THE UNIFICATION OF ITALY c1830-70
,VIENNA SETTLEMENT 1815:
After Napoleonic wars- states restored to old order
● Piedmont: house of Savoy
○ Repressive and poor
● Lombardy/Venetia: Direct Austrian rule
○ Wealthiest state
● Parma, Modena, Tuscany: independent but Austrian influence
- Parma: Marie Louise (Austrian) - Napoleon’s second wife
- Modena: Francis iv (Habsburg family)
- Tuscany: Leopold iii (Habsburg family)
● Papal states: under rule of the pope
● Kingdom of Two Sicilies: house of Bourbon
○ Repressive and poor
1831-32 REVOLUTIONS:
1830- revolution in France: ‘July revolution’- constitutional monarchy under Louis-Phillippe
- Italian nationalists thought he would help them
1831:
Modena uprising led by Misley: thought FIV would help but he changed his mind
- Had Menotti (one of leaders) arrested)
- Revolution happened anyway and FIV fled to Vienna
Parma: similar to Modena- mainly students
- Marie Louise fled to Vienna
Papal states: NOT NATIONALIST- wanted reform and a constitution
- Captured Perugia, Ancona and Bologna- provisional governments
AUSTRIA CRUSHED THEM ALL AND RESTORED ORDER
- Menotti and others executed- brutal repression
Why they failed:
● Too regional
○ No national vision- also papal states was not a nationalist revolution
■ Menotti wanted constitutional gov’t but in papal states wanted a
republican gov’t
● Lack of communication
○ In Modena- Menotti hoped for leadership under FIV
○ In Romagna and Umbria- separate Italian Provinces gov’t declared
● Narrow social base
○ 80-85% of Italy were peasants/working class
■ Campanilismo- no interest- so no common support for revolution
■ Romagna- some peasants helped to reinstate papal rule
● No foreign support
○ Britain and France did not get involved- did not want war with Austria
○ Austrian brutality and military strength- Menotti death
, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS:
Economic:
● Enclosure 1830s and 40s: land that was redistributed in Napoleonic wars- restored to old
order- ARISTOCRATIC DOMINANCE
- Mostly papacy and aristocracy
- LOMBARDY-VENETIA 1830: 60% of land owned by large landowners and
church
- Reduction of common spaces for peasants
- 1820-50 in central areas- commons shrunk by 40%
● Very tough for landless peasants
- High grain prices due to tariffs and high rent (greedy landlords)
- Tariffs up to 30%
● Very slow Industrialisation
- Depended on Britain for coal
- Localism, physical geography poor infrastructure
- Apennine mountains- running down centre of Italy- travel v. hard
- Main industry was textiles: based in north- basically non-existent in south
- 1830: Lombardy produced 70% of Italy’s silk output
● Bad transport- no railways
Social:
● Maj focused on day-to-day survival
- 1840s and 1853 famines- poor harvests; potato blight
- Cholera outbreaks
- 1836- 65,000 died- blamed on naples
- 1837- 27,000 died in Palermo
- Malaria- especially in south
● Campanilismo- small town mentality
○ Only 4% spoke italian and 80% illiterate- compounded social divides
● Role of Church; anti unification- 98% catholic- listened to pope
,VIENNA SETTLEMENT 1815:
After Napoleonic wars- states restored to old order
● Piedmont: house of Savoy
○ Repressive and poor
● Lombardy/Venetia: Direct Austrian rule
○ Wealthiest state
● Parma, Modena, Tuscany: independent but Austrian influence
- Parma: Marie Louise (Austrian) - Napoleon’s second wife
- Modena: Francis iv (Habsburg family)
- Tuscany: Leopold iii (Habsburg family)
● Papal states: under rule of the pope
● Kingdom of Two Sicilies: house of Bourbon
○ Repressive and poor
1831-32 REVOLUTIONS:
1830- revolution in France: ‘July revolution’- constitutional monarchy under Louis-Phillippe
- Italian nationalists thought he would help them
1831:
Modena uprising led by Misley: thought FIV would help but he changed his mind
- Had Menotti (one of leaders) arrested)
- Revolution happened anyway and FIV fled to Vienna
Parma: similar to Modena- mainly students
- Marie Louise fled to Vienna
Papal states: NOT NATIONALIST- wanted reform and a constitution
- Captured Perugia, Ancona and Bologna- provisional governments
AUSTRIA CRUSHED THEM ALL AND RESTORED ORDER
- Menotti and others executed- brutal repression
Why they failed:
● Too regional
○ No national vision- also papal states was not a nationalist revolution
■ Menotti wanted constitutional gov’t but in papal states wanted a
republican gov’t
● Lack of communication
○ In Modena- Menotti hoped for leadership under FIV
○ In Romagna and Umbria- separate Italian Provinces gov’t declared
● Narrow social base
○ 80-85% of Italy were peasants/working class
■ Campanilismo- no interest- so no common support for revolution
■ Romagna- some peasants helped to reinstate papal rule
● No foreign support
○ Britain and France did not get involved- did not want war with Austria
○ Austrian brutality and military strength- Menotti death
, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS:
Economic:
● Enclosure 1830s and 40s: land that was redistributed in Napoleonic wars- restored to old
order- ARISTOCRATIC DOMINANCE
- Mostly papacy and aristocracy
- LOMBARDY-VENETIA 1830: 60% of land owned by large landowners and
church
- Reduction of common spaces for peasants
- 1820-50 in central areas- commons shrunk by 40%
● Very tough for landless peasants
- High grain prices due to tariffs and high rent (greedy landlords)
- Tariffs up to 30%
● Very slow Industrialisation
- Depended on Britain for coal
- Localism, physical geography poor infrastructure
- Apennine mountains- running down centre of Italy- travel v. hard
- Main industry was textiles: based in north- basically non-existent in south
- 1830: Lombardy produced 70% of Italy’s silk output
● Bad transport- no railways
Social:
● Maj focused on day-to-day survival
- 1840s and 1853 famines- poor harvests; potato blight
- Cholera outbreaks
- 1836- 65,000 died- blamed on naples
- 1837- 27,000 died in Palermo
- Malaria- especially in south
● Campanilismo- small town mentality
○ Only 4% spoke italian and 80% illiterate- compounded social divides
● Role of Church; anti unification- 98% catholic- listened to pope
