Prior to 1796, Italy was divided into ten states:
1. The Kingdom of Sardinia
2. The Duchy of Milan (a part of the Hapsburg empire)
3. The Republic of Venice
4. The Republic of Genoa
5. The Republic of Lucca
6. The Papal States
7. The Duchy of Modena
8. The Duchy of Parma
9. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany
10. The Kingdom of Naples including Sicily
These states all comprised of Italian people but they varied substantially. They had different rulers, legal codes, economies, administrative structures, currencies and even spoken dialects.
In 1796, Napoleon led the French army in defeating Austria and driving them out of Northern Italy. In 1797, Austria was forced into signing the Treaty of Campo Formio which acknowledged Napoleon’s taking of Northern Italy and the ceding of Belgium by Austria.
Napoleon created two new republics modeled on France. These two were called the Ligurian Republic made up of the territory around Genoa and the other called the Cisalpine Republic which has Milan as its capital. He removed the old governments, eliminated the aristocracy and introduced uniform legal, fiscal, administrative and conscription systems.
In early 1799 the Second Coalition forces invaded Italy and defeated the French thereby restoring the old governments. However in May 1800 Napoleon took over France by a coup d’état and six months he invaded Italy with a 60,000 men strong army and defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo. The Peace of Luneville was signed which placed Northern Italy in French control again. By 1810, Napoleon dominated all of Italy except Sardinia and Sicily which were protected by Britain.
Napoleon reshaped the map of Italy creating three divisions. This consolidation of the Italian peninsula brought unity even closer. The three divisions were:
1. The Republic of Italy (later the Kingdom of Italy in the North and East)
2. The Kingdom of Naples (run by his brother Jerome then Murat)
3. Annexed areas like Rome and Piedmont for France
Essentially, Napoleon’s era brought together the diverse regions of Italy into a single central state with a uniform and effective legal and administrative system.
The French influence prospered in these Italian regions as the systems introduced modeled on France itself were stable. However, throughout Napoleon’s empire there was heavy police presence that were often repressive. In addition, taxes were high and when the Continental System backfired, tariffs were placed on all good except French ones. This inspired the Italians to articulate plans to unite and become independent. This marked the start of Italian Nationalism. This was intensified by Italian Jacobins who called themselves patrioti (patriots) who also wanted independence and unity.
In 1815, Napoleon’s empire foiled and he was sent away. The Congress of Vienna was then convened to ‘fix’ Europe. Italians were hopeful of a union of the Italian peninsula; however, the opposite was done. Italy was fragmented once again and as Metternich put it, ‘Italy’ was merely a ‘geographical expression’. The divisions as per the Congress of Vienna were:
1. The Kingdom of Two Sicilies’ (Naples and Sicily) ruled by Spanish Royal Ferdinand I
2. The Papal States under the Pope who punished those who were too liberal or modern through the Inquisition
3. The independent Duchies of Modena, Parma and Tuscany. The rulers of the latter two were Hapsburg’s while Modena’s was married to one
4. Lombardy and Venetia were annexed to Austria. These two were the most prosperous regions in terms of economics. Venetia’s capital was Venice – the richest trading port and Lombardy had a lot of fertile land.
5. The Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont, Genoa and Savoy) ruled by Victor Emmanuel I who was totally anti-French.
Austria had a lot of influence on Italy. She not only controlled Lombardy and Venetia and had Hapsburg rulers in the three Duchies. In addition there existed an agreement between Austria and Ferdinand of The Kingdom of Two Sicilies’ that any alteration in the government of Naples would have to be given consent by Austria. The Pope also relied on Austrian support to help him govern the Papal States. As such, the only real Italian state was the Kingdom of Sardinia and as time went by it was her that eventually became the nucleus of Italian nationalism and unification.
With the disappointment over the outcomes of the Congress of Vienna, it was a given that protest would eventually follow. The first major revolt occurred in 1820 and was led by the Carbonari, a secret society hoping for political reform and the suppression of Austrian influence. The Carbonari comprised mainly of upper class liberals whose watchword was ‘freedom’. In 1820, they carried out a revolt in Naples against their inefficient King Ferdinand. This revolution surprisingly was somewhat successful. It did not lead to the toppling of Ferdinand but it did force him to issue a constitution modeled on the Spanish Constitution of 1812. This was a step forward as it limited his otherwise absolute power by introducing a parliament and removed the privileges held by the nobility and church.
However, the success of the Carbonari in Naples was short lived due to the cleverness of Ferdinand. Shortly after issuing the constitution, he travelled to the Conference of Laibach to cement the new liberties however, when he arrived, he disowned the constitution and notified Austria who almost immediately sent in troops who restored his absolute power.
