Cavour's Triumph: The Liberation of Italy (Documentary)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.พ. 2023
- Between 1852-1859, the Count of Cavour engineered one of the most remarkable geopolitical changes in European history. Controlling only the small Kingdom of Sardinia, he enlisted the aid of Napoleon III and overthrew the might of the Austrian Army, paving the way for Italian Unification.
This video aims to be a short documentary on Italian Unification (Risorgimento), explaining the diplomatic process.
#Italy #AustrianEmpire #History
I hope you enjoy this short documentary on the Count of Cavour's diplomacy. As you'll see, this is not intended to be a full documentary on the Unification of Italy. I think the competition between Cavour and Garibaldi over the South of the country is worthy of a video of its own at some point. Any feedback is welcomed as usual. Thank you for watching.
Thanks for the great upload! May I suggest you make a video about the Greco Turkish war of 1922 or more Balkan history? Thanks again for the video!
Also bro if you can do a vid on what the heck was going on Albania between the 2nd Balkan War ending and to the end of WW1. Like what the hell was going on? Was anyone in charge? lol And why didnt the Central powers help reinstall the German Prince?
@@ricardocontreras94 I personally think he should make a series on the history of the Balkans from 1900-1945 or even 1912-1923 because it is all so interesting
Make more !!
In your video about the unificiation... could you touch on the topic on wether it was part of the plan to create an Italy which ends at its natural borders (thus including trentino- südtirol) or just include the italian peoples?
Garibaldi working successfully to help unite Italy over a period of three decades only for Cavour to trade away his hometown of Nizza - as part of Savoie - to the French in return for support against the Austrians is one of the strangest tragedies in nationalism. He achieved his long sought after political dream, but Garibaldi's own place of birth would not be a part of the new Italy. Nizza is now more well known by its current name Nice.
So we may never have got a Promenade des Anglais.
at least in german its also called Nizza
It is even more tragic, the guy was shot and arrested during his march on Rome in 1862 buy the very Italians he was fighting for. And then he was used again by Italian leadership in Austro-Prussian-Italian war, Garribaldi won his battles almost taking Trentino, but had to retreat due to defeat of main forces under Venice.
@Lysimachus. Very interesting. Since my history teacher, many years back, had us remember by word association, I now have developed a craving for biscuits as a midnight snack.
Well,
nationalism forces led by ferocious revolutionary and military comander... this does not correspond with realpolitik idea of stabile empire.
Fortunately the Austrians learned their lesson, and never sent a rash and ill-considered ultimatum again.
Your technically correct because the second time was the Austro-Hungarians
That's called foreshadowing 😂😂
These video essays on the diplomats of the 19th century have been wonderful. Often, you hear about the diplomatic and political events just "Italy did this" or "Germany did that", and it's an fun change of pace to instead see the people steering the ships instead.
On the first glance, it is almost unbelievable how many parallels there are between Italian and German unification. Two regionally strong kingdoms profiting from the Vienna Congress, with charismatic Prime Ministers in the latter half of the 19th century, making use of nationalist sentiments to gain power for their respective kings. And the two most significant composers of the era, one Italian and one German, writing operas as fitting themes. Heck, Verdi was even a codename within circles of Italian revolutionaries.
Both nations/region were united in the HRE, both were screwed over in the 16th and 17th century, both were often involved in fights between France and the Habsburgs, both were divided into small kingdoms and principates, the list goes on forever
The difference is that Italy was unified under a liberal constitution, while Germany was united under an authoritarian system. This would have consequences in the run-up to WW1.
@@tancreddehauteville764 Yes, looking at the differences is even more fascinating. Another big difference with big implications was that Germany was economically integrated with the Zollverein, whereas Italy’s internal economic differences are visible to this day (north vs south)
Sardinia- Piedmont profited not much from Vienna Congress, they just got back Savoy and Nice which Bonaparte took.
@@alexzero3736 they profited not in terms of land, but in terms of other valuable assets such as diplomatic backing and securities
The little man that could. Garibaldi often gets more press as he was flashy, but Cavour was the mastermind behind everything. A great moment for the Italians.
