Political unification processes in Italy and Germany

¶ … political unification of Italy and Germany was achieved

Italy

Mazzini. The congress of Vienna (1814-1815) was dominated by conservative diplomats which tried to ensure the supremacy of the great European powers for long periods of time. The concept of equilibrium of powers left little space for maneuver for small states or national unity movement. In Italy, for instance, while Piedmont was reinforcing its position, Mazzini's democratic and republican movement was facing serious difficulties. An insurrection organized in February 1853 in Milan against the Austrians had failed. The democratic movement was also discredited by the execution at Belfore of the leaders of the Mantua conspiracy, as well as the unsuccessful insurrections at Cadore and Lunigiana. Even its most dedicated adherents were discouraged. Mazzini suffered an even harder blow when it was discovered that he had previously supported an expedition to the southern mainland (Sapri, June-July 1857). The purpose of this expedition was to incite the population to insurrection. The result was the death of 300 members, including the Neapolitan republican and socialist Carlo Pisacane. The consequence of these failed actions was the division between the democrats, who were rendered unable to continue their revolutionary activities.

Their lack of vision was completed by the repressive measures taken by Austria in Lombardy-Venetia, the refusal of the pope Pius IX to grant reforms in Rome (since the pope was under the influence of Giacomo Cardinal Antonelli, known for his reactionary beliefs) and the reaction of the rulers from Napes and Tuscany. Although reforms were badly needed, the only place were they seemed possible was Piedmont.

2. Cavour the year 1857 was marked by the formation of the Italian National Society. Renowned for its monarchistic-unionist approach, the Society owed its existence to Camillo Benso di Cavour, minister since October 1850. It was lead by Manin as president and by Garibaldi as vice president, which assured it a very wide appeal, wider in any case than the one that would have been obtained if the moderates had run it. Cavour had a different conception about solving the Italian national problem. He believed that international negotiations were preferable to revolutions. However, he did not resort to the elimination of conspiratorial movements. Cavour was responsible for holding a secret conference at Plombieres, in France, in the summer of 1858, which gave him the opportunity to speak with Louis Napoleon-Bonaparte, also known as Emperor Napoleon III, about the French military intervention in Italy, should Austria choose to attack Piedmot. Cavour was trying to eliminate all Austrian imperial troops from the Italian peninsula, for which he was willing to concede Savoy and Nice to France.

Ironically, Napoleon III blamed Mazzini and his followers for a failed attempt on his life in Paris on January the 14th, 1859, made by the anarchist Felice Orsini. Despite that fact, the alliance between France and Piedmont was sealed the same month. Having the French emperor's approval, the king Victor Emanuel II made a speech in which he declared himself prepared to hear "the cry of woe" against the Austrian oppression, which was omnipresent in Italy.

During this period, the leaders of the Austrian military and its sympathizers at the imperial court pleaded for war on Piedmont. Francis Joseph addressed an unacceptable ultimatum to Piedmont wherein the demobilization of all its troops was requested. As the ultimatum was rejected, Austria decided to declare war in a few days time. Fulfilling Cavour's hopes and demands, France intervened in favor of Piedmont, according to the terms of the Alliance.

The new allies won bloody battles at Magenta, Solferino and San Martino, all in 1859. Since the Austrian army was in bad shape and it had received orders to retreat, Napoleon III thought it would be better to sign an armistice with the Austrian empire, which was indeed concluded at Villafranca. There were two reasons which had prompted this new solution: the first was that French public opinion was beginning to be very sensitive about the loss of lives in the Italian campaign, which was not even on French soil or for the immediate protection of France's interests.

The second reason was the imminent modification of the structure of Italian society. Leopold II of Tuscany had been the victim of a coup, at the end of April 1859. The duchy was now run by moderate political leaders such as Baron Bettino Ricasoli, who had already formed a provisional government. Rebellions spread all over the peninsula. Parma, Modena and the Papal Legations were affected. The only places were insurgents were defeated by governmental troops were Marche and Umbria. The people wished for unification with Piedmont, a desire which materialized in the plebiscites organized across the Italian states, a fact that triggered France's opposition.

The terms agreed by Napoleon the III at Villafranca included the cession of Lombardy from Austria, later passed to Piedmont. The legitimate rulers of Tuscany and Modena were supposed to be reinstated, in order for them to participate in the realization of an Italian Confederation. Although these events meant Cavour's defeat and resignation, it turned out that England opposed the return of the rulers of Tuscany and Modena, and Napoleon III accepted this new solution. Therefore, the consequence was Cavour's return to office at the beginning of 1860. The plebiscites organized in the duchies and the Papal Legations confirmed the popular desire for unification with Piedmont. The reasons behind the support of the great European powers for the Piedmontese monarchy were diverse: the need for a weaker Austria, the existence of a strong Italian state that would better suit England's interests and the fear for a democratic revolution.

3. Garibaldi Although the results were truly great, the democratic movement continued its activities in order to obtain a full unification. Significant parts of the Italian peninsula still depended on foreign sovereigns. Sicilian democrats assisted Garibaldi and his expeditionary force (the Thousand) in an attempt to free southern Italy from the rule of the Bourbons. Garibaldi and his men landed at Marsala in May 11, 1860 and, although insufficiently armed and equipped, they managed to occupy the entire Sicilian island in less than three months.

The Sicilian peasants, although happy to receive Garibaldi's troops, quickly changed their attitudes, since Garibaldi was not to eager to break the old estates and to distribute the land to the peasants. During this time, the king of the Two Sicilies, Francis II granted a constitution and promised amnesty to Sicilian rebels. Garibaldi, in order to avoid further conflicts, crossed the straight of Messina and made his entrance into Naples in September 1860. The Bourbon army was finally defeated at Volturno, a fact that made Garibaldi's prestige rise considerably. Cavour responded by taking initiative once again. He occupied Umbria and the Marche and organized an encounter between Garibaldi and King Victor Emanuel II, the latter being greeted by the former as the King of Italy. The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed on the 17th of March 1861 by a Parliament temporarily assembled in Turin. Although Cavour had mentioned the fact that Rome should become the capital of the new state, his death impeded further actions in this direction.

