UNIFICATION OF ITALY · Part 4

his conquest to King Victor Emmanuel II and retreated to lead the rest of his life in his home at the island of Caprera. Plebiscites held in Sicily, Naples and Papal States led to their merger with Piedmont- Sardinia. At the end of the war, Austria retained control over Venetia and Pope held Rome. The rest of Italy was unified under Piedmont. In May , King Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed by the Parliament as the ruler of Italy. During the Austro-Prussian War in , Italy had allied itself with Prussia and was rewarded with Venetia. In , Italy took advantage of the Franco- Prussian War to annex Rome as the French forces withdrew. Thus, the Italian Unification was completed. King Victor Emmanuel II Europe in Turmoil Unification of Germany In spite of a common language and many other common features German people continued to be split up into a large number of States. Intellectuals such as Johann von Herder ( – ) and Friedrich Schlegel ( – ) promoted the idea of German nation by glorifying its past. Herder believed that civilisation was a product of the culture of the common people, the Volk (folk) and promoted the idea of a unique German spirit, the Volkgeist . J.G. Fichte ( – ) delivered a series of Addresses to the German Nation . He claimed the German spirit was not just one among the many spirits but was superior to the rest. This inspired and promoted the idea of nationalism among the Germans. Before Napoleon Germany consisted of about principalities. Napoleon unconsciously gave an impetus to the spirit of nationalism by forming a Confederation of the Rhine. For the first time, it gave a sense of unity to Germany. However, the Congress of Vienna, which transformed it into the German Confederation consisting of states, placed it under the control of Austria. At the time of Fichte’s addresses Austria was occupying the territories of Prussia, the largest and the most powerful of the Confederation of German States. It kindled in Prussia the spirit