God's Own Country: A Papal States AAR

[Prutenio]

VII. INTER-FAITH DIALOGUE 1853-1855

1853 looked as if it was passing quietly in Europe until war broke out between the Russian and Ottoman Empires. The Pope- and indeed the whole nation- had little time for either, but the French seemingly did, demanding that Rome enter the war on the Ottoman side.

Thus, in what was jocularly referred to as a landmark in inter-religious dialogue, the Pope of the Catholics and the Caliph of the Muslims became brothers in arms. Both religions had large minorities in the Orthodox-dominated Russia: the Catholic Poles and Lithuanians were every bit as downtrodden as the Muslim Tatars and Circassians.

For reasons partly religious and partly to show off the Papal States’ new position in Europe, the Pope desired for Roman troops to have some impact on the war with Russia- preferably in Poland and Lithuania. However, the Papal navy was still absolutely useless, and Austria would not let the Papal troops march through their Empire (which was finding itself housing an Italian diaspora of sorts, Lombards and Venetians now inhabiting places like Kecskemet in Hungary, Sankt Poelten in Upper Austria, and Prague in Bohemia). Relations with Austria were still being repaired (now at +155), so the Pope gifted 20,000 men to overall Austrian control.

Sadly the Russians and Ottomans made peace while the Papal expeditionary force was just about to reach Udine, still thousands of miles away from the target, Warsaw. "Oh," was the Pope's disappointed response. This was succeeded by 1854, judged by Il Giornale di Roma to be ‘the dullest year in living memory’. However, the Papal States did in that year get to bringing railways to Rome and some areas outside of the old Sardinian borders. This rather modest project did, however, help the Papal States join the ‘third tier’ of industrialising nations, alongside Belgium, Turkey and Spain.

In 1855, relations with Austria finally reached their zenith once more, and an alliance was forged between the two nations- obviously this would be useful for wars against Tuscany and Two Sicilies (who had at long last downsized their army) in the near future.

War with Tuscany quickly ensued, pitting 20,000 Papals against 10,000 Florentines. The battle was more difficult than expected, given that the Tuscan troops were in high spirits and determined to fight for their nation’s life against the organised but less interested Papal troops. Therefore, the 20,000 troops loaned to Rome by the French came in handy (the Austrians had a sick joke of sending divisions of 970 men to fight, and so didn’t get used by the Roman generals). Eventually, after a brave stand to the last man, Tuscany was annexed on November 6th, 1855. This immediately rectified the small dip in profits made by the loss of war indemnities from Torino earlier that year, and allowed some Tuscan craftsmen access to the factories of Florence once again.

Furthermore, with this territorial expansion came a military expansion. Six more army divisions were commissioned, with the addition of four new reserve divisions. This gave the Papal States a total pool of 26 divisions in wartime- one equalling the Two Sicilies. The time was ripe to forge the unified state.

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1853==
-Discovery of Naval Professionalism, Experimental Railroad research begun;
-Relations improved with: France, Austria, Ottoman Empire;
-Literacy up to 44.4%;
-Papal States up to 10th most powerful nation, Two Sicilies 21st.

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1854==
-Discovery of Experimental Railroad, Positivism research begun;
-Relations improved with: Austria, Switzerland, Two Sicilies;
-We are now building a railway from Rome to Ancona;
-Literacy up to 45.4%;
-Papal States remains 10th most powerful nation, Two Sicilies 17th.

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1855==
-Discovery of Positivism, Early Classical Theory & Critique research begun;
-Relations improved with: Austria, France;
-Literacy up to 46.3%;
-Papal States down to 11th most powerful nation, Two Sicilies 19th.

 

[Enewald]

Etruscians down, now to Magna Graecia, to meet your Pyrrhus.

 

[Prutenio]

Etruscans= Tuscany
Greeks= Two Sicilies
Carthage= Tunisia?

I don't think they're quite up to Hannibal's standard anymore

 

[Prutenio]

VIII. IMPOSSIBLE 1856-1857

As 1856 dawned, the Austrian enforced alliance with the Two Sicilies expired, leaving it completely open to Papal invasion. The first half of 1856 was indeed entirely based on building up the armies along the Neapolitan border, with the Papal States mobilising its reserves, a move which caused some alarm in Europe, but not enough to prompt a reaction from the Two Sicilies, who enjoyed- on the face of it- good relations with Rome. Turin was equally oblivious to the Papacy’s unificationist ambitions, given its frequent proposals for an alliance between master and puppet, invalid against the French (if the Papacy ever was to go to war with its ally to the northwest, Turin was in no mood to be consumed by France, having had to declare war upon them).

