Italian Unification

Map of Italy before Unification

Nationalists had long wanted to unite the Italian peninsula into a single state. During the first half of the century, however, opinion differed about the manner and goals of Italian unification.

Romantic Republicanism After the Congress of Vienna, secret republican societies were founded throughout Italy, the most famous of which was the Carbonari. They were singularly ineffective. Following the failure of the nationalist uprisings in 1831, the leadership of romantic republican nationalism passed to Giuseppe Mazzini.

Giuseppe Mazzini 1805 – 1872 1831: Founded Young Italy Society to drive Austria from the peninsula and establish an Italian republic. 1830s and 1840s: Mazzini and Garibaldi led insurrections. Both were deeply involved in the ill-fated Roman Republic of 1849.

Republican nationalism frightened moderate Italians. - wanted to rid themselves of Austrian domination, but not at the cost of establishing a republic. For a time, these people had looked to the papacy as a possible vehicle for unification. - That became impossible after the experience of Pius IX with the Roman Republic in 1849.

Piedmont Also known as the Kingdom of Sardinia, it was the most independent state on the peninsula. The Congress of Vienna had restored the kingdom as a buffer between French and Austrian ambitions. During 1848 and 1849, King Charles Albert unsuccessfully fought Austria twice. After second defeat, he abdicated in favor of his son, Victor Emmanuel II.

Victor Emmanuel II Ruled Piedmont as a constitutional monarch. Ruled from 1849 – 1878. Chose Count Camillo Cavour as his prime minister.

Camillo Cavour Began political life as a conservative, but gradually moved toward moderate liberalism. He had no respect for Mazzini’s ideals. He was a strong monarchist who rejected republicanism. Ideas of unification were based on economic needs and belief in material progress.

Cavour recognized the need to capture the loyalties of those Italians who believed in other varieties of nationalism. He fostered the Nationalist Society, which established chapters in other Italian states to press for unification under the leadership of Piedmont. But he came to the realization that Italy could not be unified without the aid of France. The recent accession of Napoleon III seemed to open the way for such aid.

Napoleon III and the Crimean War

Cavour used the Crimean War to bring Italy into European politics. In 1855 Piedmont joined the conflict on the side of France and Britain. They only sent 10,000 troops to the front, but this small, yet significant participation allowed Cavour to raise the Italian question at the Paris Peace conference.

Even though Cavour left with no diplomatic reward at the conference, his intelligence and political capacity had impressed everyone. He also gained the sympathy of Napoleon III. He also gained international respectability as he opposed the various plots of Mazzini, who was still attempting to lead nationalistic uprisings. By 1858 Cavour represented a moderate liberal alternative to both republicanism and reactionary liberalism in Italy.

Cavour continued to bide his time. Then , in January 1858, an Italian named Orsini attempted to assassinate Napoleon III. Napoleon III now became more concerned with the “Italian question.” He saw himself continuing his famous uncle’s liberation of the peninsula. He also saw Piedmont as a potential ally against Austria.

Plombieres July 1858 meeting between Cavour and Napoleon III took place in this city in southern France. Here they discussed a Piedmont-France against Austria agreement. Napoleon III agreed to support Piedmont in a war against Austria.

Cavour and Napoleon envisioned an Italy divided into four confederated states: A) Piedmont-Sardinia as Kingdom of Upper Italy 1) Venetia and Lombardy 2) Part of the Papal States 3) Several duchies B) Second state in central Italy – Napoleon’s cousin, Prince Napoleon Bonaparte would be king C) Papal State of the remaining territories from the original D) Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 1) Sicily 2) Mainland area This delighted Napoleon – 3 of the 4 confederated states would require French support; they would receive Nice and Savoy from Piedmont.

War with Austria In early 1859 tension grew between Austria and Piedmont. Austria began to draft men from Lombardy and Venetia into their army. Piedmont then began to mobilize their troops. On April 22, Austria demanded that Piedmont demobilize. That demand allowed Piedmont to claim that Austria was provoking a war and France intervened to aid its ally. The Austrians were defeated at Magenta and Solferino. While that was going on Tuscany, Modena, Parma, and the Romagna provinces of the Papal States had revolutions breaking out.

Villafranca Armistice With the Austrians in retreat and the new revolutionary regimes calling for union with Piedmont, Napoleon III feared Piedmont’s extensive victory. On July 11, Napoleon independently concluded a peace with Austria at Villafranca. Piedmont received Lombardy, but Venetia remained under Austrian control. Cavour felt betrayed by France. Later that summer, Parma, Modena, Tuscany, and Romagna voted to united with Piedmont. Piedmont however united all of north and central Italy except for Venetia and Rome.

Giuseppe Garibaldi May 1860: Garibaldi landed his 1000 Red Shirts in Sicily. This compelled Cavour to pursue the complete unification of northern and southern Italy sooner than he had anticipated. He captured Palermo and prepared to attack the mainland. By September he controlled Naples.

Uniting the South At this point, Cavour stalled Garibaldi. He rushed Piedmontese troops south to confront him. On the way, they conquered the rest of the Papal states except the area around Rome, which was protected for the pope by French troops. Cavour and Garibaldi met. Garibaldi’s nationalism won out over his republicanism, and he unhappily accepted Piedmontese domination. In late 1860 Naples and Sicily voted to join the northern union forged by Piedmont.

The New Italian State In March 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed king of Italy. Three months later Cavour died. The new state needed his skills more than ever because, in effect, Italy had been conquered more than united by Piedmont. Republicans resented the treatment of Garibaldi. Clericals resented the conquest of the Papal States. In the south, armed resistance continued until 1866 against the Piedmont administration.

Economic Problems The economies of north and south Italy were incompatible. The south was rural, poor, and backward. The north was industrializing, and its economy was increasingly linked to the rest of Europe. The social structures of the two regions reflected those differences, with large landholders and peasants dominant in the south and an urban working class emerging in the north.

The New Government The political framework of the united Italy could not overcome these problems. The constitution that had ruled Piedmont in 1848, provided for a conservative constitutional monarchy. Parliament consisted of two houses: a senate appointed by the king; and a chamber of deputies elected on a narrow franchise. Ministers were responsible to the monarch, not the Parliament.

This situation did not foster vigorous parliamentary life. Political leaders often avoided major problems. In place of efficient, progressive government, such as Cavour had brought to Piedmont; a system called transformismo developed; political opponents were “transformed” into government supporters through bribery, favors, or a seat in the cabinet. Italian politics became a byword for corruption.

Unification Not Complete Many Italians believed that other territories should be added to their nation. The most important were Venetia and Rome. Venetia was gained in 1866 in return for Italy’s alliance with Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War. Rome and the papacy continued to be guarded by French troops until the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 which forced their withdrawal. The Italian state then annexed Rome and made it their capital. The papacy confined itself to the Vatican, and it remained hostile to the Italian state until the two sides concluded a treaty, the Lateran Accord of 1929.

By 1870 only the small province of Trent and the city of Trieste, both ruled by Austria, remained outside Italy. These areas were not really important, but they fueled the continued hostility toward Austria. The desire to liberate Italia irredenta, or “unredeemed Italy, was one reason for the Italian support of the Allies against Austria and Germany during World War I.