OCR Y215 – Italy and Unification, 1789-1896

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This guide is for Cambridge OCR A Level History A, H505/Y215/01: Italy and Unification, 1789-1896.

Y215 is a Unit Group 2 non-British period study. The paper lasts 1 hour, carries 30 marks and is worth 15 percent of the A level. Choose one of two questions and answer both parts.

• Part (a) is a 10-mark comparison of two named factors.
• Part (b) is a 20-mark analytical essay requiring a sustained judgement.
• Both parts assess AO1. There are no source passages or interpretations.

The four topics are Italy from 1789 to 1847, the revolutions of 1848-49, unification from 1850 to 1861, and Italy from 1861 to 1896.

The whole course in one story

In 1789 Italy was divided among kingdoms, duchies and republics, with Austria powerful in the north. French invasion and Napoleonic rule disrupted old governments, introduced laws and administrative change, and spread ideas of popular sovereignty. French domination also imposed taxation, conscription and exploitation. It changed the setting for nationalism without creating one agreed Italian movement.

Vienna restored rulers and Austrian influence. Secret societies and revolts challenged this order, but nationalists disagreed. Mazzini imagined a united republic; Gioberti proposed a federation associated with the pope; others eventually backed constitutional Piedmont. Nationalism remained strongest among educated minorities.

The revolutions of 1848-49 spread across the peninsula, and Piedmont fought Austria. Rulers, moderates, republicans and local movements pursued conflicting aims. Austrian and French intervention, political division and limited popular mobilisation defeated them. The Roman Republic fell, but Piedmont retained its constitution and became a plausible centre for a more conservative route to change.

Unification in 1859-61 was not one leader’s plan. Cavour used Piedmontese development, diplomacy and Napoleon III; war weakened Austrian power; central states joined Piedmont; and Garibaldi exploited revolt and Bourbon weakness in Sicily and the south. Victor Emmanuel’s monarchy absorbed these gains. The new kingdom was both a remarkable achievement and an enlarged Piedmontese state with limited participation.

After 1861, Piedmontese laws, taxes and conscription provoked resistance, especially in the south. Venetia was added in 1866 and Rome in 1870, but regional inequality, Church hostility and narrow politics persisted. Trasformismo managed parliamentary majorities without building broad trust. Colonial ambition ended the period with defeat at Adwa in 1896.

The course asks how political unification happened and how far it created a united nation. The first was contingent; the second remained incomplete.

Anchor chronology

• 1796: Napoleon invades northern Italy.
• 1814-15: Vienna restores rulers and Austrian influence.
• 1820-21: Revolutions in Naples and Piedmont fail.
• 1831: Revolts fail; Mazzini founds Young Italy.
• 1848: Revolutions spread and Piedmont fights Austria.
• 1849: Piedmont loses at Novara and the Roman Republic falls.
• 1852: Cavour becomes Piedmontese prime minister.
• 1855: Piedmont joins the Crimean War.
• 1858: Cavour and Napoleon III meet at Plombieres.
• 1859: France and Piedmont fight Austria; Lombardy joins Piedmont.
• 1860: Garibaldi conquers Sicily and the Bourbon south.
• 1861: The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.
• 1861-65: The Brigands’ War and repression in the south.
• 1866: Italy gains Venetia.
• 1870: Italian forces take Rome.
• 1876: The Historical Left takes office.
• 1882: Italy joins the Triple Alliance.
• 1887: Crispi becomes prime minister.
• 1896: Ethiopia defeats Italy at Adwa.

Topic 1: Italy, 1789-1847

Revolution and Napoleonic rule

Italy contained states with different rulers, institutions and economies. Austria ruled Lombardy; the pope governed the Papal States; the Bourbons ruled Naples and Sicily; and Savoy ruled Piedmont-Sardinia. Local identities were stronger than everyday Italian identity.

French armies created sister republics that claimed constitutional and popular principles but depended on French power. Napoleon consolidated larger units, imposed legal equality in important areas, weakened privileges and centralised government. These changes showed that borders were not permanent and trained officials in larger structures.

French rule also extracted men and resources. Resistance could be local, religious or anti-French rather than nationalist. Napoleon’s impact combined reform, coercion and foreign domination.

