Question

How did Italy emerge as a unified nation state?

Answer 1

Italy was divided into smaller kingdoms namely Sardinia, Lombardy, Venetia and Sicily. Among these, Sardinia was the most powerful one. The Papal states, comprising Rome and Central Italy were under the Pope.Cavour was able to annex the kingdoms of Parma, Lombardy, Modena, Tuscany and parts of the Papal states in 1859. A bold sailor called Giuseppe Garibaldi annexed the rest of the territories of Naples. Venetia, which was under Austria was ceded to Italy by Austria in 1866 when Austria was weakened by the Prussian war. Rome refused to become part of the Italian state. In 1870, Prussia attacked France and the Pope stopped getting support from the French king. Rome was forcibly entered into and occupied by the Italians. Finally, the state of Italy emerged as an independent nation state in 1871 with Victor Emmanuel as the king.