cavour replaced Dazeglio as Prime Minister of Piedmont in 1852
Cavour was a conservative rather than a liberal, above all he was a pragmatist
It was not clear that Cavour wanted Italian Unification; what he probably wanted was a bigger Piedmont and perhaps a North Italian Confederation under the leadership of Piedmont (the King of Piedmont). Therefore, one aim was to expel the Austrians from Lombardy and Venetia
There was one legacy from the time of Charles Albert, and that legacy was a constituion for Piedmont; following 1849, Piedmont still kept its constitution

Cavour and the Modernization of Piedmont

One aim was the modernization of Piedmont; efficient economy and industry. He believed this was the first step to Italian Unification as revolutions seemed to be pointless

Before he became Prime Minister, he was the Minister for Navy, commerce and agricultural; and in his course he made Trade Treaties with France, Britain, Austria and Belgium. The general tendency of these Trade Treaties was to lower duties and in favor of free trade
He became Minister of Finance briefly (1851- before he became Prime Minister)
As Prime Minister, Cavour borrowed money to invest in infrastructure in 1860;

Piedmont; 819 km
Lombardy; 522 km
Rest of Italy; 451 km

For all Cavour’s efforts in finance and commerce, it’s important not to exaggerate this improvement- it can’t compare to Germany

Piedmont and the Crimean War 1854-1856

The Crimean War was a war between Russia on one side and France and Britain on the other side, fought on Russian soil
In this war, Austria was neutral; she didn’t find on either side. If anything, that weakened Austria’s diplomatic position; this lost Russian support
Under Cavour, Piedmont sent a contingent of troops (token force- 18,000 men, of which about 1/10 died) to Britain and France to fight against the Russians. He does this to gain support from Britain and France, and give Piedmont better status

The Pact of Plombieres, July 1858

January 1858- Orsini (an Italian nationalist), he made an assassination attempt on the Emperor and Empress of France (in a carriage on the way to the Opera) → it was a failed attempt. But strangely enough, the Emperor visits Orsini in prison and decides to help Italian Nationalists
Plombieres is a small spa (place with special waters) in France
At this meeting; 2 men (Cavour and Napoleon III) met secretly in July 1858 in a small town in Plombieres → Cavour has come to the conclusion that he cannot unify Italy without international help (a foreign power is needed to achieve this, FRANCE)
Napoleon wants to help Italy, but in a non-revolutionary way
Cavour made it clear that the French garrison would remain in Rome → for public appearances
Napoleon even proposed a French candidate for the throne of Naples → nothing came of it
Napoleon does this for his prestige
There was to be a Kingdom of upper Italy under the house of Savoy (the Monarchy of Piedmont); Lombardy, Venetia and a small part of the Papal states would be offered to Piedmont; this was all a secret agreement between Napoleon and Cavour
There was also supposed to be a central Italian State
It is important to know that neither Cavour nor Napoleon III thought in terms of setting up a unitary Italian State and Cavour’s aims were more limited to enlarging Piedmont and drive out the Austrians. France gets glory and prestige out of it
Napoleon says he wants Nice and Savoy as a form of reward for his help (not just glory) → Cavour easily agreed to Savoy, but nice would be more difficult
Victor Emmanuel’s daughter (he was King of Piedmont) was to marry Prince Napoleon (Napoleon’s cousin)→ dynastic relations
They thought that at least 300, 000 troops would be necessary to defeat Austria; Napoleon thought this would be difficult because the Austrians would not give up their land easily. The Italians (Piedmont) could only offer 100, 000 troops so the French would have to offer the majority of the troops
January 1859 → the details above become part of a secret Franco- Italian treaty. In this treaty, Nice and Savoy do go to France. However, the idea of a central Italian state ruled by the Pope was dropped
The marriage did take place → Victor Emmanuel’s daughter did marry Napoleon’s cousin
If this Treaty was implemented, it forms the basis for Italian Unification

The Italian War of 1859

Cavour used events in early 1859 to lure Austria into a war
The Russians, as well as the British called for a congress, however, neither the Habsburgs nor Piedmont wanted a congress to discuss Italian issues
The Austrians delivered an ultimatum against Piedmont which Cavour rejected
29th April 1859- Austria declared war on Piedmont due to the diplomatic pressure. Little did they know that they were falling into a trap
The Austrian troops advanced easily into Piedmont
3rd May- Napoleon declared war against Austria
Railways were quite important in getting troops across
Despite all the problems they faced, the French got on top
Battle of Magenta was between the French and Austrian; there was terrible bloodshed → France was victorious
24th June; Battle of Solferino → equal amount of bloodshed → France was also victorious
Napoleon was anxious to bring the war to a speedy end, because;

He was appalled at the bloodshed
The Austrian army retired to the quadrilateral fortresses; they were still in a position to carry on with the war
The Piedmontese were supposed to pay the French costs (ammunition, supplies, etc…); however, they were unable to afford them
The Piedmontese military contribution was very disappointing; they didn’t provide many troops and they lost when they fought
14th June → a partial mobilization by Prussia; they got their armies ready. This makes Napoleon nervous

