Italia Unificatio    

 
Question:Analyze the role of Mazzini,Cavour and Garlbaldin in the context of
Italian unification. Also mark the role of state in Italian unification.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Italy gradually developed into a system of
city-states. This system lasted through the Renaissance but began to deteriorate
with the rise of modern Nation States in the early modern period. Italy, including the
Papal States, then became the site of proxy fights between the major powers,
notably the Holy Roman Empire and France. In the 1300s Italian writers had
expressed their opposition to foreign domination. For example, Petrarch’s Italia Mia
stated that ‘the ancient valour in Italian hearts is not yet dead.” Four verses from
Italia Mia were quoted in Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, which looked for a
political leader who would unite Italy.

A sense of Italian national identity was reflected in Gian Rinaldo Carli’s Della Patria
degli Italiani, written in 1764, a very famous “much quoted article telling how a
stranger entered a cafe in Milan and puzzled it's occupants by saying that he was
neither a foreigner nor a Milanese. ‘Then what are you?’ they asked. ‘I am an Italian,’
he explained.” Nationalism increased in the early 19th century, when Italy like much
of Europe, fell under the sway of Napoleon.

As Napoleon’s reign began to fail other national monarchs he had installed tried to
keep their thrones by feeding nationalistic sentiments, setting the stage for the
revolutions to come.Among these monarchs the viceroy of Italy, Eugene de
Beauharnais and king of Naples, Joachim Murat. De Beauharnais try to get Austrian
approval of his succession to the kingdom of Italy. In March 30, 1815 Murat issued
Rimini Proclamation which called on Italians to Revolt against their Austrian
occupiers. Following the defeat of Napoleon in France, the Congress of Vienna (in
1815) was convened to redraw the European continent. In Italy, the Congress
restored the pre-Napoleonic patch work of independent governments, either directly
ruled or strongly influenced by the prevailing European powers, particularly Austria.

At the time the struggle for Italian unification was perceived to be waged primarily
against the Austrian empire and the Habsburgs, since they directly controlled the
predominantly Italian speaking North Eastern part of the present day Italy and were,
together, the most powerful force against unification. Austrian Empire vigorously
repressed nationalist sentiment growing on the Italian Peninsula, as well as in the
other parts of Habsburgs domains. The Austrian diplomat Klemens Von Metternich,
an influential diplomat at the Congress of Vienna, stated that the word ‘Italy’ was
nothing more than ‘a geographic expression.’

Artistic and literary sentiment also turned towards nationalism and perhaps the most
famous of proto-nationalist works was Alessandro Manzoni’s I Promessi Sposi (The
Betrothed).Some read this novel as a thinly veiled allegorical critique of Austrian rule.
The novel was published in 1827 and extensively revised in the following years. The
1840 version of I Promessi Sposi used a standardized version of the Tuscan dialect,
a conscious effort by the author to provide a language and force people to learn it.

Those in favour of unification also faced opposition from the Holy See, particularly
after failed attempts to broker confederation with the Papal States which would have
left the Papacy with some measure of autonomy over the region. The Pope at the
time, Pius IX feared that giving up power in the region would mean the persecution
of Italian Catholics.

Even among those who wanted to see the Peninsula unified into one country,
different groups could not agree on what form unified state would take. Vincent
Gioberti, a Piedmontese priest, had suggested a confederation of Italian States
under rulership of the Pope. His book ‘Of the Moral and Civil Primacy of the Italians,’
was published in 1843 and created a link between the Papacy and the Risorgimento.
Many of leading revolutionaries wanted a Republic, but eventually it was a king and
his Chief Minister who had the power to unite the Italian States as a monarchy.

One of the most influential revolutionary groups was the Carbonari (coal-burners), a
secret organisation formed in Southern Italy early in the 19th Century. Inspired by the
principles of the French Revolution, its members were mainly drawn from the middle
class and intellectuals. After the Congress of Vienna divided the Italian Peninsula
among the European powers, the Carbonari movement spread into the Papal States,
the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the duchy of Modena and the
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. The revolutionaries were so feared that the reigning
authorities passed an ordinance condemning to death anyone who attended a
Carbonari meeting. The society, however, continued to exist and was at the root of
many political disturbances in Italy from 1820 until after unification. The Carbonari
condemned Napoleon III- who was a young man had fought on the side of the
Carbonari - to the death for failing to unite Italy, and the group almost succeeded in
assassinating him in 1858. Many leaders of the unification movement were at one
time members of this organisation.
Two prominent radical figures in the unification movement were Giuseppe Mazzini
and Giuseppe Garibaldi. The more conservative constitutional monarchic figures
included Count Cavour and Victor Emmanuel II, who would later become the first
king of united Italy. Mazzini’s activity in Revolutionary movements called him to be
imprisoned soon after he joined. While in prison he concluded that Italy could - and
therefore should - be unified and formulated his program for establishing a free,
independent and republican nation with Rome as its capital. After Mazzini release in
1831 he went to Marseille, where he organised a new political society called La
Giovine Italia (Young Italy). The new society whose motto was ‘God and the People”
sought the unification of Italy. Garibaldi, a native of Nice (then part of the kingdom of
Sardinia) participated in an uprising in Piedmont in 1834 was sentenced to death,
and escaped to South America. He spent 14 years there taking part in several was
and returned to Italy in 1848.