The Carbonari also carried out a revolution that same year in Piedmont hoping to force Victor Emmanuel to issue a constitution. At the same time there were revolts in Lombardy against Austrian rule and so the Carbonari naturally linked the two events together. Victor Emmanuel however abdicated for health issues and Prince Charles Albert, as regent signed in this new constitution but when the new King took to office following Emmanuel’s death, he revoked the constitution. This led to a civil war. At Novara in 1821 Albert’s forces aided by Austria defeated the Carbonari thus cementing Austria’s domination.
The Carbonari however remained resilient and pushed forward hoping to achieve their aims. In 1830, in light of the revolutions erupting in France, the Carbonari sparked revolutions in Modena, Parma and the Papal States. These states however went straight to Austria who quickly moved in and put down the rebellions.
The Carbonari had three failed attempts at revolution. However, despite that, it did play a large role in the eventual unification of Italy. The Carbonari aided in nationalism. It was the most influential of the secret societies and the only one that kept working on their goal. Moreover, the Carbonari in spite of the reality that their forces was just not enough to tackle Austria and absolutism was in fact the supplier of the father of Italian Nationalism – Giuseppe Mazzini.
Italian unification came primarily because of three men – Giuseppe Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Count Camilo Cavour. Each of these three men played a different role that contributed to unification.
Mazzini is referred to as the ‘prophet’. He is responsible for inspiring the people and being one of the first advocates for unity. He had a profound love for Italy and wanted to see her united more than anything. In fact, as a sign of morning for Italy, he always wore black clothing. Mazzini wanted to become a writer but instead became a member of the Carbonari and dedicated his life to the unification cause.
Garibaldi was the soldier and is responsible for majority of the conquests that brought the unification of Italy closer. He was born in Savoy and at the age of 15, he began a career on the sea after running away from his home. Garibaldi was very close with Mazzini and actually joined the ‘Young Italy’ movement. In 1833 after plotting to induce a mutiny on the Sardinian navy (with Mazzini) he was listed to be executed. As such, he fled to South America where he aided Uruguay against the Brazilians and Argentineans. It was here he developed his skill as a soldier for he spent 12 years doing such.
Cavour is the statesman who was clever and had a knack for diplomacy via trickery and deceit. He was in the army but due to his participation in the French Revolution in 1830 he left service. He travelled all over, but it was in Britain he developed his expert skills in politics. There, he would listen in on House of Commons debates where he learnt much about parliamentary practice and effective governance in addition to managing the economy. He was one of the founders of the Il Risorgimento newspapers to which he also served as editor. His articles had a sort of ‘power’ as it partly led Charles Albert to take up arms against Austria. This newspaper translated to ‘Resurgence’ and this quickly became the term used to describe the goals of the unification movement.
Each of them used their talents to their advantage.
As said, Mazzini is the one most responsible for bringing the people together. He was a member of the Carbonari and this led him to be imprisoned for conspiracy by Sardinia. Soon after he was driven away. He then settled in France and when Charles Albert ascended to the throne of Sardinia in 1831 he wrote to him requesting that he take the lead in unifying Italy. Albert however, though liberal was not receptive of this. This subsequently led Mazzini to take matters into this own hands and the Young Italy Movement was born.
The Young Italy Movement is perhaps the single most reason Mazzini is revered for his role in unification. This movement was the face of nationalism. It brought the people closer together and spread the ideals of the Carbonari however, this time; it was more universal as it reached all layers of the society. The movement intended to become a ‘force of religion’ and in a sense it did.
The motto of the Young Italy movement was “a brotherhood of Italians who believe in progress and duty”. To put into perspective the extent of Mazzini’s influence, he was even exiled from France! He then moved to Switzerland but soon after was exiled from there too after he organised a mutiny in the Sardinian army in 1833. He finally settled in England where he developed strong republican ideals and thus felt Italy needed to become a republic and not governed by a King. This eventually hampered the movement in a sense since the King of Sardinia was willing to take command of the movement but Mazzini refused despite him wanting that in 1831.
In 1846 Pope Pius IX took to governing the Papacy. He was more liberal and his initial actions such as releasing of hundreds of political prisoners made him popular amongst the people. It got to the point where people began to feel that unification would come under the papacy and not Sardinia. But this was far more than the new Pope bargained for or was willing or perhaps capable to do.
The closest Italy ever came to unification before it actually happened was in 1848 in light of the prospering French revolution of 1848. In January 1848 revolts broke out in Sicily were the King’s forces were defeated within four days and once again the 1812 Constitution was proclaimed in both Sicily and Naples. This sparked off a full-fledged Italian revolution. The Austrian influence in Milan and Venice was then suppressed after short but decisive uprisings where the latter was declared an independent republic under Daniele Manin.