Too bad Napoleon 3 kinda betrayed Cavour in the end, singning a cautios peace with Austria.
@@alexzero3736 I would like to believe that Cavour did kind of expect Napoleon III to get cold feet at some point. The man may have been prone to theatrics, but he was overtly caution (with good reason) and while he could be spurned to commit to an idealistic cause, he preferred idealistic causes that could be won in a couple years with the inexhaustible might of french bayonets.
@@bluewingedknight7762 He did. But he knew the war would have sparked rebellion and prompt Italians in the centre of the peninsula to seek help from Piedmont Sardinia and so it was
@@alexzero3736 Napoleon III didn't "betray" Cavour, he made peace when the time was perfect instead of overreaching, Prussia could have intervened if the war had dragged on (the Prussians had already mobilized over 100k troops) and the Austrians had retreated to a very good defensive position, continuing the war was simply a terrible idea, both for France and SP. Cavour was most likely pragmatic enough to understand that it was necessary.
@@Itashino2 well, maybe it s not correct to call this a betrayal. But peace treaty was contradicting deal with Cavour, and not just in case of Venice, but also Napoleon agreed to recognize Austrian puppets in Italy. Which governments were overthrown during the war, so loyal to Austria rulers could return...
Also for Sardinia peace without taking any piece of Quadraliteralle is a strategic loss that backfired in 1866.
Should mention that although Cavour was born as a minor aristocrat (though his father had been the mayor of Turin, the capital. So not so minor. But still a younger son so he did not inherit his father estates), Cavour did become the richest man in the kingdom and was perhaps the largest landowner.
He wasn’t a journalist either, but he bought a newspaper when he decided to enter politics.
Edit:
Saying that Cavour was not a nationalist is a miss conception stemming from simplification many historians make.
We have letters of Cavour in his 20s writing about his desire for a united Italy. Cavour wrote a letter in his mid 20s about his decision to enter in business and leave behind his “silly” dreams in which he saw himself as leader of a united Italy (referring to his earlier twenties).
He ended up realizing these dreams.
There had always been a desire for a united Italy is Cavour’s mind. He was not the typical nationalist however, and it is incorrect to label him as such in my opinion.
Agreed!
It’s crazy to think that at one point Austria now a tiny republic in the alps was dominant over Italy one of the great European powers. How times change!
It is hardly the same country. Back then it was Austria-Hungary-Bohemia-Slovakia-Transylvania-Croatia-Ruthenia-Venice and more. Much of these constituents had been part of the Austrian empire for centuries too, so they were well integrated.
It would be like saying the Papacy once fought toe-to-toe with Iran. Rome was much more than the Vatican back when it dueled with Persia.
@@MageWarren But it's not comparable. Nationalism was alive and well during the time of the Italian unification - that's what the entire thing was about - so it's mad that Austria, a land where Austrians made up maybe 10% of the country, ruled so much of Europe and over large richest parts of Italy.
@@MageWarren To be fair, that would be true if the Pope called a crusade against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
@@secretname4190 You are looking at languages spoken (German being ~23%) not ethnicity which is grossly wrong.
Austrians only made up half of that figure - the rest were mainly German-speaking people in Czech lands (who did not consider themselves Austrian, but "German", and were also discriminated against) and German-speaking people in Transylvania (who were even more discriminated against) and finally German-speaking people who 'integrated' and become part of the German/Austrian psyche, mainly in former lands of Poland and Istria, who were definitely ethnically Polish and considered themselves as such.
This channel does a terrific job of covering nineteenth European history that is too often neglected!
Imagine how different the 1860s-70s age would have been with both Cavour and Bismarck active in the Concert of Europe
Funny thing that Cavour advocated for alliance with Britain and France. So Triple alliance won't happen if Cavour stays alive. I believe he even may strike a deal with Napoleon 3 that Italy gets Rome peacefully and France gets part of Italian army in Franco- German war...
