PIEDMONTS DEVELOPMENT IN

THE 1850s

THE STAGES OF ITALIAN UNIFICATION

PIEDMONT’S TRANSFORMATION IN THE 1850sIn 1861 Italy was unified under Piedmontese Leadership. In the 1850s

Piedmont developed politically, economically and through foreign policy in order to take on the role of leadership of the risorgimento. Under Victor Emmanuel II and particularly Cavour, Piedmont prepared for War with Austria.

POLITICAL:

• The Statuto and the ‘liberal ethos’

• The Siccardi Laws and the Connubio

• The end of the Radical threat

ECONOMY:

• Industrialisation

• Textiles

• The Railways

FOREIGN POLICY:

• Crimean War and Louis Napoleon III

• The Pact of Plombieres

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS:THE STATUTO:

• Despite the failure of the 1848 Revolutions Piedmont retained their constitution, the Statuto.

• This guaranteed that Legislation would be passed by the King with the permission of the two chambers and that taxation would be controlled by the elected chamber.

• It also ensured a free press and individual liberties.

• For this reason 30,000 political exiles moved to Piedmont, most were able intellectuals.

THE SICCARDI LAWS AND CONNUBIO:

• The Siccardi Laws reduced the Church’s power and influence in State Affairs.

• The Connubio was created after Cavour made an agreement with Rattazzi, the leader of the centre-left. It strengthened Parliaments position in relation to the crown. It led to Cavour being asked by Victor Emmanuel to become Prime Minister in 1852.

THE END OF THE RADICAL THREAT:

• Cavour ensured that a Mazzinian inspired insurrection would prove futile. He therefore ensured that Mazzini would play little part in the future of Unification.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS:INDUSTRIALISATION:

• Cavour had initially been Minister of Trade and Agriculture. He was an economist, industrialist and was particularly impressed with Britain’s Industrial Revolution and railway network. He wished to do the same in Piedmont. As a result Piedmont became the first region of Italy with a partly industrialised economy.

TEXTILES:

•A thriving textile industry had been established in the 1840s. However it remained a predominantly domestic industry as the lack of coal hampered progress.

• Wool silk and cotton were important industries employing thousands.

THE RAILWAYS:

• Cavour visited Britain in 1835 to see the London to Birmingham railway designed by Robert Stephenson, he was so impressed that he implemented an extensive building programme of a rail network in Piedmont.

• He believed that the railways would lead to Piedmont becoming an important economic power and would lead to a developing national consciousness.

• He didn’t realise the railways most important role would later be for the mobilisation of troops against the Austrians!

FOREIGN POLICY DEVELOPMENTS:Cavour as Prime Minister could make foreign policy decisions as he saw fit. He wanted to advance Piedmontese interests by curtailing Austrian influence and promoting Piedmont.

THE CRIMEAN WAR AND NAPOLEON III:

• In 1854 Britain and France declared War against Russia and sent troops to fight in the Crimea.

• Austria remained neutral. Cavour initially refused to join the war but after pressure from Britain, France and from Victor Emmanuel II Cavour agreed to send troops. Troops arrived in 1854. Although many troops were struck down with cholera they didn’t disgrace themselves and took part in a victory that secured the fall of Sebastopol.

• The threat of Austria joining led to Russia agreeing to peace.

• Cavour met at the peace settlement – the Congress of Paris as an equal partner with Britain and France. Although he didn’t get an agreement to end Austrian dominance of Italy he did achieve a number of key points: The ‘Italian Question’ had been discussed and Britain and France were grateful to Piedmont for her support.

• Cavour and Napoleon continued to meet in secret after the Congress and it later led to the ‘Pact of Plombieres.

THE PACT OF PLOMBIERES:THE ORSINI PLOT:

• On 14th January 1858 four Italians led by Count Felice Orsini attempted to assassinate Napoleon. They believed it would lead the restoration of the Republic in France and ultimately gain support for Italian Unification. They failed and were arrested.

• At his trial Orsini appealed to Napoleon to support Italian unification. Napoleon was so impressed with his arguments that he met with Cavour.

THE PACT OF PLOMBIERES:

• They met at Plombieres. In return for Cavour’s assurance that Italian Nationalists would be suppressed in Piedmont, as long as he gained a wife for his cousin Jerome, he would send French troops if a war was to commence between Austria and Italy, as long as Austria was the aggressor.

• It was finally agreed that A Kingdom of Upper Italy (ruled by Piedmont) would be created to include Piedmont, Lombardy, Venetia, Parma, Modena and the Papal Legations. Central Italy would be controlled by Tuscany, Rome would remain in the Pope’s hands, Naples would remain separate. In return for 200,000 French troops Napoleon would gain Nice and Savoy and Victor Emmanuel’s daughter, the 15 year old Marie Clothilde would marry the middle-aged Prince Jerome.

Stage 1 – Acquisition of Lombardy.

Stage 2 – Acquisition of Tuscany, Modena, Parma, and Romagna.

Stage 3 – Acquisition of Sicily, Naples and the Papal States.

