The Unification and Consolidation of Italy 1815- 1890 Background to the Period.

The Unification and Consolidation of Italy 1815- 1890

Background to the Period

Context 18th century was dominated by kings and empires

Divine right of kings (monarchs were appointed by God and so were answerable only to God)

Absolute monarchs, with little influence from Parliaments

The exceptions to this rule were: The Netherlands, Venice and Switzerland- all republics (conservative in nature and both had overseas empires)

Britain- constitutional monarchy- elected parliament (however only land owning people could vote and parliament also consisted of unelected nobles and churchmen)

Wright of Derby, "Experiment with an air pump"

The Enlightenment Austrian, Prussian, Russian and Spanish rulers

of the 18th century were called “enlightened despots”

Aimed to modernize their lands while controlling the people

They were enlightened because they tried to use some of the reforming ideas of the time period (the enlightenment)

Despots on the other hands meant they ruled absolutely

The Enlightenment There were forces of change occurring in the

18th century:

- Theories about the legitimacy of power- social contract theories

- American Revolution 1774- 1783 encouraged the spread of republican ideas- those who are taxed had a right and a saw in the passing of laws

Spread of Revolutionary Ideas 1789 Revolution in France- calling of the Estates

General by Louis XVI during the financial crisis

French people demanded rights and freedoms- republican ideas

French Monarchy was at war against its own people- 1792 the French Republic was proclaimed and in1793 Louis XVI is executed

The revolutionary ideas spread outwards into Europe from France

Spread of Revolutionary Ideas French generals brought these ideas wherever

they went (and they were brilliant too) such as Italy and Germany

Liberty, Equality and Fraternity (brotherhood)

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen- people were citizens rather than subjects and therefore had the right to vote

Spread of Revolutionary Ideas Prior to the 18th century, Italy and Germany

were many small independent states headed by their own absolutist rulers

Napoleonic Wars 1792- 1815- these states were partly unified under French rule and therefore French ideas took hold there

This undermined the 18th century tradition of loyalty to monarchs

Spread of Revolutionary Ideas 1799 Napoleon established his rule in France and became emperor

in 1804

Napoleon became a focus for national feeling

He brought modern style administration and law to Italy and Germany

He inadvertently sowed the seeds of resistance

After the fall of Napoleon, the ideas of right to nationalities independence, will of the people represented in assemblies and elected parliaments- did not go away- they survived

It would be these revolutionary ideas that set the stage for the unification of Italy and Germany

Romanticism 18th century saw a revival of classical forms in art and

culture

By 1815 romanticism spread- express feelings of the human rather than respect for authority and empires

Personal feeling expressed in freer forms- celebrating the wonders of nature and man

The individual not the community was now celebrated

Romanticism meant less respect for authority; individuality, freedom of expression and acting on those feelings was considered right and good

Romanticism Dress and manners became less formal, a

renewed interested in what brought individuals together- language, nationality, feeling of connectedness

The old world order that was being restored by the Congress of Vienna was replaced by romanticism, liberalism and romanticism

Terminology and Definitions The political spectrum- let’s go!

Complicated time period- we must understand how the terms relate to then and how they are meant now….they are different and even in the 18th century there was little agreement to actual definitions

Let us assess our results

Liberalism Latin liber, meaning free- 19th century meaning a belief

in political freedom

Freedom from absolute monarchs and states Freedom under the law- right to a fair trial Freedom to express political views Freedom to elect parliaments to discuss laws

These ideas originate from the American Declaration of Independence 1776 and the French Declaration 1789

Natural right of all mean to be free

Liberalism Also refers to economic freedom- government

should NOT interfere with people’s desires to improve their lives through their own efforts

No taxes on trade- less taxes on the economy would mean less taxes needed on people’s labour

Capitalism

Liberalism Religion- people should be free to choose

whether to believe in and practice religion or to have none- churches should not IMPOSE their beliefs

The limit that liberals placed on freedom was that it should not restrict the right to freedom of others

Do not mistake this with a belief in ‘the people’- most 19th century liberals felt the only people who should have a say in society are those had a share in it (property owners, business owners, elite/wealthy)

Liberalism Democracy to liberals was flawed in that it gave power to

the ignorant voice and the uninformed educated classes

Remember Napoleon had used democracy as a way to gain support, essentially by exploiting their ignorance

Social reforms were not supported- if you help those in need it gets in the way of their responsibility to their own lives (so what do they think of universal health care?)

Do not raise taxes- people should be free to keep what they earn

Reactionary Reactionaries were those who were against

liberal ideas- reaction against change

Defenders of established order and tradition

Austria, Prussia, and Russia were reactionary states- Clemens von Metternich of Austria: respect for traditional authority keeps society stable

Monarch, aristocracy, the Church

Nationalism Belief in progress and happiness will follow if people of the same

nationality live in the same state

Language or culture is what bound people together, not loyalty to a monarch

However not all Nationalists believed the same issues

For Germans- Grossdeutschland- greater Germany

Kleindeutschland- northern Germany

Italy was the same- north and south differences

What united all Nationalists was a dislike of foreign rule

Republicans Nationalists were sometimes republicans- an

end to hereditary monarchy

Few of these however- even the radicals still looked at a constitutional monarchy as the best system

Summary Understand what Italy was like before 1815 and what

problems were faced by those who wished to unite them

Understand the various attempts to unit Italy before and during 1848/1849 and the reasons for their failures

Understand why changes after 1849 made unification possible in Italy and make a judgment about the personalities involved

Understand the developments after unification and make a judgment about how well the rulers of Italy coped with the problems that arose because of unification