In light of the success in The Kingdom of Two Sicilies, Milan and Venice, King Charles Albert of Sardinia along with a reluctant Pope Pius IX of the Papacy published liberal constitutions in March. Albert believed the time was now more than ever perfect to attack Austria and enlarge his kingdom. He marched his army along with Garibaldi to Lombardy to assist in their revolt against Austria. Naples joined in and the Pope authorized a small force to be sent but soon after denounced war thus repealing the force he sent and in and any future aid. He denounced the war since Austria was primarily a Catholic country and it was downright wrong for the Pope to aid in a war against his own. This inevitably caused people to lose faith in him and an Italy under the Papacy. The pedestal he was placed on proved to be too much for him.
The war effort put up by Charles Albert in the initial stages had some successes but soon after, the Austrians were able to defeat his forces at Custozza. In March 1849, he went back into war and was quickly defeated at Novara. Albert subsequently abdicated in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel II.
During the war, King Ferdinand was able to suppress the forces by intense and cruel bombardment and reestablish his authority. This earned him the nickname ‘King Bomba’.
In February 1849 the Roman Republic was created after the Pope refused to sign in a democratic constitution since the Prime Minister was murdered. This new Roman Republic was run by Mazzini. Mazzini introduced a number of reforms which angered the Pope who then appealed to the great powers of Europe. France was of much help here
Louis Napoleon used this opportunity to win the support of his people in France who appeared to be pro-clerical. Forces were sent into Rome and eventually suppressed the revolutionary forces but not before being faced with a defeat in April at the hands of Garibaldi. By July 1849 the Roman Republic collapsed and the Papacy was restored. In addition, Rome would be secured by the French forces.
By August 1849 though, the entire revolution foiled and everything was restored. The independent republic proclaimed by Manin in Venice had ended after the people were faced with starvation, cholera and bombardment.
The 1848 Revolutions in Italy failed. But despite this, there were some positives that would go on to aide in the fight for unification and would intensify nationalism. One of these positives is the fact that it led to the emergence of Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia who would live to become King of a unified Italy. Of all the leaders of Sardinia, he was the most genuine and supportive of the unification cause. In the aftermath of the revolutions, he signed in a liberal constitution. Another positive was that it saw Garibaldi emerging to the forefront who would go on to secure majority of land for Sardinia thus bringing unification closer.
In 1850 Cavour’s ascendancy to power began. He was made Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce and the following year, he was tasked with the financial responsibilities for Sardinia as well. He was brilliant when it came to politics and planning and this led him to become Prime Minister in 1852. This appointment began with Cavour modernizing Sardinia. This included the building of railways, the reorganisation of the army, removal of duties, creation of Atlantic mail steamers, signing of trade treaties, formation of banks and company law in addition to a host of co-operative societies.
In 1855 Sardinia was involved in the Crimean War. This war illustrated how much Sardinian had developed under Cavour as they easily won. The Conference of Paris in 1856 ended the war as well as drew Sardinia and France closer together. In 1858 the two signed the Pact of Plombieres where France pledged to help Sardinia in the event of a war with Austria and in exchange Sardinia would cede the islands of Savoy and Nice to France. This was to be of great value to Sardinia as it would mean that she could recover the Austrian run provinces of Venetia and Lombardy. In order for this to happen though, Cavour and Napoleon needed to get Austria to wage war. To do so, they used a series of military maneuvers. In Piedmont, they began increasing their arms near the border with Lombardy. On the 23rd April, Austria issued an ultimatum to Sardinia much to Metternich’s displeasure demanding that she completely demobolise the army. Sardinia obviously refused and on the 29th Austria declared war. Garibaldi was made Captain of Guerrilla warfare in light of his experiences while in South America. The war was fought on two fronts in Magenta and Solferino where the combined forces of France and Sardinia under Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II defeated Austria commanded by Emperor Franz Joseph I. Majority of Lombardy was liberated.
However, relations took a turn for the worse for Cavour as Napoleon decided to make peace and sign an armistice with Austria at Villafranca. He opted for this out of a fear Cavour was amassing too much power and he was apparently disgusted by the bloodshed. This caused Cavour to resign thinking that all he had worked for was lost (he even contemplated suicide). He had his mid set on liberating both Lombardy and Venetia but instead only some of the former was liberated. His led him to urge Victor Emmanuel II to continue the war alone so as the liberate all of both provinces. But Emmanuel knew better – Sardinia alone was not strong enough to take on Austria.
Cavour however returned to power in 1860 in light of the Duchies of Parma, Modena and Tuscany exiling their monarchs and Romagna (one of the Papal States) revolting. The new leaders of the Duchies were favourable of a united Italy and so Cavour opened up talks with France where an agreement was made that allowed a plebiscite to taken in each of the three Duchies concerning whether they wanted to join Sardinia. In return France would be given Savoy and Nice as agreed in the Pact of Plombieres but a right France has lost when she made peace with Austria. This new deal angered Mazzini who was already upset that Cavour was seeking foreign help. Mazzini fundamentally believed that unification should be brought to Italy by Italian efforts only. In addition the ceding of the two Italian lands upset him as well as Garibaldi as one was his homeland. He famously said “They have made me a foreigner in the land of my birth”.
