1. THE UNIFICATION OF ITALY In the early 19 th century, Italy was a collection of fragmented states, mostly controlled by the Austrian government and the catholic church There were several liberal nationalist groups such as the Carbonic (common people) and the Young Italy Organization. Both were fighting for Italian independence from Austrian rule.

2. Piedmont’s king, Victor Emmanuelle II, along with his prime minister Camillo Cavour would be responsible for engineering the unification of Italy Since Piedmont was a liberal kingdom with a constitutional monarchy, both Britain and France would support the concept of Italian Unification. By 1850 France had become a republic again under new leader Louis Napoleon, the nephew of The Napoleon

3. France would offer military aid to Piedmont in order to help them liberate the Northern Italian states from Austrian rule. Victories against Austria would result in several Italian states gaining their independence (Lombardy, Tuscany, Modena, Naples and Sicily) In 1861, Italy was declared a kingdom with Victor Emmanuelle as the king.

4. The state of Venetia would not be joining the union until 1866 because of a deal with Louis Napoleon made with the new Austrian emperor, Franz Josef. Finally by 1870, the city of Rome and the Papal States would be forced to join the kingdom of Italy

5. Italy had been unified and would play an important role in future wars. After the union was complete in 1870, a plebiscite was held to legitimize its nationhood. It passed easily.