Napoleon decides to make peace very quickly. Luckily, the Austrian Emperor wants the same
8th of July → Armistice
11th July → The Peace of Villafranca
These treaties were negotiated by Victor Emanuel, Napoleon and Franz Joseph (Austrian Emperor)
Cavour was not consulted throughout these peace treaties; he was appalled
Main result of the treaty: Lombardy was given first to Napoleon, who then gave it Piedmont
Venetia was kept by the Austrians which was not part of the plan
By Villafranca; Parma, Modena and Tuscany were to have their traditional rulers restored. At this point, Napoleon did not insist that he get Savoy and Nice
Cavour now demanded for Victor Emanuel that the Italians would fight on alone because he was furious about not getting Venetia
Victor Emanuel rejected this, and out of rage, Cavour resigned from July 1859 – January 1860

1859- 1860; Parma, Modena and Tuscany

At the start of the war, revolutions in these three states had overthrown the rulers
In the meantime, Piedmont occupied the three duchies as well as the area of the Papal States known as the Romagna (Ferrara and Bologna)
Under the terms of Villafranca, these states were supposed to return under the rule of their Ducal rule, however, the agents of Piedmont were too busy at the time
At this state in 1859, a deal was struck whereby the following would happen; there would be plebiscites in Parma, Modena and Tuscany, and at the same time, Napoleon would receive Nice and Savoy
The plebiscites took place in March 1860 and all the states voted to join Piedmont (also Bologna)
Conclusions:

Thus the result of the war of 1859 was that Lombardy, Parma , Modena, Tuscany and the Romagna (including Bologna) were all annexed to Piedmont so that an enlarged Piedmontese Kingdom had been created
Napoleon had taken his compensation of Nice and Savoy. The royal marriage had taken place even before this
In all probability, Cavour and Victor Emmanuel would have accepted this as perhaps even a permanent settlement, but at this stage, with Cavour back in office and largely responsible for the events in the Duchies and the Romagna, there were events of great importance in Southern Italy

Garibaldi and the “Thousand”

As professor Grenville points out, there are many theories about Garibaldi’s expedition;

That Cavour secretly gave help to Garibaldi
That Cavour put every obstacle in the path of Garibaldi
The view that Victor Emanuel helped Garibaldi but Cavour didn’t
One view is that Cavour tried to persuade Victor Emanuel to arrest Garibaldi, but he’d already set off

Garibaldi was furious that Nice and Savoy were given to Napoleon and actually planned an expedition to Nice and destroy the ballot boxes. But he didn’t do that, instead he was persuaded to attack the Neapolitan forces in Sicily
There was a small revolt in Sicily with two major grievances for the peasants-

Dislike of rule from Naples
Hatred of their landlords and all the taxes they have to pay

This uprising was very feeble
Garibaldi asked Cavour for modern rifles and ammunition, however Cavour refused to help him
May 5th, 1860; Garibaldi set sail from Northern Italy with roughly a thousand men (all were volunteers), hence the name, Garibaldi and the Thousand
On the way to Sicily, Garibaldi sent a small force to Tuscany to attack the Papal States; that was an error as it alarmed Napoleon III
11th May; Garibaldi’s men landed at Marsala in Sicily. There were 25, 000 Neapolitan troops in Italy. But in just under a month, the Neapolitan army was defeated
6th June; victory over the Neapolitans
By the end of July, the Neapolitans surrendered and agreed to evacuate Sicily
The reasons behind this;

It was an unequipped guerilla force
Garibaldi’s bold leadership
Incompetence of the Neapolitan generals
Fear was created in the Neapolitan army by bands of Sicilian peasants who joined Garibaldi’s army
Most important was the peasant up- rise against the landlords which opposed Bourbon rule
Garibaldi was supposed to represent Victor Emanuel and Italy, however, he refused to hand Sicily over to the King (Piedmont) → he made himself dictator of Sicily

If Garibaldi handed over Sicily to the King, Cavour will stop the attack of the mainland
As dictator, he refused to put up with the Social Revolution against the Bourbons → he only had one obsession which was Italian Unity
The navy of Piedmont was patrolling the straights of Messina to prevent Garibaldi entering
The Royal Navy helped Garibaldi enter the mainland
19th August, 1860; Garibaldi lands in Calabria with 3, 360 men and to do this he took two ships; the Torino and the Franklin → it was a difficult task nonetheless he succeeded
Once again, with the landings of Southern Italy, the peasants came over to his side and thus they were able to defeat the military opposition
September 1860; King of Naples leaves to the North
Garibaldi, with just 30 men, took the railway from Salerno to Naples. He arrived at Naples on the 7th of September (taking a fantastic risk)→ he got a tremendous welcome from the people of Naples. He accepted the transfer of Naples to his power
Garibaldi more or less ruled the Kingdom of Naples as a dictator, just as he was ruling Sicily at the time
It seemed that the Papal States (what’s left of them) and Rome were going to be Garibaldi’s next aim
This is when Cavour and Victor Emanuel became very anxious → above all, they feared that France would interfere with a large army
Victor Emanuel actually went in person with the army of Piedmont to guard the Papal States; to head off Garibaldi
26th October, 1860; Garibaldi and Victor Emanuel met → they rode on horseback together (the King is accepting Garibaldi as a heroic figure)
When Garibaldi met Victor Emanuel, he said “I salute the first king of Italy”
8th November; Garibaldi resigned his dictatorship and formally handed over Naples and Sicily to Victor Emanuel
Victor Emanuel offered Garibaldi all sorts of honors, however he refused them; he then returned to Caprera to live in his simple home
In 1862, Garibaldi led an attempt to win the Papal States → he was wounded by Italian troops, placed in prison and then released. This event is known as the “attack of Aspromonte”
In 1871 he entered France with a guerilla army to fight the Germans → however he was unsuccessful
17th March 1861; Victor Emanuel was proclaimed King of Italy (not including the Papal States)
A parliament was elected for Italy → the constitution of Piedmont was extended to the whole of Italy
6th June 1861; death of Cavour (natural causes)
Cavour’s contributions →