Restoration and competing nationalisms

Metternich’s settlement supported conservative rulers and opposed revolution. The Carbonari organised secret opposition but lacked consistent leadership, programme and coordination. Revolts in Naples and Piedmont in 1820-21 and central Italy in 1831 were defeated.

Mazzini founded Young Italy and advocated a united republic created through popular insurrection. His ideas inspired activists, but conspiracies failed and his direct following remained limited. Alternative projects included liberal monarchy, federalism and Gioberti’s papal federation.

Literature, newspapers and intellectual exchange encouraged wider connections, but censorship, low literacy, regional diversity and repression limited reach. Nationalism was influential without yet becoming a settled mass demand.

Check your understanding

• How did Napoleon encourage and obstruct nationalism?
• Why did the Carbonari revolts fail?
• Compare Mazzini with one alternative national project.
• What limited popular support before 1848?

Topic 2: The Revolutions of 1848-1849

Different revolutions

Economic distress, constitutional demands and opposition to Austrian power helped produce revolt. Pius IX’s early reforms raised hopes, but he would not lead war against Catholic Austria.

Revolution began in Sicily. Milan expelled Austrian troops temporarily; Venice proclaimed a republic; and rulers granted constitutions. Charles Albert entered war against Austria. Yet moderates feared social revolution, republicans distrusted monarchs, and local concerns competed with national strategy.

Defeat and aftermath

Austrian recovery under Radetzky defeated Piedmont at Custoza and Novara. In Rome, Mazzini helped lead a republic defended by Garibaldi, but French troops restored the pope. Austria reasserted power and Venice surrendered.

Defeat arose from Austrian and French force, nationalist division, hesitant leadership, poor coordination and limited social support. No single factor explains every region.

The failures damaged republican and papal routes, while Piedmont retained the Statuto. Victor Emmanuel II and Cavour could present it as both monarchical and constitutional. Cavour promoted trade, railways and parliamentary government while limiting radical democracy.

Check your understanding

• Why were the revolutions not one coordinated movement?
• Why did Charles Albert fail?
• What made the Roman Republic important?
• Why did Piedmont emerge politically stronger?

Topic 3: The Risorgimento and the Kingdom of Italy, 1850-1861

Cavour and international opportunity

Cavour wanted to strengthen Piedmont, reduce Austrian power and expand Savoy rule; he did not start with a complete plan for Italy. Economic reform and administrative capacity increased Piedmont’s credibility.

The Crimean War brought diplomatic access. At Plombieres, Cavour and Napoleon III discussed war against Austria. France sought influence and compensation, not necessarily a unified Italy.

In 1859 Piedmont manoeuvred Austria into appearing the aggressor. Franco-Piedmontese victories won Lombardy, but Napoleon halted the war at Villafranca. Central Italian revolts and plebiscites then enabled annexation, while France received Nice and Savoy.

Garibaldi and the south

Sicilian revolt gave Garibaldi an opening in 1860. His Thousand gained local support, defeated Bourbon forces and crossed to the mainland. Success depended on Bourbon weakness, grievances, revolt and uneven military loyalty as well as leadership.

Garibaldi had republican roots but transferred his conquests to Victor Emmanuel rather than risk civil conflict or intervention. Cavour sent Piedmontese forces through the Papal States to contain revolutionary possibilities. Plebiscites approved annexation under restricted conditions.

The settlement

The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in March 1861. Venetia and Rome remained outside. The Piedmontese Statuto became the constitution, and only a small male electorate participated.

Unification combined state capacity, diplomacy, foreign assistance, war, revolution and contingent choices. Cavour did not control every event; Garibaldi did not impose a republic; Napoleon III both enabled and limited change.

Check your understanding

• How did reform strengthen Cavour’s diplomacy?
• Why did Napoleon III halt the 1859 war?
• Why did Garibaldi succeed in the south?
• How was the outcome Piedmontese and contingent?

Topic 4: Italy, 1861-1896

Piedmontisation and the south

The new state extended Piedmontese law, taxation, administration and conscription across diverse regions. This created common institutions but could resemble northern conquest.

