Cavour was, in fact, Piedmont's prime minister, finance
minister and foreign minister, and he played an extremely important role in the
unification of Italy. Not only did he make Piedmont strong so that it could
then dominate over other states, but he also came up with the unification
strategy. Above all, he improved Piedmont's foreign relations, especially with
France, by sending his troops to fight in the Crimean War against the Russians
and by trade deals with Britain, France and Belgium. Therefore, he was the main
cause for the help France gave to Italy and Cavour "arranged" the
Austrian attack on Piedmont by making it known that Piedmont wanted to form an
alliance with Massa-Carrara. Moreover, he came up with the idea of a plebiscite
in order to gain control over the central duchies and he later convinces
Garibaldi to hand Naples and Sicily over to Piedmont. Of course, he wasn't the
only person that enabled these things to happen; there were other important
figures such as Victor Emmanuel, the King of Piedmont, but he was, in all of
these cases the "mastermind" behind it. Hence, Cavour handled most of
the politics leading to Italian unification. Furthermore, he was an economic
moderniser and managed to develop Piedmont industrially. For example, by 1850, nearly half the Italian
railways were in Piedmont and the first Italian steamship had left Genoa. However,
when he died in 1861, he left Piedmont in a state of instability as there was
nobody to take over his place. One could
argue that this was Cavour's fault as he was too powerful and should have been
prepared by grooming somebody to take his place. Despite this, he was one of
the crucial leaders of the Italian unification.
Another key
figure was Giuseppe Mazzini, was Italian, and, although not living to see Italy
unified, was very successful in his spread of nationalist ideas. Above all,
Mazzini formed the group "Young Italy" in 1831, which has been called
Italy's first political party as it was the first nationalist group. Their aim
was to create 'one free independent republican nation' of Italy. The group was
quite successful; it had 5,000 to 6,000 members and lasted for roughly two
decades. "Young Italy" organised various uprisings and revolts, such
as a mutiny in the Piedmontese army and a rising Savoy, however they didn't
change much. The group's main accomplishments were the consolidation of the
Carbonari of different regions into a national party and the gaining of support
for the nationalist movement. Additionally, Mazzini's followers, the
"Mazzinian Radicalists"
started the Sicilian uprising in Palermo in 1860 which enabled Garibaldi
to take over Sicily. Not only does this uprising show Mazzini's huge influence,
even years after his death, but also that Mazzini's followers, who were all
Italian, caused the taking over of Sicily by the Piedmontese. Furthermore,
Mazzini helped create the Roman Republic in 1948 and became its political leader.
Settenbrini said that although the Roman Republic didn't work, this generation
made Italy as it put the idea of this Roman Republic into people's heads. This
is true as it, not only showed that liberals could govern effectively, but also
people could later learn from their mistakes and it pulled people together.
Additionally, it inspired people as Mazzini ruled in a tolerant and fair
manner, for example, he abolished the death penalty and taxation was reformed
to aid the poor. Indeed, Mazzini's main role in the Italian unification was
being an inspirational figure that increased support for the unification. The
most important of his recruits to the cause was most probably Garibaldi.
Garibaldi,
another vital Italian individual in the unification of Italy, was, as well as
Mazzini, a fundamental figure of the Roman Republic, but he also did much more.
Some consider Garibaldi as merely a "colourful figure" as he could
never have succeeded without Cavour and he never managed to fully unify Italy.
However this is untrue as he achieved many things aiding the cause of Italian
unification. Firstly, he was a great military leader, enabling him to take over
Sicily and Naples and later start up revolutions inside Venetia. Furthermore,
Garibaldi was brave enough to take a gamble and sail to Sicily and was then
courageous enough to march into the Papal States to create the Roman Republic. Therefore,
without him the expansion of Piedmont would have only been in the north.
Moreover, when he had achieved the annexation of Naples and Sicily, he
"handed it over" to Cavour. This was a crucial step in the
unification of Italy, and without Garibaldi's boldness, it would not have
occurred. Above all, like Mazzini, Garibaldi was an influential and devoted
Italian. He was immensely popular and won many over the cause of unification,
but also he encouraged his soldiers and sparked their loyalty and enthusiasm.
Although his risings in Venetia and Rome never took off as he lacked the
support of the people, the unification of Italy would of been hugely improbable
without him, which shows that Italians did actually play a critical role in the
creation of the Kingdom of Italy.
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