Italian Unification 1861 Flashcards
Italy in 1815 (Political Composition)
- Lombardy-Venetia under direct A. control.
- Kingdom of Naples & Sicily ruled by King Ferdinand I.
- Papal States - Pius VII
- Duchy of Parma, Modena, Tuscany (Central Duchies) ruled by A. princes or related to House of Hapsburg.
- Sardinia - Piedmont, Savoy, Nice, Genoa, Sardinia ruled By King Victor Emmanuel.
Lombardy-Venetia
Part of Habsburg Empire.
2 provinces.
Most prosperous parts of I. in 1830.
Piedmont - Sardinia
Called either Piedmont or Sardinia.
Only state in peninsula w. no formal ties to A.
Parma, Modena, Tuscany
Central Duchies.
Ruled by junior members of Habsburg royal family.
Papal States
Ruled by clerics, w. pope as head of state.
Based in Rome, pope ruled over region of Umbria, Romagna, Marches.
Badly governed.
Kingdom of 2 Sicilies
South
Mainland & island of Sicily.
Often known as Kingdom of Naples (after capital city)
Very poor.
Ruled by a branch of Spanish Bourbons, rarely enlightened or progressive rulers.
Sources of discontent
Majority of ppl were peasants.
For most change from F. to A. domination was meaningless.
For small, educated middle class in N. Italy, who benefited from F. institutions, restoration of tyrannical A. gov.s was disappointment.
Napoleon introduced administration in Italian, Napoleonic Code of Law, unifrom weights & measurements.
All was cancelled after restoration of A. rulers.
Forces against unity (1815-1848)
- All states governed by rulers who wanted to maintain status quo:
- No equivalent to G. Bund or Zollverein.
- differences in currencies, weights, measurements. - I.’s culture & society divided.
- No single I. language spoken & understood by everyone - different dialects.
- I. society was fragmented - agrarian society, most land owned by nobility or C.C. - majority of I.s - peasants.
- wasn’t better in I. towns & cities - controlled by wealthy nobles & merchants - urban poor lived in overcrowded slums. - Different schools of thought (1815-1848):
- Democratic Republicans (Mazzini)
- Papal Federalists (Gioberti)
- Liberal Monarchists (Balbo, D’Azeglio) - Problem of Rome:
- Pope had temporal power of central I.
- Supported by loyal Catholics, F., A.
- Opposed any movement in I. that threaten his authority
Forces for unity (1815-1848)
After 1815 - main groups identifying w. unified I. - secret societies.
In S. - Carbonari predominated.
Many members of Carbonari in central & N. I.
Never achieved much bec. disorganised & lacking clear aims.
Work of Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872)
Joined Carbonari 1827 but arrested 1830 before revolutions 1831.
Gone into exile in F.
Failures of 1820/21 & 1831 convinced Mazzini of need to appeal to wider audience.
1831 - Mazzini formed society “Young Italy” designed to be national rather than regional movement.
Attempted several unsuccessful revolts from abroad.
Argued that F. help for I. unification was unnecessary.
All needed was for society to recruit young generation.
Mazzini’s writings continued to have influence from Switzerland & then England.
Pope Pius IX (1846-1878)
Interested in Gioberti’s plan for confederation of states under his leadership & disliked A. domination.
Moderate political concessions.
His reforms acted as focus for national aspirations through I.
Significant developments in I. betw. 1831 & 1847: Charles Albert’s accession & rule (1831)
Accession to throne of Piedmont-Sardinia.
New king maintained political censorship & supported CC.
Began to modernise Piedmont.
Laws were codified, tariffs reduced, roads improved, railways introduced, feudalism abolished in island of Sardinia.
Nationalists who believed that creation of I. required I. state to lead began to look to Piedmont.
1848/1849 revolutions
2 phases - autumn 1848 dividing line.
1st phase:
-popular revolutions broke out in Naples & Lombardy-Venetia but were defeated.
-national war against A., led by Piedmont, also defeated.
2nd phase:
- popular revolutions occurred, in Tuscany & Rome.
- Piedmont made 2nd unsuccessful attack on A.
- Habsburgs able to reassert control over Tuscany & Venice, while F. defeated roman Republic & Bourbons regained control over Sicily.
The revolts (1848/1849) were weakened by disunity
Mutual suspicions prevented effective co-ordination between I. states.
Charles Albert wasn’t popular in rest of I.
Outside Piedmont there was little organisation of revolts & diversity of aims.
The revolts (1848/1849) were weakened by disunity: Lombardy & Venetia
Both reluctant to surrender independence to new N. I. Kingdom based on Piedmont.
Milan - upper bourgeoisie supported Charles Albert, lower were republican & wanted autonomy within federation.