Piedmont 1849-1860
Recap Charles Albert by reading Access p49-55
The events of 1848-9 convinced many liberals in Italy that the leadership of Piedmont would be essential if the Austrians were to be driven out of Italy.
§ Powers wouldn’t allow Austria to be too harsh on Piedmont after her defeat; wanted to keep buffer against France (this can be seen as unintentional permission for Piedmont to pursue rash Foreign policy
§ The Statuto continued and many liberal exiles settled in Piedmont
§ These exiles dominated the National Society (set up in 1857) which campaigned for Italian unity under Piedmontese leadership.
§ In 1855, Daniel Manin declared that he would support the Piedmontese monarchy if they united Italy.
”Make Italy and we are with you. If not, we are not”
Victor Emmanuel II
· Cautious.
· Catholic;
· Trained to be autocrat and military leader; little academic education
· Both his Wife and his mother were Austrian
· The Austrians actually persuaded him to keep statuto to avoid other more radical demands.
· Uncouth and vulgar but more extrovert than his father; could get on with Garibaldi
Reforms in Piedmont
Prime Minister D’Azeglio was conservative but anti-clerical.
1850 Siccardi Laws reduced the power of the Catholic Church
add extra from Collier p 48-9
§ abolished Church courts
§ reduced the number of holy days.
§
§
Count Camillo di Cavour
Background and early career
His main aim was to make Piedmont a strong, modern country and he largely succeeded.
In 1850, Cavour became Minister for Agriculture and Commerce, but later also Minster for Navy and Finance.
Cavour’s Economic Reforms
§ He organised finances for large projects through loans and taxes
§ 850 km of railway were built.- see Collier p 52-3
§ 1853 telegraph
§ construction of canals
§ He arranged commercial treaties with Austria, Britain and France and invited foreign banks to invest money in Piedmont. Tariffs were reduced allowing imports and exports to quadruple 1850-59. Helped textile industry develop.
These economic reforms helped put Piedmont in a leading position.
The Connunbio
Cavour supported the Siccardi Laws which provoked a realignment of the Piedmontese Government which had been “centre-right” under Massimo d’Azeglio. However as some on the conservative right did not like the laws, Cavour made an agreement with the leader of the centre-left, Rattazzi
This “Connubio” strengthened the position of Parliament by showing how necessary Parliamentary support was. (not clear in statuto)
Furthermore Cavour ensured that Rattazzi was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies despite the King’s disapproval.
D’Azeglio’s Government collapsed.
In 1852 Cavour became the Prime Minister of Piedmont.
His alliance with the centre-left was based on Anti-clericalism so in 1855, he proposed a radical law to close some monasteries and give their land to the state
This caused opposition and although he passed the law, in the 1857 election, those with sympathy for the Church increased their number of seats.
Cavour decided to end the connubio with Rattazzi
He also introduced reforms which made the army more democratic.
Despite his skill as a politician, Cavour was not popular in Piedmont.
· Victor Emmanuel II disliked him because he did not come from the traditional elite.
· The Church opposed his restrictions on ecclesiastical influence,
· Working people disliked the increases in taxes to pay off the debts incurred in the war of 1848-9 and to pay for projects e.g. railways
Cavour and “Italy”
When he became prime minister, Cavour’s main aim was to make Piedmont a strong, modern state.
Despite earlier vague pronouncements, Cavour still referred to idea of Italian unity as rubbish until 1859.
He opposed nationalism because he did not want to see Piedmont submerged in Italy.
He disliked Mazzini intensely because he believed he was irresponsible and attracted hostility abroad. Cavour opposed Republican revolutionary activity and helped foil a Mazzinian conspiracy in Milan in February 1853, by warning Austria of the planned uprising and arresting Crispi.
But he was not above using Italian nationalism in his efforts to defeat Austria. Through the National Society, he met Manin and Garibaldi in1856.
Furthermore he disliked the way Austrians treated refugees from Lombardy; whose property was seized, Cavour was outraged. He believed Austria’s actions provoked insurrection. (Austrians relaxed persecution 1857)
Cavour wanted to drive the Austrians out of Lombardy and Venetia in the cause of Piedmontese expansion and not in support of Italian unity.
He had been convinced by the events of 1848-9 that foreign help would be essential if the Austrians were going to be defeated. That help could only come from France. Fortunately Louis Napoleon* became Emperor (1852) and he wanted to adjust the power balance* in Europe away from Austria.
By 1856, he was regarded as the most likely leader to defeat Austria and was receiving varying degrees of support from all quarters in Italy, including republicans.