@@alexzero3736 Garibaldi was initially pro-german in the Franco-Prussian War since he hated Napoleon so much, but as soon as the French republic was declared he went up and volunteered to the French army, even winning a battle despite his old age.
Italy would have certainly be different had Cavour not die. It would've been better
Here you can witness step by step the process of self-destruction that the Austrians seemed to enjoy so much:
1 - lose patience with a small kingdom/state.
2 - overreact by sending a completely pointless ultimatum since the small kingdom/state poses no serious threat to the Austrian Empire.
3 - once the ultimatum is rejected find out that the small kingdom/state has inadvertently humiliated a far stronger Empire because of its inner stupidity.
4 - declare war against the small kingdom/state so that everybody senses you as the aggressor.
5 - find out that small kingdom/state who poses no real threat has or can find allies in a continent such as Europe where wars normally drag in multiple nations.
6 - lose the war and lose your face.
7 - repeat until you lose everything.
Vs Piedmont in Italy, vs Serbia in the Balkans.
Minute and a half in, but a peculiarity I’ve noticed is that Cavour was an aristocrat who became an officer of engineers. This is an exception to a norm. Aristocrats usually became officers of the infantry or cavalry, or maybe the navy. Engineer and artillery corps were seen as beneath them as most of those corps’ officers were better educated in things like mathematics and architecture than the often aristocratic cavalry and infantry officers were.
That's interesting, because I've noticed that most of the prominent Jewish officers in the Italian and French armies up to World War I were engineers or artillerymen. For them it was a path upward and for the aristocracy it was a step down.
@Sam Aronow I read that when the Italians were going to take Rome from the Pope, the Pope threatened to excommunicate the officer who ordered the assault. So, the Italians had a Jewish officer give the order instead.
@@konstantinosnikolakakis8125 Yes, he was an artillery captain named Giacomo Segre; his grandfather was a member of Napoleon's Sanhedrin and his son was a general in World War I.
Seriously my favorite channel at the moment, keep up the great work with these mini-documentaries on such under-covered periods of modern history
It amazes me how quickly Austria declined after their ( Steady but quick ) rise in power, very interesting and great video!
Quickly? The decline pretty much started with War for Austrian succession, 100 years ago from events discussed here.
@@alexzero3736 I disagree. The Austrian War of Succession could've ended much worse for Austria actually. Multiple countries such as Prussia, France, Spain, Bavaria, Saxony, etc tried to partition and destroy Austria (read the treaty of Nymphenburg) like Poland, but miserably failed. The only losses were Silesia and Prussia becoming a great power, but Austria still managed to stay strong during the Seven Years' War (where Austria defeated Prussia in many battles like Kolin, Hochkirch, Maxen, ect and the war ended indecisive) and Napoleonic Wars (where Austria ultimately won despite earlier defeats and still had many victories like Aspern-Essling, the first three battles of Bergisel, the 1813 liberation campaign & Neapolitan War). Really, only the 2nd Italian War of Independence and Austro-Prussian War led to Austria's decline.
@@TheAustrianAnimations87 But still Silesia was important as industrial region, loosing it turn Austria into industrial backwater in 19 century.
@@alexzero3736 Yes, Silesia was a major loss for Austria indeed. But Austria still had Bohemia as industrial region and the Austrian economy was recovering well from the Napoleonic Wars until the 1848-49 revolutions. The 1848-49 revolutions, 2nd Italian War of Independence and Austro-Prussian War however made both Austria's military and economy weaker.
I hope that one day we will see a series on Napoleon III, whom Bismarck himself called "the greatest monarch of this era [the mid-nineteenth century]", the one who inspired his cynical vision of politics, which he then improved to give birth to realpolitik. The press at the time nicknamed him "the Agamemnon of Europe" for no decision in European affairs could be taken without his opinion or approval, until he mistook a certain Bismarck and fell after the Austro-Prussian war, before falling ill and having to let the court govern in his place. Such a great man who did so much for France, initiating its industrialization and financialization, reforming its bureaucratic system, implementing social reforms and rebuilding its cities. Truly an underrated ruler who is solely responsible for France's return to the international stage after its long slump since 1815.
