The Italian Unification or Italian Risorgimento is known as the chain of

political and military events that produced a united Italian peninsula under the
Kingdom of Italy in 1861. These events can be broken down in five stages: Pre-
Revolutionary, Revolutionary, Cavour’s Policy and the Role of Piedmont,
Garibaldi’s Campaign in Southern Italy, and the creation of the Italian Kingdom.

I. Pre-Revolutionary Phase:
After the Napoleonic Wars and Napoleon Bonaparte’s second defeat, the major
powers that has resisted met at a conference called the Congress of Vienna in
1815. The topic of discussion was to limit France’s power, set limits on nations so
no one nation become too strong, and divide up the territory conquered up by
Napoleon. In its negotiations, the congress returned domination of the Italian
Peninsula to Austria. Austria now occupied Lombardy and Venice and had
considerable influence on other Italian states. One of the few places of
independence was the Kingdom of Sardinia, which now controlled Piedmont,
Nice, Savoy and Genoa.
Some of the things that conflicted and interfered with the unification process
were: Austrian control of Lombardy and Venice, several independent Italian
states, the autonomy of the Papal States, and the limited power and influence of
Italian leaders.

II. Revolutionary Phase:

During the first half of the 19th century, only aristocrats, intellectual, and upper
middle class took the cause for unification. The masses showed no concern.
However, the people with a passion for unification started to form secret
societies, namely the Carbonari. Although at first, they only demanded more
rights from their respective government, the cause began to grow. By 1820, the
Carbonari were involved in numerous failed revolutions against the Kingdom of
Two Sicilies, the Kingdom of Sardinia, Bolonga, and other Italian states. However,
the Austrian Empire crushed all of these revolutions; thus leading to more
resentment from the Italians.
The soul and spirit of the Carbonari and the revolutions was a man named
Giuseppe Mazzini. Mazzini was an idealized who wanted not only wanted a united
Italy, but an Italy with a republican form of government. Mazzini brought the
campaign for unification into the mainstream when in 1831 he created Young
Italy, a group created for the sole purpose to spread the ideas unification,
revolutions, and republicanism. In 1846, a liberal pope, Pius IX, was elected who
enacted numerous reforms. Soon, other states followed but these reform
movements were not enough. A series of uprising known as the Revolution of
1848 occurred throughout Europe including France, Germany, the Austrian
Empire, and northern Italy.
The revolution also occurred in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies were the king signed
a constitution. In the Papal States, radical took over Rome, causing the Pope to
flee. In the absence of the pope, Garibaldi and Mazzini created a republic called
the Roman Republic. In Piedmont, after the insistence of nationals, the King
Charles Albert sent to Lombardy in their fight for freedom from Austrian rule.
Although some of the revolutions were successful in the beginning, they were
quickly crushed. In 1849, France sent troops to Rome and destroyed the short-
lived Roman Republic. Piedmont lost to Austria and the king was forced to
abdicate, causing his son, Victor Emanuel II to become king in 1849.
After the unsuccessful events of the last few years, unification would seem as a
distant dream. However, things were about to change with the appointment of
Count Camillo di Cavour as prime minister of Piedmont in 852. With the use of all
the political and military tricks in the book, Cavour tackled and succeeded in
making this dream into a reality. Italy and Europe would never be the same
again.