The leader of the 1821 revolutionary movement in Piedmont was Santorre di

Santar,osa who wanted to remove the Austrians and unified Italy under the House of
Savoy. The Piedmont Revolt started in Alessandria where troops adopted the green,
white and red tricolore of the Cisalpine Republic. The king's regent Prince Charles
Albert, acting while the king Charles Felix was away approved a new constitution to
appease the revolutionaries, but when the king returned disavowed the constitution
and requested assistance from the holy Alliance. Di Santarosa’s troops were
defeated and the would-be Piedmontese Revolutionary fled to Paris.

By 1830 revolutionary sentiment in favour of a unified state really began to

experience resurgence and a series of insurrections laid the groundwork for the
creation of one nation along the Italian Peninsula.

The Duke of Modena Francis IV was an ambitious noble, and he hoped to become
king of Northern Italy by increasing his territory. In 1826 Francis made it clear that he
would not act against those who submitted opposition towards the unification of Italy.
Encouraged by the declaration, revolutionaries in the region began to organise.

During the July revolution of 1830 in France, revolutionaries forced the king to
abdicate and created the July Monarchy with encouragement from the new French
King Louis Philippe. Louis Philippe had promised revolutionaries such as Ciro
Menotti that he would intervene if Austria try to interfere in Italy with troops. Fearing
he would lose his throne, though, Louis Philippe did not intervene in Menotti’s
planned uprising. The Duke of Modena abandoned his Carbonari supporters,
arrested Menotti and other conspirators in 1831, and once again conquered his
duchy with help from Austrian troops. Menotti was executed and the idea of a
revolution centred in Modena faded.

At the same time other insurrection arose in the Papel Legation of Bologna, Forli,
Ravenna, Imola, Ferrara, Pesaro and Urabino. These successful revolutions which
adopted the tricolore in favour of the Papal flag quickly spread to cover all the Papal
Legations, and their newly installed local governments proclaimed the creation of a
unified Italian nation.
The revolts in Modena and the Papal Legations inspired similar activity in the Duchy
of Parma where the tricolore flag was adopted. The Parmese duchess left the city
during the political upheaval.

Insurrected provinces planned to unite as the Province Italiane unite (United Italian
provinces) which prompted Pope Gregory XVI to ask for or Austrian help against the
rebels. Metternich warned Louis Philippe that Austria had no intentions of letting
Italian matters be and that French intervention would not be tolerated. Louis-Philippe
withheld any military help and even arrested Italian patriots living in France.

In the spring of 1831,the Austrian army began its march across the Italian
peninsula,slowly crushing the resistance in each province that had revolted. This
military action suppressed much of the fledgling revolutionary movement, and
resulted in the arrest of many radical leaders, including Menotti.

In 1848, the revolutionary disturbances began on January 5 with a civil disobedience

strike in Lombardy, as citizens stopped smoking and playing the lottery, which denied
Austria the associated tax revenue. Shortly after this, revolts began on the islands of
Sicily and in Naples against king Ferdinand, who conceded as he had in 1821 and
granted the kingdom of two Siclies a constitution, as well as releasing political
prisoners.

In February 11848, there were revolts in Tuscany That were relatively nonviolent,
after which Grand Duke Ferdinand granted the Tuscans a constitution. A breakaway
republican provisional government formed in Tuscany during February shortly after
these concessions - four if one considers Sicily to be a separate state.

Pope Pius IX granted a constitution to the Papal states. On February 23, King Louis
Philippe of France was forced to flee Paris, and a republic was proclaimed. By the
time the revolution in Paris occured, three states of Italy had constitutions.

