“Cavour’s development of the socio-economic and political systems of Piedmont helped to further national unity” How far do you agree with this statement. Flashcards
What should be clarified in the introduction?
what is meant by unity – direct or indirect?
What should be suggested in the introduction?
Very little evidence to suggest that Cavour was doing anything other than expanding Piedmont’s influence in the North and any moves towards unity were purely coincidental.
What four factors suggest that Cavour furthered unity?
1) commercial and Industrial growth
2) Infrastructure expansion
3) Diplomatic relations
4) Trade agreements
What four factors suggest that Cavour did not further unity?
1) Setting up the connubial
2) Economic system – Anti clericalism
3) Reducing opposition – crushing the radicals
4) Overriding of parliament
Cavour created a telephone link between which two cities?
Turin and Paris
During the 1850s, what fact showed how attracted foreign powers were becoming to Italy?
Trade increased by 300% in the 1850s.
How many silk workers in Piedmont?
60,000
How many cotton workers in Piedmont?
114,000
When was the Cavour canal built?
1857
How did Piedmont’s extensive economic success help unity?
This helped unity as workers would come to Piedmont to find work and other states would see Piedmont’s success and want to be part of it.
What was the conundrum regarding Cavour’s foreign policy?
Cavour was not an instinctive nationalist but disliked Austrian behaviour in Lombardy and felt that they provoked Italian nationalists. Cavour’s political Foreign Policy remained anti- Austrian yet he was also mindful that Piedmont’s isolationists needed appeasing.
Name a Piedmontese isolationist?
Margherita
How can Cavour’s approach to nationalism be described?
RealPolitik
which is the area that suggests that Cavour was intent on furthering national unity most?
Diplomatic relations
When was the Crimean war
1854
When did Cavour get involved in the Crimean war?
1855
How many troops did Cavour send to the Crimean war?
15 000
What did the involvement of Cavour in the 1854 Crimean War give him in 1856?
A seat on 1856 Congress of Paris
What did the Crimean War mark?
A watershed in Austrian power
What did the Piedmontese involvement in the Crimean War mean for Franco/British - Piedmont relations?
France and Britain were indebted to Piedmont
How valuable was the support of Britain and France to the cause of Italian unity?
Whilst neither Britain nor France sympathised with Austrian dominance in the North of Italy, in the short term they did not challenge them. In the medium term, however, their support would be crucial to any Piedmontese challenge to the Austrian dominated order in Northern Italy.
When was the Congress of Paris?
1856
What about the Crimean War 1854 demonstrates how cautious Cavour was towards nationalism?
They were Piedmontese troops not Italian
What three countries did Cavour establish free trade deals with?
GB Belgium and France
Which French bankers did Cavour encourage to do what?
encouraged foreign investment with Rothschild, a French banker, funding much of the train line linking Milan, Turin, Genoa and the French border
Which french bankers financed much of the Mount Cenis tunnel?
Rothschild and Laffitte
By making the Piedmontese banking system closely reliant on the french banking system, what was Cavour doing?
Ensuring that the would have a vested interest in ensuring Austria stayed out of Piedmont’s affairs
What port of Italy did Cavour modernise?
genoa
To what distance did the Piedmontese railway system increase to in the 1850s?
819km
What was the benefit to Cavour of the railway system?
Could move troops and supplies across the country
What railway line opened in 1854
line that linked Milan, Turin, Genoa and the French Boarder.
What did the infrastructure improvement make Italy more accessible to?
Foreign investment
What did the transport improvements allow for?
Easier movement between states
The piedmontese deficit doubled from what in 1861 when they took on smaller state’s debts?
2 450 million lire debt
What does the Piedmontese willingness to take on smaller state’s debts show?
that latterly Cavour was increasingly willing to make sacrifices for the causes of unity
When did Piedmont take on smaller state’s debts/
1861
When did Cavour warn Austria about a Mazzinian uprising in Milan?
February 1853
What does Cavour’s decision to warn Austria about a Mazzinian uprising in Milan show?
His political decision to betray Mazzini shows that Cavour was only interested in protecting the constitutional monarchy of Piedmont against radical republican threats.
When and where did a Mazzinian revolt anger Cavour?
Genoa in 1857
What Cavour try to do as a result of the Mazzinian revolt in Genoa?
Cavour was furious and began to persecute Mazzinian radicals and suppressed the Mazzinian press.
Why may Cavour has not been pleased about Mazzinian uprisings?
The French disliked Mazzini and Cavour wished to reassure them so that they would invest in Piedmont.
What did Cavour do in 1855?
He appointed himself to the three main posts of: PM, foreign Minister and Finance minister.
When did Cavour appoint himself to the three main government posts?
1855
Cavour’s internal political reforms can be seen as what?
This political reform should be seen as an attempt to strengthen Cavour’s position so that he could modernise Piedmont as he wished. There is little evidence to suggest that he wanted to unify Italy but more that he wanted Piedmont to be the dominant power in the north.
When did Cavour reform the finance department?
1852
When did Cavour reform the foreign office?
1853
Who did Cavour use to reform the army?
La Mamora (Minister of War)
Why did Cavour want to reform the army?
Remove the conservative elements that were hostile to him
Who did Cavour oust in order to become PM?
D’Azeglio
Why did Cavour oust Azeglio?
the Siccardi Laws had divided Piedmontese politicians between Azeglio’s left and Balbo’s conservative right.
What had Azeglio done that led him to create so much division?
Azeglio had upset the pope and this threatened the power of Piedmont as potentially Catholic Austria or France could intervene. Cavour intervened when Azeglio proposed civil marriage.
Who was the leader of the conservative right at the time of D’Azeglio in Piedmont?
Balbo
What was the Connubio?
A centrist alliance that Cavour used to become PM
When did Cavour start his anti-clerical agenda?
1855
How did Cavour pursue his anti-clerical agenda?
closing 152 monasteries and 1700 benefices (posts held by priests)
What income did the 1855 anti-Clerical action by Cavour give the state?
added equivalent of £145,640
What did Cavour do to keep the right stable in Piedmont?
Sacked Ratazzi and promised no further challenges to the church
The amount of money gained by Cavour for Piedmont was designed to do what?
Add to the Piedmontese coffers and not help unity
