In the eyes of the ruling elites of this region, a unified Italy offered them the possibility of economic development and political dominance." Explain how.
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Answer:
The Rise of Nationalism in Europe
Unification of Italy
Italy also had a long history of political fragmentation. There were many dynastic states and the multi-national Habsburg Empire in Italy. During the middle of the nineteenth century, Italy was divided into seven states. Out of them, only Sardinia-Piedmont was ruled by an Italian princely house. The north was under Austrian Habsburgs, the centre was under the Pope and the southern regions were under the domination of the Bourbon kings of Spain. The Italian language had yet to acquire a common form and it still had many regional and local variations.
During the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini planned to put together a programme for a unitary Italian Republic. The failure of revolutionary uprisings both in 1831 and 1848 meant that the mantle now fell on Sardinia-Piedmont under its ruler King Victor Emmanuel II. The ruling elites of this region saw the possibility of economic development and political dominance through a unified Italy.