In the long 19th century, the ideology of liberalism was coming to the forefront, and in the confederations of Italy and Germany this was a call for unification. This article would be talking about how the Italian Unification, also known as the Risorgimento, took place and what role did Napoleon III had to play in it.
To understand this story, we must start with Napoleon Bonaparte, who during his time as the Emperor of France had taken over most of Europe, either through annexation or alliances. In Italy he was also given the title, first as the president of Italy and later as the King of Italy, however he maintained the idea that the Italian Peninsula should be unified as one state. After he was exiled, in 1815, the major powers in Europe wanted to restore the balance of power and ensure that no one can rise like Napoleon and take control of almost all of Europe, reason being that after the Napoleonic wars the states, empires and sovereigns of Europe were all tired of fighting (Salomone, 171). Hence, in the 1814-15 Congress of Venice it was decided that boarders would be restored to what they were before Napoleon, and furthermore to maintain most power in the hands of the major states in Europe, spheres of influence were also organised. This resulted in Italy being divided again into multiple small states, furthermore the provinces of Lombardy and Venetia, were handed over to the Hapsburg Empire, i.e., the Austrian Empire. Along with that members of the Austrian ruling family were installed as rulers in Naples and Sicily.
Over the next few years while the people of Italy wanted the state to be united however a large portion the people began taking up jobs and a large Italian middle class was established (Salomone, 180). The kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was one at the forefront of this with large industries and manufacturing hubs emerging, further as it lay in northern Italy, in-between Austria, and France, the kingdom was largely free of foreign intervention as any threat from either Austria or France to Piedmont would not only be a threat to Piedmont but also to the other state. All of this resulted in a lot of failed uprisings throughout Italy until 1848. In 1848 there were liberal revolutions all over Europe, which started in France. Consequently, in Milan and Venice, which are in the provinces of Lombardy and Venice, who wished for their own independence from the Austrian Empire. In the province of Piedmont-Sardinia, the revolutions were met with the formation of a constitution. Furthermore, at this time the call for a united Italy led to the formation of the tri-colour Italian flag that we know today. Piedmont then went on to support the revolutionaries in Lombardy and Venice, but with the revolutions being largely disorganised along with the swift withdrawal of the revolutionaries in Lombardy, Piedmont returned home defeated. The heavy defeat led to the Emperor of Piedmont abdicating and being succeeded by Victor Emmanuel II.
While this was happening over in France Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, had just been declared the President of France, and by 1852 he had performed a coup d’état and like his uncle, he became the Emperor of France (Woodworth, 544). Napoleon III often could not escape the comparison that people made to his uncle, while some considered him more sympathetic and calculate than his uncles, others argued that he rather indecisive with his foreign policy (O’Sullivan, 220-223). Nevertheless, back in Italy the Papal states also saw uprisings with the revolutionaries gaining enough ground to be able to overthrow the Pope and declare a Roman Republic. Napoleon III being Catholic himself and ruling a Catholic state felt like he should intervene in Rome and restore the Pope, and so he did exactly that. Pope was restored in Rome and now there was also the presence of the French army in that province.
Now, we enter the 1850s. In this post revolution Italy, Piedmont was determined to become the one to unify the peninsula. They adopted the tricolour as their nation flag and abided by the constitution that they had laid. The Prime Minister under Victor Emmanuel II, Count of Cavour, wanted to form a united Italy and base it on the same principals as that of Britain. Cavour believed that to form a united Italy he would need the help of Britain and France, hence in 1855 he joined the Crimean war on their side. In the end he didn’t gain Britain as an ally, but he did end up being a strong ally of France. Hence Cavour and now Emperor of France, Napoleon III, had become began talks about Austria. Meanwhile in 1857, Piedmont began increasing its military presence on the boarder it shared with Lombardy and Venice. In 1858, Napoleon III and Cavour came to a secret agreement called the “Pact of Plombieres,” a defensive pact between the two states that arguably helped accelerate the Risorgimento (Salomone, 169). This alliance was rejoiced by a few, including the British poet Elizabeth B. Browning, who lived in Italy at this point, said that she was “in a high state of excitement” with this news (Woodworth, 547). Meanwhile in France, Napoleon’s policy was met by resistance, however Napoleon halted the opinions of the French nobles believing that his involvement was important (O’Sullivan, 223). This could be because Napoleon wished for a satellite state in Northern Italy, which can be evidenced by the pact as it asks for Italy to be under French influence, as Napoleon wanted a larger buffer between Austria and France. It is also argued that Napoleon didn’t wish for Italy to completely unite, as this could create another rival for France in Europe, hence he believed that there should be an Italian confederation which consisted of 5 states, i.e., Piedmont, Rome, Naples, Tuscany, and Modena (Wawro, 10-11). Be that as it may, Napoleon did substantially contribute to the Italian Risorgimento (O’Sullivan, 228).
