Italian Unification
With no true government, the Italian peninsula had been conquered by the French in 1796, and later by the Austrians when Napoleon’s hold on the country weakened. After the Congress of Vienna from 1814 to 1815, the peninsula of Italy was ruled almost exclusively by Austria, with Sardinia controlling a few small regions. However, the Italians did not like this, so from this point on, rebellions occurred around the country. One of the largest rebellions was the 1848 revolution in Rome. The citizens of Rome were mad that the Pope hadn't joined with the revolutionaries to free the country, so they forced Pope Pius IX to flee the city. Rome had achieved freedom from its oppressors, but that would be short lived. The Pope and Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli appealed to Catholic powers in Europe, and asked for help to overturn the rebellion. Despite the heroic actions of Giuseppe Garibaldi, who held the city against a stronger French force, Rome could not stand alone against a combined attack from three countries, and was forced to surrender to French in July 1849. Garibaldi was forced to flee Italy, the Pope was restored, and Rome under foreign control again.However, Count Cavour, Prime Minister of Sardinia, allied Sardinia with France in 1858, and to create a war against Austria. Cavour hoped to secure a large amount of the Italian peninsula from the war, and accomplish most of the unification. Although the war ended with France and Sardinia victorious, France made an unexpected move. It made peace with Austria. Austria maintained a good deal of Italy, while most of Lombardy was transferred to France, with several cities going to Sardinia. In 1860 several parts of Italy voted for Annexation to Sardinia. In exchange for its approval of the annexation, France received territories of Nice and Savoy. That same year, Palermo began a revolt against the kingdom of the Two Sicily’s. At this point Garibaldi, with the help and aid of Cavour, began a military campaign against the Sicilian kingdom to help the rebellion. By 1861 Sardinia had absorbed most of the Italian peninsula. The same year, the kingdom of Italy was proclaimed, but unification continued for several years, ending in 1871.