Of course the people of the three Duchies voted in favour of uniting with Sardinia and the leaders worked closely with Cavour.
All that was needed to be merged with Austria now was Venetia, Rome and the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.
The next to be addressed was the Kingdom of Two Sicilies beginning with Sicily. This conquest is owed to Garibaldi but on the consent and assistance of Cavour. It came in light of revelations by British liberal statesman Gladstone that the recently late King Ferdinand I who was notoriously nicknamed ‘King Bomba’ had imprisoned over 20,000 persons for political reasons. These prisoners were grossly mistreated by being chained up and locked away in dungeons reminiscent of slaves during the Middle Passage. These men rarely even saw daylight.
Garibaldi, on the suggestion of Mazzini formed the Red Shirts (an army) consisting of just over 1000 volunteers. The Red Shirts, even today remains one of the most exciting, thrilling and successful groups. The group was secretly furnished by Cavour but in the public, Cavour as well as Victor Emmanuel disowning Garibaldi and the Red Shirts. The main reason for this was out of sheer doubt in the real intentions of Garibaldi. They were aware he sided with Mazzini and favoured a Republic. They were also afraid of the possibility that he might attack the Papal States and that was something they wanted to avoid any role in as it would sour relations with France who was protecting Rome. But Garibaldi, being the brilliant soldier he was, was their only shot.
In May of 1860 Garibaldi and his army landed at Marsala together with British troops who were there to enforce respect for British property at Marsala. The British troops initially thought that Garibaldi and the Red Shirts were a part of their garrison owing to the similar Red uniform. When the British troops realised what had transpired, it was too late. Garibaldi and the Red Shirts quickly conquered Sicily and watched as 20,000 defeated troops marched away.
In light of this, Garibaldi desired to expend his conquest to the remainder of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies by crossing the Straits of Messina into Naples. However, the Straits were a part of the Mediterranean Sea which was dominated by Britain and France alarmed at the growth of Sardinia and fearful of an attack on Rome proposed to Britain and Angle-French envoy to block Garibaldi from crossing. The British however, considering they were on good terms with Sardinia wanted to know Cavour’s wishes on the matter. This is where Cavour’s brilliance in deceit shines bright. He publically requested that Britain and France carry through with the envoy that will block Garibaldi from crossing. However, both Cavour and Victor Emmanuel II sent private correspondence to the British to do no such thing. Therefore, France is under the impression that Cavour is against Garibaldi but really in truly, by deceiving France, Britain was able to render aide that quickly allowed Garibaldi and his forces to move over into Naples.
As soon as Garibaldi and the Red Shirts landed in Naples, they were welcomed by the people and this prompted the King to flee. However, instead of ceding Naples to Sardinia, Garibaldi set up a temporary dictatorship and shortly after Mazzini arrived thus giving the premise that they were going t set up a republic there. This alarmed Cavour who advised Victor Emmanuel to take the army from Tuscany and Lombardy and invade the Papal States except Rome so as to not entice a war with France. This would secure those Papal States for Sardinia before Garibaldi could move in. Victor Emmanuel II easily defeated the smaller Papal States at Castlefidardo and began to move into Naples. A plebiscite was arranged in Naples where the people voted to join forces with Sardinia. Garibaldi’s dictatorship was over! And he retired off to Caprera refusing all honours.
In March 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed under the constitutional monarchy of Victor Emmanuel II. The only two lands left to be conquered in order for unification to be complete were Venetia still under Austria’s rule and Rome under the Pope and secured by France.
In June however, Cavour died and efforts to acquire these two remaining lands halted. There were a few tries but it would take another nine year to be fully complete.
In 1866 the chance to get Venetia was presented by Prussia. Prussia, led by Bismarck was planning a war with Austria and in an effort to make certain Austria was not aided but any foreign power, he made deals with them. A deal was made with Italy that a war on two fronts would be wages on Austria by Italy and Prussia. This would put a strain of Austria and should Austria be defeated, Venetia would be handed over to Italy. The war on two fronts was declared but Italy lost on land at Custozza as well as on sea at Lissa but Garibaldi was successful in the Alps. The Prussians however defeated the Austrians overwhelmingly at Sadowa and despite Italian failure, Bismarck gave them Venetia.
The only other place to be acquired was Rome but Italy was still fearful of France. In 1870 though, in light of the Franco-Prussian war which France was miserably losing in, Napoleon withdrew his troops from Rome. The Italians now moved in and took control of Rome forcing the Catholic headquarters to move to it present location at The Vatican.
Italy was finally Unified!