All of these requests were denied, naturally. By mid-April, the mobilised troops had been deployed, and at the end of the month the six new active divisions came to the border. Meanwhile Switzerland mobilised its troops, fearful of a Papal reprisal against the Protestant state for the Sonderbund rebellion’s crushing. They needn’t have worried- the only army left in the north of the country was heading for Rome, which it reached on May 29th, leaving the border as so.

The Two Sicilies army was very large in terms of capacity, but each division was effectively empty. It was imperative for the Papal armies to engage the Sicilians in battle before they could fill these divisions- they were very high-spirited, and so a battle between a full Papal and a full Sicilian army would almost certainly result in Papal defeat. Also, cover would be sent to defend Perugia from a Sicilian attack between the two Papal armies. Finally, the Pope consented to the war, and on June 1st, 1856, Rome declared war on the Two Sicilies. The continent was astounded at this- while the Papal States clearly sought to remove its northern threat, relations with conservative Naples had always been good. French and Austrian offers of assistance were denied- Orsini knew they would almost certainly offer little to nothing towards the war and would most likely negotiate a peace deal behind his back.

The first engagements came in mid-June, but it was far too late. The Sicilians had had an attack on Perugia refuted (40,000 more Papal men were now marching on Naples), but had expanded its army to over half capacity and moved troops across to defend Naples before the battles began. The battle of L’Aquila was going moderately well, but the battle for Naples was becoming disastrous. The Papal army, in the knowledge that its army is too small to win this war as it is, sought to establish 6 new divisions as quickly as possible. They would have to wait until Christmas.

On August 3rd, Sicilian troops finally withdrew from L’Aquila, but in Naples the Papal army, while better in terms of organisation and morale than the recently-drafted Sicilians, were outnumbered by two and a half to one, and the battle was set to go right down to the wire as the Sicilians defeated at L’Aquila went to join the battle. 9,000 Papal men from L’Aquila were sent to try and relieve the Romans as best as they could.

However, it continued to go badly for the Papal army. Several divisions were wiped out, with their commanders being forced to join the ordinary armies remaining. Only four Papal divisions remained (22,000 men) to fight the 120,000 strong Sicilian army, whose main drawback was its men were less enthused about the battle than the Papals and thus were more likely to surrender. The relief effort from Abruzzo grew as another 28,000 men set off to attack Naples- General Rossard’s 20,000 strong men went off to claim undefended Foggia. Orsini took some solace from the news that the Papal army in Naples now numbered only 9,000 in his theory that, even if the Papal army at Naples is destroyed, the victory for the Sicilian force (the entirety of which was at Naples now) would be a Pyrrhic one- just as the Magna Graecians had suffered against Rome 2000 years before. Speaking of Pyrrhic victories:

The last 3000 Romans had stood strong and forced the Neapolitan masses to surrender, and instantly set on the chase down to Salerno to stop them from reorganising, knowing that the 21,000 men (14,000 had now been diverted to Foggia) sent as reinforcements would be able to seize Naples.
However, the Sicilians managed to take victory at Foggia by sheer force of numbers, and the Papal plans were scuppered. By the end of October they were outnumbered, less organised, and set for a Sicilian attempt to retake Naples.

That battle went as expected, with the Papal army beating a hasty retreat to Rome and L’Aquila, both of which instantly came under pressure, despite the 6 new divisions being deployed at the Vatican. Dissent was increasing, and the ultramontanists and socialists- both of whom opposed the war (for different reasons) were banned as the election approached. On new years’ eve 1856, Rome fell. Orsini’s government was moved to Florence, the Pope- being very alarmed at the fall of the eternal city- high-tailed it to the Savoy highlands.

