Italy - the Rise of Piedmont, 1849-56

Question 1

When was Azeglio appointed as PM of Piedmont?

Answer 1

1849

Question 2

What was Azeglio’s government like?

Answer 2

Conservative, moderate

Question 3

What was one of VEII’s first actions as king?

Answer 3

Shelling Genoa where the radicals were entrenched

Question 4

What document did VEII allow to stand?

Answer 4

Statuto

Question 5

What was one of Azeglio’s first major policies and why may this have been supported?

Answer 5

• Challenging the power of the church
• Both the King and the minister himself had been upset by the behaviour of the church in 1848 when they had abandoned Charles Albert
• The reactionary nature of the church doctrine challenged the principles of the Statuto

Question 6

What were the Siccardi Laws?

Answer 6

• March 1850
• They controlled the power of the church through a range of measures: separate law courts for priests were abolished, the right for criminal to seek sanctuary and protection in churches was abolished, religious groups property rights were restricted, the numbers of feast days where people couldn’t work were reduced

Question 7

Which politician in Piedmont voted against the Siccardi laws?

Answer 7

Thaon de Revel

Question 8

What was the Connubio?

Answer 8

• 1851-52
• Cavour, the Minister for Trade and Agriculture, made a parliamentary agreement with the leader of the centre-left party, Ratazzi
• This led to the government of Azeglio falling when he tried to move on to the next stage of his ant-clerical measures

Question 9

When was Cavour made PM of Piedmont?

Answer 9

November 1852

Question 10

Anti-clerical actions of Cavour

Answer 10

• In 1855, he attacked the wealth of the church

- Abolition proposed of all monasteries not involved in charity or education

Question 11

How many monasteries were suppressed in 1855?

Answer 11

152

Question 12

How many benefices were suppressed by Cavour in 1855?

Answer 12

1700

Question 13

How much money did the state give the church per year prior to 1855?

Answer 13

5 million lire

Question 14

How was more political stability created by Cavour?

Answer 14

• 1857 - votes from the Right of the Senate to the church as they had more sympathy for the church - led to Cavour sacking Ratazzi and ended the Connubio to create more political stability
• Changed his attitude towards the church

Question 15

Cavour’s actions in government

Answer 15

• 1857 - found technicalities to reduce a right wing majority in parliament,
• In January, 1855, he appointed himself to the 3 main posts of administration: PM, Foreign Minister and Finance Minister
• These moves enabled the government to remain stable and followed a consistent path towards modernisation
• More liberal methods of creating stability used: administrative reforms in the financial department in 1852 and in the foreign office in 1853; use of La Mamora to reform the army, to increase efficiency and remove conservative elements

Question 16

Cavour’s most important contribution to the ‘Italian question’

Answer 16

• he placed it firmly in the context of European diplomacy
• It was only through Great Power agreement that any change would be allowed to occur
• Piedmont’s foreign policy remained anti-Austrian - this was because Cavour disliked Austrian attitudes to Lombardy and felt that they provoked Italian nationalists into reactionary behaviour
• Under article 3 of the Statuto, foreign policy remained the prerogative of the crown, meaning that Cavour as PM had the power to promote Piedmont’s interests and undermine the Vienna settlement

Question 17

Changing power of Austria

Answer 17

• Those Austrians led by Metternich between 1815-1848 worked hard to stamp out all nationalism and preserve their conservative aims
• They had crushed Piedmont between 1848-9, reasserting control by late 1849
• Political change became possible in Italy only when Austria declined economically because of the challenges from Prussia and the growth of the Zollverein
• Austria had tried to establish a southern confederation, however many of the states had already joined the Zollverein (e.g. Silesia)

Question 18

Crimean war

Answer 18

• 1854 - opportunity to get involved with international diplomacy arrived for Cavour when Piedmont entered the Crimean war
• 1855 - Britain and France, who had previously declared war on Russia, had asked Piedmont for troops

Question 19

How many troops were sent by Piedmont for the Crimean war?

Answer 19

180,000

Question 20

Where did La Mamora’s troops fight well in the Crimean war?

Answer 20

Chernaya Rechka, 16th August 1855- this led to the fall of Sebastopol

Question 21

How many Piedmontese died during the Crimean war from wounds?

Answer 21

30, cholera killed off the rest

Question 22

The Congress of Paris

Answer 22

• Feb-Apr 1856
• Cavour’s actions: his attendance showed Piedmont’s growing diplomatic status
• The Italian question was discussed there on the 8th of April, showing that then it had been a diplomatic issue
• France and Britain were thankful towards Piedmont for aiding them in the Crimean war