Meanwhile in Lombardy tensions increased until the Milanese and Venetians rose in
revolt on 18 March 1848. The insurrection in Milan succeeded in expelling the
Austrian garrison after five days of street fights - 18 March till 22 March. An Austrian
army under Marshal Josef Radetzky besieged Milan, but due defection of many of
his troops and the support of the Milanese for the revolt, they were forced to retreat.
Soon. Charles Albert, the king of Sardinia, urged by the Venetians and Milanese to
aid their cause, decided this was the moment to unify Italy and declared war on
Austria. After initial successes in Goito and Peschiera, he was decisively defeated by
Radetzky at the battle of Custoza on July 24. An armistice was agreed to, and
Radetzky regained control of all of Lombardy - Venetia saved Venice itself, where the
Republic of San Marco was proclaimed under Daniele Manin.
While Radetzky consolidated control of Lombardy-Venetia and Charles Albert licked
his wounds, matters took a more serious turn in other parts of Italy. The monarchs
who had reluctantly agreed to constitutions in March came into conflict with their
constitutional ministers. At first the Republics had the upper hand forcing the
monarch to leave their capitals, including Pope Pius IX.

Initially Pius IX had been something of a reformer, but conflicts with the
revolutionaries soured him on the idea of constitutional government. In November
1848 following the assassination of his minister Pellegrino Rossi, Pius IX fled just
before Garibaldi and other patriots arrived in Rome. In 1849, elections were held for
a constituent assembly which proclaimed a Roman Republic on February 9. On
February 2, 1849 at a political rally held in the Apollo theatre, a young Roman priest
the Abbe Arduini had made a speech in which he had declared that the temporal
power of the Popes was a “historical lie, a political imposture, and religious
immorality.” In early March 1849, Mazzini arrived in Rome and was appointed Chief
Minister. In the constitution of the Roman Republic religious freedom was guaranteed
by article 7, the independence of the Pope as Head of the Catholic Church was
guaranteed by article 8 of the Principi Fondamentalli, while the death penalty was
abolished by article 5 and free public education was provided by article 8 of the
Titolo I.

Before the powers could respond to the founding of the Roman Republic, Charles
Albert whose Army had been trained by the exiled Polish general Albert Chrzanowski
renewed the war with Austria. He was quickly defeated by Radetzky at Novara on
March 23, 1849. Charles Albert abdicated in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel II
and Piedmontese ambitions to unite Italy or conquer Lombardy were, for the moment
brought to an end. The war ended with a Treaty signed on August 9. A popular revolt
broke out in Brescia on the same day at the defeat at Novara but was suppressed by
the Austrians ten days later.

There remained the Roman and Venetian Republics. In April, a French force under
Charles Oudinot was sent to Rome. Apparently the French first wished to mediate
between the Pope and his subjects, but soon the French were determined to restore
the Pope. After a two month siege, Rome capitulated on June 29,1849 and the Pope
was restored. Garibaldi and Mazzini once again fled into exile - in 1850 Garibaldi
went to New York city. Meanwhile the Austrians besieged Venice, which was forced
to surrender on August 24. Pro-Independence fighters were hanged en masse in
Belfiore while the Austrians moved to restore order in Central Italy, restoring the
princess who had been expelled and establishing their control over the Papal
Legations. The revolutions were thus completely crushed.
Although Charles Albert had been soundly defeated in his bid to drive the Austrians
from Italy. The Piedmontese did not abandon all hope of Italian domination. Camillo
di Cavour who became president of the Council of Ministers in 1852, also had
expansionist ambitions.Cavour saw that Piedmont would not be able to add to its
territory single-handedly. Instead he hoped for aid from Britain and France in
expelling the Austrians from Italy. An attempt to gain British and French favour by
supporting them in Crimean war was unsuccessful, as Italian matters were ignored
by the Congress of Paris. Nevertheless the war achieved a useful objective - it left
Austria which had uncomfortably tried a balance between the two sides during the
war, dangerously isolated.

On January 14, 1858 the Italian Nationalist Felice Orsini attempted to assassinate
the French Emperor Napoleon III. Writing from prison Orsini did not plead for his life,
accepting death for his role in the failed assassination, but rather appealed to
Napoleon III to fulfill his destiny by aiding the force of Italian nationalism. Napoleon,
who had belonged to Carbonari in his youth, and saw himself as in tune with the
ideas of the day, became convinced it was his destiny to do something for Italy. The
summer of 1858, Cavour met with Napoleon III at Plombieres where the two signed a
secret agreement, known as the Pact of Plombieres. Cavour and Napoleon III
agreed to a joint war against Austria. Piedmont would gain the Austrian territories of
Lombardy and Venetia and some territories of the former Venetian Commonwealth in
the Adriatic, as well as the duchies of Modena and Parma, while France would be
rewarded with Piedmont territories in Savoy and Nice. Central and Southern Italy,
being largely underdeveloped and of little interest to the wealthier North, would
remain largely as it was, although there was some talk that the emperor's cousin
Prince Napoleon would replace the Habsburgs in Tuscany. To allow the French to
intervene without appearing as aggressors, Cavour was to provoke the Austrians by
encouraging Revolutionary activity in Lombardy.