Orsini flew into a rage while taking the train through Viterbo. “Why is this? Why? We have all of the north and all of the centre. They have just the south! We are industrialised and have 2 million more men than they do, while they do little other than plough fields with oxen! But they take Rome! Their army is so massive- it can’t be sustainable! How do they have such morale? They fight against the Pope on behalf of the idiot Bourbons, and for what? So they may continue to plough their fields with oxen and live under King Ferdinand’s unenlightened absolutism. This is God’s own country, and yet He is mocking it. The Two Sicilies is an impossible nation! Everything about them shouldn’t be so, but is- even their name!”

By February things had gone from bad to worse. Defeat at L’Aquila and the subsequent Sicilian advance had left the Papal force of 74,000 men sent to attack Rome surrounded. An attack on L’Aquila and six more divisions were commissioned as the government began to run out of money, but by now Orsini was in dreadful health and was permanently angry, by now frequently cursing in front of Cardinals and the entire Parliament. On February 17th, 1857, Consul Orsini flew into a frenzy against his secretary, thrashing him and screaming at him. After twenty-three minutes of rage, Orsini collapsed. He was taken to hospital in Florence, where he would remain. The Partito Transigenti instantly moved to remove him as leader and replace him with General Alessandro Quattrocchi, sworn in as the new Consul by Cardinal Ferretti in the Pope’s absence. He won a rigged ‘election’ days later.

However, Quattrocchi was hapless. The attempt to take L’Aquila to provide passage back for the Rome force was foiled by the Neapolitans, who eliminated all but four of the Papal divisions- two of which were from the new Papal allies, Sardinia-Piemonte. 16 new divisions were on their way, but the Sicilians were now marching into Tuscany at an alarming rate.

The Papacy was bereft of an army, had lost Rome, was exhausted from war, was under a naval blockade, had been forced to rely on its city-state puppet for assistance, and was now entering debt. These were the Papal States’ darkest days, and whether there would ever be a Papal Italy was now extremely doubtful. All thanks to an impossible nation and its impossible army.

==DUE TO SICILIAN OCCUPATION OF ROME, NO GOVERNMENT REPORT 1856==

 

[Prutenio]

Pyrrhus, it turns out, is quite good! Any ideas on how to get the Papal States out of this mess? I know I should have tactically retreated and not sent my army to its death in Rome, but I simply didn't see the threat to Perugia. Anyway, any ideas? Please note that I'm possibly going to get attacked by SP and France by 1858- the Napoleon III unharmed event that leads to Franco-Sardinian collaboration did fire.

If you're wondering about the Orsini rant at God and how the Two Sicilies are impossibly powerful, it's someone else (guess who) ranting at something else (guess what) and how the Two Sicilies are impossibly powerful.

 

[Enewald]

Oh God, what thee done...
Defence always overcomes attack!

 

[Prutenio]

Not any more, it doesn't.

At least this might make the AAR more interesting. I have 10 divisions coming at the end of the month, so as long as they don't get Ferrara by then, I should be able to stem the tide. So long as "Sardinia" doesn't turn on me after all. Then it's a case of forming a defensive wall and hoping for the best and to avoid bankruptcy.

 

[volksmarschall]

Allying with the Habsburg, who would, if historically speaking, like to crush you and take back Italy for themselves and prevent you from becoming the dominating power in the Adriatic! Irony much, no? LOL!

Bankruptcy? That's never something to smile about, especially since Vicky is geared towards politics and economics more than military and warfare! BTW, I love the graph of the elections! Really cool!

 

[Prutenio]

What can I say? The Habsburgs are good Catholics! Not like Two Sicilies.

 

[Prutenio]

Update probably tomorrow. But how do you all think the Papal States did?

 

[Prutenio]

IX. FAITH AND DENIAL 1857-1860

In mid-April the Pope had been joined in Eneci, Savoy, by the entire Quattrocchi cabinet. Their first meeting saw the Pope horrified by the downbeat mood of the politicians- “Have you no faith?” he asked, “Have you learned nothing from the story of Jesus and the Church?”

“Your Holiness, these are different matters in different times...”

“Nonsense! Jesus told St. Peter, his appointed successor and right-hand man, that he would deny him three times before the cock crowed. And so he did- the times were so desperate that the dream of the eventual success of God’s Kingdom seemed crushed to even Peter. But look at us now! Christianity is by far the largest religion on Earth, and Catholicism- the faith built by Peter the denier himself- is the largest denomination! And now, you come to me today speaking of doom and Sicilian victory, when you took your oath to serve the Papal States for the entire duration of your term. Am I the only one here who sees some sort of connection between the two?”

