“to_What_Extend_Were_Economic_Factors_Responsible_for_Making_Piedmont_the_Leading_Power_in_the_Unification_of_Italy_by_1860_”

“To what extend were economic factors responsible for making Piedmont the leading power in the Unification of Italy by 1860'” Economic factors were indeed a reason why Piedmont became the leading power in Italian Unification but there were several others. Firstly, Piedmont was the only state that retained a liberal constitution beyond 1849. As a result, nationalists from all over the peninsula moved north to Piedmont and it soon became the centre of Italian nationalism and liberal thought. Further, domestic Piedmont politics and the “connubio” that brought Cavour to power as well as Cavour as an individual played their role in making Piedmont the leading state of the unification. Additionally, Piedmont’s alliance with France along with Austria’s weariness and her diplomatic mistakes were also important factors that helped Piedmont becoming the leader of the Italian Unification. Therefore, the reason why Piedmont took the leading role in forging political unity along Italy lies in the nature of its political, social and economic development after 1849. The key to economic development in the years from 1849 to 1860 was the construction of railways. Cavour was a strong supporter of railways as a fundamental factor for industrial expansion as it provided a cheap and fast means of transport. Indeed railways stimulated Piedmont’s economic growth. By 1860, there were about 1,800km of railways on the peninsula and almost 1,000km were in Piedmont. Railways connected the state of Piedmont with France, which had invested lot of money in the sate. This had beneficial political side effects, preparing the ground for Cavour’s endeavor to ensure French support in a future war against Austria. Investment in telegraph lines, canals and the textile industry also benefited the economy. Cavour was able to negotiate free trade treaties with Britain, France, Austria, Portugal and Belgium. This resulted in an economic boom during the 1850s, and by 1859 Piedmont was the most economically developed state on the peninsula, which put her in a strong position to be the agent of the unification. Moreover, Piedmont’s economic strength boosted its people moral and its power and allowed it to modernize its army by introducing new weapons and its navy by purchasing British vessels and introducing new navel guns. Furthermore it enabled Piedmont to mobilize its army and fund military campaigns. At the same time, Austria’s economy was weak mainly because Hungarians stopped paying taxes. They were unable to introduce modern weapons in their army and it was difficult from an economic point of view to mobilize her troops or fund a military expedition against Italian states as she had done during the 1848-49 revolutions. During the 1848-49 revolutions, there were a number of constitutions granted along Italy. Ferdinand and Grand Duke Leopold issued constitutions in Naples and the Central Duchies respectively. Charles Albert granted a constitution called the Statuto in Piedmont in March 1848. The Statuto limited the power of the Church and King’s authority although the Catholic Church was still the established church in Piedmont and the monarch retained many of its powers. However, Statuto’s importance stands in the fact that it continued existing after 1849. Piedmont was the only state with a “liberal” government. Piedmont’s “liberal” government attracted the attention of nationalists all over Italy. The constitution acted as a magnet drawing all those in Italy who wanted change and craved political freedom. Perhaps as many as 30,000 exiles moved to Turin and Genoa during the 1850s. Some of them, like the economist Francesco Ferrara and the writer Giuseppe Massari, were intellectuals that became highly influential in public life and turned Piedmont into the centre of Italian nationalist feeling. Radical journalists also flourished in Piedmont and most of them wrote from an Italian perspective rather than a Piedmonese one. This created a sense of “Italianess” (Italianità) among people, and made them believe in the idea of a united Italy. They also, disliked the Church because of Allocution issued by Pius IX, which opposed war against Austria and contemned liberalism and nationalism. Therefore, they were quite pleased with the anti-clerical policies of d’Azeglio and Cavour. As part of these policies, in 1850, Giuseppe Siccardi brought a series of bills that were passed by the Piedmonese Parliament and controlled the power of the Church. What made the Siccardi Laws different was that the state passed them without consulting the Church. The Siccardi Laws caused unrest among the Parliament and the political parties in Piedmont. As a result, the marriage or connubio emerged in 1851-52. This was a parliamentary agreement between Cavour and Urbano Ratazzi, leader or the centre-left. The connubio was nothing but a cynical political manoeuvre, in order to blunt opposition. The marriage’s corruption is highlighted By Cavour’s action to terminate and suck Ratazzi once the connubio had outlived its usefulness. The importance of connubio stands in the fact that it brought Cavour to power. Cavour was a skillful politician and a great diplomat. In January 1855, Cavour decided to join the Crimean war on the side of the allies (Britain and France). Because of this, he was asked to participate the Congress of Paris that indicated Piedmonts growing diplomatic stature. Furthermore, the “Italian Question” was raised during the conference making Austrian domination in northern Italy a diplomatic issue. Most importantly, the allies were grateful to Piedmonts for their support during the war. This became crucial when Piedmont challenged Austria and the allies supported it. On the other hand, Austria remained neutral throughout the war. This was a great diplomatic mistake because it turned Russia -her most powerful ally- against her. Up to this point, Russia was seen as a natural ally of Austria and imposed a threat on Piedmont in case of a future war against Austria. Now the threat of Russia providing support for the Austrian army was removed boosting Piedmont’s moral and further weakening Austria. It is also important to mention that Cavour maintained the good relationships between Piedmont and France throughout his service as prime minister via treaties and agreements such as the free trade treaty and the agreement at Plombières. Finally, Cavour’s role as an individual was important for making Piedmont the leading state in Italian Unification, because of the way he used the National Society to achieve his aims. The National society was a political movement founded in 1857 by exiles from other Italian states. Although, it was based in Piedmont it had branches all over the peninsula. While Cavour opposed radical nationalism he came to realize that moderate nationalists could be useful allies for Piedmont. He openly courted their support in 1856 at a meeting with their leader Daniel Manin. The National Society became very useful in1859. At the turn of 1858-9 the National Society recruited some 20,000 volunteers that joined Piedmonese army in the war against Austria. In May, the Society engineered peaceful revolutions in Tuscany, Modena and Parma and as a result all three rulers fled leaving provincial governments in control. In August of the same year, the National Society campaigned about the plebiscites held in the central Italy and managed to get people to vote for annexation by Piedmont. France’s support was crucial for making Piedmont the leader of Italian Unification for several reasons. Firstly, she invested lot of money in Piedmont and gave it a number of loans for the construction of railways during the 1850’s. Additionally, Napoleon III and Cavour agreed for a Kingdom of Upper Italy set up under the House of Savoy under the agreement at Plombières. This included the states of Lombardy and Venice, which France indeed gave to Piedmont in 1859 and 1866 respectively. Under the same agreement, she had also promised Piedmont military support of 200,000 troops in a future war between the state of Piedmont and Austria. Without French support, the Piedmonese army stood no chances against the Austrian military forces. Therefore, it could be argued that French support was the most important reason why Piedmont became the leading power of the Italian Unification. Consequently, there were five reasons apart from economic factors why Piedmont became the leader of the unification of Italy in 1860. These were Piedmont’s “liberal’ government, nationalism, domestic Piedmont politics that brought Count Camillo Cavour to power, Cavour as an individual and French support. The most important of these reasons is French support throughout the 1850’s that engineered Piedmont’s economic development and provided it with a strong army able to fight Austria. Economic factors were the second most important reason why Piedmont was made the leading state of Italian Unification. Through economic development, Piedmont was able to build on its relationships with other European powers including France. Moreover, economic growth boosted people’s moral, enabled the government to modernize the army and capable to fund military expeditions against France and throughout the peninsula. Therefore, economic factors were at a great extend responsible for making Piedmont the leading power in Italian Unification by 1860. Jocelyne