Overview
- Explores how Britain used its neutrality and sympathy for the Italian national cause to aid the establishment of a unified Italian state
- Extends the analysis of British interest in Italian unification past 1861 into the following decade, during which Italy’s unity remained fragile and incomplete
- Emphasises the strategic, rather than cultural, dimensions of British sympathy and how they intended to mould the newly unified Italian state in the image of Victorian Britain with a view to a future alliance
Part of the book series: Britain and the World (BAW)
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This book explores the interests of British leaders, diplomats and consuls in the unifying of Italy. It is the first study to provide a comprehensive narrative of British policy on Italian affairs between the formation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 and its consolidation as a new nation-state through the acquisitions of Venice in 1866 and Rome in 1870. Commencing with an investigation of the place of Italy within the context of mid-Victorian Britain’s global interests, the book investigates the origins of British sympathy for Italian nationalism during the 1850s, before charting the development of British foreign policy regarding Italy during its unification and consolidation. Emphasis is placed upon the tendency of British leaders and representatives to consider it their responsibility to guide the new Italy through its formative years, and upon their desire to draw Italy into a ‘special relationship’ with Britain as the dominant power within the Mediterranean.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Great Britain and the Unifying of Italy
Book Subtitle: A Special Relationship?
Authors: O. J. Wright
Series Title: Britain and the World
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59397-9
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-59396-2Published: 01 December 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-59397-9Published: 21 November 2018
Series ISSN: 2947-7182
Series E-ISSN: 2947-7190
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 223
Number of Illustrations: 4 b/w illustrations
Topics: History of Britain and Ireland, History of Italy, International Relations, Political History, Modern History