1. The Kingdom of Sardinia
2. The Duchy of Milan (a part of the Hapsburg empire)
3. The Republic of Venice
4. The Republic of Genoa
5. The Republic of Lucca
6. The Papal States
7. The Duchy of Modena
8. The Duchy of Parma
9. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany
10. The Kingdom of Naples including Sicily
These states all comprised of Italian people but they varied substantially. They had different rulers, legal codes, economies, administrative structures, currencies and even spoken dialects.
In 1796, Napoleon led the French army in defeating Austria and driving them out of Northern Italy. In 1797, Austria was forced into signing the Treaty of Campo Formio which acknowledged Napoleon’s taking of Northern Italy and the ceding of Belgium by Austria.
Napoleon created two new republics modeled on France. These two were called the Ligurian Republic made up of the territory around Genoa and the other called the Cisalpine Republic which has Milan as its capital. He removed the old governments, eliminated the aristocracy and introduced uniform legal, fiscal, administrative and conscription systems.
In early 1799 the Second Coalition forces invaded Italy and defeated the French thereby restoring the old governments. However in May 1800 Napoleon took over France by a coup d’état and six months he invaded Italy with a 60,000 men strong army and defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo. The Peace of Luneville was signed which placed Northern Italy in French control again. By 1810, Napoleon dominated all of Italy except Sardinia and Sicily which were protected by Britain.
Napoleon reshaped the map of Italy creating three divisions. This consolidation of the Italian peninsula brought unity even closer. The three divisions were:
1. The Republic of Italy (later the Kingdom of Italy in the North and East)
2. The Kingdom of Naples (run by his brother Jerome then Murat)
3. Annexed areas like Rome and Piedmont for France
Essentially, Napoleon’s era brought together the diverse regions of Italy into a single central state with a uniform and effective legal and administrative system.
The French influence prospered in these Italian regions as the systems introduced modeled on France itself were stable. However, throughout Napoleon’s empire there was heavy police presence that were often repressive. In addition, taxes were high and when the Continental System backfired, tariffs were placed on all good except French ones. This inspired the Italians to articulate plans to unite and become independent. This marked the start of Italian Nationalism. This was intensified by Italian Jacobins who called themselves patrioti (patriots) who also wanted independence and unity.
In 1815, Napoleon’s empire foiled and he was sent away. The Congress of Vienna was then convened to ‘fix’ Europe. Italians were hopeful of a union of the Italian peninsula; however, the opposite was done. Italy was fragmented once again and as Metternich put it, ‘Italy’ was merely a ‘geographical expression’. The divisions as per the Congress of Vienna were:
1. The Kingdom of Two Sicilies’ (Naples and Sicily) ruled by Spanish Royal Ferdinand I
2. The Papal States under the Pope who punished those who were too liberal or modern through the Inquisition
3. The independent Duchies of Modena, Parma and Tuscany. The rulers of the latter two were Hapsburg’s while Modena’s was married to one
4. Lombardy and Venetia were annexed to Austria. These two were the most prosperous regions in terms of economics. Venetia’s capital was Venice – the richest trading port and Lombardy had a lot of fertile land.
5. The Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont, Genoa and Savoy) ruled by Victor Emmanuel I who was totally anti-French.
Austria had a lot of influence on Italy. She not only controlled Lombardy and Venetia and had Hapsburg rulers in the three Duchies. In addition there existed an agreement between Austria and Ferdinand of The Kingdom of Two Sicilies’ that any alteration in the government of Naples would have to be given consent by Austria. The Pope also relied on Austrian support to help him govern the Papal States. As such, the only real Italian state was the Kingdom of Sardinia and as time went by it was her that eventually became the nucleus of Italian nationalism and unification.
With the disappointment over the outcomes of the Congress of Vienna, it was a given that protest would eventually follow. The first major revolt occurred in 1820 and was led by the Carbonari, a secret society hoping for political reform and the suppression of Austrian influence. The Carbonari comprised mainly of upper class liberals whose watchword was ‘freedom’. In 1820, they carried out a revolt in Naples against their inefficient King Ferdinand. This revolution surprisingly was somewhat successful. It did not lead to the toppling of Ferdinand but it did force him to issue a constitution modeled on the Spanish Constitution of 1812. This was a step forward as it limited his otherwise absolute power by introducing a parliament and removed the privileges held by the nobility and church.
However, the success of the Carbonari in Naples was short lived due to the cleverness of Ferdinand. Shortly after issuing the constitution, he travelled to the Conference of Laibach to cement the new liberties however, when he arrived, he disowned the constitution and notified Austria who almost immediately sent in troops who restored his absolute power.
