2 - Developments in diplomacy Flashcards
cavour was not an instinctive..
nationalist
but he didn’t agree with austrian influence
cavour understood that piedmont would need
a foreign ally
___ confirmed Cavour’s role on the diplomatic stage
Crimea
congress of paris
british foreign secretary (Lord Clarendon) attacked the idea of foreign troops in the Papal States. this was much to the delight of cavour, as these were austrian troops.
cavour met Louis Napoleon III
when/who - Milan Treaty
between Piedmont and Austria
August 1849
generally, what did Austria want with the Milan treaty?
to restore the status quo in Italy
Treaty of Milan - terms
piedmont had to pay a war indemnity of 65 million francs
piedmont also had to reconfirm borders from Treaty of Vienna
Austria reserved their right to meddle in Italian affairs
in austria, they were not so ‘tolerant’ as they were in Piedmont with the milan treaty
the leading supporters of the Lombardy provisional government were fined and those who fled into exile (mostly to Piedmont) had their estates seized
accentuated the differences in their rules
article 3 of the statuto
foreign policy was the prerogative of the king.
As the king’s PM, Cavour was given considerable power to make foreign policy as he saw fit without parliament’s approval
1854 - britain, france, russia and austria
britain and france declared war on Russia in Crimea
austria remained neutral
russian antagonism towards austria
growing - in 1854, austria/britain/france issued the Vienna 4 Points (Austria would intervene in the war if Russia did not accept the terms)
austria remained neutral and didn’t help Russia in Crimea
how did russian antagonism affect piedmont
benefitted piedmont diplomatically as Austrian dominance was waning
austria’s secret treaty
with britain/france
1856
which agreed that austrian possessions in italy would be guaranteed for the duration of the war
mid-1854 - britain/france struggling
suffering from cholera epidemics.
cavour had reservations about joining but had pressure (notably from Sir James Hudson - the british ambassador in Turin) and lobbying nationalists convinced cavour
in 1855, what did cavour do?
join the crimean war
sent 15,000 troops
piedmont in crimea
took part in the victory at Chernaya Rechka in August, leading directly to the fall of Sebastopol
impact of piedmont joining the war in crimea
- respect and gratitude of allies
- met louis napoleon at the congress in 1856
- although italy was not mentioned until peace had been signed, the ‘Italian Question’ was the main topic of discussion on 8th April
when piedmont joined the war what did russia do
stopped grain supply to piedmont
british politicians’ views about italian independence
lord palmerston (PM for most of second half of 1850s) was vigourously against austria in italy
but views generally were mixed
example of how britain and france were primarily interested in maintaining good relations with austria?
1856 secret treaty
guaranteed independence of ottoman empire
long term consequences of crimean war
marked the beginning of the end of Vienna treaty
- austria now isolated diplomatically
- led france to be more sympathetic towards italian unity
short term consequences of crimea
showed how neither britain/france was prepared to undermine austria (despite its isolation)
