Italy - the Creation of the Kingdom of Italy, 1956-61 Flashcards
1
Q
Orsini bomb plot
A
- An attempt to take Napoleon III’s life by an Italian nationalist
- Made Napoleon III bitter towards Piedmont as they had allowed Orsini to avoid arrest and make his way to France
2
Q
Pact of Plombieres
A
- July 21st 1858
- Progress between France and Piedmont was rapid, culminating in a secret meeting between Cavour and Napoleon III
- Plans were drawn up for French military intervention, which would result in Australian expulsion from Lombardy and Venetia and the enlargement of Piedmont
3
Q
Term of Plombieres
A
- Austria would have to be seen as the aggressors who provoked the war
- If France looked like the aggressors, then Prussia might defend Austria
- They feared that Britain would not tolerate replacing Austrian control of Italy with French control so Napoleon had to appear to ne protecting weaker Piedmont from Austrian aggression
- A Kingdom of Upper Italy, ruled by the House of Savoy, would be created to cover the provinces of Piedmont, Lombardy and Venetia, and the duchies of Parma, Modena and the Papal Legations
- A Kingdom of Central Italy would be controlled by Tuscany and would include Umbria and the Papal Marches
- Rome and the surrounding ae would remain under control of the Pope, who would lead an Italian confederation
- Naples would remain as it was because Napoleon III didn’t want to upset the Tsar of Russia who was an ally of the Bourbons
- France would get Nice and Savoy in return for 200,000 soldiers
- The agreement would be sealed by the marriage of the 15 year old daughter of Victor Emmanuel, Clotilde, to the middle aged prince Jerome Bonaparte
4
Q
VE’s issues in 1859
A
- How to provoke a war with Austria so that they appear the aggressors
- March - Piedmont mobilised their army
- April - Austrians mobilised (this was costly for them)
- 23rd of April - Austria demanded for Piedmont to demobilise within 3 days
- 29th of April - Austria declared war; took 10 days to mobilise and this was only part mobilisation as troops had to be left in Hungary; Piedmontese officers were reluctant to engage as they wanted to leave the fighting to the French; the army arrived by train in advance of their supplies
5
Q
Setting sail for Sicily
A
- As Garibaldi was preparing to march with his volunteers to defend Nice from the French, he heard about an uprising taking place in Sicily against the king of Naples
- Mazzini urged Garibaldi to take his men to he island and help the Young Italy volunteers there
- Garibaldi gathered together a force of volunteers and set sail with ‘the Thousand’, his current mistress and rifles, but no ammunition, about two old paddle steamers
6
Q
How many volunteers did Garibaldi take to the uprising in Sicily?
A
1200
7
Q
When did Garibaldi set sail for the south?
A
May 1860
8
Q
How many rifles did Garibaldi’s ‘the Thousand’ have when setting sail for the south?
A
1000
9
Q
Cavour’s attitude to Garibaldi’s expedition to the south
A
- Cavour sensed that the trip would fail as the number of men going was too small and that the weapons were poor
- He was uncertain whether he wanted it to succeed as in his opinion, the south was too poor and backward for Piedmont to take over
- Therefore, he refused Garibaldi’s request for arms and equipment and made it clear that Garibaldi didn’t have official Piedmontese support
- Some reports say that Cavour even tried to have Garibaldi arrested
- Cavour was worried about popular reaction, as Garibaldi had immense public support
10
Q
Success in Sicily
A
- Garibaldi reached Marsala in Sicily on the 11th of May 1860, arriving alongside some British naval ships, so he wasn’t attacked
- He advanced towards Palermo, gathered more support along the way, and defeated a Neapolitan army in hand-to-hand combat
- By the end of May, the Thousand reached Palermo and found enemy troops waiting or them. Garibaldi won and the enemy retreated to Naples. He was helped by marauding peasants, bandits and local mafia
11
Q
How many members did the Thousand have by the time they reached Palermo?
A
3000
12
Q
How many enemy troops were waiting for the Thousand in Palermo?
A
20,000
13
Q
Governing Sicily
A
- Garibaldi appointed himself as dictator and initially supported the peasants
- This was because he abolished milling tax and promised land redistribution
- However, he changed sides soon after, as he had to suppress some peasant revolts, which lost him peasant support and gained the support of the landlords
- He introduced Piedmontese law, but refused to hand the island over the Victor Emmanuel as he thought he would lose the power to attack Naples
14
Q
Attack on Naples
A
- Cavour was worried that Garibaldi would attempt to take Naples and move northwards so he tried to arrange a revolution in Naples in favour of VE, however this failed
- He then gave orders to stop Garibaldi and sent ships to arrest him, but Garibaldi crossed the Straits to Calabria on the 22nd of August
- Garibaldi fought his way to Naples, the king fled and Garibaldi officially arrived in early September
- He ruled as dictator for 2 months, but was unable to advance north due to a Neapolitan stronghold
15
Q
How does Cavour stall Garibaldi?
A
- Cavour feared an attack on Rome would lead to difficulties with France. Napoleon III was already upset that Garibaldi had landed a small force in the Papal States on his way to the south two months earlier
- The Garibaldini was now 60,000 strong, many of whom were Mazzinian and opposed to the Catholic church and its teachings. Many were also Republican, which worried Cavour as this could lead to power slipping away from VE and Piedmont
- His most pressing issue was to stop an attack o Rome and the only way to do this was to send an army from Piedmont through the Papal States. This army was led by VE, and arched from the south, defeating a Papal army
