ITALY, 1856-1859

felt keenly, also, how false was his own position at Rome. . . . France upheld the Pope as a temporal sovereign, but, nevertheless, the latter ruled in a manner which pleased Austria and which displeased France. . . . Count Cavour went privately to meet the French Emperor at Plombières in July, 1858. During that interview it was arranged that France should ally herself actively with Piedmont against Austria."-J. W. Probyn, Italy from 1850 to 1890, ch. 9-10.-"The terms of the agreement were vague. France was to furnish 200,000 men; Piedmont was to raise 100,000. The joint forces were to drive the Austrians from Lombardy and Venetia, which, together with the Legations and the Marches of Ancona, were to be annexed to the States already under the sovereignty of Victor Emmanuel II. France was to receive the Duchy of Savoy in return for the cession of Lombardy, while Nice was to be given to France in case Venetia was acquired. Thus Cavour set to work to pave the way for the liberation and unification of Italy."W. K. Wallace, Greater Italy, p. 2.-"The first public indication of the attitude taken up by France with regard to Austria and Italy was given on the 1st January, 1859, when Napoleon III. received the diplomatic corps at the Tuileries. Addressing Baron Hubner, the Austrian Ambassador, the French Emperor said: 'I regret that the relations between us are bad; tell your sovereign, however, that my sentiments towards him are not changed.' . . . The ties which united France to Piedmont were strengthened by the marriage, in the end of January, 1859, of the Princess Clotilde, the eldest daughter of Victor Emmanuel, with Prince Napoleon, the first cousin of the French Emperor.

ITALY, 1856-1859

Austrian commander, done so without hesitation, he might well have reached the capital of Piedmont before the French had arrived in sufficient force to enable the little Piedmontese army to arrest the invasion. As it was, the opportunity was lost never to occur again. In the first engagements at Montebello and Palestro [May 20, 30 and 31] the advance rested decidedly with the allies. On the 4th June the French fought the battle of Magenta, which ended, though not without a hard struggle, in the defeat of the Austrians. On the 8th the Emperor Napoleon and King Victor Emmanuel entered Milan, where they were received with a welcome as sincere as it was enthusiastic. The rich Lombard capital hastened to recognise the king as its sovereign. While there he met in person, Garibaldi, who was in command of the volunteer corps, whose members had flocked from all parts of Italy to carry on under his command the war in the mountainous districts of the north against Austria. . . . The allied troops pursued their march onwards towards the River Mincio, upon whose banks two of the fortresses of the famous Quadrilateral are situated. On the 24th June they encountered the Austrian army at Solferino and San Martino. French, Piedmontese, and Austrians, fought with courage and determination. Nor was it until after ten or eleven hours of hard fighting that the allies forced their enemy to retreat and took possession of the positions he had occupied in the morning. While victory thus crowned the efforts of France and Piedmont in battle, events of no little importance were taking place in Italy. Ferdinand II. of Naples died on the 22nd May, just after he had received the news of the successes of the allies at Montebello and Palestro. He was succeeded by his son, Francis II. . . . Count Salmour was at once despatched by the Piedmontese Government . . . with the offer of a full and fair alliance between Turin and Naples. The offer was rejected. Francis determined to follow his father's example of absolutism at home while giving all his influence to Austria. Thus it was that the young Neapolitan king sowed. and as he sowed so he reaped. Leopold, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, had in April refused the proffered alliance of Piedmont. . . . Finally he left Florence and took refuge in the Austrian camp. A provisional Government was formed, which placed the Tuscan forces at the disposal of Victor Emmanuel. This change was effected in a few hours without bloodshed or violence. The Duchess of Parma went away to Switzerland with her young son, Duke Robert. Francis, Duke of Modena betook himself, with what treasures he had time to lay his hands on, to the more congenial atmosphere of the head-quarters of the Austrian army. 'The deputations which hastened from Tuscany, Parma, and Modena, to offer their allegiance to Victor Emmanuel, were received without difficulty. It was agreed that their complete annexation should be deferred until after the conclusion of peace. In the meanwhile the Piedmontese Government was to assume the responsibility of maintaining order and providing for military action. . . . The French and Piedmontese armies had won the battle of Solferino, and driven the enemy across the Mincio; their fleets were off the lagoons of Venice, and were even visible from the lofty Campanile of St. Mark. Italy was throbbing with a movement of national life daily gathering volume and force. Europe was impatiently expecting the next move. It took the unexpected form of an armistice, which the Emperor of the French proposed, on his sole responsibility, to the Emperor Francis Joseph on the 8th July. On the 12th the preliminaries of peace were

An agreement was made by which the Emperor Napoleon promised to give armed assistance to Piedmont if she were attacked by Austria. The result, in case the allies were successful, was to be the formation of a northern kingdom of Italy. . . . Both Austria and Piedmont increased their armaments and raised loans in preparation for war. Men of all ranks and conditions of life flocked to Turin from the other States of Italy to join the Piedmontese army, or enrol themselves among the volunteers of Garibaldi, who had hastened to offer his services to the king against Austria. . . . Meanwhile, diplomacy made continual efforts to avert war. . . . The idea of a European Congress was started. . . . Then came the proposition of a general disarmament by way of staying the warlike preparations, which were taking ever enlarged proportions. On the 18th April, 1859, the Cabinet of Turin agreed to the principle of disarmament at the special request of England and France, on the condition that Piedmont took her seat at the Congress. The Cabinet of Vienna had made no reply to this proposition. Then suddenly it addressed, on the 23rd April, an ultimatum to the Cabinet of Turin demanding the instant disarmament of Piedmont, to which a categorical reply was asked for within three days. At the expiration of the three days Count Cavour, who was delighted at this hasty step of his opponent, remitted to Baron Kellerberg, the Austrian envoy, a refusal to comply with the request made. War was now inevitable. Victor Emmanuel addressed a stirring proclamation to his army on the 27th April, and two days afterwards another to the people of his own kingdom and to the people of Italy. . . . On the 30th April some French troops arrived at Turin. On the 13th May Napoleon III. disembarked at Genoa. . . . Although the Austrian armies proceeded to cross the Ticino and invade the Piedmontese territory, they failed to make a decisive march on Turin, Had Count Giúlay, the

