Cavour

A detailed Summary of Cavour

Of the three main figures of the Italian Risorgimento, Cavour best understood how to use nationalism to achieve his goal. Mazzini failed to gain support of the majority of the people, while Garibaldi merely provided military assistance. What neither man understood was the importance of Foreign aid. Mazzini even went as far as to oppose assistance from outside, thinking that if Italy were to gain independence on its own, the bonds within the country would be stronger. He failed to think of the consequences should they not succeed. Cavour however knew how to gain support of the people and recognized the importance of foreign aid. As stated by Geoffrey Bruun, "To... work out a formula whereby the Italian people and their rulers could be united called for patience, insight, moderation, compromise and political realism. One man who combined these qualities in the requisite proportions was Camillo di Cavour." (Bruun 63)

Cavour showed Nationalistic traits for most of his life. At the age of ten, he was enrolled in military school, but by age 18, his nationalism was already emerging and with it came complications which eventually led to imprisonment and later, his resignation. During his military career, he was transferred to Genoa whe

He. took nationalism so seriously that he was unwilling to let anything to stand in his way, not even the church. He believed, not unlike many other nationalists, that, "Nationalism stands for secularization of the state as well as for destruction the the pope's temporal power." (Denis Smith quoted in Salvadori 181) Cavour sensed that the large catholic population would oppose unification if told to by the pope. Until 1858, Pius IX was very supportive of the idea of an Italian nation, but the revolutions that took place that year changed his views. He saw fellow Catholics killing each other over political differences and was considerably opposed to this behavior. Cavour, knowing that he would loose support of many citizens if he did not take action, began secularization of Piedmont. He dissolved monasteries and abolished clerical privileges, even going to far as to execute the pope's subjects if they tried to defend themselves. For these actions he was excommunicated, but for what he saw as a good cause.

Cavour's meeting with Napoleon III Showed a great deal of Nationalism. Having predicted that Italy could not be unified with out foreign aid, he had helped the French in the Crimean war. Russia had tried to take over Turkey and was stopped by the French and the English who didn't want Russia to have access to the Mediterranean. Cavour saw a chance to make an ally which he knew he'd need and, sent troops to help the French. Now, Napoleon III owed Cavour a favor, and it was arranged that he would help him gain control of Lombardy and Venetia from Austria. Napoleon III agreed, that, in the event of an Austrian-Italian war, France would intervene. Cavour recognized the fact that Austria had to be made seem the aggressor, however, in order to better utilize nationalism. After making sure other countries would not interfere, he put his plan into action. First , "Napoleon III told the Austrian ambassador, in such a way that everyone could hear it, that 'relations between France and Austria were far from satisfactory'" (Quo

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Approximate Word count = 1370
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History