Italian Unification• Geographic Breakdown:– Northwest: Piedmont-Sardinia (only Italian dynasty)– Northeast: Lombardy and Venetia: Austrian controlled– Below Venetia & Lombardy is Parma and Modena

(dutchies)– Below them on west coast is Kingdom of Tuscany– East of Tuscany is Papal States– Southern half is Kingdom of Naples, or the Two Sicilies:

ruled by Bourbons

• Many disgusted with existing authority• General desire to return to

Renaissance glory (Risorgimento)• Unification led by “the three stooges”–Mazzini (Romantic Nationalism)–Cavour (Realpolitik)–Garibaldi (Romantic Warrior)

• Mazzini’s romantic nationalism–Young Italy–Romantic idealism–Failed revolutions in 1830’s and 1848

• Cavour–Prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia–Victor Emmanuel II was king–Cavour created parliamentary and

constitutional procedures (liberal)– Favored modernization–Anti-clerical– Liberal, yet no sympathies for revolution!–Used Realpolitik–Participated in the Crimean War

• Garibaldi: The soldier–Nationalist and a man of action–Simple, romantic hero–Member of Young Italy–Private army: the Red Shirts, or

Garibaldi’s Thousand–Helped Mazzini’s unification movement

in 1848-1849 (lost & went into self-exile)

Unification: Strategy & Actions

• 1st, get help from larger nation (France)– Napoleon III saw Italy as ancestral home, thus

sympathetic– France agreed to help Piedmont-Sardinia/Cavour

• Plombiers Agreement (1858)• Northern Italy would be Sardinian (except Nice & Savoy, which

France would get)• Central States would be kingdom led by Napoleon’s cousin• Small area around Rome ruled by Pope• Southern Italy remain the same

• Cavour instigated a conflict with Austria that led Austria to declare war (1859)

• French/Italian troops against Austrian–Austria losing but…–Prussia seemed to be mobilizing (threat to

France?)–Possible loss of Catholic support for French?–New Italian state more of a threat to France than

a satellite state?–Napoleon III second-guessing his decision &

withdrew from the war

• Franco-Austrian Treaty– Signed without Cavour knowing– Lombardy ceded to France, then given to Piedmont-

Sardinia– Sardinia kept Nice & Savoy (for now)– Austria kept Venetia

• Treaty of Turin (1860)– France given Nice and Savoy– France support Piedmont-Sardinia’s annexation of

northern & central territories*• *Conflict encouraged various areas to revolt– Cavour used plebiscite to annex territories: Tuscany,

Parma, Modena, Romagna

• Three Italy’s– Northern (Piedmont-Sardinia– Central (papal states– Southern (K of Naples)

• Garibaldi upset about losing Nice & Savoy– Returned to Italy to re-take Nice & Savoy– Cavour was furious!

• Southern K of Naples on the verge of revolt– Cavour secretly encourage Garibaldi to take

advantage of it and attack K of Naples– Cavour’s thought: if Garibaldi wins – great! If

Garibaldi dies – great! Win-Win!

• Garibaldi launched an attack in Sicily– People flocked to Garibaldi’s side– Piedmont-Sardinia ‘officially’ denied they sanctioned

the invasion– K of Two Sicilies fell!

• Garibaldi marched north to Papal States• Cavour, fearing Garibaldi’s successes, launched

an attack on Papal States – beating Garibaldi to the punch (didn’t want to have Garibaldi attack the Pope (Rome) and anger the French)

• Garibaldi & Cavour face off– Garibaldi chose to hold a plebiscite to decide whether to

join Cavour or attack– Voted to join & Garibaldi stepped down

• France stayed away because– Rome itself untouched– Prussian threat seemed close

• Kingdom of Italy proclaimed March 17, 1861– Venetia joined after Austro-Prussia War– Rome joined after Franco-Prussia War– Vatican remain independent under control of Pope

UNIFICATION DUE TO:

• High-minded Mazzini• Audacity of Garibaldi• Cold Policies of Cavour• War & Insurrection• Plebiscites