The Story of Mankind [155]
Cavour, however, was a monarch-
ist, and the others who recognised his superior ability in such
matters of practical statecraft, accepted his decision and sacrificed
their own ambitions for the greater good of their beloved
Fatherland.
Cavour felt towards the House of Sardinia as Bismarck
did towards the Hohenzollern family. With infinite care and
great shrewdness he set to work to jockey the Sardinian King
into a position from which His Majesty would be able to assume
the leadership of the entire Italian people. The unsettled
political conditions in the rest of Europe greatly helped him in
his plans and no country contributed more to the independence
of Italy than her old and trusted (and often distrusted)
neighbour, France.
In that turbulent country, in November of the year 1852,
the Republic had come to a sudden but not unexpected end.
Napoleon III the son of Louis Bonaparte the former King of
Holland, and the small nephew of a great uncle, had re-
established an Empire and had made himself Emperor ``by the
Grace of God and the Will of the People.''
This young man, who had been educated in Germany and
who mixed his French with harsh Teutonic gutturals (just
as the first Napoleon had always spoken the language of his
adopted country with a strong Italian accent) was trying very
hard to use the Napoleonic tradition for his own benefit. But
he had many enemies and did not feel very certain of his hold
upon his ready-made throne. He had gained the friendship
of Queen Victoria but this had not been a difficult task, as the
good Queen was not particularly brilliant and was very susceptible
to flattery. As for the other European sovereigns,
they treated the French Emperor with insulting haughtiness
and sat up nights devising new ways in which they could show
their upstart ``Good Brother'' how sincerely they despised him.
Napoleon was obliged to find a way in which he could break
this opposition, either through love or through fear. He well
knew the fascination which the word ``glory'' still held for his
subjects. Since he was forced to gamble for his throne he
decided to play the game of Empire for high stakes. He used
an attack of Russia upon Turkey as an excuse for bringing
about the Crimean war in which England and France combined
against the Tsar on behalf of the Sultan. It was a very
costly and exceedingly unprofitable enterprise. Neither
France nor England nor Russia reaped much glory.
But the Crimean war did one good thing. It gave Sardinia
a chance to volunteer on the winning side and when peace was
declared it gave Cavour the opportunity to lay claim to the
gratitude of both England and France.
Having made use of the international situation to get Sardinia
recognised as one of the more important powers of Europe,
the clever Italian then provoked a war between Sardinia
and Austria in June of the year 1859. He assured himself of
the support of Napoleon in exchange for the provinces of
Savoy and the city of Nice, which was really an Italian town.
The Franco-Italian armies defeated the Austrians at Magenta
and Solferino, and the former Austrian provinces and duchies
were united into a single Italian kingdom. Florence became
the capital of this new Italy until the year 1870 when the
French recalled their troops from Home to defend France
against the Germans. As soon as they were gone, the Italian
troops entered the eternal city and the House of Sardinia took
up its residence in the old Palace of the Quirinal which an
ancient Pope had built on the ruins of the baths of the Emperor
Constantine.
The Pope, however, moved across the river Tiber and hid
behind the walls of the Vatican, which had been the home of
many of his predecessors since their return from the exile of
Avignon in the year 1377. He protested loudly against this
high-handed theft of his domains and addressed letters of appeal
to those
ist, and the others who recognised his superior ability in such
matters of practical statecraft, accepted his decision and sacrificed
their own ambitions for the greater good of their beloved
Fatherland.
Cavour felt towards the House of Sardinia as Bismarck
did towards the Hohenzollern family. With infinite care and
great shrewdness he set to work to jockey the Sardinian King
into a position from which His Majesty would be able to assume
the leadership of the entire Italian people. The unsettled
political conditions in the rest of Europe greatly helped him in
his plans and no country contributed more to the independence
of Italy than her old and trusted (and often distrusted)
neighbour, France.
In that turbulent country, in November of the year 1852,
the Republic had come to a sudden but not unexpected end.
Napoleon III the son of Louis Bonaparte the former King of
Holland, and the small nephew of a great uncle, had re-
established an Empire and had made himself Emperor ``by the
Grace of God and the Will of the People.''
This young man, who had been educated in Germany and
who mixed his French with harsh Teutonic gutturals (just
as the first Napoleon had always spoken the language of his
adopted country with a strong Italian accent) was trying very
hard to use the Napoleonic tradition for his own benefit. But
he had many enemies and did not feel very certain of his hold
upon his ready-made throne. He had gained the friendship
of Queen Victoria but this had not been a difficult task, as the
good Queen was not particularly brilliant and was very susceptible
to flattery. As for the other European sovereigns,
they treated the French Emperor with insulting haughtiness
and sat up nights devising new ways in which they could show
their upstart ``Good Brother'' how sincerely they despised him.
Napoleon was obliged to find a way in which he could break
this opposition, either through love or through fear. He well
knew the fascination which the word ``glory'' still held for his
subjects. Since he was forced to gamble for his throne he
decided to play the game of Empire for high stakes. He used
an attack of Russia upon Turkey as an excuse for bringing
about the Crimean war in which England and France combined
against the Tsar on behalf of the Sultan. It was a very
costly and exceedingly unprofitable enterprise. Neither
France nor England nor Russia reaped much glory.
But the Crimean war did one good thing. It gave Sardinia
a chance to volunteer on the winning side and when peace was
declared it gave Cavour the opportunity to lay claim to the
gratitude of both England and France.
Having made use of the international situation to get Sardinia
recognised as one of the more important powers of Europe,
the clever Italian then provoked a war between Sardinia
and Austria in June of the year 1859. He assured himself of
the support of Napoleon in exchange for the provinces of
Savoy and the city of Nice, which was really an Italian town.
The Franco-Italian armies defeated the Austrians at Magenta
and Solferino, and the former Austrian provinces and duchies
were united into a single Italian kingdom. Florence became
the capital of this new Italy until the year 1870 when the
French recalled their troops from Home to defend France
against the Germans. As soon as they were gone, the Italian
troops entered the eternal city and the House of Sardinia took
up its residence in the old Palace of the Quirinal which an
ancient Pope had built on the ruins of the baths of the Emperor
Constantine.
The Pope, however, moved across the river Tiber and hid
behind the walls of the Vatican, which had been the home of
many of his predecessors since their return from the exile of
Avignon in the year 1377. He protested loudly against this
high-handed theft of his domains and addressed letters of appeal
to those