VI. THEY SPEAK BETTER LATIN THAN US 1852-1853
After the Liberal revolution ended the Pope sat down with his Cabinet. “What do we do now, then?” Everyone was silent, some drumming their fingers, before Orsini spoke- “well, if we are going to unite Italy before someone does it for us, we better move quickly.”
“Right. Who’ll do it for us?” replied Pius.
“Two Sicilies?”
“But they can’t face us and Sardinia alone. Nor can Sardinia face us and Sicily alone.”
“But France likes them. And remember what happened the last time a Napoleon ruled France.”
“Of course, he’s in power now, isn’t he? Seems an alright chap.”
“But Napoleon I took over Italy and destroyed...”
“I know what they did, Orsini.”
“Of course, your Holiness.”
“So what do we do, then, if France are in cahoots to get Two Sicilies to take us over? How big’s their army- 26 divisions. We have 8. How can we take them out?”
“We don’t.”
“We don’t?”
“We invade Sardinia-Piemonte. They have an industrial and population base large enough to give us the ability to take out Two Sicilies.”
“Good. What do they have going for them?”
“Well, they’re run by a dynasty of pretentious idiots who self-style as ‘liberator of Italy’- Carlo Alberto was the figurehead of the Italian liberals until he died. They also play host to the likes of Garibaldi...”
“They’ve got that bastard! Ha! Anything else?”
“Well, they speak better Latin than us.”
“Better Latin? In Turin?”
“No, in Sardinia. Their linguistic grammar is far closer to Latin than Romanesco.”
“Oh right. That’s nice. Maybe we should protect their language.”
“So are we going to go to war or not?”
“Yes you are, you have my blessing, fine.”
And so it came to pass that the Papal States was to declare war on Sardinia-Piemonte, but not before the troops were moved up to the border and the reserves were mobilised. This took until April, and landed the Papal States with a sizeable deficit and a large debt to boot. A quick victory was paramount, especially with elections coming (although polls suggested Orsini would trounce Gioberti once more, with an increased majority).
Finally, on April 12th, 1852, the Papal States declared war on Sardinia-Piemonte. Swiftly, the men aboard the Papal navy in the Southern Mediterranean sought to reach the Sardinian coast before the navy would be forced to withdraw by the enemy (which had actual fighting ships). 70,000 men attacked Alessandria and Savona each, to meet what should be around 2,000 opponents.
Luckily the Papal army seized easy initial victories on all fronts and began the process of ‘fanning out’ divisions through Piemonte- that is to say, sending divisions forward to secure lands further in before the retreating Sardinians could defend them, and before full control of the area around the initially-gained cities had been taken. The ‘marines’, if they could so be termed, docked at Cagliari in time- indeed, just as the Sardinian navy removed its northern garrison to defend Piemonte- and the navy darted away as quickly as possible.
After a month or so of fighting, the Pope uncharacteristically showed his emotion, punching the air in joy at the news that the Papal army had defeated the Sardinians in Torino.
Copy of a ‘bigger picture’ report given to Orsini on July 1st, 1852, complete with the breaking news from that morning:
The next day, Orsini received even better news- he had indeed been re-elected with an even bigger share of the vote- the war, and a convincing debate victory over the Republican Mazzini, had given him a poll boost giving him 76% of the vote. Gioberti survived an Intransigenti vote of confidence the next day, promising that the incorporation of Piemonte would ‘make Papal States politics a new game, one we can and will win’. In the new 59-seat Parliament, Orsini had 44 and Gioberti 15.
As August began and Papal troops ran rampant over much of Piemonte with Sardinia secure, the Savoiardi offered a peace deal:
"No", was the firm reply from Signor Orsini. The war lasted for a few more weeks as the rest of Piemonte was mopped up by the Papal army- this was a terrible comedown for the nation that had been traditionally viewed as the strongest among Italians. Some days it had knocked on the door of Great Power status, but it was never to be for the House of Savoy. They had been thrashed in war by a nation with a similar population but a smaller army, navy and economy- it was even more galling for Cavour, the Sardinian Prime Minister, to think that the Two Sicilies would have had an even easier victory. Finally, on September 5th, he signed the Treaty of Genova with Orsini, and accepted the Savoy dominions’ reduction to Torino under Papal supremacy.