neither Piedmont nor Italy could have accomplished the defeat of Austria without the French help
sending troops to divert Garibaldi from the Papal states which risked bringing France into the situation
Cavour really only ever achieved unification of the North

Venice Joins the Italian State 1866

Venice still needed to be redeemed as part of Italy
In 1866, Bismarck was planning for Prussia to go to war with Austria
April 1866; Prussia and Italy signed an alliance → Italy would fight Austria if Austria and Prussia went to war within the next 3 months. The advantage to Prussia is that it will have a greater military force. As reward for her participation, Italy would receive Venetia. In fact it was the Italians that insisted on the time limit of 3 months
Austria had already agreed with France that France would receive Venetia
Irony; more or less, whatever happened, Italy was going to receive Venetia

If Prussia won → Italy would get Venetia
If Prussia lost → France would hand over Venetia to Italy

In the Austro- Prussian War (7 weeks War), of summer 1866, the Italian forces were defeated on land and sea. Although outnumbered, the Austrians defeated the Italians at the Battle of Custozza. The newly formed Italian navy was defeated at the Battle of Lissa in the Adriatic
Italy could not occupy Venetia
Following their defeat against Prussia, the Austrians preferred to hand Venetia to the French rather than the Prussians and Napoleon III then gave Venetia to the new Italian State
It was clear however, that the Prussian victory was really responsible for Venetia being ceded to Italy
Mazzini said that Venice had been “tossed to Italy as a penny might be thrown to a beggar” → he wasn’t happy about the unification of Italy seeing as there was too much foreign help involved

1870; Rome and the Papacy

Both Mazzini and Victor Emmanuel hoped to bring about uprisings in Rome. Nothing much came of this
In 1867, Garibaldi raised a force of 3000 men and marched on Rome. By this time, the French troops had left Rome but faced with this threat, Napoleon ordered French troops back to Rome
November 1867, French troops defeated Garibaldi at Mentana. Garibaldi went into internal exile on the island of Caprera
In 1870, the French troops withdrew from Rome to fight Prussia
The Italian government was very careful → Mazzini was arrested in Italy and Garibaldi was confined to Caprera
Italian troops easily occupied Rome and the remainder of the Papal States
The French troops were recalled in 1879 to defend France against Prussia
The Vatican itself and the status of the Papacy were highly respected
At this point, Pope Pius IX turned his back on Italy because-

In 1864- the Pope had issued the Syllabus of Errors which condemned nationalism and liberalism

At the same time, the Italians had been anti-clerical (against the Church)
These feelings last until 1929

Overall Conclusions of Italian Unification

By enlarge Italian Unification was complete by 1870 except for some areas such as South Tyrol that were still not part of the unified Italy
Italy was unified as a monarchy under Piedmont
1861- the capital of the New Italy had been Turin then Florence, and eventually it became Rome
“We have made Italy, now we must make Italians”- Massimo Dazeglio; this obstacle was never really overcome even after unification → Particularism still existed
Many Italians died fighting against unification; in Naples they were still in support of the Bourbons
Anti-clericalism of Piedmont now was spread to the rest of Italy
The legacy of Cavour; New Italy should be constitutional, centralized and based on a parliamentary assembly (Mazzini did not join this assembly). Skepticism about the parliamentary assembly:

Population of Italy was 22 million people; of those only 500, 000 could vote → only 300, 000 actually voted → voting was restricted to the uppermost strata of the society… could we call this true democracy?
There were always coalition governments
There is bargaining for power
It is an inherently unstable system
A lack of party development

There tend to be two views of Italian Unification;

First view: a famous British historian, Denis Mack Smith said that Cavour was a man without scruple and he saw Italian Unification as a matter of political opportunism and cynicism. He believes Italian Unification is a result of chance, bargaining and calculation. He also sees tension between Cavour and Garibaldi (as a positive thing)
Second view: that the first view itself is too cynical; there should be passion, suffering, sacrifice and glory → its heroic and romantic NOT cynical

Notes on Italian unification - background and main events

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