The entire Cabinet shook their heads in unison.

“So why then are you failing to learn Peter’s lesson? Why are you talking of surrender and capitulation? That, when you should be telling me of the 10, 16 new divisions to come, and how we have the chance then to go out and turn this war around, and to build this nation as Peter built his Church! Cabinet dismissed.”

The Sicilian army was continuing to win its battle for Rimini when the ten new divisions came. They were divided into 4 divisions at Lucca, 4 at Florence, and 4 fighting for Rimini. But still victory would not come and Rimini eventually fell under Sicilian control- until, that is, the two spirited Sardinian divisions and half of the 60,000 further new soldiers deployed in June joined the force that attacked the city once more.

This time, the Sicilians- who were now being stretched for numbers across the front- were suffering from the heightened Papal-Sardinian morale, and after fighting nearly to the last man, Rimini fell back into Papal hands. For the first time since the fall of Naples last year, the Two Sicilies was in real trouble on the front lines. Their force had nearly all been poured into Rimini, and nearly all of that force had been wiped out in battle. The Papal army now had 6 divisions at Lucca, 5 at Florence and 7 at Rimini, and 11 more (6 Papal, 5 Sardinian) were on the way.

The Sicilians now started to be beaten back- they lost Livorno and Rimini, and a massive force was now descending on Siena. That said, the Papal navy had now sadly been destroyed- both clipper transports.

And even better news ensued- the Two Sicilies had again thrown all its eggs in the one basket, Perugia. They faced a larger and almost as strong morale-wise Papal-Sardinian army, and were wiped out to the last man. Not that it mattered, as they had already been completely surrounded by the Papal army which had taken L’Aquila and was now, by mid-January 1858, busy liberating Rome.

Finally, on January 18th, 1858, Rome was back under Papal control, after a year of Sicilian occupation- the Pope and Cabinet instantly began the move back from its Savoyard retreat. Naples, however, was set to sample Papal occupation for a second time, as the Sicilian army no longer existed, and the Papal army had now set about asserting its authority around the Sicilian capital and the surrounding areas. Just two weeks after the regain of Rome, the following memo arrived at Quattrocchi’s cart as he travelled through Tuscany:

After a romp through Italy that culminated in the seizure of Messina in Sicily itself, the war ended on August 10th. After a series of rejected Sicilian offers for peace, the Papal States dictated to King Ferdinand that his nation would, humiliated, be limited to a Neapolitan city-state as a Papal satellite, paying tribute to the Papacy for the next three years. He had no choice but to accept the deal.

The Papal States had won the war, but it had now racked up a massive £38,000 of debt, and most inhabitants of the newly-acquired territories were either mobilised soldiers or factory workers whose factories were in Naples. Firstly, the lucrative sulphur mines of Sicily were refilled with ex-soldiers; the expired alliance with France was renewed; the army was cut back from 30 standing to 14 standing divisions and 16 in reserve; new elections were planned for early 1860, as Orsini recovered ready to resume leadership of the Transigenti, and the nation if he won; and the traditional industries of Southern Italy saw a renaissance. The new nation was de facto an Italian state, but Quattrocchi and Orsini both concurred with the Pope in believing that to declare the Papal States ‘Italy’ while both Turin and Naples existed would be both insulting to the rump kingdoms and unnerving to both France and Austria.

On March 22nd, 1859, the Papal States declared war on what was now laughably called the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piemonte. It was conquered within a month, and led to a great new industrialisation of the northwest of the Papal States. The Papal States government was consistently turning profits of nearly £100, and the debt was being paid off comfortably. It was around this time that the Papal States acceded to Great Power status, achieving the dream that Rome would once again rise to power as it had done 2500 years before.

Then came the general election, called on 9th July 1859, to take place 9th April 1860. It was the tightest race ever, with the initial conservative lead melting away due to further industrialisation, especially in the South, laissez-faire politics becoming popular around Sardinia, and socialist fervour in Tuscany. Due to the Socialist Party remaining banned and Giuseppe Mazzini’s Radicals being repeatedly harangued, it was Gioberti who benefitted, leaving the election poised at 50-50 as the new year beckoned.
In March the Intransigenti took a clear lead in the polls for the first time, but quickly lost it to a conservative resurgence in Tuscany. As April ensued, the Transigenti’s lead grew, and they finally took the election victory on 9th April, by a margin of 56% to 44%.

