Crimean War Portrait | Conte Cavour

Mustafa Kemal assumed the title of Ataturk, father of the nation, in recognition of his outstanding personal role in the establishment of the independent Turkish state. It could easily be argued that Lajos Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot who deposed the Habsburgs in Hungary in 1849, and Camillo Cavour, who engineered the departure of the Habsburgs from Italian soil during the risorgimento of 1859-60, were also the fathers of their respective nations. Count Camillo di Cavour of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia led his small state to dominance of Italy in less than two years, raising his monarch, Victor Emmanuel II, to the throne of a united Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Here we visit Cavour's life, a Crimean War Portrait.
Mavi Boncuk |


 

Conte Camillo Benso Di Cavour(1810-1861),Italian statesman
Birth: 1810 in Turin, Piedmont, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

During the time of his birth, Italy was not a single country as it is today. It was broken up into a number of small states. These states were weak and badly ruled. Many of them were controlled by foreign countries. Cavour's dream was to see Italy free and united. In 1847, in conjunction with Conte Cesare Balbo, he founded the newspaper Risorgimento. This journal advocated a constitutional monarchy for Sardinia. In 1848, King Charles of Sardinia granted the country a constitution and Cavour became a member of the Chamber of Deputies, elected that year. He served an important cabinet position and became premier in 1852. During this time, he improved the internal conditions in Sardinia and conducted the foreign affairs of the country with the aim of unifying the Italian peninsula. He allied Sardinia with Great Britain and France in the Crimean War (1854-56) against Russia. Cavour represented Sardinia at the Congress of Paris in 1856; formed an alliance with Napoleon III against Austria at Plombieres 1858; continued with the assistance of the French. The following year, Cavour manoeuvred Austria into a successful war against Sardinia. During the same year, he resigned the premiership, dissatisfied with the terms of peace imposed by Napoleon with Austria. Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia accepted the peace terms which left Austria powerful in northern Italy. Cavour resumed the premiership in 1860 and sent troops to aid the Italian patriot Garibaldi in the conquest of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Due to Cavour's intervention, Sicily voted for union with Sardinia in the same year. Cavour also played an instrumental role in bringing about the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.





After the abdication of King Charles Albert, his son Victor Emannuel II was the newly found King. The new King was obliged to conclude peace with Austria and the Italian revolution was crushed, but Cavour did not despair. There were fresh elections in July, and this time Cavour was returned. In his speech he states, "Piedmont, gathering to itself all the living forces of Italy, would be soon in a position to lead our mother-country to the high destinies to which she is called." These few words struck the first note of encouragement to the people of what is now known as Italy. Cavour's words exemplify his strongly marked, Liberal tendencies and his dislike for absolutism. Cavour's political ideas, were that a liberal nation would benefit the greater of society. He was a hardheaded, practical man with a liberal outlook. Although he wanted a unified Italy, he was also a Piedmontese patriot. He was afraid that if Italy were united than Piedmont would be swallowed up. His speech illustrates that Cavour not only had the intention to unify Italy, but also to look out for Piedmont. Thus, his aim was to extend Piedmontese institutions into Italy. This demonstrates Cavour as a practitioner of Realpolitik- the politics of reality. He understood that those who take part in a war can participate the peace.