At first things did not work out as planned. The Austrianss ignorant of the agreement
of Plombieres were surprisingly patient in dealing with the Piedmontese inspired
insurrections. Piedmontese mobilization in march 1859 was something of an
admission of defeat, as it appeared that the strategy of provoking Austrians into
aggression had failed. Without Austrian aggression the French could not intervene
and without French support Cavour was unwilling to risk war.However, the Austrians
conveniently made their opponents' task easier by sending an ultimatum to the
Piedmontese demanding demobilization. The piedmontese could conveniently reject
this, and by making Austria seem the aggressor, allowed the French to to intervene.

The war itself was quite short. The Austrian advance into piedmont was
incompetent and they were unable to secure the Alpine passes before the arrival of
the French Army, led personally by Napoleon III. At the battle of Magenta on June 4,
the French and Sardinians were victorious over the Austrian army of count Ferenz
Gyulai leading to the Austrian withdrawal from most of the Lombady and a triumphal
entry by Napoleon and Victor Emmanuel into Milan. On June 24 second Battle was
fought between the two Armies at Solferino. This bloody engagement at which
Austrian Emperor Franz Josef had taken personal command of his troops, saw little
skill demonstrated by either Emperors, but the French were victorious.The Austrians
withdrew behind the Quadrilateral of fortresses on the border of Venetia. A French
and Sardinians landing force had conquered the island of Losini.

Napoleon III sought peace at this point. Upon touring the Solferino battlefield he was
aghast at the casualties. He feared that a long and bloody campaign would be
necessary to conquer Venetia, which coupled with fear for his position at home,
worry about possible intervention by German states, and dislike of a too powerful
Piedmont-Sardinia let him to look for a way out. On July 11, he met privately with
Franz Joseph at Villafranca, without the knowledge of his Piedmontese allies. The
two agreed on a settlement to the conflict. The Austrians would retain Venetia but
would cede Lombardy to the French who would then immediately cede it to
Piedmont. Otherwise the Italian borders would remain unchanged. In Central Italy
where that authorities had been expelled following the outbreak of war, the rulers of
Tuscany, Modena and Parma, who had fled to Austria, would be restored, while
papal control of the Legations would be resumed. Because

Only a few months after Sardinia had successfully annexed the kingdoms of
Northern Italy, Southern Italy also fell to the patriots. The "Expedition of the
Thousand" is the most famous campaign of the war, due to the popularity of the
Italian hero Garibaldi. Although Garibaldi had served under Victor Emmanuel in the
wars against Austria in the North, the two greatly distrusted each other. Garibaldi
was idealistic, personally courageous, and scrupulously honest, but a radical in
terms of politics. The statesmen of Sardinia, on the other hand, were moderate,
pragmatic, and self-serving. They feared Garibaldi's influence and personal
popularity, while Garibaldi considered the Sardinian government corrupt and
untrustworthy.

Always anxious to avoid the appearance of aggression, Cavour, the prime minister of
Sardinia, encouraged Garibaldi to raise an army of unofficial volunteers to aid a
rebellion in Sicily. Cavour knew that many of the officers of the Neapolitan army were
sympathetic to the liberal cause and would not seriously oppose a rebellion, and that
Garibaldi's personal popularity would greatly help his cause. By using Garibaldi's
volunteer forces, rather than an official Sardinian army to support a rebellion in
Southern Italy, Cavour knew he had an excellent chance of gaining control of the
region, while making it appear to be a popular movement rather than an act of
aggression.
Garibaldi's whole Expedition was something of a charade. His volunteers were
poorly armed and clothed because Sardinia could not "officially" recognized them.
Yet the Sardinia government and their English co-conspirators spent thousands of
dollars bribing Neopolitan officiers to refrain from fighting and English ships
accompanied Garibaldi's transport. Francesco Crispi, a Sicilian statesmen in league
with Mazzini help arrange additional forces to join Garibaldi on landing, and worked
to stir up popular support for the rebellion. And most importantly, key Neopolitan
officers had been induced to desert their posts and throw the battle.