D’Azeglio and Cavour followed a middle way policy, encouraging neither Mazzinians nor Piedmontese isolationists
The “Second War “ 1859
1854 Cavour became Foreign Minister as well as Prime Minister
How did Cavour set about defeating Austria?
He wanted French support.
The Crimean War 1854-6
Why did Cavour send Piedmontese troops to support Britain and France in the Crimean War? Access p56 &8; Collier p56-7
Cavour didn’t want France and Austria to form an alliance against Piedmont.
Congress of Paris 1856
The Italian contribution gained Cavour a place at the conference table
· This was a sign of growing diplomatic status of Piedmont
· The “Italian Question” Cavour raised the issue of Austrian military presence in the Papal states; he was posing not as a Nationalist but as a legitimist- i.e the Austrians had no right to be there. Cavour’s speech at the conference was reported in French newspapers. He received a good deal of attention and a great deal of sympathy. The British delegate made a passionate speech against backward government in Papal States and Naples but this achieved little as the British Government were unwilling to act so soon after a war..
· The goodwill of Britain and France had been won
· Cavour met Napoleon III of France (formerly Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon I) This contact was kept up through numerous means including the Countess Castiglione, sent to seduce Napoleon.
Orsini’s Assassination attempt 1858 Collier p 59-60
Why did he try to assassinate Napoleon?
Orsini’s appeal at his Trial
Why else might the plot persuade Napoleon to meet with Cavour?
Meanwhile Cavour encouraged Napoleon’s support by appearing to adopt conservative tactics in Piedmont.
· Mazzini was condemned to death (not for the first time) and radical ministers were forced to resign.
· After the Orsini Plot, in January 1858, Cavour made every effort to catch the conspirators.
Cavour and Napoleon met secretly at Plombieres 1858 where he agreed to help Piedmont drive Austria out of “Italy”. This was made into a secret agreement in January 1859.
· They would need to find a justifiable pretext to avoid other powers siding with Austria. (so this was an engineered war)
· Napoleon would provide 200,00 troops; Italians would raise 100,000
· In return, Napoleon would get Nice and Savoy
· Napoleon’s cousin would marry Victor Emmanuel’s daughter.(Collier p 61!)
· Italy would be four parts, with the Pope as President
1. Kingdom of Upper Italy- Piedmont would acquire Romagna, Lombardy and Venetia, Parma and Modena
2. area around Rome –would remain with the Pope
3. Kingdom of Central Italy- Tuscany and the rest of the Papal States
4. Naples would be unchanged (Cavour had no ambition for Piedmont there; Napoleon didn’t want to upset the Tsar who had links with the Bourbons.)
This agreement probably represents Napoleon’s agenda more than Cavour’s but it seems that Cavour had sketched out the terms before the meeting, anticipating what Napoleon would like. Napoleon didn’t want a unified Italy which might be a threat to him or worse, might make the powers suspicious that he was following the imperialist vision of his uncle. Cavour agreed as the price for French assistance.
Cavour began to prepare the Italians psychologically for war:
He wrote an emotional speech for Victor Emmanuel at the opening of Parliament in January 1859
See Access p 62
“we cannot be
The Piedmontese press was flooded with anti-Austrian propaganda and appeals for support from Italians throughout the peninsular. This was not especially successful. There was no real “cause” – the Austrians weren’t as repressive or as unpopular as in 1848. There was little enthusiasm except from the National Society.
Cavour mobilised the Piedmontese Army but didn’t get as many as hoped:- See Collier p 61
· Italians were half-hearted (see above) and tended to leave it to the French
· Some Italian conservative Officers were reluctant to enlist potential radical Nationalists and give them weapons
The smallness of the Italian army underlines the importance of the French contribution
Victor Emmanuel by contrast was very keen; he saw himself as a military leader.
Cavour couldn’t start a war; it had to look like Austria was the aggressor…
Although Russia promised to remain neutral, the Prussians made it clear they would support Austria, Britain was sympathetic to Italians hopes, but didn’t want war and also feared that France would dominate Italy. A Congress was suggested and Napoleon was tempted to agree, to avoid war. This was not Cavour’s preference, who doubted whether Piedmont would be given a place at a congress.
Fortunately for Cavour, Austria did give them a pretext.
March 1859 Austria amassed 90,000 soldiers in northern Italy fearing an attack by Piedmont. But due to their weak finances, they couldn’t afford to keep the army there indefinitely.
23rd April 1859 Austria demanded that Piedmont demobilise its army.
When Piedmont didn’t comply, Austria invaded.
See Victor Emmanuel’s declaration Access p 62
Bad weather and poor organisation delayed fighting, which gave time for French troops to arrive.
