IB History Activity: The Unification of Italy

1. Explain the role of Giuseppe Mazzini in the Italian Unification.

2. What was the importance of the Crimean War in the Unification of

Italy?

3. Explain the role of Camillo di Cavour in the Italian Unification.

4. What was the Pact of Plombieres? What was the importance of this
pact?

5. “The role of Giuseppe Garibaldi was of crucial importance to the

unification of Italy”. How far do you agree with this statement?

1. Giuseppe Mazzini was the soul of the three Italy founders, and was a
liberal nationalist who was part of the carbonari and then the leader of
the young Italy, movement dedicated to the independence and
unification of Italy. He was also a romantic, consequently his ideas were
more spiritual and moral due to his awareness on the project of
unification, it wasn’t only a political matter for him. This idea would
transform Italy and the rest of Europe. He was participant of two failure
revolutions in 1830 and 1848. As a consequence he was exiled. Owing
to their ideals towards republicanism he was never satisfied to the final
form of Italian unification.

2. The Crimean War was developed with the goal of Piedmont Sardinia to
show itself as a powerful state and prepared to control the rest of Italy.
So the result was not as crucial as the presence of Piedmont. The
alliance between united Kingdom, France and Piedmont Sardinia was
created, in order to fight against Russia. As a result this weakened
Austria, an excellent outcome for Piedmont Sardinia, as it was one of
their enemies.

3. Camilo Di Cavour was the prime minister of Piedmont Sardinia from

1852 and was a classical liberal who came from nobility. He was not
above parliamentary manipulation but kept his sights clearly on the
establishment of a modern constitutional on the Italian peninsula. He
was a clever leader and thought every movement. He was assigned by
King Victor Emmanuel ll, who wanted an Italian empire under his
rulership. Cavour followed his next actions based on this idea of the
king.
4. The pact of Plombiere was a secret alliance between France and
Piedmont Sardinia to remove Austria’s power from Northern Italy. This
would be achieved by provoking Austria into a war that they definitely
could not win. In return of this assistance of France Piedmont would
give out Nice, where Garibaldi , the idealist romantic leader, was born,
and Savoy, where the Italian’s monarchy came from. So this was not
supported by the nationalist as they will be separated from their
territory, Italy. In order to take action in this plan Cavour had to cut his
relation with Mazzini, a liberal nationalist. Finally, the nationalist had to
agree and Piedmont Sardinia gained part of Austria’s territory

5. On the one hand, Garibaldi had a crucial role in the Italian unification as
a nationalist and idealist leader. He formed a small but private army
called “red shirts” of around 1000 men and he continued requiting men
all around Italy, especially in Sicily and Naples, where he conquered
large regions of Italy. Moreover, he managed to set his ideals in Italian
masses in specific about nationalism, encouraging people to take action
for their future country.

On the other hand, some others have unlike views on Garibaldi, of

someone who did not played a role as important as it is stated. As he
was an idealist he wasn’t prepared to sacrifice his ideals, in consequence
he often differ from some important figures such us Cavour, who was in
favor of him. He also made an attempt to invade the Papal States where
French troops were protecting. If he had followed with this plan, it
would have led to a war between this two regions. This has a negative
impact on his personality. Moreover, they claimed Mazzini and the
prime minister Cavour, more crucial founders. Mazzini with his ideas,
meaning he was the soul and Cavour with its practical actions, like a
brain. This meant that in comparison with this two characters Garibaldi
was not as important due to the fact he did not intervene in political or
legislative terms.

In conclusion, I believe that Garibaldi was a main factor that ought to be

taken into account. It might not have been as present as Cavour but he
was definitely part of the resorgimento spreading his ideals.