The Neopolitan troops did a poor job of resisting the invaders so soon after
Garibaldi's forces landed in Sicily, they were close to control of Palermo, the capital
city. Several thousand additional troops arrived from Naples and bombarded the city,
but failed to dislodge Garibaldi. Eventually a truce was called and a conference
arranged by a British Admiral in the region. The conference consisted of the warring
parties, plus admirals from Britain, America, France, and Sardinia who were
somehow able to persuade the Royalist general that he would be wise to surrender
in spite of the fact he had 15,000 men at arms to Garibaldi's 500. Although bribery
and strong-arming from foreign governments was primarily responsible for the patriot
victory, official credit for the "popular uprising" was given to Garibaldi.

A few weeks later, Garibaldi and his men attacked Messina, and again, the
Neopolitans failed to hold the city against a few thousand poorly armed rebels.
Again, Garibaldi's brilliant generalship was credited for the victory, in spite of the fact
that traitorous Royalists refused to provide reinforcements, and naval support for the
rebels was provided by Britain. Soon after the victory at Milazzo, Garibaldi and his
men, aided again by foreign admirals, embarked for Southern Italy and was hailed as
a "liberator". The king and his ministers fled Naples to Capua and prepared to
oppose Garibaldi at the Volturnus river.

By this time the Sardinian government was anxious to gain control of the situtation,
since they feared that Garibaldi would march on Rome and provoke French
intevention. Sardinia therefore made a behind-the-scenes agreement with the France
to leave Rome unmolested while they marched through Papal territory to the east.
After two lopsided battles at Castelfidardo and Ancona, against international
volunteers who had come to the aid of the Pope, the eastern Papal states fell to
Sardinia. All that was left was to join forces with Garibaldi, and drive the Neopolitans
out of their last stronghold at Gaeta.

Once Garibaldi turned over his command to King Emmanuel of Sardinia, all of Italy
was united under one king, excepting the Venice and the territory surrounding Rome.
Elections were held in each newly acquired state to give the population the chance
to vote on annexation, but the franchise was carefully limited to those most likely to
be in favor of a integration into the newly formed "Kingdom of Italy". Unsurprisingly,
the elections showed overwhelming popular support for the new government.

In 1861, the "Kingdom of Italy", made up of former kingdoms of the Italian Peninsula,
was officially established. The only independent provinces left in the region were
Rome, which was protected by France, and Venice, protected by Austria. The Italian
government could not claim either without risking war with a powerful empire. What
could not be done through strength of arms, however, could be done with diplomacy.
Before he died, Cavour had opened up negotiations with Otto von Bismarck of
Prussia, and over the next few years the Italian-Prussian alliance would deliver both
Venice and Rome into the Kingdom of Rome.
The conflict known as the "Third War of Italian Unification" was really just the Italian
front of the Austro-Prussian war of 1866. Bismarck had prepared for war against
Austria, and arranged with Italy to invade Venice as soon as war was declared
between Austria and Prussia. A diversion in the south would greatly weaken
Austria's abililty to oppose Prussia in the North. The Italians lost most of their battles
with Austria, but they served their purpose in dividing Austria's forces, so once
Bismarck was able to dictate terms of peace, he forced Austria to cede Venice to the
Kingdom of Italy.

After Venice was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, only the province of Rome,
guarded by French soldiers, remained independent. Garibaldi never gave up his
dream of taking Rome and making it the capital of an Italian republic, and only a year
after his victories in Sicily and Naples, he led a band of volunteers on an expedition
to take Rome. The Italian government would have loved to annex Rome, but was
unwilling to deal with the political consequences, so it sent an army to surround
Garibaldi. There was little actual fighting, and Garibaldi was taken prisoner. He was a
national hero, however, so he was released soon after.
Garibaldi made a second attempt to march on Rome in 1867, shortly after the Third
War of Italian Unification. This time his expeditionary forces of over 5000 approached
the city, and attempted an entry. The French and Papal forces were forced to resist,
and a violent battle occurred. Garibaldi's troops suffered over 1000 killed before the
began a retreat.

Three years later, the French troops protecting Rome were recalled, and the city was
taken with little resistance. Although Italy played no part in the Franco Prussian War,
the conflict and collapse of Napoleon III's government made it impossible for the
French to maintain an garrison in Rome, and without a foreign garrison Rome was at
the mercy of the Italians. The pope insisted on a nominal resistance because he
refused to concede the legitimacy of the annexation of his domains. From the next
59 years the Popes considered themselves "Prisoners in the Vatican" and refused to
accept the authority of the Italian government in Rome. It was not until the Lateran
Treaty was signed in 1929, which established the Vatican as sovereign nation, that
the Popes left the Papal residence and traveled freely within Italy.