ITALIAN RISORGIMENTO “Revival” and The Unification Movement

The Legacy of France  Napoleon  Invaded Italy and added much of Italy to the French Empire  Established puppet governments  Structure of French govt – efficient bureaucracy  Ideas of political rights and personal liberty – end of feudalism  Decrease in influence and power of RCC

Congress of Vienna  Sept  GB, Russia, Austria, Prussia – met in Vienna, Austria to discuss the restructuring of Europe after the defeat of Napoleon  Klemens von Metternich – foreign minister of Austria – dominated the congress  Guided by the following principles – balance of power, legitimacy, conservatism

 Balance of power – one country would not be allowed to dominate European politics  Some European powers allowed territorial gains  Legitimacy – rightful monarchs restored to power after Napoleon  Conservatism – political order and stability maintained through strong governments  Did not advocate extension of political rights

 Principle of intervention – major European powers had the right to intervene in countries experiencing revolutions to maintain balance of power  Liberalism – political philosophy of the middle class that advocated political/personal liberty, constitutional monarchy  Against conservatism

Italy  Intentionally kept divided and weak by Austria in order to protect their southern flank  5 Main territories  Piedmont – the House of Savoy – Victor Emmanuel I  Lombardy – Venetia – annexed by Austria  Grand Duchy of Tuscany – dominated by Austria  The Papal States – ruled by the Papacy but influenced by Austria and France  Kingdom of the Two Sicilies – supported by Austria

Carboneria  “the Society of Charcoal Burners”  Secret society pledged to expel Austria from the Italian states  Wanted Italian independence, constitutional liberties, united Italy in confederation/federal form  Inspired revolutions in Italy in the 1820s and 1830s, but ultimately failed to do lack of unity

Development of Nationalism  Giuseppe Mazzini - lawyer  Young Italy (1831) – secret society created to achieve Italian unity through insurrection against the foreign countries  Advocated creation of unified Italian republic and universal suffrage  Proponent of Big Nationalism  Early attempts at insurrection failed

 Neo-Guelphs  Advocated an Italian confederation under the leadership of the pope  Neo-Ghibellines  Advocated an independent Italy under the leadership of a secular ruler  Not necessarily united  Piedmont (Charles Albert) take lead in unification

Development of Trade  Piedmont:  Reduced grain tariffs  Signed trade agreements with other European countries like France and the German states  Development of RRs  Austria – protectionist – did not allow Italian states free trade – irritated Italian states that depended on trade

Revolutions of 1848  1847 – Piedmont annexed Sardinia after request of Sardinia  1847 – Creation of customs league between Papal States, Piedmont, and Tuscany  Austrian controlled states left out  1848 – Ferdinand II (Two Sicilies) granted liberal constitution to avoid popular uprising  Tuscany, Papal States, Piedmont followed  Civil liberties, free press, representative assembly

 1848 – Milan (Lombardy) and Venice (Venetia) rebelled against Austrian rule (after uprisings in Austria)  Piedmont intervened to support Lombardy – goal of Charles Albert was to annex Lombardy  Pope Pious IX refused to declare war on Austria – Catholic nation – pope lost support and “nationalistic” support  Austria put down the insurrection  Charles Albert forced to abdicate (1849) – Victor Emanuel II (son) became king of Piedmont

The Rome Uprising ( )  Pope forced to flee Rome to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies after refusal to declare war on Austria  Mazzini and Garibaldi joined insurrection in Rome  Signaled breach between people and church  1849 – Roman republic with elected Constituent Assembly declared  Created a constitution  Mazzini leadership position

 France under Louis Napoleon sent troops to defeat rebels in Rome and restore the Pope to power in the Papal States  Ferdinand II (King of Two Sicilies) also sent troops  French troops occupied the city July 1849 and maintain foreign army to protect position of the pope.  Mazzini – fled to London; Garibaldi – fled to Americas (wife died fleeing Rome)

 Restoration of the monarchs in Italy  Constitutions in Naples, Tuscany and the Papal States removed  Mainly with Austrian assistance  Piedmont maintained constitution

Legacies of 1848/49  Desire for liberal political reforms and constitutions  Influence of foreign powers (Austria and France) remained on the peninsula  Lack of political unity and direction among the Italian states  Pope cannot be counted on to expel the foreign powers  Piedmont – position of leadership – little foreign influence, liberal constitution, good economy, foreign support  Piedmont and the Italian states will need foreign assistance to expel Austria and other foreign influence – cannot “go it alone”

Realpolitik  Applies to both foreign and domestic policy  Pursuit of a nation’s self-interest based on a realistic assessment of the costs and consequences of action  No morality in decisions  No ethics in decisions  Analysis of the situation dictates the best course of action for that time

Cavour – foreign diplomacy  Count Camillo di Cavour – prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia  Led Italian unification movement  Believed Piedmont needed foreign assistance to expel Austria from the Italian states  Fostered support with Britain and France  Began with commercial treaties  Supported Br. and Fr. in Crimean War against Russia Used Crimean War to bring European attention to Italian unification issue

Plombieres Agreement (1858)  Four Confederated States  Piedmont-Sardinia – include Venetia, Lombardy, and Northern Duchies  Central Italian State – under leadership of Prince Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon III’s cousin  Smaller Papal kingdom  Kingdom of the Two Sicilies  Piedmont-Sardinia expand territory  France replace Austria as influential country on peninsula and receive Nice and Savoy from PS  Russia pacified by possible revision of Peace of Paris from the Crimean War to allow Russian warships on the Black Sea

Cause for War  France only agreed to fight against Austria if Austria provided the “excuse for war”  Austria drafted soldiers from Venetia and Lombardy  PS agreed to accept Italian deserters from the Austrian army and mobilized forces along the PS and Austrian border  Austria issued ultimatum against PS to stop accepting deserters  PS rejected the ultimatum and Austria invaded PS  France joined the war against Austria in support of PS  100,000 troops led by Napoleon III  Use of RR – first significant use in warfare

 French and PS troops defeated Austrian army in Lombardy  Austrian defeat prompted Prussia to mobilize army on Prussian / French border  Cavour sparked nationalist insurrections against Austrian supported rulers in Bologna, Tuscany, Parma, and Modena  Napoleon III arranged armistice with Austria at Villafranca w/o consulting PS and Cavour

Treaty of Turin (1860)  PS annexed Lombardy, Tuscany, Modena, Parma and Bologna  Used plebiscites to justify annexation  France received Savoy and Nice  Used plebiscites to justify annexation

Giuseppe Garibaldi in Southern Italy  Cavour encouraged uprising in Sicily to protest a milling tax and increased cost of bread in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies  Garibaldi landed in Sicily with his 1,000 Red Shirts and defeated the Neapolitan Army  Garibaldi next invaded the city of Naples and the southern boot – again victorious  Cavour sent PS troops into the northern part of the Papal States to prevent invasion by Garibaldi

 Garibaldi gave the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to PS and Victor Emmanuel III  Plebiscites justified the annexations of Sicily, Naples, and the Papal States  Victor Emmanuel III took the title of the King of Italy in March 1861  Cavour died in June 1861

Austro-Prussian War (1866)  PS had alliance with Prussia  PS received Venetia for assisting Prussia and victory against Austria

The Acquisition of Rome  The Franco-Prussian War (1870 – 1871)  France pulled troops out of Rome to fight Prussia  Italian army occupied Rome  Rome = capital city of new Italy  Plebiscite to justify annexation  The Law of Papal Guarantees  Vatican City = independent and ruled by the Pope