Gioberti clung on to his position as leader, insisting that there was no better choice for the Intransigenti after the death of Cavour in December 1859 and that the progress made indicated a shift to Liberal government in the near future. Orsini, however, returned to the office he had left in unfortunate circumstances a few years before. Not forming a part of his new Cabinet would be proposed Minister for Finance Carlo Filangieri. He marginally lost his seat of Salerno to young liberal Giovanni Giolitti.

Orsini got to work immediately, making industrialisation the key priority of his government in an attempt to coax free-marketeers away from the Intransigenti (this did not work- the Intransigenti took a lead in the polls), and promptly slashed tariffs and taxes on the rich, encouraged thousands of Papal citizens to become entrepeneurs, and supported any pro-industrialisation ventures that came his way. This did little to reduce the debt, and cut profits to a quarter of what they were, but Orsini ploughed on with the relative support of Gioberti, to whom supporting fiscal conservatism was anathema. The perfect political conditions were there for Orsini’s Italian state-in-waiting to finally step forward.

==DUE TO SICILIAN OCCUPATION OF ROME, NO GOVERNMENT REPORT 1857==

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1858==
-Early Classical C&T and Military Staff System research completed, Steamers research begun;
- Relations improved with: Austria, France, Switzerland;
-Literacy up to 48.8%;
-Papal States up to 10th most powerful nation.

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1859==
-Steamers research completed, Romanticism research begun;
-Relations improved with: Ottoman Empire;
-Literacy up to 49.7%;
-Papal States up to 7th most powerful nation (Great Power).

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1860==
-Romanticism research completed, Ad Hoc Money Bill Printing research begun;
-Austria now guarantee our independence;
-Alliance with Austria terminated and not renewed;
-Literacy up to 50.6%;
-Papal States down to 8th most powerful nation (Great Power).

 

[volksmarschall]

The unification of God's country seems to be well on its way... there's still that little sliver of that Latin-Germanic issue just to the north though... and with your terminated alliances with the Habsburgs... is a war storm brewing I wonder?

In the midst of it all, I don't think the politicians of the Transigenti Party are particularly happy with the recent results in politics however. A 20-Point swing in favor for the Instransigenti's is problematic and a headache I'm sure for the political leadership!

 

[Prutenio]

Well, ever since he had his little episode during the war, Orsini has not been the definite leader he was. Quattrocchi still has his fans.

And Austria will hopefully be being cut down to size soon enough.

 

[Enewald]

If progress leads to such brotherly bloodshed, it is not worth it.

 

[Prutenio]

If progress leads to such brotherly bloodshed, it is not worth it.

Heresy! And the Sicilian bloodshed was due mostly to their own ill-advised actions.

 

[hoi2geek]

As soon as you liberate Ireland and the Philippines, make sure to create vassal states out of them. Both of them are Catholic nations, so they'll be loyal to a Papal Italy.

 

[Prutenio]

Well, Ireland could do with some liberation from Protestant oppression, and Spain is a threat in the Mediterranean.

 

[Prutenio]

New update tomorrow.

 

[Prutenio]

X. ONE NATION UNDER GOD 1861-1866

1861 was a year primarily of economic development. The complete elimination of tariffs in March of that year caused a boom in railway and factory development across the Papal States, and the expiry of the reparations treaty with Naples was hardly felt as the debt continued to be reduced. But the Papal States went to war once again late in that year as a request from France came through:

Orsini and the Pope were more than happy to agree, but the slight problem of the Papal States lacking a navy barred them from actually contributing in any way towards the war. But this was not how the Papacy was to make its first foray into America- indeed, they hadn’t been at all expecting to make any forays into America for some time, but suddenly it was offered to them on a plate:

Ecuador had decided in 1862 to become a Catholic semi-theocracy, much in the same way of the Papal States- although Rome was far more liberal now than Quito had become. The Pope was more than happy to accept his new role of protector of Ecuador, and the South American republic was brought under Papal control forthwith.

The war with Mexico ended soon after, and the whole nation was finally linked up by railways as the debt was fully paid off. This did nothing to improve Orsini’s standing in the polls, with Gioberti leading on 57%.