The Carbonari also carried out a revolution that same year in Piedmont hoping to force Victor Emmanuel to issue a constitution. At the same time there were revolts in Lombardy against Austrian rule and so the Carbonari naturally linked the two events together. Victor Emmanuel however abdicated for health issues and Prince Charles Albert, as regent signed in this new constitution but when the new King took to office following Emmanuel’s death, he revoked the constitution. This led to a civil war. At Novara in 1821 Albert’s forces aided by Austria defeated the Carbonari thus cementing Austria’s domination.
The Carbonari however remained resilient and pushed forward hoping to achieve their aims. In 1830, in light of the revolutions erupting in France, the Carbonari sparked revolutions in Modena, Parma and the Papal States. These states however went straight to Austria who quickly moved in and put down the rebellions.
The Carbonari had three failed attempts at revolution. However, despite that, it did play a large role in the eventual unification of Italy. The Carbonari aided in nationalism. It was the most influential of the secret societies and the only one that kept working on their goal. Moreover, the Carbonari in spite of the reality that their forces was just not enough to tackle Austria and absolutism was in fact the supplier of the father of Italian Nationalism – Giuseppe Mazzini.
Italian unification came primarily because of three men – Giuseppe Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Count Camilo Cavour. Each of these three men played a different role that contributed to unification.
Mazzini is referred to as the ‘prophet’. He is responsible for inspiring the people and being one of the first advocates for unity. He had a profound love for Italy and wanted to see her united more than anything. In fact, as a sign of morning for Italy, he always wore black clothing. Mazzini wanted to become a writer but instead became a member of the Carbonari and dedicated his life to the unification cause.
Garibaldi was the soldier and is responsible for majority of the conquests that brought the unification of Italy closer. He was born in Savoy and at the age of 15, he began a career on the sea after running away from his home. Garibaldi was very close with Mazzini and actually joined the ‘Young Italy’ movement. In 1833 after plotting to induce a mutiny on the Sardinian navy (with Mazzini) he was listed to be executed. As such, he fled to South America where he aided Uruguay against the Brazilians and Argentineans. It was here he developed his skill as a soldier for he spent 12 years doing such.
Cavour is the statesman who was clever and had a knack for diplomacy via trickery and deceit. He was in the army but due to his participation in the French Revolution in 1830 he left service. He travelled all over, but it was in Britain he developed his expert skills in politics. There, he would listen in on House of Commons debates where he learnt much about parliamentary practice and effective governance in addition to managing the economy. He was one of the founders of the Il Risorgimento newspapers to which he also served as editor. His articles had a sort of ‘power’ as it partly led Charles Albert to take up arms against Austria. This newspaper translated to ‘Resurgence’ and this quickly became the term used to describe the goals of the unification movement.
Each of them used their talents to their advantage.
As said, Mazzini is the one most responsible for bringing the people together. He was a member of the Carbonari and this led him to be imprisoned for conspiracy by Sardinia. Soon after he was driven away. He then settled in France and when Charles Albert ascended to the throne of Sardinia in 1831 he wrote to him requesting that he take the lead in unifying Italy. Albert however, though liberal was not receptive of this. This subsequently led Mazzini to take matters into this own hands and the Young Italy Movement was born.
The Young Italy Movement is perhaps the single most reason Mazzini is revered for his role in unification. This movement was the face of nationalism. It brought the people closer together and spread the ideals of the Carbonari however, this time; it was more universal as it reached all layers of the society. The movement intended to become a ‘force of religion’ and in a sense it did.
The motto of the Young Italy movement was “a brotherhood of Italians who believe in progress and duty”. To put into perspective the extent of Mazzini’s influence, he was even exiled from France! He then moved to Switzerland but soon after was exiled from there too after he organised a mutiny in the Sardinian army in 1833. He finally settled in England where he developed strong republican ideals and thus felt Italy needed to become a republic and not governed by a King. This eventually hampered the movement in a sense since the King of Sardinia was willing to take command of the movement but Mazzini refused despite him wanting that in 1831.
In 1846 Pope Pius IX took to governing the Papacy. He was more liberal and his initial actions such as releasing of hundreds of political prisoners made him popular amongst the people. It got to the point where people began to feel that unification would come under the papacy and not Sardinia. But this was far more than the new Pope bargained for or was willing or perhaps capable to do.
The closest Italy ever came to unification before it actually happened was in 1848 in light of the prospering French revolution of 1848. In January 1848 revolts broke out in Sicily were the King’s forces were defeated within four days and once again the 1812 Constitution was proclaimed in both Sicily and Naples. This sparked off a full-fledged Italian revolution. The Austrian influence in Milan and Venice was then suppressed after short but decisive uprisings where the latter was declared an independent republic under Daniele Manin.
