Unification of Italy

-SWARGAM ANUSHKA
 PREFACE
●From 1100’s to 1800’s central europe was made up of numerous
kingdoms,principalities and free cities.
●Italy as a cohesive political entity did not exist. Inspired by the success of
American Revolution and experience of the napoleonic wars a small group
of dedicated worked to unify individual territories into nations.
●Let us trace the development taken place in 19th century which fostered the
Unification of Italy.
 BACKGROUND
1. Italian Peninsula had not been unified since fall of Roman Empire
2. Most spoke same language, but peninsula divided into competing states,
each with own government
3. Napoleon invaded Italy
a. –United many states under one government
b. –Unification did not last
c. –After Napoleon’s defeat, Congress of Vienna split Italian states .
4. Following conquest by the Frankish Empire, the title of King of Italy merged
with the office of Holy Roman Emperor.
5. Spirit of nationalism began to rise through Europe
Background
6. Italy gradually developed into a system of city-states.Southern Italy, however, was
governed by the long-lasting Kingdom of Sicily or Kingdom of Naples,which had
been established by the Normans. Central Italy was governed by the Pope as a
temporal kingdom known as the Papal States.
7.This situation persisted through the Renaissance but began to deteriorate with
the rise of modern nation-states in the early modern period. Italy, including thePapal
States, then became the site of proxy wars between the major powers, notably the
Holy Roman Empire (including Austria), Spain, and France.
IMPACT OF FERNCH REVLUTION

● The Habsburg rule in Italy came to an end with the campaigns of the French
Revolutionaries in 1792–97, when a series of client republics were set up.
● In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last emperor, Francis
II, after its defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz.
● The Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars destroyed the old
structures of feudalism in Italy and introduced modern ideas and efficient
legal authority.
PROMINENT PERSONALITIES

The Italian Unification was brought about by a number of five individuals

and each of them contributed to the cause in varying degrees and different
roles.
1. Napoleon Bonaparte
2.Victor Emanuel II
3.Giuseppe Mazzini
4CamilloCavour
5.GiuseppeGaribaldi
1.Napolean Bonaparte

● Austrian influence could not have been eliminated from

northern Italy without the massive amount of military aid
provided by France.
● The removal of the French garrison from Rome was not a
result of Napoleon’s desire to see Italian unification but was
rather forced upon him as the Franco-Prussian war broke out.
● He had helped expel Austria, expand Piedmont, and
contributed to the creation the Kingdom of Italy.
2.Victor Emanual II

● Victor Emmanuel II, , king of Sardinia–Piedmont who

became the first king of a united Italy.
● He worked to free Italy from foreign control and became a
central figure of the movement for Italian unification.
● Austrian forces were defeated in 1859. Apart from Sardinia-
Piedmont, a large number of volunteers had joined the cause under
the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi. In 1860, they marched to South
Italy and managed to defeat Spanish rulers. In 1861, Victor
Emmanuel II was proclaimed as the King of Italy
 3.Giuseppe mazzini

● Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian revolutionary, born in Genoa in 1807.

● He became member of various secret societies such as ‘Young Italy’ or
‘Young Europe’.
● He attempted revolution in Liguria.
● He wanted unification with wider alliance of nations.
● He frightened conservatives through opposition of monarchy and vision of
democratic republics.
● He favoured war for unification of Italy.
● He wanted Economic development and Political dominance.
 4.Minister Cavor
● Cavour provided leadership to other States of Italy by making sardinia and
Piedmont an ideal state that other state may follow them. For this purpose he
made it an ideal democracy and took numerous steps to create infra - structure
for the economics progress of the state.
● Cavour kept it pure of any factious spirit, he led it away from barren Utopias,
kept it clear of reckless conspiracies, steered straight between revolt and
reaction and gave it an organized force, a flag a government and foreign allies.
● He tried to win the support and confidence of the foreign powers to attain his
objectives. He was devoted to the national and knew how to bring it to
possibilities.
 5.Giuseppe Garibaldi
● Giuseppe Garibaldi has been one of the most celebrated of all
Italian freedom fighters. Sailor by profession, he joined the secret
society, ‘Young Italy’.
● He supported King Victor Emmanuel II in his efforts to unify the
Italian states. He organised an army to achieve the unification of
Italy. People joined his army in large numbers and came to be
known as ‘Red Shirts’.
● By the end of 1860, he along with his army had conquered the
states of Sicily and Naples which further paved the way for the
unification of Italy.
 Unification
● During the 1820s and 1830s, the movement for unification would
grow finally culminating in revolutions break out in many Italian
states in 1848. Although the revolutions would be suppressed, it
did little to stem the tide of revolutionary activities.
● Guiseppe Garibaldi would emerge as the face of Italian unification
during this period.
● Lending his support to King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, he
would return to Italy in 1860 bringing with him an army
consisting of volunteers from Sicily and Naples. In 1858, Victor
Emanuel, along with other northern Italian states, had allied with
France to permanently end Austrian involvement in the region.
Unification

● The northern states had joined up with Piedmont-Sardinia and accepted

Victor Emmanuel II as their King. Garibaldi handed Naples and Sicily to
him in November 1860 and by 1861 Italy was declared as a kingdom.
● Only Venice and Rome would remain under foreign control and they
became a part of Italy in 1866 and 1871 respectively. Thus, the
Unification of Italy was completed.
Aftermath
● Although the reunification was a reality, it leads to total domination of the
Kingdom of Piedmont. Despite promises that regional authorities would
participate equally in the government, it was the ruling class of Piedmont that
dominated the government during the initial years.
● The new Kingdom of Italy was structured by renaming the old Kingdom of
Sardinia and annexing all the new provinces into its structures. The first king
was Victor Emmanuel II, who kept his old title.
● The new constitution was Piedmont’s old constitution. This was resented by
pro-clergy elements in Venice, Rome Naples and Sicily.
● The inevitable long-run results were a severe weakness of national unity and a
politicized system based on mutually hostile regional violence. Such factors
remain in the 21st century.
 THANK YOU
SWARGAM ANUSHKA
CLASS-10-E
ROLL NO.21