By August 1863, the peace treaty with Naples lapsed, finally giving the green light for the Italian state to be united under the Pope’s reign and Orsini’s government. Papal troops entered the city on September 1st, and after a short battle had occupied the city by mid-September.

Finally, on October 10th, 1863, the Neapolitan King formally accepted his nation’s annexation and endorsed the Papal States as the single Italian nation-state. Firework celebrations erupted all over Italy that night as Pope Pius IX declared his nation to be the Papal Empire of Italy. A constitution was ratified in a special session of Parliament that laid down a formal claim to Lombardy, Venetia and Corsica; and Orsini became the first Consul of Italy.

Days later, the new political parties were founded- Orsini would lead the Destra Permanente, and Gioberti the Destra Consorterista. Mazzini had the Partito d’Azione, and Bertani the Sinistra Constituzionale as his party became more moderate. An election was thus called, and the new flag unveiled. It would be the Italian tricolour defaced in the centre with the Papal arms.

After an intriguing campaign due to the existence now of four major parties, the DC won through with 35% of the vote- enough to get a majority thanks to the electoral system being weighted to provide majorities. After a 12% swing to the Liberals, Orsini’s enemies in the DP removed him in favour of 60-year-old Piemontese former officer Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora. Mazzini and Bertani continued as leaders, as Orsini was ennobled as a Duke and given the honourary title of ‘Architect of Italy’.

So Gioberti sat down in his chair in the Consul’s office and got underway. His first actions involved putting down small-scale revolts by opponents of an Italian state and disaffected supporters of parties either permanently or temporarily banned by Orsini during the election campaign. Then he would turn his attentions to gaining Lombardo-Venetia from Austria, a key liberal aim.

After the revolts had been crushed, Gioberti had 12 divisions stationed around Italy to suppress any future revolts, with a further 12 divisions (8 new) stationed on the Austrian border. The French border would be garrisoned at a later date.

Meanwhile, as factories continued to spring up all over Italy, Gioberti was offered the chance to join a Latin Monetary Union with the French, Belgians and Swiss. Although the inclusion of Protestant Switzerland in the Union irked the Pope somewhat, Gioberti joined the Union to prove his liberal credentials to his party.

1866 dawned on Italy, and so did its great opportunity to gain its irredeemed territories in the north. Prussia had gone to war with Austria over who was to lead the German Confederation. Unlike the conservative and Catholic-minded Orsini, Gioberti had no qualms with forming an alliance with Prussia against the Habsburgs.

The war was a catastrophe for Austria. It was completely destroyed by the Prussians, who forced peace so quickly that the Italians had only managed to take Milan and had yet to fully mobilise. However, Lombardo-Venetia was gained in the peace thanks to Prussia’s insistence.

Italy was one nation at last- one nation under God’s representative.

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1861==
-Ad Hoc Money Bill Printing discovered, Military Plans research begun;
-Relations improved with: Spain, Ottoman Empire, France;
-Temporary alliance with Spain until end of Mexican War;
-Literacy up to 51.5%;
-Papal States up to 7th most powerful nation (Great Power).

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1862==
-Military Plans discovered, Alphabetic Flag Signalling research begun;
-Relations improved with France, Ecuador;
-Temporary alliance with Spain has ended;
-Literacy up to 52.4%;
-Papal States remains 7th most powerful nation (Great Power).

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1863==
-Alphabetic Flag Signalling discovered, Basic Chemistry research begun;
-Relations improved with: France;
-Literacy up to 53.3%;
-Italy remains 7th most powerful nation (Great Power).

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1864==
-Basic Chemistry discovered, Introspectionism research begun;
-Relations improved with: Spain, Switzerland;
-Literacy up to 54.2%;
-Italy remains 7th most powerful nation (Great Power).

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1865==
-Introspectionism discovered, Military Statistics research begun;
-Relations improved with: Prussia, Spain;
-Literacy up to 55.0%;
-Italy remains 7th most powerful nation (Great Power).

==GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS REPORT 1866==
-Military Statistics research continues;
-Relations improved with: France, Spain;
-Literacy up to 55.8%;
-Italy up to 6th most powerful nation (Great Power).

 

[hoi2geek]

You should have actually re-created the Empire of Gran Colombia under your control.