Would love a series on Italy's monarchical period up to 1945. Brilliant video.
Once again, great stuff! At least in American schools, our focus is on Bismarck and German Unification. Italian unification is unfortunately an afterthought. It took me about an hour to watch your video because I kept pausing at new information to do some of my own research. The history of Nice in particular is fascinating, being pinned between two cultures like that. Poor Garibaldi lost his hometown in the unification too. That had to be hard. As always, I look forward to your next video!
I went to high school in California in the mid-2000s and I distinctly remember spending more time on Italian unification than on Germany.
Everyone makes fun of the Italians.
@@SamAronow really? Wow, my schooling was basically "Germany's rise and fall", then Cold War until graduation
@@nathanyakich3152 Different state/different time I'm guessing. My mom went to California schools a generation earlier and claims never to have learned _any_ world history, while I got three full years of it. 9th grade was everything from Martin Luther to World War II.
They teach you this if you take a history course in college though, at least from my own experiences.
Finally, some respect for the Italians on this channel. Cannot wait to watch.
True🇮🇹
More videos on Italian unification and I will never stop watching this channel.
I believe this could be a great start to a video series about the rise and eventual fall of the Italian Empire.
A perfect video as always ! I knew for the help of Napoleon III but I didn't know for his stab in the back by signing an armistice with Austria. It would be amazing if you can make 2 videos about spain :
-Charlequint's triumph and Spain's hegemony over Europe
-Richelieu's triumph and how he broke the spanish hegemony.
Thanks for Reading and have a nice day !
Stellar video as always!
One of the best channels rn
Your content keeps getting better by every video. Lucky to have found your channel!
Excellent content as always. Interesting to see the deep dive into this underrepresented part of history
Another lovely triumph of a video
I appreciate the amazing amount of research being done to produce all these videos.
great video, never saw such a succint explanation of this part of Italian history
Great video as always, very interesting
Great video as always
These types of videos covering the triumph of a man on the world stage despite the what seems like the world conspiring to stop him are my favorite kind from you. I absolutely love a good underdog story. please keep doing these.
This channel is gold
easily the best history channel when it comes to diplomacy on the platform, keep it up!
excellent video as always. congrats on the high views on the recent videos, you deserve it
Love your vids! Peak documentaries
Loving the extra crispy map work in this one
Great video!
This channel is my favorite
I love your Channel, thank you
Excellent video, the focus on statesmen during this time is something I rarely see on youtube. I'd strongly recommend reading about Gillis Bildt if you plan on covering Sweden during this era.
Grazie! From an Italian, a really good video
high quality content on interesting subjects with a grest british narrator!!! cant ask for snything more :)
Another top video
This is amazing timing. I just played as Sardinia-Piedmont and unified Italy in a HOI4 Victorian Era mod yesterday.
Name of the mod, pls?
@@alexzero3736 did you found it ?
mod name pls ?
@@sadale4877 I know one mod like it, The New Beginning. I wonder if there another one...
The manner of your delivery and inclinations, presents itself a fine image for me to digest over and one I surely do not take with any gusts of ingratitude. Bully for you sir.
I’ve started reading Dreadnought by Robert K Massie and all I can think of is how it reminds me of your videos. Very well done
Good video!
Just wanna say that I love your vids. Been watching your vid on the policy of appeasement and using the sources listed for my Modern History Essay about "To what extant did Policy of Appeasement lead to the outbreak of war in Europe."
Bit of a side note, but The Pursuit of Power is such a wonderful and underrated book. It both introduced and got me interested in the 19th century at a time when most history classes would skip over it, labeling it as boring at best.
Agree completely, that’s an amazing book
12:18 I also can't stress enough how vital Victor Emmanuele II's contribution to Italian unification was for this action alone. If the Piedmontese had continued their war against Austria, they would have lost everything and gained nothing. By firing Cavour and accepting Villafranca, he ultimately saved Italy in the long run.