The Brigands’ War combined Bourbon loyalism, peasant unrest, resistance to taxation and conscription, local rivalries and criminal violence. Emergency powers and mass troop deployment produced harsh repression. Neither simple criminality nor one coherent counter-revolution explains it.

The Mezzogiorno faced land inequality, poverty and weak infrastructure, but was not naturally backward. State policy, local elites, taxation, policing and unequal development shaped division.

Territory, Church and politics

Alliance with Prussia helped Italy gain Venetia in 1866 despite poor Italian military performance. French withdrawal allowed Italy to take Rome in 1870. Territorial completion did not create national unity.

Pius IX rejected the loss of temporal power and the state’s authority in Rome. Church conflict complicated loyalty. Language, education, wealth, participation and local identities remained uneven.

Trasformismo built flexible coalitions by absorbing opponents. It stabilised governments but weakened programmes and encouraged patronage. Education, military service and electoral reform widened national institutions only gradually.

Italy joined the Triple Alliance in 1882. Crispi linked stronger executive government, nationalism and colonial ambition. Defeat at Adwa exposed overreach and the limits of prestige-led imperialism.

Check your understanding

• Why did Piedmontisation create unity and resentment?
• Why was the Brigands’ War more than ordinary crime?
• Why did Rome deepen Church conflict?
• How did Trasformismo both stabilise and weaken politics?
• What did Adwa reveal?

Key vocabulary

• Carbonari: secret revolutionary networks.
• Mezzogiorno: southern mainland Italy and the islands.
• Nationalism: belief that a nation should possess political identity or statehood.
• Piedmontisation: extension of Piedmont’s institutions across Italy.
• Plebiscite: a direct political vote; Italian examples offered restricted choices.
• Republicanism: support for government without monarchy and for popular sovereignty.
• Restoration: re-establishment of rulers after Napoleon.
• Risorgimento: movements and processes associated with Italian national revival and unification.
• Statuto: Piedmont’s constitution, extended to the Kingdom of Italy.
• Trasformismo: flexible coalitions formed by absorbing parliamentary opponents.
• Young Italy: Mazzini’s republican nationalist movement.

How to answer Part (a)

Use the same criteria for both named factors.

• Define the outcome.
• Explain Factor A with evidence.
• Explain Factor B against the same test.
• Compare timing, reach, directness and dependence.
• Reach a supported judgement.

When comparing Cavour and Garibaldi, avoid two biographies. Ask who changed territory, secured international conditions, mobilised support and controlled the settlement.

How to answer Part (b)

• Identify the claim and dates.
• Set criteria before selecting evidence.
• Organise paragraphs around arguments.
• Use examples across the period.
• Explain interactions.
• Test a serious counterargument.
• Sustain the judgement.

For failure in 1848-49, compare military intervention with political division, leadership, coordination and popular reach. Decide whether external force was decisive alone or because internal weakness prevented resistance.

Common traps

• Treating Italy as nationally united before 1861.
• Presenting Napoleon as the founder of nationalism.
• Assuming all nationalists wanted the same state.
• Describing 1848 as one coordinated revolution.
• Turning Cavour, Mazzini, Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel into a team.
• Treating unification as inevitable or fully planned.
• Equating plebiscites with unrestricted democracy.
• Calling all southern resistance banditry.
• Describing the Mezzogiorno as naturally backward.
• Assuming territorial completion created national unity.

Final retrieval challenge

Explain this chain without notes:

• French and Napoleonic rule altered institutions and political language.
• Restoration preserved division and provoked competing projects.
• Failure in 1848-49 weakened republican and papal routes while leaving Piedmont constitutional.
• Piedmontese diplomacy and war combined with popular mobilisation.
• A Piedmont-led monarchy emerged in 1861.
• Territory did not resolve legitimacy, regional inequality, Church conflict or weak participation.

Identify two moments when a different decision or international outcome could have prevented the kingdom created in 1861.

What to do next

Learn the chronology, then build four comparison grids: early revolutionary failure, failure in 1848-49, contributions to unification, and obstacles after 1861. Compare military force, popular reach, diplomacy, institutional capacity and legitimacy. Practise one Part (a) plan in 10 minutes and one Part (b) plan in 15 minutes.