The new country was fragmented from multiple points-of-view: the north and south were economically imbalanced, the political elite was not able to arrive to any consensus, corruption and previous poorly conducted economic reform took their toll in the new born kingdom. Still, public opinion remained favourable towards the completion of territorial reunification. The democrats saw an opportunity to solve once and for all the Roman problem. The expedition organized by Garibaldi failed and the leader was wounded and arrested, but public outrage managed to take down the newly installed Ratazzi government. The same thing happened to his successor, Marco Minghetti, which had promised the French emperor to move the capital of the Italian kingdom to Florence instead of Rome.

Two years later, taking advantage of Austria's war with Prussia, which made it difficult to supervise the Austrian southern border, the Italian government attacked Austrian controlled Venetia and failed miserably. The Treaty of Vienna in October 1866 made possible, with the intervention of Napoleon III, to attribute Venetia to Italy. Garibaldi organized an expedition on Rome once again, but the outcome was similar. He was defeated and condemned to house arrest. Surprisingly, the Lanza-Sella center-right cabinet was the one to solve the Roman problem. The pope was deprived of French military protection as Napoleon III was defeated and forced to abdicate. Italian troops entered Rome in September 1870. The pope Pius IX declared himself a prisoner, a position still maintained by his successors for almost 60 years. However, despite minor setbacks, the Italian unity was now complete.

Germany

1. The 1848-1849 Failure the late 1840s were extremely difficult years for the entire European Continent. The hard times also affected the German Confederation, which erupted into revolution. An economic depression was the core of urban unemployment and rising poverty. Agricultural disasters completed the picture. The result was a series of open revolts against the governments of the German Confederation; some of them were very bitter. As Metternich was forced to resign, the German princes hastened to make peace in order to avoid political experiments like the ones that were developed by the republicans and socialists in France. They introduced, by appointing liberal ministers, civic and political reforms, guaranteeing the powers of the legislature and citizen rights.

However, the most important step was the attempt to achieve political unification, by founding a National Assembly that would insure the representation of all Germans. Elections were held and the Assembly met at Frankfurt on May 18. Ironically, the enthusiastic members of this assembly discovered the enormous differences of opinion between them. The liberals and the democrats were at the center of the political fight. The democrats were still trying to conspire for a much more radical course of action. The form of national unification was one of the major points of disagreement. The Grossdeutsch movement pleaded for an Austrian ruler, a member of the House of Habsburg. The Kleindeutsch party, on the other hand, proposed the leader of Prussia as the only one who would act solely in the best interest of the German nation. The conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie was defining the country's economic landscape. Popular support for the revolution began to diminish, fueled by the belief that the liberals were in position to help the masses and to improve their situation. The authority of the Frankfurt Assembly decreased and the forces of the right began to prepare a counterrevolution.

Meanwhile, in Austria, emperor Francis Joseph found a successor for Metternich in the person of prince Felix von Schwarzenberg. Under his rule, the Habsburg armies crushed the rebellions in Bohemia and pushed back the insurrections in Italy. At the same time, William IV of Prussia was unable to take a decision regarding the unified Germany. The Austrian Empire indicated that it would oppose a unified Germany, so the Frankfurt Assembly, which had finally prepared the draft of a constitution, offered the crown to the King of Prussia, who was still hesitant. Believing that his powers, according to the provisions of the new constitution were too limited, William IV refused to occupy the throne. Consequently, moderate politics suffered an enormous blow, while the radicals were not able to put the people in motion against the troops of the princes. By mid-1849, the revolution became a total failure.

The 1850s brought a period of revival of the liberal reforms and national unification currents, known as the "new era." Austria's defeat against France in 1859 and the example of Piedmont had a significant impact on the central European states. Popular unrest in the empire was in direct connection with the weakening of the Austrian armed forces. Francis Joseph introduced a form of parliamentary rule, while the consolidation of national unity in Italy sparked similar feelings in the German states. The person who influenced considerably the politics of the time was Prince (later King) William I of Prussia. He was a moderate conservative, although still a conservative. He had to face supporters of the introduction of liberal legislation and arrived at deadlocks with the members of the Parliament. Although he was considering abdication in favor of his more liberal son, he was convinced to appoint the Prussian ambassador to Paris, Otto von Bismarck, as his prime-minister. The appointment of this conservative prime-minister was a sign that liberal reforms had to wait for some period of time.

The war on Denmark Schleswig-Holstein Bismarck's goal was an alteration of the form of government, which implied the continuation of authoritarian policies under a facade of parliamentary institutions. His bullish personality made almost all his measures succeed. As for the international situation, it seemed that the time was favorable for the German reunification. Russia was not playing a significant role on the continent anymore, Napoleon III was not willing to commit to a war on the Rhine, so Bismarck could prepare a military campaign against Austria without the fear of foreign intervention. The first occasion Bismarck had was related to the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which, although being ruled by the king of Denmark, were ethnically and politically linked to Germany. The Danish government sought in 1863 to make Schleswig an integral part of the Danish state, which sparked outrage in central Europe. Francis Joseph was convinced that the German confederation should occupy the duchies, according to an international agreement granting their separate status. A brief war against Denmark followed, thanks to the extremely well prepared Hohenzollern army. The peace of Vienna in 1864 was the occasion wherewith the duchies became joint possession of Prussia and Austria.