In light of the success in The Kingdom of Two Sicilies, Milan and Venice, King Charles Albert of Sardinia along with a reluctant Pope Pius IX of the Papacy published liberal constitutions in March. Albert believed the time was now more than ever perfect to attack Austria and enlarge his kingdom. He marched his army along with Garibaldi to Lombardy to assist in their revolt against Austria. Naples joined in and the Pope authorized a small force to be sent but soon after denounced war thus repealing the force he sent and in and any future aid. He denounced the war since Austria was primarily a Catholic country and it was downright wrong for the Pope to aid in a war against his own. This inevitably caused people to lose faith in him and an Italy under the Papacy. The pedestal he was placed on proved to be too much for him.
The war effort put up by Charles Albert in the initial stages had some successes but soon after, the Austrians were able to defeat his forces at Custozza. In March 1849, he went back into war and was quickly defeated at Novara. Albert subsequently abdicated in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel II.
During the war, King Ferdinand was able to suppress the forces by intense and cruel bombardment and reestablish his authority. This earned him the nickname ‘King Bomba’.
In February 1849 the Roman Republic was created after the Pope refused to sign in a democratic constitution since the Prime Minister was murdered. This new Roman Republic was run by Mazzini. Mazzini introduced a number of reforms which angered the Pope who then appealed to the great powers of Europe. France was of much help here
Louis Napoleon used this opportunity to win the support of his people in France who appeared to be pro-clerical. Forces were sent into Rome and eventually suppressed the revolutionary forces but not before being faced with a defeat in April at the hands of Garibaldi. By July 1849 the Roman Republic collapsed and the Papacy was restored. In addition, Rome would be secured by the French forces.
By August 1849 though, the entire revolution foiled and everything was restored. The independent republic proclaimed by Manin in Venice had ended after the people were faced with starvation, cholera and bombardment.
The 1848 Revolutions in Italy failed. But despite this, there were some positives that would go on to aide in the fight for unification and would intensify nationalism. One of these positives is the fact that it led to the emergence of Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia who would live to become King of a unified Italy. Of all the leaders of Sardinia, he was the most genuine and supportive of the unification cause. In the aftermath of the revolutions, he signed in a liberal constitution. Another positive was that it saw Garibaldi emerging to the forefront who would go on to secure majority of land for Sardinia thus bringing unification closer.
In 1850 Cavour’s ascendancy to power began. He was made Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce and the following year, he was tasked with the financial responsibilities for Sardinia as well. He was brilliant when it came to politics and planning and this led him to become Prime Minister in 1852. This appointment began with Cavour modernizing Sardinia. This included the building of railways, the reorganisation of the army, removal of duties, creation of Atlantic mail steamers, signing of trade treaties, formation of banks and company law in addition to a host of co-operative societies.
In 1855 Sardinia was involved in the Crimean War. This war illustrated how much Sardinian had developed under Cavour as they easily won. The Conference of Paris in 1856 ended the war as well as drew Sardinia and France closer together. In 1858 the two signed the Pact of Plombieres where France pledged to help Sardinia in the event of a war with Austria and in exchange Sardinia would cede the islands of Savoy and Nice to France. This was to be of great value to Sardinia as it would mean that she could recover the Austrian run provinces of Venetia and Lombardy. In order for this to happen though, Cavour and Napoleon needed to get Austria to wage war. To do so, they used a series of military maneuvers. In Piedmont, they began increasing their arms near the border with Lombardy. On the 23rd April, Austria issued an ultimatum to Sardinia much to Metternich’s displeasure demanding that she completely demobolise the army. Sardinia obviously refused and on the 29th Austria declared war. Garibaldi was made Captain of Guerrilla warfare in light of his experiences while in South America. The war was fought on two fronts in Magenta and Solferino where the combined forces of France and Sardinia under Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II defeated Austria commanded by Emperor Franz Joseph I. Majority of Lombardy was liberated.
However, relations took a turn for the worse for Cavour as Napoleon decided to make peace and sign an armistice with Austria at Villafranca. He opted for this out of a fear Cavour was amassing too much power and he was apparently disgusted by the bloodshed. This caused Cavour to resign thinking that all he had worked for was lost (he even contemplated suicide). He had his mid set on liberating both Lombardy and Venetia but instead only some of the former was liberated. His led him to urge Victor Emmanuel II to continue the war alone so as the liberate all of both provinces. But Emmanuel knew better – Sardinia alone was not strong enough to take on Austria.
Cavour however returned to power in 1860 in light of the Duchies of Parma, Modena and Tuscany exiling their monarchs and Romagna (one of the Papal States) revolting. The new leaders of the Duchies were favourable of a united Italy and so Cavour opened up talks with France where an agreement was made that allowed a plebiscite to taken in each of the three Duchies concerning whether they wanted to join Sardinia. In return France would be given Savoy and Nice as agreed in the Pact of Plombieres but a right France has lost when she made peace with Austria. This new deal angered Mazzini who was already upset that Cavour was seeking foreign help. Mazzini fundamentally believed that unification should be brought to Italy by Italian efforts only. In addition the ceding of the two Italian lands upset him as well as Garibaldi as one was his homeland. He famously said “They have made me a foreigner in the land of my birth”.