Cavour had many times his brilliance, but he didn't possess the one quality that Emmanuele had. Tempered ambition.
Also, the fact that he recalled Cavour after just six months shows his humility and intelligence as a ruler. It takes some balls to employ a man who so brazenly defied his monarch's authority.
Didn’t fire Cavour. Cavour gave resignation from office. They tried to get a majority in the new government but failed miserably and had to recall Cavour. Also in a letter to Napoleon III, Victoria Emanuel II said that he will pay 1000000 francs to have Cavour sent of to live in America.
As a German i am sad about Austria. As a German i am Happy about Italy. 😭😁
What
As a German i have no idea what you want to say with this
Neither Austria nor Italy have been associated with (the few) good parts of our history especially ever since 1870 but mainly the bad ones (especially world wars)
@@heylolp9 But Austria is still a German state. Much more so than Ukraine is Russian, as Ukraine has its own language and culture.
@@tancreddehauteville764 Well kinda, modern day Austria and Germany have shared ancestry and history yes.
But the important thing is that it is politically distinct from each other to such a degree that it's not the same. Perfectly represented by the choice that to form Germany in the first place the "lesser German solution" i.e. the one without Austria was chosen and the only time the German Regions of what composed Austria over the years joining Germany being under Nazi occupation with a sham vote (just look at the documented voting slips, clearly had a choice made up for the voters and the SA Troops in the Voting places didn't help either to make it... legit somehow)
Ever since '45 any reunification is illegal because of the 2+4 Treaties and Post WW2 Treaties making this historical split more permanent.
That is why it made sense to call any war between Prussia (which later became Germany) and Austria as a Brother war
yes we have common ancestry, just as Spaniards and Portuguese have common ancestry, but that mostly led to conflict between the 'brothers' because of shared geography and culture made often for shared aims leading to conflict
So imo Austria is like the cousin you are constantly compared to, stupidly it's the part of the family that often got themselves and the entire family into trouble, though of course as in any dysfunctional family there are none who aren't messed up and have an uncomfortable relationship with the past
I totally understand 😂😂😂. I'm British
I love your channel, expecting a second episode on the end of the unification of Italy.
Quick feedback: maybe you should vary a bit more the tone of voice and rhythm of speech to be a bit more dynamic and engaging. To keep the audience attention. The maps and storytelling are great though keep it up.
Thank you. Yes my voice over’s leave much to be desired unfortunately.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video, 19th Century diplomacy was just so convoluted.
Very interesting! Also, what is your accent? It's very unique
Once you've run through European diplomatic history. I think you'd do a great job making similar videos on Japan and China during the same period.
I had always wondered why Piedmot participated in the Crimean War. Now I know. Thank you.
Your maps look great
I’m so excited to see the path to Italian unification
Hello, great video as always!
Just a quick question, how do you make your maps? In particular, that deeper coloured border? Do you use Wonderdraft by any chance? If not, what do you use?
I can’t say I even know what wonderdraft is lol. The deeper colour is just an inner glow effect on Photoshop, fairly common feature in maps so shouldn’t be hard to find other examples online.
@@OldBritannia oh ok thanks! Wonderdraft is a fantasy map making software that I've seen some other history youtubers (such as Overly Sarcastic Productions) use to make the maps in their videos, so that's why I asked
Italians: You have freed us from Austria!
Piedmont: Oh, I wouldn't say "freed", more like "under new management".
Same joke for Prussia?
@@NoName-hg6cc More or less)
Cavour was also a strong modernizer and greatly incentivized the industrialization process of Piedmont as well as the creation of an extensive railway network which was instrumental in the amalgamation process of the people of Italy and therefore in creating an idea of unity.
Brilliant comparison between England and Rome at 4:45 😂
Fun fact Walenski was the son of Napoléon the first
Congress of Vienna I need to see you do a video about that
Hearing "Piedmont-Sardinia" instead of "Sardinia-Piedmont" is so cursed
Who tf says Sardinia-Piedmont
@@papageitaucher618 I'd assume most people, considering it's the order every single language uses on Wikipedia and every book I've ever read on the subject uses.