The Battles of Magenta and Solferino 1859
Access p 62-3; Collier p 63
The Austrian forces were not as large as they could have been, as they had to keep forces in Hungary.
Both battles were predominantly fought by the French against the Austrians.
Piedmont occupied Lombardy
The Austrians retreated to their highly fortified Quadrilateral in Venetia (see map Access p 65)
Meanwhile the rulers of Tuscany, Modena
and Parma had fled and the Provisional
Governments voted to join Piedmont.
(Romagna likewise) (see Collier p 63)
There wasn’t mush popular support;
it was mainly the agents of the National
Society, urged on by Cavour, who was
therefore already violating the terms of
Plombieres.
Victor Emmanuel had no prior knowledge
of this & thought it madness to risk
alienating their ally
July -August 1859 The Truce of Villafranca
Napoleon made a truce with Austria without consulting Piedmont.
Why did he do this? Access p 64-5; Collier 64-5
The French had done most of the fighting!
The Treaty of Zurich 1859:-
· Piedmont would receive most of Lombardy, although to save face, Austria would first cede it to France who would then give it to Piedmont.
· Piedmont could not keep Tuscany, Modena & Parma whose rulers would be restored. But Napoleon insisted that no force be used in accomplishing this
· Austria would keep Venetia
What would Cavour think about these terms?
Victor Emmanuel accepted these terms without telling Cavour. Cavour lost his temper and tried to force Victor Emmanuel to continue the war without the French. Victor Emmanuel refused, so Cavour resigned. (He returned to office 9 months later)
Central Duchies and Romagna.
Despite the Treaty of Zurich, these states continued to be run by their Provisional Governments.
Baron Ricasoli ruled Tuscany
Luigi Farini united Modena, Parma and Romagna into a new state of Emilia (Old Roman name)
Although their assemblies voted for annexation by Piedmont, this was not put into effect, in case it angered Napoleon. Nevertheless they introduced currencies and customs policies in line with Piedmont’s and declared they would not tolerate the return of their old rulers.
Napoleon accepted that the Pope would lose Romagna. This delighted British Foreign Secretary, John Russell (Collier p 65) who proposed that the future of the central states be decided by self-determination (vote by all men over 21)
Why did Austria not restore the old rulers as previously?
In mid-March1860, Emilia and Tuscany both voted overwhelmingly to become part of Piedmont. There was probably considerable vote-rigging
Piedmont issued decrees annexing Tuscany & Emilia.
It is possibly at this point that Cavour finally came to see the union of northern Italy as a real possibility. Yet he still probably didn’t think of uniting all Italy further as it would cause Civil War.
Nice and Savoy.
Napoleon hadn’t already taken these as he hadn’t kept to his side of the Plombieres agreement.
However Cavour wanted to secure Napoleon’s acceptance of their annexation of Tuscany and Emilia, so he secretly arranged to hand Nice and Savoy over to France, subject to popular votes.
In both, the vote was in favour of the transfer but it is likely that in Nice, which was Italian speaking, the vote was heavily influenced by the presence of French troops.
1859-60 Piedmont had doubled its
territory through war and diplomacy
Garibaldi was saddened by the handing over of Nice for which he was MP & where he was born; he planned to land in Nice to prevent it.
He collected 1,200 young volunteers in Genoa but was side-tracked by events in Sicily.
Who were “the Thousand”? Collier p 68
Garibaldi’s Southern Expedition 1860
Cavour had wanted to consolidate Piedmont’s control over northern Italy. Garibaldi wanted to unite all of Italy. He now forged the agenda.
Stage 1: Sicily
In April 1860,.Mazzinians Crispi and Pilo inspired a revolt in Sicily against Naples. They were joined by peasants who resented the milling tax and Landlord’s raising rents
They urged Garibaldi to help so he set sail with his ‘Thousand’, declaring that he would liberate Italy in the name of Italy and Victor Emmanuel. (Mazzini had accepted Victor Emmanuel as leader of united Italy if that was the popular choice)
What did Cavour think of the plan to intervene in Sicily?
Access p 69-70; 87 & Collier 69
D’Azeglio refused to release 12,000 of Garibaldi’s guns stored in police arsenal in Milan. Cavour provided him with very old replacements.
Cavour “kept his mouth shut and his options open”
Victor Emmanuel was more supportive, although this was probably due to his love of war and desire to increase Piedmont’s territory.
How was Garibaldi able to conquer Sicily? Access p87-8 Collier p 69-70
July 1860 Garibaldi was successful in Sicily
Garibaldi and the Government of Sicily
In what way and why did Garibaldi “betray Mazzini’s teachings”? Access p 88