Paying the bills: Cavour's financial reforms
In 1850 Piedmont was deep in debt. It had paid for two lost campaigns against Austria, and then had to pay Austria a large sum under the peace treaty. Cavour became finance minister in 1851 and kept the job when he became prime minister. He believed a state could only be strong if it was rich, so he did two things at once.
- He raised more money. He brought in new taxes, made tax collection more efficient and tidied up the government's accounts.
- He borrowed to invest. He raised large loans abroad, including one from Hambros Bank in London in 1851, and spent the money on railways, ports and the army.
This was a gamble. Cavour was betting that a growing economy would pay back the loans later.
Key terms:
- Tariff: a tax charged on goods when they cross a border.
- Free trade: trade between countries with low tariffs or none, so goods move easily.
- Trade treaty: an agreement in which two countries cut their tariffs on each other's goods.
- Church courts: separate courts, run by the Church, where priests were tried instead of in the state's courts.
- Anticlerical: wanting to reduce the power of the Church in politics and daily life.
Economic expansion
Cavour had seen in Britain how trade, railways and banks made a country wealthy. He set out to copy all three.
🤝 Trade treaties
Between 1850 and 1852 Cavour signed trade treaties with Britain, France, Belgium and other states. Piedmont cut its tariffs and moved towards free trade. Imports became cheaper, exports such as silk, wine and rice sold more easily, and trade grew fast. The treaties also built friendly links with Britain and France.
🚂 Railways
In 1848 Piedmont had only a few kilometres of track. The line from Turin to the port of Genoa was finished in 1853. By 1860 Piedmont had about 850 km of railway, more than any other Italian state. Railways carried goods cheaply, linked farms and factories to the sea, and could move soldiers quickly.
🏦 Banking
In 1849 the banks of Genoa and Turin had joined to form the National Bank. Cavour built it up as Piedmont's main bank. It issued banknotes and lent money to the government and to businesses, so there was credit for new railways, factories and farms.
Other domestic reforms
Cavour's government modernised Piedmont in other ways too. The port of Genoa was improved. Telegraph lines were laid. Irrigation canals helped farmers to grow more. New industries were encouraged, such as the Ansaldo engineering works in Genoa, founded in 1853, which built railway engines. The minister of war, Alfonso La Marmora, reorganised and retrained the army after its defeats in 1848-49.
Reducing the influence of the Church
The Catholic Church was very powerful in Piedmont. It owned a great deal of land, had great influence over schools and had its own courts. Many of its leaders disliked the Statuto. Moderates like Cavour were anticlerical: they were not against religion, but they wanted all citizens to live under the same laws. Cavour later summed up his aim as 'a free Church in a free state'.
📜 The Siccardi Laws, 1850
Named after the minister of justice, Giuseppe Siccardi, these laws abolished the Church courts, so priests were now tried like everyone else. They ended the right of criminals to shelter from arrest inside churches, limited the Church's right to gain new property and cut the number of religious holidays. Cavour's famous speech of 1850 was made in support of these laws. When the Archbishop of Turin, Luigi Fransoni, told priests to ignore them, he was arrested and later sent into exile.
⛪ Cavour as prime minister
Cavour moved carefully. In 1852 a bill to allow civil marriage (marriage without a church service) was defeated in the Senate, and he let it drop. But in 1855 his government passed a law closing many monasteries and convents that did not teach, preach or care for the sick. The state took their property and used it to help pay poor parish priests.
These policies weakened the Church's grip on law and land. They also made enemies. Pope Pius IX protested bitterly, and many devout Catholics in Piedmont turned against the government.
Did the reforms make Piedmont the strongest Italian state?
By the mid-1850s no other Italian state could match Piedmont. It had the most modern economy and the best railways in Italy. It could afford a stronger army. Its free-trading, constitutional government impressed Britain and France, and its stand against the Church's privileges attracted liberals from all over Italy.
There was a cost. Taxes rose and the public debt grew heavily. In 1853, when food prices were high, an angry crowd attacked Cavour's house in Turin. And the quarrel with the Church divided Piedmont's people.
Common mistakes
- Saying Cavour wanted to destroy the Catholic Church. He wanted to limit its legal and political power, not to end religion.
- Giving Cavour all the credit for the Siccardi Laws. They were passed in 1850 under d'Azeglio; Cavour supported them in parliament.
- Forgetting the cost of the reforms. Higher taxes and heavy debt belong in any balanced answer.
Exam-style question
'The main reason why Piedmont became the leading Italian state in the years 1849-54 was Cavour's economic reforms.'
How far do you agree? Explain your answer.
You may use the following in your answer:
- Cavour's economic reforms
- the Statuto
You must also use information of your own. [16 marks]
Model answer
Cavour's economic reforms were very important in making Piedmont the leading Italian state, but I only partly agree that they were the main reason, because they depended on the political system Piedmont had kept since 1848.
The economic reforms gave Piedmont real strength. Between 1850 and 1852 Cavour signed trade treaties with Britain, France and Belgium and cut tariffs, so trade grew quickly. He borrowed abroad, for example from Hambros Bank in 1851, to invest in railways, and the line from Turin to Genoa was finished in 1853. The National Bank provided credit for business. As a result, Piedmont had the most modern economy in Italy and could afford a stronger army, which no other Italian state could match.
However, the Statuto mattered just as much. After 1849 Piedmont was the only Italian state that still had a constitution and an elected parliament, because Victor Emmanuel II kept it when other rulers scrapped theirs. This made Piedmont the hope of liberals and nationalists, and thousands of exiles moved there. It was leading Italy in this way before Cavour's reforms had begun. The Statuto also gave Cavour the parliament through which he passed his reforms.
A third reason was stable government. In 1852 Cavour's connubio with Rattazzi joined the centre-right and centre-left and gave him a firm majority. This shut out the extremes and let him plan large, costly projects over several years. The Siccardi Laws of 1850 also reduced the power of the Church by abolishing Church courts, which showed liberals across Italy that Piedmont was a modern state where the same law applied to all.
Overall, I agree to some extent. Judged by what made Piedmont different from the other states, the Statuto was the most important, because it was the base for everything else: without a parliament there would have been no connubio and no Cavour government. But judged by what made Piedmont powerful, not just admired, the economic reforms mattered most, because they paid for the railways and the army. So the reforms were the main reason for Piedmont's strength, but they were only possible because of the Statuto.
What lifts it to the top level: it covers three aspects, including one not in the bullets, argues both for and against the statement, and reaches a judgement using clear tests (what made Piedmont different, and what made it powerful).
Exam tip
An answer that uses only the two bullets cannot reach the top level. Here, bring in something of your own, such as the connubio or the Siccardi Laws, and give it a full paragraph. For more help, see the Exam Skills lesson 'Paper 1 Question (c): The 16-Mark How Far Do You Agree Essay'.