Risorgimento

Which is the best definition of 'Risorgimento'?

• Means 're-emergence' of Italian nationalism that many Italians supported and led to Italian unification.

• Means 'resurgence' or 'rebirth' and is used to explain how Italy became a unified state by 1870.

• Means 'resurgence' or 'rebirth'. The nationalist movement that led to the creation of the Italian state, although the extent of Risorgimento is debated.

_________________ was possibly the first to talk about a united Italy in 1777.

• Vittorio Alfieri

• Saverio Bettinelli

• Giuseppe Cavour

• Giuseppe Mazzini

What made its first appearance in 1796?

• The Napoleonic Armies

• The Italian flag

• The Carbonari

• Liberalism

What did the Napoleonic invasion do for Risorgimento?

• Suppressed it.

• Encouraged it.

• Ironically, made it less popular.

• Paradoxically, given it was brought by an invader, it encouraged it.

Sicily had a constitutional monarchy from 1812.

• True

• False

Unification was a major preoccupation of the peasants.

• True

• False

The Enlightenment...

• ...was all about science, reason, empiricism. As such it challenged the status quo, including politics across Europe.

• ...was all about faith in God and accepting that society was run by hereditary elites.

The Congress of Vienna in 1815 was...

• Progressive

• Regressive

• Purposely regressive in an attempt to create a balance of power

• Purposely progressive in an attempt to create a balance of power.

Which are interpretations of our topic (more than one answer)

• Mack Smith - unification was a by-product of great power relations

• Contemporary views - unification was the end product of a long term evolutionary process (Risorgimento).

• Risorgimento only succeeded when many struggles became unified.

Based on all this knowledge of Risorgimento, the best synopsis of it is...

• Risorgimento was discussed in Italy from at least the 1770s and as the ideas of Liberalism spread it gained momentum, it evolved, and unification became possible after decades of struggle.

• Risorgimento is a complete myth. Most Italians were not interested in it so unification, when it came, was quite unexpected.