alternatehistory.com

One of the new countries born in the Conference of Paris was the North Italian Confederation - a loose union of the principalities and republics in North Italy. The union was orchestrated by France, who wished to see a strong buffer state in the south of Germania to prevent the Germans from potentially invading France through the Alps and Provence. The first years of the Confederation were tough - many were shocked with this sudden political change, dozens of minor dukes rebelled against the system, and only a number of French military interventions allowed the nation to live long enough to stabilize. For the Italians, it was the first time they saw their nation being somewhat united for almost a thousand years. Sure, only the North was under the control of the Confederation and it was a pretty loose organization, but that was better than nothing, right?

The rise of Nationalism across all of Europe did not leave Italy forgotten. A united national identity, built on the region's history, culture and traditions, was rising in the region, and the North Italian Confederation became the heart of the Italian nationalist movement. Why should Italy be divided, when other countries like France and Spain had a chance to be unified? Is it possible to extend the reach of the Confederation across the entire peninsula? And would such a unification require blood to be shed? In the 1820s and 1830s, numerous Italian nationalists were appointed as the Director of the Italian Stati-Generali (Estates-General), all helping to advance the power of the Confederation over all of Italy, but none were as capable and as successful as Francesco Bonavita, who took helm of the nation in 1836.

Previously a diplomat and an ambassador to France, Bonavita understood that the only possible path to unifying Italy is not through the sword, but through the pen. North Italy was not powerful enough to challenge France, which would certainly intervene if war ere to begin in the peninsula - but they could be placated. In 1838, Bonavita's Italy organized the Congress of All Italians, held in Milan, the capital of the Confederation, and the negotiations for the unification of Italy began. Bonavita called it at the right time - after the last King's death in 1835, Naples was inherited by a pro-unification prince, Antonello I, who was quite enthusiastic about the prospect of a united Italy - of course, with reasonable concessions to him in order to maintain his powers. This pretty much meant that after some backdoor deals and negotiations, Naples agreed to the idea of unifying Italy. The Papal States was an another challenger to the Italian dream - this thousand year old state in Latium, ruled by the Pope himself, was not keen to losing it's power to a bunch of nationalists. At times, the Papal delegation, led by Pius VIII, even threatened to leave the negotiations, but eventually, he and the rest of the Congress arrived to a compromise - the Pope shall be a ceremonial head of state of the soon-to-be united Italy and will retain control over his previous holdings, although Rome will be turned into the capital of the Confederation.

With most of the Congress in agreement, the final acts could have been signed, but the Director of North Italy knew that one nation had been forgotten - France. Bonavita presented the results of the Congress to the Estates-General of France, requesting approval of the unification of Italy. The French were the overlords of most of Western Europe, including Italy, after all. There was a serious threat that France could simply reject the agreements made in the Congress and nullify it - and there wouldn't be anything Italy could have done about it. Fortunately, however, France saw the creation of a friendly Italy as beneficial to them, although the Estates-General demanded two things to be guaranteed:

1. Italy shall be turned into an eternally neutral state.
2. Italy shall cede Nice and the Aosta Valley, both regions with sizable French populations, to France.

Hurrah! With French support guaranteed and most of the Congress in agreement, May 3rd of 1839 marked the foundation of the Italian Confederation.

Of course, not everything was sunshine and rainbows in this new Italian state - far from it. Massive regional divisions between regions which have been separate for hundreds of years threatened to rip the country into shreds, the giant wealth difference between the industrializing North and the agrarian South was a pain to the leaders of the Confederation and weakened Southern trust in the new system. However, the Italian people endured the choke of the first few decades, and as the situation began to stabilize, Italy grew more and more wealthy and developed, even compared to it's neighbours. It's relative stability, an environment and tax system great for free market capitalism and it's strategic position in the Mediterranean turned the nation into a trade and economic giant. Due to the enforced neutrality, many worldwide banks and institutions moved their headquarters to Italy, which welcomed them as a way to increase it's soft power, and cities like Milan and Rome soon became the banking capitals of the world.

The neutrality of the Italian confederation was one thing the nation enforced since it's beginning, and it never went away. According to principle, it never participated in any military alliances, and even economic unions were often seen as too big of a breach. Italy's position in the Apennines and guarded by Europe's tallest mountains helped, and in order to protect it's neutrality, the Italians fortified their Alpine borders on a grand scale, pretty much turning their country into an impenetrable fortress. It was the Italians who coined the term "armed neutrality" - no interference in foreign wars or affairs, but keeping up a powerful army and navy in case anyone wants to violate their nation's integrity. This way of thinking is what helped Italy to completely avoid the horrors of the 20th century...

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This was the last special chapter on a foreign nation, and from now on, we'll move on to other matters.

There are still a few specials left, but we will return to normal programming pretty soon.