Cavour promptly left Torino for Rome and began his new political career as Shadow Foreign Minister with the Partito Intransigenti, as Member of Parliament for Elba.
The Papal States’ population doubled overnight, and Gioberti’s prediction came true. Piemonte the province had a slight liberal majority, and the Intransigenti were now trailing by only 16% in the polls. Piemonte had a great surplus of craftsmen who were now unemployed due to the concentration of factories in Torino- this would serve to boost the liberal vote in future, were the poor to get the vote. The economy took an upturn, with the Papal States’ debt of £5400 being quickly worked off by a massive £43 daily profit, even with increased spending. Craftsmen whose local natural workplace was an iron mine or cotton were converted to labourers to work in these lucrative old-style industries. Employment opportunities were eventually improved by the introduction of a profitable canned food factory in Genova. If anything convinced Orsini- and the whole of Roman politics- that industrialisation was the key to the future, then these budget readings were it.
The new Papal States was so strong economically that the debt, having reached its height in September, was paid off just as the new year began. However, the fact that the Papal States was now a large, polyglot nation caused a need for urgent reform in the national political structure:
Under the new plan, eight provinces would be formed: Savoia, Piemonte, Liguria, Romagna, Emilia, Toscana, Latium, and Sardinia. The first would be Arpitan-speaking, the next four would be Galloitalian-speaking provinces, the next two Standard Italian, and the last Sardinian. Each school would teach Standard Italian, Latin, and the local language. This would hopefully tread the line between linguistic conservatives (who generally aligned themselves to Orsini’s party) and pan-Italianists (who dominated high society and politics in Rome).
On January 19th, 1853, more good news came to Orsini’s desk. The envoys he had sent to reassure Paris throughout the war in Piemonte had proved more useful than he had ever imagined: relations with France were at +200, and his offer of a Franco-Papal alliance was granted!
Now Orsini looked back to 1847, when the Pope was new, and so was he and the whole idea of constitutionalism in Rome. In just six years his nation had gone from a backward nation in Central Italy overshadowed by its neighbours to the northwest and to the south, to conquering the foremost Italian industrial power and aligning with the French, securing a dominant position in Italy. But there was still so far to go- any unification attempt would have to be very careful to avoid open conflict with Austria, who still protected Tuscany and Two Sicilies (which with 26 near-full divisions, didn’t really need all that much protection). Sardinia-Piemonte had always been France’s favourite, and they now guaranteed its independence. It would be touch and go as to whether they’d be willing to support Rome incorporating Torino, or whether they’d like to gamble on a Savoyard revival.
And would he even be the architect of the Italian state? He thought again about supporting the employment of thousands of new clerks in the old Savoyard territories. “They’re liberals, every bloody one of them!” His mood soured further when he saw that Gioberti now led in the polls with 58%, Orsini on 37% and Agostino Bertani’s new Parti Socialisti on 5%. A new idea suddenly came into Orsini’s head- “the labourers and farmers are very conservative, and it is they who still form the majority of the disenfranchised Papal States working class. And, they aren’t that badly-educated any more, not after all the money we put into education. We’ll enfranchise them! Gioberti and Bertani are of the left, they can’t oppose it! FIVE MORE YEARS! FIVE MORE YEARS! FIVE MORE YEARS!” The Enfranchisement of the Poor Act passed 54-5 in Parliament on March 12th, with new polls putting Orsini on 54%, Gioberti on 25%, Gaetano Moroni’s ultramontanists on 17%, and Bertani on 4%.
The Pope was happy, Orsini was happy, Gioberti was begrudgingly happy, and everyone was happy- except a minority of Savoyards, Nizzardi and Sardinians, that is. And the King of Sardinia-Piemonte, obviously.
==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1852==
-Spending has been increased and all debts incurred this year paid off;
-Relations improved with: France, Austria, Two Sicilies;
-Discovery of Freedom of Trade, Naval Professionalism research begun;
-Literacy up to 43.4%;
-Papal States up to 11th most powerful nation, Two Sicilies 21st.