It's actually Regnum di Saregna, or Just Kingdom of Sardinia in English.
It is actually how we Italians call it in school usually (Piemonte-Sardegna). Sometimes we also use the official kingdom of Sardinia (especially in Sardinia, wonder why lol) but colloquially we say Piedmont-Sardinia
This’ the first time I’ve been made aware of Cavour! It seems like the late 1800s were a sight to behold when it came to prime ministers hahahah
4:46 a quick stop a Toby’s.
What an interesting event. What caused you to start making these documentaries? Just a general interest in this period of history? Or are you focused on Britain in particular and this is just something you came across?
As the channel name suggests I originally intended the channel just to be British history, and mainly for the purpose of working on my video editing abilities.
@@OldBritannia That's cool, I've noticed a steady increase in quality over time, so you seem to be making progress with that
This time period is a great sigh of relief for Map cartographers
Cavour was a nationalist just like Mazzini, Garibaldi and the rest, his personal letters testify it, he simply grew up with a French-speaking mother and receiving French education
Excellent stuff on this channel. Helps us ignorant Americans understand the "old world" better. Cheers
I saw the roast at 4:45 lmaooooo
"Comparing the British with ancient Rome for example". That photo 😂
Yeah 😂😂😂
The geezer is descended from Caesar!😂😂😂
I always believe that Cavour only wanted a unified north of Italy, not all of Italy. Garibaldi's landing in Sicily was an unpleasant surprise for Cavour, who did not favour absorption of the backward Kingdom of the two Sicilies, or at least not so soon.
No, he wanted an unified Italy but was wary of popular movement and didn't believe it was possible without undoing all
Cant believe Cavour gave away Nizza and Savoia for some half hearted French support.
Uts always the great power who decides who gets what. Had the French withdraws diplomatic and military support Piedmont would have been crushed. Austria will gladly give Savoy to France and reduce the kingdom to just Sardinia and Piedmont
"Half hearted" france send 190 thousand men and 400 canons which represents half of their army to liberate italy be grateful to France ingrat
@@smal750liar when piedmont attaked the Austrians in milan you invaded tuscany because france wanted Nizza and Savoia since 1700s and that whithout saying corsica that even constitution in italian and even took your army to the Lazio when we were at war for the ricovery veneto hipocrytes , half of Italy does not want the french.
@@Giovis968
why did italy beg france for help then
The fuckin' italian sigma male over here
The last person I expected to see in your video was Tango
Cavour was a shrewd son of a bitch, and I'm saying that as a compliment. There are also a lot of sources describing all the downright silly interactions between him and Victor Emmanuel.
Bro so like Cavour and Vicky Emmanuel II were just cool with giving up Nice and Savoy? Heck arent they the House of Savoy. Really curious if there was more resistance to this from Victor
Ye, but both of them are tiny and were scarcely populated. Initially Napoleon 3 promised to remove Austrians from the peninsula, so for Nice and Savoy Victor Emmanuel expected to get whole Northern and part of Central Italy.
@@alexzero3736 Tiny and scarcely populated, but highly strategic. Since the land concession, France controls most of the Alps south of Switzerland, making an attack from France into Italy much easier than an attack from Italy to France.
@@alioshax7797 never thought about that... Could it be a reason why Mussolini invasion failed?
@@alexzero3736 It was a huge factor, that's for sure. The battle of the Alps was ultimately irrelevant, because the French front had collapsed north anyway, but the terrain really limited the front for the italian attack, forcing them to fight in chokepoints where artillery could crush them. That's partly why the casualties ratio were so much in favor of the French.
Controlling the Alps was one of the main strengh of the duchy of Savoy during the modern era. But of course, giving this tactical advantage against an italian unification was definitely worth it.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Plz sir may i have some more
Napoleon the III also had an italian mistress if I'm not wrong, that played a huge role in convincing him to help Cavour's cause
Virginia di Castiglione, aristocrat. She was a spy working for piedmont In reality. And Napoleon himself had actually took part to the 1821 first uprisings In Italy when he lived there.
