L7: Nation-State Building in Italy

AgendaObjective:To…1.Understand how the elements of

“brains, “soul,” and “sword” are part of the process of building nation-states.

2.Understand how the elements of “brains, “soul,” and “sword” interact/play out in the process of building an Italian nation-state.

Schedule: 1.Opening activity2.Italian Unification lecture and

discussion3.Writing a formula for Italian Unification

Homework:1.Consult

unit schedule

Part One:

What are the characteristics/elements involved in the process of

building nation-states?

The Process of Building Nation-States

• So far we have looked at movements to build nation-states in Latin America, France, and Germany.

• Given these case studies, let’s pause and take stock for a moment, what are the characteristics/elements involved in the process of building nation-states? (Generate a list with your partner).

The Process of Building Nation-States

Goal for Today

1. Understand how “brains,” “soul,” and “sword” interact/play out in the process of building an Italian nation-state.

Part Two:

Understanding how “brains,” “soul,” and “sword” interact/play out in the

process of building an Italian

nation-state

Italian States

in 1815

Call for Italian Unification 1800-1848: Mazzini

• In the mid 1800s, increasing calls for the creation of a unified Italian nation-state ruled by Italians themselves.

• Movement called Risorgimento (resurgence)

• Found expression in the writings of Joseph Mazzini.

Call for Italian Unification 1800-1848: Mazzini

• For Mazzini what is the purpose of unification?

• What is the method he proposes for unification?

• What ideologies are Mazzini’s views rooted in?

• Do you think Mazzini represents the “brains,” “soul,” and/or “sword” element of the process of nation-state building in Italy?

Call for Italian Unification 1800-1848: Mazzini

• Mazzini inspires a series of uprisings in Sicily, Abruzzi, Tuscany, Lombardy-Venetia, and Rome.

• They all fail.

1848 Changes Everything• The events of 1848 throughout Europe

shift the thinking of some on the question of Italian Unification.

• Think back to events in France and Germany, what are some of the

potential “lessons” that figures in the Italian Unification movement might take from these events?

Italian Unification 1848-1860: Cavour

• The lessons are not lost on the prime minister of Sardinia: Cavour.

• Given the lesson’s learned, what attributes do you think Cavour’s plan for unification is going to have?

• Who does Cavour resemble in his beliefs?

Italian Unification 1848-1860: Cavour• In 1859 Sardinia, aided by France, declares war on Austria (largest foreign

ruler of the Italian states). This is the Austro-Sardinian War of 1859.• Things don’t go according to plan…France, lacking public support for the war, makes peace with Austria and abandons their agreement with Cavour. Cavour only obtains Lombardy.• At the same time, revolutions in the style of Mazzini continued to break

out. Various northern Italian states drove out their leaders and attached themselves to Sardinia.

• Italian Unification had reached a half success as there was now northern Italian unification under the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Northern Italian

Unification under the

Kingdom of Sardinia

1860

Italian Unification: 1848-1860

• Do you think Cavour represents the “brains,” “soul,” and/or “sword” element of the process of nation-state building in Italy?

Italian Unification 1861: Garibaldi

• Garibaldi was a member of Mazzini’s Young Italy movement.

• But Garibaldi too was influenced by the lessons of 1848.

• Began to believe in Cavour’s conservative strategy that Italy could only be unified under the Sardinian government, but that revolutionary violence could be used to facilitate this process.

Italian Unification 1861: Garibaldi• In 1860, popular uprisings

in Sicily provided Garibaldi with an opportunity. • He gathered about 1000 volunteers, called the Red Shirts, and launched an armed siege of Sicily. The government of the Kingdom of the

two Sicilies immediate collapsed. • Plebiscites held in the Two Sicilies and the Papal States (with the

exception of Rome) all unanimously voted to join with the united northern Italian Kingdom, to create Italy.

• In 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was formally proclaimed with Victor Emmanuel II as its King.

Italian Unification 1861: Garibaldi

• Do you think Garibaldi represents the “brains,” “soul,” and/or “sword” element of the process of nation-state building in Italy?

Developing a Formula for the Nation-State Building

Process in Italy• At the beginning of class, we

developed an understanding that the nation building process is characterized by some combination of “brains,” “soul,” and “sword.”

• How did “brains,” “soul,” and “sword” interact to shape the process of building an Italian nation-state?– Formulate your response as an equation

where “Italy” is your “Y” and “brains,” “soul,” and “sword” are your “Xs.”