Stage 4 - Acquisition of Venetia and Rome.

OVERVIEW:

THE STAGES OF UNIFICATION IN ITALY:

STAGE 1: ACQUISITION OF LOMBARDY• The Pact of Plombieres set up the agreement between Cavour and Napoleon III. Cavour now needed to provoke war with Austria. Victor Emmanuel delivered a provocative speech on 12th December 1859 but it had little effect. Cavour mobilised the Piedmontese Army in March 1859. The Austrians followed suit. The Austrians demanded the Piedmontese army to demobilise within three days. It didn’t and Austria declared war on Piedmont on 29th April. The French sent their army. Piedmont ensured the National Society engineered revolutions in central and northern Italy.

WAR WITH AUSTRIA 1859

• Two minor victories by the Piedmontese army at Palestro and by Garibaldi’s ‘Cacciatori delle Alpi’ at Como in May 1859 paved the way for the two main battles of the war.

• The Battles of Magenta and Solferino: (4th and 24th June) Austria was defeated at both (although only just). The Carnage was horrific (led to the Red Cross being set up) and Austria didn’t look as if it would pull out of N Italy. So Napoleon secretly made peace with Austria at Villafranca on 8th July 1859.

• Villafranca: this concluded that Austria would give Lombardy to France to pass to Piedmont (but not give up Venetia). Piedmont was not to acquire the central states and the Pope would lead an Italian confederation of states.

• Cavour resigned before the official end of war at the Treaty of Zurich Nov 1859.

STAGE 2 – ACQUISITION OF TUSCANY, MODENA, PARMA AND ROMAGNA:

• Napoleon however declared that the Pope’s temporal role was in decline and met with Cavour (back as PM on 21st Jan 1860).

• Cavour agreed to hand over Nice and Savoy to France as long as France would accept annexation by Piedmont of the Central duchies. This was agreed as long as the central duchies held plebiscites and voted in favour of Piedmontese annexation.

• The plebiscites were all rigged but all were in favour.

• Cavour gained easy expansion of Piedmont through the support of the National Society and through clever diplomacy.

STAGE 3 – ACQUISITION OF SICILY, NAPLES AND THE PAPAL STATES:

• Garibaldi initially gathered an army of ‘the thousand’ to meet to prevent the surrender of Nice to France. However they heard that a revolt was breaking out in Sicily. Many of his men were Sicilians and he was persuaded by Crispi and Pilo to sail south. Garibaldi decide he would liberate Italy in the name of ‘Italy and Victor Emmanuel’. He arrived in Sicily on 11th May 1860. He was faced with little opposition and his army grew in size from new recruits. His army was well trained and he was an outstanding leader, despite limited ammunition he defeated the Neapolitan army at Calatafimi on 15th May and Sicily was acquired by the end of July.

• September 1860 (despite many attempts by Cavour to stop him) Garibaldi conquered Naples and planned his next stage - the papal states. Cavour decided to act. He used the National Society to begin a riot and he ordered the papal army to disband. When they didn’t he sent in the Piedmontese army. (France didn’t mind as long as they stayed away from Rome).

• On the 18th September the Papal army was defeated by Piedmont at the Battle of Castelfidaro. Garibaldi had to defeat the surviving Neapolitan army on 26th October 1860 at the Battle of Volturno.

• On the 26 October Victor Emmanuel and Garibaldi met at the head of the two armies. Garibaldi handed over his acquisitions and returned to Caprera. The new ‘Kingdom of Italy’ was proclaimed with Victor Emmanuel II the King in 1861.

STAGE 4 – ACQUISITION OF VENETIA AND ROME:• Cavour died in June 1861 from Malaria. He was succeeded by Baron Riscali and then Rattazzi. Early 1862 Garibaldi set up the Society for the Emancipation of Italy. In June he set sail for Sicily with support from Rattazzi. However, the French looked to get involved and Rattazzi sent a military force to block Garibaldi. At Aspromonte Garibaldi’s army surrendered to the Piedmontese but only after Garibaldi was shot badly in the leg. Garibaldi was later pardoned but Rattazzi was sacked. His successors were all weak.

VENICE:

• Venice was gained through diplomacy and War. Bismarck (Prussia) and Napoleon met at Biarritz in Oct 1865. Napoleon promised to remain neutral in a war between Prussia and Austria. Italy agreed to fight for Prussia in return for Venice. Napoleon double crossed Prussia and also made a treaty with Austria saying she would stay neutral in a war between Austria and Prussia if she would gain Venice!! As it happened Austria defeated Italy at the Battle of Custozza. But as Prussia won (at Sadowa) she handed over Venice to France, who in return handed it to Italy.

ROME:

• Sept 1864 Napoleon agreed to evacuate Rome as long as Italy switched capital from Turin to Florence. Later it was again diplomacy and war that led to Piedmont gaining Rome. Prussia provoked France into war in 1870. France troops left Rome to fight the Prussians. Piedmont seized the opportunity to take Rome and it was pronounced the new Capital City in 1870.