signed at Villafranca. Victor Emmanuel was opposed to this act of his ally, but was unable to prevent it. The Italians were bitterly disappointed, and their anger was only too faithfully represented by Cavour himself. He hastened to the headquarters of the king, denounced in vehement language the whole proceeding, advised his majesty not to sign the armistice, not to accept Lombardy [see below], and to withdraw his troops from the Mincio to the Ticino. But Victor Emmanuel, though sympathising with the feelings of Italy and of his Minister, took a wiser and more judicious course than the one thus recommended. He accepted Cavour's resignation and signed the armistice, appending to his signature these words:J'accepte pour ce qui me concerne.' He reserved his liberty of action for the future and refused to pledge himself to anything more than a cessation of hostilities."-J. W. Probyn, Italy from 1815 to

GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI

tions, while the various states of the peninsula, excepting Sardinia and the Two Sicilies, were to form a confederation under the leadership of the Pope. According to the terms of the treaty Lombardy was the only state directly benefited by the war. . . . The people of central Italy showed no inclination to resume the old régime. They maintained their position firmly and consistently, despite the decisions of the Zurich Congress, the advice of the French emperor, and the threatening attitude of Naples and Rome. . . . The year closed without definite action, leaving the provisional governments in control. In fact, matters were simply drifting, and it seemed imperative to take some vigorous measures to terminate so abnormal a condition of affairs. Finally the project of a European congress was suggested. There was but one opinion as to who should represent Italy in such an event. . . . Cavour returned to the head of affairs in January. This event was simultaneous with the removal of M. Walewski at Paris and a change in the policy of the French government. The emperor no longer advised the central Italians to accept the return of their rulers. His influence at Rome was exercised to induce the Pope to allow his subjects in the Legations to have their will. . . . The scheme of a European congress was abandoned. With France at his back to neutralize Austria, Cavour had nothing to fear. . . . He suggested to the emperor that the central Italians be allowed to settle their fate by plebiscite. This method was to a certain extent a craze with the emperor, . . . and Cavour was not surprised at the affirmative reply he received to his proposal. The elections took place in March, and by an overwhelming majority the people of Parma, Modena, Tuscany, and the Legations declared for annexation to Sardinia. Austria protested, but could do no more in the face of England and France. Naples followed the Austrian example, while almost simultaneously with the news of the elections there arrived at Turin the papal excommunication for Victor Emmanuel and his subjects. On the 2d of April the king opened the new parliament and addressed himself to the representatives of 12,000,000 Italians. The natural enthusiasm attending the session was seriously dampened by the royal announcement that, subject to the approval of their citizens and the ratification of parliament, Nice and Savoy were to be returned to France. It was, in fact, the concluding installment of the price arranged at Plombières to be paid for the French troops in the campaign of the previous year. . . General Garibaldi, who sat in the parliament for Nice, was especially prominent in the angry debates that followed. . . . When the transfer had been ratified he withdrew to a humble retreat in the island of Caprera. . . . But the excitement over the loss of Nice and Savoy was soon diminished by the startling intelligence which arrived of rebellion in the Neapolitan dominions. Naples was mutinous, while in Sicily, Palermo and Messina were in open revolt. Garibaldi's time had come. Leaving Caprera, he made for Piedmont, and hastily organized a band of volunteers to assist in the popular movement. On the night of May 6, with about a thousand enthusiastic spirits, he embarked from the coast near Genoa in two steamers and sailed for Sicily. Cavour in the mean time winked at this extraordinary performance. He dispatched Admiral Persano with a squadron ostensibly to intercept the expedition, but in reality to navigate between it and the hostile Neapolitan fleet.' On the 11th Garibaldi landed safely at Marsala under the sleepy guns of a Neapolitan man-of-war. On the 14th he was at Salemi, where he issued the

1890, ch. 9-10.-See also FRANCE: 1852-1870; AusTRIA: 1856-1859.

ALSO IN: C. Bossoli, War in Italy.-C. de Mazade, Life of Count Cavour, ch. 2-5.-C. Arrivabene, Italy under Victor Emmanuel, v. 1, ch. 1-13. -C. Adams, Great campaigns, pp. 271-340.-L. Kossuth, Memories of my exile.-E. M. Cesaresco, Italian characters in the epoch of unification.

1859.-Compulsory education law. See EDUCATION: Modern: 19th century: Italy.

1859-1861.-Treaty of Zurich and its practical negation.-Annexation of Central Italy to Sardinia by plebiscite.-Revolution in Sicily and Naples.-Garibaldi's great campaign of liberation.-Sardinian army in papal states.-New kingdom of Italy proclaimed.-"The treaty concluded at Zurich in November [1859] between the ambassadors of France, Austria, and Sardinia substantially ratified the preliminaries arranged at Villafranca. Lombardy passed to the king_of Sardinia; Venetia was retained by Austria. The rulers of Modena and Parma were to be restored, the papal power again established in the Lega