The Age of Nation-States

1. The Crimean War: 1853-1856

1. Causes

1. A squabble over jurisdiction within the holy places in Turkish-ruled Jerusalem brought France (the protector of the Catholics) and Russia (the protector of the Orthodox clergy) into diplomatic controversy with Turkey in the middle.
2. Tsar Nicholas I saw an opportunity to dominate Turkey and secure entrance into the Mediterranean through the Turkish Straits.
3. Austria felt threatened by Russia’s expansion into the Balkans.
4. France and Britain opposed any change in the regional balance of power.

2. The War

1. France, Britain, Turkey, and a contingent of 10,000 men from Piedmont-Sardinia captured the strongly defended Russian fortress at Sevanstopol.
2. The new Russian tsar, Alexander II, sued for peace after the fall of Sevanstopol.
3. The war claimed over 500,000 lives, most caused by disease and inadequate medical care.

3. Consequences

1. The Crimean War marked the first great power conflict since the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
2. Napoleon III achieved his objective of breaking the alliance between Austria and Russia.
3. By entering the war on the side of France and Britain, Piedmont-Sardinia hoped to gain support for Italian unification.
4. Russia’s humiliating defeat forced Alexander II to launch an ambitious program of reforms.

2. The Unification of Italy

1. The Situation 1850

1. Repeated Failures
   1. The Carbonari had failed to incite a successful revolution.
   2. Giuseppe Mazzini and the Young Italian Movement failed to rally support for a republic.
2. Continued Obstacles
   1. Austria continued to control Lombardy and Venetia while also dominating other small Italian states.
   2. A reactionary Bourbon regime continued to control the kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
   3. Pople Pius IX opposed the cause of Italian nationalism
3. Piedmont Leadership
   1. Italian nationalists looked to the kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia for leadership. It was the only Italian state ruled by an Italian dynasty.
   2. In 1852, Piedmont’s King Victor Emmanuel II named Count Camillo di Cavour his prime minister.

2. Cavour and the Practice of Realpolitik

1. Realpolitik
   1. Early Italian nationalists such as Mazzini had been inspired by romantic ideals of nationalism.
   2. Cavour was a realist guided by the dictates of political power. He believed that shrewd diplomacy and well-chosen alliances were more useful than grand proclamations and romantic rebellions.
   3. Cavour’s successful combination of power politics and secret diplomacy is called “Realpolitik, “the politics of reality.”
2. Strengthening Piedmont
   1. Cavour launched an ambitious economic program that included building railroads and expanding commerce.
   2. Cavour modernized Piedmont’s army.
3. The Franco-Piedmont alliance
   1. Cavour understood that Austria was the greatest obstacle to Italian unity.
   2. Cavour formed an alliance with Napoleon III to drive Austria out of northern Italy.

3. War with Austria: 1859

1. The combined French and Piedmont armies defeated the Austrians. Meanwhile, Italian nationalists staged revolts across northern Italy.
2. Sardinia annexed all of northern Italy except Venetia.

4. Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Red Shirts

1. The pragmatic Cavour and the romantic Garibaldi agreed that Italy should be freed from foreign control.
2. While Cavour was uniting the north, he also secretly supported Garibaldi in the south.
3. In May 1860, Garibaldi and his small but zealous force of so-called Red Shirts successfully invaded and liberated the kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
4. Garibaldi agreed to step aside and let Victor Emmanuel rule the areas he had conquered.

5. Persistent Problems

1. In March 1861, an Italian parliament formally proclaimed the kingdom of Italy with Victor Emmanuel II as king “by the grace of God and the will of the nation.” Tragically, Cavour died just two months later.
2. The newly unified kingdom of Italy faced a number of persistent problems:
   1. Unification was still not complete. Venetia remained under Austrian control and the papacy led by Pius IX remained hostile to the new Italian state.
   2. Northern Italy was urban, sophisticated, and increasingly industrialized. Southern Italy remained rural, backward, and poor.
   3. The new government was burdened by a heavy debt.