To what extent did the actions of foreign powers influence

unification?

Overview• Throughout the process of unification the forces that

created Italy were to a greater or lesser extent at the mercy of the European ‘Great Powers’. It is important to understand how the international situation influenced events it Italy, in particular addressing the following key questions:-

How did the dominance of Austria after 1815 and subsequent decline in the 1850s influence the unification process?

Why was the Crimean war significant? How important was French intervention in 1859? How did the rise of Prussia to prominence help Italy

become fully unified?

The Impact of Napoleon I• From 1799 to 1814 the Italian peninsula was under

the control of Napoleonic France. French occupation had a significant impact; the influence of the Pope was reduced, land was redistributed, the middle class was given a taste of political life.

• Many Italians resented French dominance, especially of trade. Positive or negative, there is no doubt that the Napoleonic era had a dramatic impact on Italy. Napoleon had said ‘Italy is one nation. Unity of customs, language and literature must at a period more or less distant unite her inhabitants under one government…’

• In 1815, after the Vienna Settlement had been drawn up, the unity that napoleon spoke of looked very distant…

The Vienna settlement• The major concern of the Great Powers (Britain,

Austria, Russia, France and Prussia) after the Napoleonic era was stability. They considered the creation of a ‘balance of power’ essential to achieve this.

• In basic terms this meant that no one European power should be significantly stronger that the others and that certain areas should be strengthened, particularly in central Europe.

• Each power had there own specific agenda at the peace conferences. One of the dominant figures was Austrian Foreign Minister Metternich. His chief concern was the restoration of the established order (pre-Napoleonic) and the repression of any nationalistic or liberal ideas.

These aims had a significant and lasting impact on Italy.

The Vienna settlement and Italy• Austria was given direct control of Lombardy and

Venetia.• Most other Italian states were to be ruled by various

members of the Austrian Imperial family, the Hapsburgs. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples and Sicily) was restored to the Bourbon king, Ferdinand I.

• The Pope was restored as ruler of the Papal States and given Austrian military protection.

• Essentially Austria was given far reaching influence over almost all of Italy. As historian John Lowe observed

‘…the Italian settlement was designed to serve Austrian interests…This was blatant Great Power politics… Her Italian gains were supposed to strengthen her as a Great Power, vital to European stability…’

What is meant by the phrase ‘blatant Great Power politics’ ?

Was the question of Italian unity considered by the Great Powers?

Austrian dominance and decline• In the revolutions of the 1820s and 1830s and

most significantly in 1848 -9 Austrian military might proved too much for the Italians.

• As Prussia grew in power in the 1850s so Austria declined. The Crimean War in 1854 has been called a ‘watershed’ in Austrian power. The important alliance with Russia collapsed and by failing to fully commit to Britain and France Austria had become diplomatically isolated.

• This was to prove hugely important in 1859,although Piedmont still needed help from another great power to finally oust the hated Austrians…

Napoleon III and Italy.• Louis Napoleon (the original Napoleon’s nephew)

first became involved in Italian affairs in 1831 with a doomed plot to declare his cousin ‘King of Italy’.

• His earlier support for Italian unity was severely called into question when in 1849, following his election as President of the French Republic, he sent troops to overthrow the Roman Republic and restore the Pope to power.

• So why did Napoleon decide to support Piedment in 1859?

Emperor Napoleon III

Why support Piedmont?Grateful for Piedmont’s

Support during the Crimean War

Spent early years inItaly – had a romanticattachment to the aimof Italian liberty and

nationalism

Wanted to get Austria out of Italy and replace

Habsburg influencein the peninsula with

French power

Wanted to create a French ‘client state’

in northern Italy

Wanted to gain territory for France –especially Nice and

Savoy

Wanted to promote theidea of the Pope as

head of an ItalianFederation – this wouldbe popular with French

Catholics

Wanted to extend the dynastic links of the Bonapartefamily by marrying his relatives into established royal

families like the Piedmontese House of Savoy

Napoleon III and Italy.• French involvement in 1859 proved crucial to the

ending of Austrian influence in northern Italy. Although there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Louis Napoleon was a sincere supporter of Italian nationalism there were clearly other motives at work.

• While the exact terms of the Plombieres agreement remain vague it is strongly suggested that France would hope to replace Austrian influence in northern Italy.

• Of crucial importance was the marriage of Marie Clotilde (Victor Emmanuel’s daughter) to Prince Jerome Bonaparte to further the Bonaparte families dynastic ambitions.

War with Austria• Despite relative success and a fortunate start

(Austria declared war, making them the aggressors) in the early stages of the war and victory at two major battles (Magenta and Solferino) Napoleon pursued peace with Austria at Villafranca in July 1859. Victory had been costly, Prussia threatened to help Austria and the revolutions in central Italy alarmed him.

• Eventually a compromise deal was struck that allowed whereby France would receive Nice and Savoy in return for allowing the annexation of the central duchies to Piedmont. This was, in truth, Napoleon making the best of a situation that had not gone as planned.

War with Austria Whatever Napoleons motives for becoming

involved in Italy it is clear that French intervention had a decisive role in unifying northern Italy. French military power was crucial in expelling the Austrians from the central duchies. As Napoleon hesitated the power vacuum was quickly filled by nationalist governments that would favour annexation to Piedmont.

• In the end Villafranca was never enforced. A shift in the international situation, particularly the attitude of the British allowed Cavour to negotiate a deal with Napoleon. In return for Nice and Savoy, France would agree to the annexation of the central duchies to Piedmont by plebiscite.

Garibaldi’s conquest of the south

‘Italy owed most to French armies and British moral approval’ – AJP Taylor

• By late 1859 the British position on Italy was clear. A new, independent, liberal state would be a welcome counterbalance to the conservative monarchies in Europe (Prussia, Austria and Russia).

• Garibaldi was offered free passage in the Mediterranean and it was made known by Lord John Russell, the influential foreign secretary that the British government approved of the new Italian state.

Why was British support so significant?

Rome and Venetia

• To what extent did the actions of foreign powers influence the unification of Italy?

• Remember! – Italy was not fully unified by 1861. Rome an Venice still remained outside Italian control. Read pages 79 to 83 and answer the following questions in detail -

• Why was the acquisition of Venice seen as humiliating by many in Italy?

• What was Pius IX’s attitude toward the new Italy?

• Describe how Rome eventually became part of the new Italy.

Venetia

• Prussia had become increasingly powerful in the 1860s and by 1865 felt ready to challenge Austria directly.

• Italy struck a deal to support Prussia in return for gaining Venetia. (the deal was struck via Napoleon).

• The Italian contribution to the war was an embarrassing defeat at Custozza followed by an humiliating naval defeat at The Battle of Lissa. However following crushing victories by the Prussian armies the Austrians conceded Venice.

• The manner of the acquisition of Venice left many disappointed with the new state, coming as it did not through an Italian victory but as a result of deals struck between bigger European powers.

Rome

• After 1848 Pius IX had rejected all ideas of a the new Italian State. Increasingly the Papacy focused on spiritual rather than temporal power. The remaining papal territory was protected by France

• Following the defeat of France and capture of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 the Italian government took the opportunity to seize Rome.

• Arriving as the French troops departed was not exactly the glorious conquest that many Italians had managed. Nevertheless Italy now had its ancient capital and unification was, at least in physical terms, complete.