essay about unification of italy
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Italy is a country which was formed less than 150 years ago. Until then, it had been a territory divided into diverse areas dominated all by different rulers, in addition to having dissimilar traditions. All this changed once a nationalist movement started to develop throughout the peninsula, led by different people. After Napoleon I gave Italy a similitude of unity, the Congress of Vienna (1815) divided the Italian territory into a number of states, as well as taking part of it to be offered to Austria. Either monarchs or the Austrian power ruled these several regions. Even though they still spoke the same language, the different states did not attempt to unify.
During the 1800’s, writers and thinkers revitalized the nationalist spirit in Italy, which produced a movement called the Risorgimento. Since the nationalist movement could not be supported freely, different clandestine groups appeared, being one of he first the Carbonari. One of its main affiliates was Giuseppe Mazzini. This member, very much had a vital function in Italian history. Giuseppe dedicated his life to unite Italy, and created another movement, which involved all the Italian patriots: Young Italy. Thanks to numerous rebellions in the several states, Mazzini set up a republic ruled by him and two other rulers after seizing Rome in 1849. However, soon afterwards the revolutionary movements failed all over Italy except for Sardinia, which remained independent. Previous rulers came back to power, nevertheless the patriots did not give up.
Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, the chief minister of Sardinia, set up a nationalist newspaper. Cavour admired the British government system, and wanted to unite Italy as well as industrialize the nation under his leadership. Cavour enhanced the army, as well as setting up banks, factories, railroads, recovering trade and strengthening the shipbuilding industry. He also granted religious freedom to the state of Sardinia. Cavour organized an alliance with France to make Austria release the Italian states it had under its power. Napoleon III and Cavour agreed to make Austria declare war on Sardinia in order to make the French drive the Austrians out of Lombardy and Venetia. In return, Sardinia would give Nice and Savoy back to France. Since Napoleon III feared that the other Italian states would want to annex with Sardinia and increase its power, he signed a treaty with Austria, which stated that Sardinia would receive Lombardy but Austria kept Venetia. Even though France hadn’t completed its part of the agreement, Napoleon III still got Nice and Savoy back in return because the King of Sardinia feared losing the partial victory. Most of the other Italian states revolted against their rulers, while favoured being united to Sardinia.