Italy - 1848 Revolutions

• In 1848, there was no Italy.
• In 1848, there were distinct states that occupied the area where Italy now is.
• The largest states were Tuscany, the Papal States, the Kingdom of Piedmont Sardinia, the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia (including Milan and Venice).
• The kingdom of the Two Sicilies and Lombardy Venetia since the 1815 Concert of Europe/Congress of Vienna, had been ruled by the Bourbon Kings
• All states were monarchies, but were generally kinder to the poor and to the women than other European countries at the time.
• In the 19th century, many of the people who lived in these Italian states began to believe that Italy should be a united nation, free from Austrian rule.
• People began meeting in secret societies to discuss their ideas. Although different societies wanted to unite the states into one nation, they couldn't agree on what kind of nation.
• Some people wanted a republic and vote for a president, while others wanted a union under the leadership of the Pope. Others wanted the country to be a monarchy, ruled by a king and some suggested that the King of Piedmont Sardinia would be the best man for the job.
• Despite conflict of ideas on how the country should be run, one thing everyone could agree on was that they didn't want Austria ruling any Italian state.
• In 1831, one secret society 'The Carbonaria', united all the other societies to revolt against Austrian rule. The Austrians responded by sending soldiers to break up the rebellion.
• When the Austrians sent the soldiers to break up the rebellion, society members were arrested and the leaders were sentenced to be hanged or shot. One of them, Giuseppe Mazzini escaped.
• Giuseppe Mazzini was horrified to see the other leaders killed, but it made him more determined . He formed a new society called 'Young Italy'. Every member had to be under 40 and prepared to use violence.
• The Young Italians knew that 200 years earlier Italian states were separate, but free from foreign influence. They hoped to make them free and powerful once again, but this time as a single Italian republic. This movement became known as the Risorgimento.
• Mazzini was an intimidating person who claimed that God wanted Italy to be free.
• Mazzini always wore black and taught his followers that it was reight to assassinate dictatorial leaders.
• In fear of the 'Young Italy' society, Austria declared that being a member of the 'Young Italians' was a crime, punishable by death. Despite this, the society continued to grow.
• New members of 'Young Italy' included Giuseppe Garibaldi, who soon became m
• New members of 'Young Italy' included Giuseppe Garibaldi, who soon became Mazzini's right hand man.
• Throughout Italian states, people were unhappy and it continued to grow.
• In January 1814, people in Palmero, Sicily, were still upset about the outcome of the 1915 Concert of Europe and demanded a change.
• The people in Palmero, Sicily were well organized. They had posters and notices that were handed out 3 days before they planned to revolt. The protest had a lot of support, including from the nobles.
• The people in Palmero, Sicily declared independence from the Bourbon king and brought back the pre-1812 constitution. It was also suggested that a confederation of all Italian states should be created.
• The uprising of Sicily was the first of many that year.
• In Milan, fed up with Austrian rule , they planned to upset the Austrain treasury. By stopping smoking and playing the lottery, they denied the Autrians the taxes involved.
• While people gathered in the streets in support of the plan for Austrians no longer having taxes from them, Austrian soldiers shot into the crowd and killed 61 people.
• Revolutionary leaders pledged allegiance to the King of Piedmont Sardinia, Charles Albert of Savoy.
• Seeing revolutionary leaders pledge allegiance to the King of Piedmont Sardinia, the people of Trento raised a tricolor flag to represent that they were in favor of a republic. They destroyed the office of finance, marched to the city hall and insisted that a message be sent to Vienna, demanding that Austria withdraw from all Italian land.
• The day after the destruction of the office of finance, they created a national guard and appealed other Italian citizens to follow their example. Venice followed and declared itself an independent republic.
• Charles Albert of Savoy's Piedmont army had marched into Lombardy to support the rebels. The Austrian commander there retreated to a group of fortresses. After this, Pope Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and the King of Two Sicilies sent troops against Austria as well.
• Originally everyone was on a unified front, however Charles Albert wanted to claim cities for his own kingdom. The pope also changed his mind and decided that he could not get involved in a war between 2 states that were both catholic and in May he withdrew his troops.
• After the withdrawal of the Pope, other Italian leaders quickly followed. This left fighting between Piedmont Sardinia and Austria (who was winning). The rebels retreated to Milan.
• After the retreat to Milan, Austrians gave permission to civilians who were not involved in the fighting to leave - half the population fled.
• Charles Albert decided to abandon the city of Milan and signed a treaty with Austrians, agreeing to return to the old borders.
• Although war in Piedmont Sardinia and Austria had ended, Vince was still holding it's ground and other states began to join in the fight again.
• In Rome, people were unhappy and the Prime Minister was assassinated. Things became more and more violent and the Pope fled from Rome to Naples where he was soon joined by the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
• With Rome free from the Pope, Garibaldi and Mazzini started to build a 'Rome of the People', getting rid of taxes and creating work for the unemployed, leading to a Roman Republic being declared.
• Mazzini inspired his people to build a better nation, while he lived in cheap housing and gave his money to charity. He also took large amounts of land from churches to give to the poor, which helped make schools that were free from church interference.
• Mazzini also granted freedom of press and made reforms to the prison system.
• Despite Mazzini's work, the new republic faced inflation and other financial problems caused by the cost of sending troops to help defned Piedmont Sardinia against Austria.
• The Pope, hiding in Naples, was determined to get Rome back and sent messages to Roman Catholics throughout Europe begging for thei help to drive out the 'Young Italians'.