Of course the people of the three Duchies voted in favour of uniting with Sardinia and the leaders worked closely with Cavour.
All that was needed to be merged with Austria now was Venetia, Rome and the Kingdom of Two Sicilies.
The next to be addressed was the Kingdom of Two Sicilies beginning with Sicily. This conquest is owed to Garibaldi but on the consent and assistance of Cavour. It came in light of revelations by British liberal statesman Gladstone that the recently late King Ferdinand I who was notoriously nicknamed ‘King Bomba’ had imprisoned over 20,000 persons for political reasons. These prisoners were grossly mistreated by being chained up and locked away in dungeons reminiscent of slaves during the Middle Passage. These men rarely even saw daylight.
Garibaldi, on the suggestion of Mazzini formed the Red Shirts (an army) consisting of just over 1000 volunteers. The Red Shirts, even today remains one of the most exciting, thrilling and successful groups. The group was secretly furnished by Cavour but in the public, Cavour as well as Victor Emmanuel disowning Garibaldi and the Red Shirts. The main reason for this was out of sheer doubt in the real intentions of Garibaldi. They were aware he sided with Mazzini and favoured a Republic. They were also afraid of the possibility that he might attack the Papal States and that was something they wanted to avoid any role in as it would sour relations with France who was protecting Rome. But Garibaldi, being the brilliant soldier he was, was their only shot.
In May of 1860 Garibaldi and his army landed at Marsala together with British troops who were there to enforce respect for British property at Marsala. The British troops initially thought that Garibaldi and the Red Shirts were a part of their garrison owing to the similar Red uniform. When the British troops realised what had transpired, it was too late. Garibaldi and the Red Shirts quickly conquered Sicily and watched as 20,000 defeated troops marched away.
In light of this, Garibaldi desired to expend his conquest to the remainder of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies by crossing the Straits of Messina into Naples. However, the Straits were a part of the Mediterranean Sea which was dominated by Britain and France alarmed at the growth of Sardinia and fearful of an attack on Rome proposed to Britain and Angle-French envoy to block Garibaldi from crossing. The British however, considering they were on good terms with Sardinia wanted to know Cavour’s wishes on the matter. This is where Cavour’s brilliance in deceit shines bright. He publically requested that Britain and France carry through with the envoy that will block Garibaldi from crossing. However, both Cavour and Victor Emmanuel II sent private correspondence to the British to do no such thing. Therefore, France is under the impression that Cavour is against Garibaldi but really in truly, by deceiving France, Britain was able to render aide that quickly allowed Garibaldi and his forces to move over into Naples.
As soon as Garibaldi and the Red Shirts landed in Naples, they were welcomed by the people and this prompted the King to flee. However, instead of ceding Naples to Sardinia, Garibaldi set up a temporary dictatorship and shortly after Mazzini arrived thus giving the premise that they were going t set up a republic there. This alarmed Cavour who advised Victor Emmanuel to take the army from Tuscany and Lombardy and invade the Papal States except Rome so as to not entice a war with France. This would secure those Papal States for Sardinia before Garibaldi could move in. Victor Emmanuel II easily defeated the smaller Papal States at Castlefidardo and began to move into Naples. A plebiscite was arranged in Naples where the people voted to join forces with Sardinia. Garibaldi’s dictatorship was over! And he retired off to Caprera refusing all honours.
In March 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed under the constitutional monarchy of Victor Emmanuel II. The only two lands left to be conquered in order for unification to be complete were Venetia still under Austria’s rule and Rome under the Pope and secured by France.
In June however, Cavour died and efforts to acquire these two remaining lands halted. There were a few tries but it would take another nine year to be fully complete.
In 1866 the chance to get Venetia was presented by Prussia. Prussia, led by Bismarck was planning a war with Austria and in an effort to make certain Austria was not aided but any foreign power, he made deals with them. A deal was made with Italy that a war on two fronts would be wages on Austria by Italy and Prussia. This would put a strain of Austria and should Austria be defeated, Venetia would be handed over to Italy. The war on two fronts was declared but Italy lost on land at Custozza as well as on sea at Lissa but Garibaldi was successful in the Alps. The Prussians however defeated the Austrians overwhelmingly at Sadowa and despite Italian failure, Bismarck gave them Venetia.
The only other place to be acquired was Rome but Italy was still fearful of France. In 1870 though, in light of the Franco-Prussian war which France was miserably losing in, Napoleon withdrew his troops from Rome. The Italians now moved in and took control of Rome forcing the Catholic headquarters to move to it present location at The Vatican.
Italy was finally Unified!