Unification of Italy

History glossary

Also called: Risorgimento · Topic: The Rise of Nationalism in Europe · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 1 "The Rise of Nationalism in Europe"

Meaning

The Unification of Italy, also called the Risorgimento ("rising again"), was the 19th-century process that joined seven separate Italian states into one Kingdom of Italy under the royal house of Sardinia-Piedmont. The main steps came between 1859 and 1870. It matters because it is one of the two standard examples, with Germany, of how nationalism changed after 1848. Unity was finally achieved through kings, ministers, diplomacy and wars, not through a popular revolution.

Explanation

Background: a divided Italy

In the mid-19th century, Italy was seven states, not one country.
The north was under the Austrian Habsburgs.
The centre was ruled by the Pope (the Papal States).
The south was ruled by the Bourbon kings of Spain.
Only Sardinia-Piedmont was ruled by an Italian princely house, the house of Savoy.
There was not even a common language. Italian was spoken in many regional dialects (local forms of a language), so there was no shared national speech.
Nationalism changed after 1848.
Before 1848, liberals and nationalists worked together for unity and democracy.
After 1848, conservative rulers took over the national idea. They saw they could unite a country without giving up monarchy.
Unification now came through armies, diplomacy and treaties, not street barricades.

Phase 1: Mazzini and the failed revolutionary path

Giuseppe Mazzini started his political life in the Carbonari, a secret revolutionary society.
He founded Young Italy at Marseilles and Young Europe at Berne. These were societies of young men who wanted republics (states with no king).
His risings failed in 1831 and 1848.
After these failures, the task passed from the republicans to the monarchy of Sardinia-Piedmont under Victor Emmanuel II.

Phase 2: Cavour, Garibaldi and the making of the Kingdom (1859–1861)

Cavour's diplomacy from above.
Count Camillo di Cavour, chief minister of Sardinia-Piedmont, was "neither a revolutionary nor a democrat".
He came from the rich, French-speaking upper class and spoke French better than Italian.
He made a tactical alliance with France (an alliance for a practical purpose). With French help, Piedmont defeated Austria in 1859.
Garibaldi's armed campaign from below: the Expedition of the Thousand (1860).
Giuseppe Garibaldi led armed volunteers known as the Red Shirts. NCERT gives their number as about 30,000, and they had peasant support.
The campaign overthrew the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Naples) and joined the south and Sicily to the north. [2]
Night of 5–6 May 1860: Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa, with over 1,000 volunteers. [2]
11 May 1860: he landed at Marsala in Sicily. [2]
6 June 1860: he captured Palermo, even though the enemy had more than 20,000 Neapolitan troops. [2]
20 July 1860: he held all of Sicily except Messina. [2]
19 August 1860: he crossed the Strait of Messina to the mainland. On 7 September 1860 he entered Naples. [2]
Cavour stepped in to keep control.
Cavour feared the Risorgimento was becoming a popular radical movement under Garibaldi. He also feared French intervention if Rome were attacked.
So he sent Piedmontese troops into the papal lands of Umbria and the Marche to join Garibaldi at Naples. [2]
Garibaldi handed his conquests to the king.
26 October 1860: he met Victor Emmanuel II on Neapolitan soil and hailed him "king of Italy". [2]
Garibaldi leaned towards democratic ideas, but he still accepted a king. For him, unity mattered more than the form of government. [2]

Phase 3: Completion and results (1861–1870)

17 March 1861: a parliament meeting at Turin declared the Kingdom of Italy, with Victor Emmanuel II as king. [2]
Rome joined only in 1870.
France had kept troops guarding the Papal States.
When France withdrew them, Rome became part of Italy and later its capital.
Unification was an elite project.
It was made by kings, ministers and armies. Most ordinary Italians took no part.
NCERT's proof: southern peasants thought 'La Talia' (Italia) was the name of Victor Emmanuel's wife.
The state came first. The feeling of being "Italian" had to be built afterwards.

