The casual observer, if he had turned his eye upon the United Provinces of Italy [1], he would have assumed that the country had no real interest in expansion. Indeed, the federation had remained conspicuously absent from the foreign policy manouverings of the great powers during the period, focused instead on the construction of a viable state. Based on this, the casual observer would have assumed that the peninsula had returned to the relative tranquility of the Congress Era.
He would have been wrong however.
While the federation's primary aim, in the aftermath of it's emergence from the Springtime of Nations, was very much to establish itself as a viable state, which following various internal manouverings saw the gradual expansion of the federal government's remit. This remit, was further reinforced by the removal of any counterweight to the House of Piedmont, through the sudden death of Leopold II of Tuscany, and the abolition of the Tuscan monarchy following a coup against his successor Ferdinand IV by radical Italian nationalists. [1]
Cavour, despite his subtle encouragement of Tuscan malcontents to push for greater integration between Tuscany and Sardininia, was well aware of the danger the radicals presented to his state building ambitions. It was this reason, which would see his government, with the agreement of the Sardinian army, arm and train volunteer revolutionaries, led by the radical veterans Mazzini and Garibaldi. [2]
The reason? The desire for full unification of the peninsula. Northern Italy (excluding Veneto), was united but the rest of the peninsula lay in the hands of the Papacy and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, regions not inclined to look upon Sardinian hegemony favourably.
Cavour, had "retired" following the
una mano attraversa l' altra scandal, resigning from the premiership and seemingly leaving politics altogether. His retirement however, was entirely in name only, as he served as an independent senator (and as Foreign Minister) in the government of Ricasoli, a point not missed by the national press. [3] Ricasoli's govenrment continued the policy of recruiting and arming voluntary revolutionaries.
The government's plans were briefly put in hold with the death of Charles Albert, who was succeeded by his son Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia, a strong ally of Cavour since his rise to the premiership in the early 1850s. The expedition launched in late 1859, with around 5,000 men (2,000 Sardinian troops and 3,000 volunteers) under the joint command of Mazzini and Garibaldi, with the express aim of defeating the Neapolitans and launching an advance into the Papal States.
The initial invasion of Sicily proved remarkably successful, with the small force capturing Marsala in the space of two days, with covert suppport from British and French ships in the area. [4] The Neapolitan forces were swiftly defeated, though the arrival of a force of well trained and equipped reinforcements on the island from Naples, prevented any premature celebrations. Cavour's government had also sent three vessels to Sicilian coast, on the pretext of "protecting Italian property and citizens within Palermo." These vessels, acted as a caution against any desire of the Neapolitans to bombard the city, possessing as they did, more firepower.
The Neapolitan forces, were driven eastwards retreating to the mainland. The island of Sicily was annexed to the Federation, despite the protests of Garibaldi who preferred to wait until the end of the conflict, viewing annexation as an unnecessarily provocative gesture. [5]
Celebrations in Naples as Garibaldi enters Naples
Garibaldi took his revenge by disobeying a direct order to avoid crossing the straight, and landed in Calabria (with the tacit approval of the King) where his forces soon encircled Naples, having encountered little resistance. Ferdinand II, soon surrendered and went into exile with his family, leaving the Two Sicilies to the hands of the Sardinian led federation.
In the Papal States, the Federation had annexed around two-thirds of the Papal States, following tacit French approval, in order to send troops to the south, on condition that they not enter Rome. As a result the majority of Umbria and the Marche were now Italian territory, though the Papacy still maintained Rome and the Latium area surrounding the city's northwest.
Cavour, the great chessmaster had done it. Italy was free.
(An extract from
The Brigand and the Diplomat: The Formation of Modern Italy, by Walter Antenioli, 1949)
BRIEF NOTES
[1] The federation between the Sardinians and the Tuscans had always been unequal and uneasy, and Leopold's assassination in 1856 only exacerbated matters.
[2] Garibaldi and Mazzini had both had long revolutionary careers by the time Cavour came calling, though the relationship between the two radicals and the more pragmatic Cavour was always fraught with tension.
[3] Ricasoli, was largely seen as merely keeping the seat warm for if and when the new king reappointed Cavour.
[4] The French had signed a treaty pledging support for the Italians in a war against the Austrians in exchange for Nice and Savoy. The British meanhile supported the Italian effort, as a counterbalance to the Neapolitan's support for the Russian attempts to gain access to the Mediterranean Sea.
[5] Sicily was officially annexed following Victor Emmauel's entrance into the city, which was largely greeted by popular crowds. Garibaldi's fears however would prove correct, as the sudden declaration provoked anger behind closed doors in London, Paris and Vienna. The Austrians viewed the annexation as the removal of a valuable counterweight to Italian expansionism, while the British and French were irritated at not having been informed beforehand. Nevertheless, diplomatic recognition, in the face of Ferdinand II's abdication was swift in coming.