The following year there was an uprising in the Italian Province of Modena, and Piedmont came to the aid of Modena. Fearing a unification of Italy, Austria came to intervene, and hence Napoleon III and France joined the war on the side of Piedmont. Piedmont’s General, Giuseppe Garibaldi, was given volunteers to launch a guerrilla attack in Lombardy. Whilst states of Central and Northern Italy joined together to from the United Provinces of Central Italy and joined the war effort against Austria. France had begun helping the Italians and won a battle from the in the city of Magenta in Lombardy. The last battle in this war was the battle of Solferino, which was a rather bloody one, but ended in the favour of the Franco-Piedmont alliance.
During this time however, Napoleon made a deal with the Austrians without informing Piedmont (Wawro, 21). Napoleon did this because he feared the growing power of Prussia and wanted to shift his focus there, but this anger Cavour who then decided to resign. However, the treaty resulted in Piedmont getting Lombardy and giving up Nice to France. Soon after the United Provinces of Italy handed over power to Piedmont fearing break out of revolutions, this change of power made angered the French who in the Pact of Plombieres had mentioned that no Papal state should be taken by Piedmont, and the United Provinces of Italy had a few northern Papal states. At the same time Garibaldi had seized an opportunity with revolutions in Sicily and formed an army of a thousand volunteers, known as “1 mile,” and annexed the place for himself. He noticed that he could take advantage of this same problem in Naples and hence swiftly moved his troops into Naples. Seeing that Garibaldi had taken all the south and still being furious at the French, Piedmont annexed the rest of the Papal state, except Rome which still remained in the hands of the French. By 1861 all of Italy, except for Rome and Venice was now united, hence the Kingdom of Italy was established with its capital in Rome and its King Victor Emmanuel II.
However, there were parts of Italy that were still left to be gained. Italy signed a secret treaty with Prussia in which it was agreed Italy will provide troops to Prussia in the Austro-Prussian war but in return it asked for Venice to be given to Italy in case they won. The war was won by the Prussians, however before the end, Austria had ceded Venice to France. Napoleon respected the Prussian and Italian treaty along with his alliance with Italy and also his need for a buffer state between France and Austria, hence in 1866 Venice had been united with the rest of Italy.
Garibaldi was still thirsty for a united Italy with Rome as its capital, as he believed that God had intended for Italy to be united and believed he could do so himself given his previous successes (Dincecco et al., 896). So, in 1867 he made another attempt for Rome, but was restricted by the Italian army themselves and his expedition came to an end. It was only in 1870 that Italy was able to unify completely, as France was now distracted with the Franco-Prussian war and gave Rome minimal attention, which meant that Italian troops could walk into Rome and claim it as their own. The Pope didn’t approve of this, as he was still in favour of Rome being under the French, so as to have more influence over Rome, as agreed by the Vatican and France.
Nevertheless in 1871, Rome was made the capital of Italy and the following years saw the growth of Italy into a formidable power in Europe. Yet at the same time Napoleon III had to abdicate his throne with his defeat in Prussia. Who knows, given the failed attempt of Piedmont to unite Italy in 1848, would the unification of Italy even be possible without the involvement of Napoleon III? Some even argue that it wasn’t Napoleon III who helped Italy to unite, rather it’s the minds of Cavour and Garibaldi and their ambition that caused this to happen. However, it is for certain that Napoleon III’s involvement in Risorgimento did help them achieve unification faster than they would have alone.
Bibliography
Dincecco, Mark, et al. “Warfare, Taxation, and Political Change: Evidence from the Italian Risorgimento.” The Journal of Economic History, vol. 71, no. 4, 2011, pp. 887–914.
O'Sullivan, John. “Napoleon III.” Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, vol. 12, no. 46, 1923, pp. 219–232.
Salomone, A. W. “Statecraft and Ideology in the Risorgimento. Reflections on the Italian National Revolution.” Italica, vol. 38, no. 3, 1961, pp. 163–194.
Wawro, Geoffrey. “Austria Versus the Risorgimento: A New Look at Austria’s Italian Strategy in the 1860s.” European History Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 1, Sage Publications, 1996, pp. 7–29.
Woodworth, Elizabeth. “Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Coventry Patmore, and Alfred Tennyson on Napoleon III: The Hero-Poet and Carlylean Heroics.” Victorian Poetry, vol. 44, no. 4, 2006, pp. 543–560.
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