Time, place and evidence

Period: the Age of Nationalism in Europe (1789–1914). The revolutionary phase covers the risings of 1831 and 1848, and political unity came between 1859 and 1870.
Ruling house: the house of Savoy of Sardinia-Piedmont, under Victor Emmanuel II.
Opponents: the Austrian Habsburgs in the north, the Pope in the centre, and the Bourbons in the south (Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Naples).
Key places: Marseilles (Young Italy), Berne (Young Europe), Quarto near Genoa, Marsala, Palermo, Messina, Naples, Umbria and the Marche, Turin and Rome.
Key people: Mazzini (the idealist), Cavour (the diplomat), Garibaldi (the soldier) and Victor Emmanuel II (the king).
How we know:
The NCERT Class 10 chapter "The Rise of Nationalism in Europe", including the 'La Talia' story.
The official proclamation of the Kingdom by the parliament at Turin in 1861.
Detailed reference accounts (Britannica) of the Expedition of the Thousand, Garibaldi and Cavour. [2]

Don't confuse with

Unification of Germany: Germany was united by Prussia under Bismarck through three wars, and Kaiser William I was proclaimed emperor at Versailles on 18 January 1871. Italy was united by Sardinia-Piedmont under Victor Emmanuel II (king in 1861), and Garibaldi's volunteer campaign also played a part.
Young Italy vs Young Europe: both were founded by Mazzini. Young Italy was founded at Marseilles and Young Europe at Berne. Do not swap the cities.
Carbonari vs Young Italy: the Carbonari was the older secret society where Mazzini began. Young Italy was the society he founded himself.
Cavour vs Garibaldi: Cavour was the chief minister who worked through diplomacy and the French alliance and defeated Austria in 1859. Garibaldi led the Red Shirts and the Expedition of the Thousand in the south in 1860.

Prelims Hooks

Before unification, Italy had seven states. Only Sardinia-Piedmont (house of Savoy) had an Italian ruling house. The north was Habsburg, the centre Papal and the south Bourbon.
Mazzini: Carbonari → Young Italy (Marseilles) and Young Europe (Berne). His risings failed in 1831 and 1848.
Cavour spoke French better than Italian. His alliance with France helped defeat Austria in 1859.
Expedition of the Thousand: sailed from Quarto near Genoa on 5–6 May 1860 and landed at Marsala, Sicily, on 11 May 1860. [2]
Kingdom of Italy proclaimed on 17 March 1861 at Turin, with Victor Emmanuel II as king. Rome was added in 1870. [2]
Chronology trap, in the correct order: Mazzini's failed risings (1831, 1848) → defeat of Austria (1859) → Expedition of the Thousand (1860) → Kingdom of Italy (1861) → Rome added (1870).

Mains Points

Nationalism changed sides after 1848.
Before 1848, nationalism was a liberal and democratic demand. After 1848, it became a conservative tool for building states.
Italy shows this clearly. Mazzini's republican risings failed, and the monarchy of Sardinia-Piedmont completed unity through diplomacy and war.
Two methods inside one story.
Italy combined Cavour's diplomacy from above with Garibaldi's armed popular campaign from below.
Cavour's move into Umbria and the Marche was meant to stop the movement turning radical. [2]
In effect, the monarchy absorbed the revolution instead of giving way to it. Garibaldi's hailing of Victor Emmanuel II as "king of Italy" sealed this. [2]
A state before a nation.
Southern peasants thought 'La Talia' was the king's wife. This shows unification was an elite project.
With regional dialects and no shared language, "being Italian" had to be built after 1861.
This supports the GS-I argument that nation-making is a cultural task (language, schooling, symbols) that goes on after political unity. It is a useful comparison with Germany's "army as architect" model.

Related concepts

The making of Germany and Italy

Sources

1Class 10, Ch 1 "The Rise of Nationalism in Europe" (primary)
2Expedition of the Thousand / Giuseppe Garibaldi / Camillo Benso, count di Cavour / Unification of Italybritannica.com · tier 3