III. Cavour’s Policy and the Role of Piedmont

After the numerous failed uprisings throughout Italy, Camillo di Cavour became
the prime minister of the Piedmont (Kingdom of Sardinia) in 1852. By the use of
bargaining, putting great powers against each other, war, and political cunning,
Cavour was able to unite Italy in a short time.
Although Piedmont was a small state, it had considerable influence due to its
military strength, conservative philosophy, and admirable political leader. In
addition, Victor Emmanuel II ruled in conjunction with a parliament, thus
establishing a legitimate stable form of government and not giving cause to an
internal revolution. Although Piedmont exercised a conservative policy, it was
loose and constructive in many areas, especially commerce and industry. With
the use of commercial treaties, Piedmont began to play an increasing role in
commerce in the region as it started to win trade away from Austria. These
actions served very popular with the public and were received further progress
with Cavour’s appointment in 1852. Cavour had a strong belief in scientific and
economic progress, and was a firm supporter of unification. However, he did not
share the same republic views as Mazzini and Garibaldi. In Cavour’s view,
unification needed a strong state to lead, namely Piedmont. And Piedmont can
only become strong with railroads, economic freedom, stable finances, and a
higher standard of living.
Cavour immediately began by implementing some liberal (but necessary) ideas.
He encouraged people to participate in government, started to change public
opinion by skillfully using the press and the government, and economic freedom,
and most importantly spread the propaganda of Italian unity under Victor
Emanuel II.
In order to achieve his goals, Cavour needed the help of a strong ally, the leader
of France, Napoleon III. France proved to be a good partner because it was a
traditional enemy of Austria and any loss of Austrian influence would be
beneficial. Also, Napoleon III showed favor to a liberated and united Italian
peninsula. To seal the deal of this partnership, both leaders met secretly at
Plombieres, a French spa. Piedmont would stir up trouble in one of the territories
controlled by Austria, thus forcing Austria to go to war against Piedmont. France
would help Piedmont in exchange for Nice and Savoy.
In April 1859, war broke out between Piedmont and Austria. The plan worked
very well the joined forces of Piedmont and France won at Magenta and Solferino.
Pretty soon, Prussia started to mobilize an army in Austria defense and more
Italian provinces wanted to join Piedmont under one nation. Both of these events
alarmed Napoleon III because Prussia was starting to have a strong presence in
European affairs and more Italian states wanting unification greatly exceeded
what he had envisioned for Italy. So he signed an armistice with Austria and
ended the war but angered Cavour.
Piedmont received Lombardy from Austria as a result of the war. After the war
and the political maneuvering, Piedmont had greatly increased its size. However,
Garibaldi’s campaign in southern Italy would more than double the size of the
kingdom.

IV. Garibaldi’s Campaign in Southern Italy

If Mazzini was the soul of the unification process, then Garibaldi was the hero. In
early 1860, he started to gather volunteers in Genoa for an expedition to Sicily.
As Cavour neither opposed nor helped, thousands of soldiers from Romagna,
Lombardy, and Venetia set sail for Sicily in May 1860.
The Expedition of Soldiers, as it was called, was an instant hit with the public. The
Kingdom of Two Sicilies had long been a corrupt government and now it was
seeing its last days. Although the Garibaldi Red Shirts were less skilled and ill
equipped, they were a tremendous success. They occupied Sicily within two
months and already Garibaldi was setting his eyes on mainland Italy. However,
after his declaration to advance to Rome, instead of stopping in Naples, Cavour
became increasingly worried. If Rome was attacked, France and Austria would
immediately help the Pope and crush the opposing army, thereby discrediting
and destroying the unification agenda.
In yet another brilliant move, Cavour encouraged riots and uprisings in the Papal
States thus giving the Piedmontese troops a reason to come under the pretext of
maintaining order. In 1860, two thirds of the Papal States joined Piedmont and
Rome was left alone. As the Piedmontese army bypassed Rome and the
remaining Papal States and marched south, Garibaldi would surprise everyone
with one of the most memorable gestures in history. On September 18, Garibaldi
gave up command of his army and shook hands with Victor Emanuel II, signifying
the unity and formation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

V. Creation of the Italian Kingdom

Although a Kingdom of Italy had been formed, it did not include all of Italy. The
missing parts were Rome and Venetia. Neither could be gained easily because
Rome was under the protection of Napoleon III and French troops while Venetia
was controlled by Austria and its troops. But an opportunity arrived and Venetia
was annexed in 1866. That opportunity was the Seven Weeks' War between
Austria and Prussia. Austria promised Venetia if Italy stayed neutral and Prussia
promised Venetia if Italy joined them in the war. Italy decided to join Prussia due
to a previous agreement. Although the Italian army did poorly, Prussia won the
war and it held up its part of the bargain.
In 1870, the Franco-Prussian War occurred between France and Germany and
Napoleon III was forced to pull the French troops from Rome to aid the war effort.
While Rome and the remaining Papal States remained unprotected, Italian troops
marched in unopposed. In October 1870 Rome voted to join the union and in July
1871, it became the capital.
The unification was a long and arduous process. But all the problems that
remained before the unification were not solved after the unification. As the last
quarter of the century unfolded, this was evident. But, Italy stayed united and
focused on solving its new problems. In the end, Cavour, Garibaldi, and Mazzini
became the founding fathers of a nation and were immortalized.