Indeed, her name is Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione, the fashionable cousin of Cavour himself. A stroke of genius from Cavour to send to Napoleon the III this beautiful femme fatale to win him over...
Austria and unproductive temper tantrums born out of old world chivalry. As an iconic duo as a Hapsburg monarch and his niece
The Norf FC Brexit gunt bloke as Roman adonis had me guffawing
Tango is the finest and purest specimen of English blood
Peak nonfiction channel returns
Although you say Cavour wasn’t a nationalist, he definitely was to a great extent. In his youth, he wrote about dreaming of a unified Italy, and made a point of trying to write in Italian, despite that not being his mother-tongue.
The visual comparison of Britain and the Ancient Rome made me laugh.
"Road to a unified Italy ..."? Or the road to a Savoyard conquest of Italy? That the 'first' king of the 'unified' Italy was not Victor Emanuel I but Victor Emanuel II, the same title he used as the king of Sardinia-Piedmont should be a hint.
Same happened for Germany
Italy was unified but it should have been unified better. Too bad Cavour died in 1861
Now this I pod racing
2:45 Why were Prussian and Russia out of the question as allies?
Patreon when????? TAKE MY MONEY
11:15
I live 15 minutes away from Solferino.
CAVOUR VIDEO CAVOUR VIDEO
I have never seen Austria’s decision to stay neutral described a shrewd. Most of my professors described Austria’s decision to sic the Russians on their Hungarian subjects and then backstab them as idiocy.
I actually think Franz Joseph performed an admirable balancing act in the Crimean War. Supporting Russia would have been the end of Habsburg pretensions to great power status. Russia would have been left in control of the Danube and Austria dependent on her support. Nothing in the Western Balkans could have compensated.
I agree, the Austrians put themselves in the bind via Russian intervention in 1848. It’s why I think Schwarzenberg’s greatest error was avoiding a compromise in Italy that would have freed up the troops needed to avoid Russian dependence.
@@OldBritannia I haven’t studied the period but couldn’t Russia have offered some sort of compromise, say letting Austria annex the Danubian principalities, Bosnia, and Serbia, creating an independent Bulgaria, and some gains for Greece in exchange for Russia getting the straits
@@jackbharucha1475 An interesting proposal, but one which I think would require Nicholas I to actually have a realistic grasp of his countries predicament, and not act like he had a God given entitlement to Austria’s support.
Even then, destroying the Ottoman Empire wasn’t in Vienna’s interest. New nation states are never recipes for success in a multiethnic empire.
@@jackbharucha1475you know perfectly well that only the starting of a new world war soon enough in the Balkan. Especially with nationalism on the rise. Serbia and Romania will not happy to see Austria control of their states. Even Bulgaria will not happy if the ygot too few land.
Then after that is the straits. You know perfectly well anything happen to the Ottoman capital that involved the Russian would mean hostility from Britain and French. They will not allow the Russian into the Mediterranean.
The Austria need the Ottoman to counter nationalism plus Russia influence.
Trust me this the same reason why Bismarck rejected the ideal of Russia proposal in the Russo Turkish war.
@@OldBritannia He was an idiot anyway. The future of Austria was uniting the German lands, but wont let go of the italian and Hungarian Kingdom. Has he worked with the smaller german states to reform the German confederation into a true federal state with the Emporor of Austria as its head while giving the kingdom of Hungary to a junior branch of the Habsburg he could have preserved his dynasty. Instead Austria actively tried to keep Germany weak and divided
Liberation? Passing from catholic monarchies to a masonic one I couldn't possibly see such thing. Italians wanted justice and freedom, they had only got a single king to whom bow to. Millions got the way to expatriation.
Bssed
You forgot Garibaldi?
🇮🇹
better explained than my teacher at school.
Poor Austria...