The Unification of Germany

Germany is a relatively modern state. In the mid nineteenth century Germany

was a collection of smaller states that were linked as a German confederation.
This confederation was dominated by Austria, which as a large imperial power
was politically and economically superior to the smaller Germanic states. In the
1860's the dominance of Austria was challenged by Prussia and the process of
unification and codification of German law began. These events have been
interpreted rather differently by historians. Here I will offer only a brief narrative
of the events however as interpretation of these issues is not particularly
relevant or necessary for the purposes of the course being followed.
The process of unification, in chronological order:
A gradual process of economic interdependence from the early stages of the
Industrial Revolution through to the mid 19th century saw the germanic states
move towards economic unification. For example, the growth of the railway
network in Germany led to easier access to different resources across the
confederation. This helped to stimulate economic growth and meant that
economic prosperity was increasingly reliant upon strong links between different
member states of the German confederation. This led to the introduction of the
Zollverin customs union, an agreement amongst the German states to have
preferential customs policies for member states. This economic union excluded
Austria, illustrating a growing German sense of identify and a lesser dependency
upon the largest of the Germanic states.
Schleswig-Holstein. Schleswig and Holstein are two German duchies that were
under Danish rule. However Holstein's population was largely German speaking
and Schleswig's was a broad mix of Germans and Danes. In the 1840's the Danes
attempted to claim Schleswig and Holstein as being part of Denmark, rather than
them remaining as semi-independent duchies. This resulted in uproar from
German nationalists and demands for the two duchies to be fully incorporated
into the German Confederation. In 1848, this had led to a brief war for control of
the two duchies. The resulting Treaty of London stated that upon the accession to
the Danish throne of the Prince, Christian, the duchies would remain under
Danish rule but not be incorporated into the nation state of Denmark. Upon his
accession in 1863, Christian formally incorporated Schleswig and Holstein into
the Danish state: breaking the terms of the Treaty of London. Again this led to an
outcry amongst German nationalists and the German Confederation mobilised an
army and invaded the duchies. War with Denmark resulted in a victory for the
Germanic Confederation and the acquisition of Schleswig and Holstein. It is the
manner in which the duchies were dealt with after the war of 1864 that took
Germany one step closer to unification. Following the victory it was agreed that
Austria would manage the duchy of Holstein and that Prussia would be in charge
of the day to day running of Schleswig. The two major German powers clashed
many times over the manner in which the duchies were to be administered.
Historians still debate whether the German chancellor, Bismarck, deliberately set
out to provoke Austria. Either way, the result was a political division within the
German Confederation with Austria and Prussia now fighting for dominance of the
Germanic states.
Austrian-Prussian War. In 1866 further arguments about the administration of
Schleswig-Holstein led to war breaking out between Austria and Prussia. This war
lasted 7 weeks and resulted in Prussian victory over the Austrians. In beating the
Austrians on the battlefield the Prussians assumed the role of senior Germanic
state. This led to a clearer division between Austrian and German interests and
forced the smaller states to align themselves alongside the Prussians, with whom
they shared more economic ties due to the aforementioned Zollverin customs
agreement.
The Franco-Prussian War. Between 1866 and 1870 relations between Prussia and
France worsened. In 1870, frustrated by the prussian attitude to the issue of
candidacy for the vacant throne of Spain, France declared war on Prussia. The
resulting Prussian victory was both swift and decisive. It resulted in the removal
from power of the French Emperor, Napoleon III and led to a wave of Germanic
Nationalism sweeping through the whole of the German Confederation. Following
victory over France in January of 1871, Prussia was able to persuade her partners
within the German confederation that unification was desirable. As a result,
Wilhelm of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor of Germany on January 18th 1871.
The Second German Reich was born.

Bismarck's rise to power

Historians credit Napoleon with reorganizing the former Holy Roman Empire,
made up of more than 1,000 entities, at the beginning of the 19th century. The
Napoleonic reforms resulted in a more streamlined network of 39 states,
providing the basis for the German Confederation (1815-1866) and the future
unification of Germany under the German Empire in 1871.

Several key factors played a role in uniting the 39 previously independent states
into a unified Germany under the control of the Prussian chancellor Otto von
Bismarck. The move toward unification began many years prior with a rise in
German nationalism, initially allied with liberalism. The Revolutions of 1848 — a
time in which Europe was dealing with severe economic depression — disrupted
plans by the German Confederation to possibly unify. It became increasingly
clear that the Austrian Empire was incompatible with the drive to unify a German
nation-state.

In the early 1860s, political conflict about army reforms caused a constitutional
crisis in Prussia. The Prussian king, Wilhelm I, appointed Bismarck as Prussian
chancellor in 1862. Bismarck hoped he could resolve the constitutional crisis and
establish Prussia as the leading German power through foreign triumphs,
ultimately leading to a conservative, Prussian-dominated German state.