Risorgimento: stages of unification, 1848-70
In 1848 Italy was a divided 'geographical expression', Austria ruling Lombardy and Venetia. Stages: the 1848-49 revolutions failed (Radetzky beat Piedmont at Custoza and Novara); Cavour won France at Plombieres (1858); the 1859 war (Magenta, Solferino) gained Lombardy; Garibaldi's Thousand took the south in 1860; the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed 1861 under Victor Emmanuel II; Venetia came 1866, Rome 1870.
Who unified Italy? A balanced judgement
A 'how far do you agree' answer weighs several contributions. Cavour supplied the diplomacy: the French alliance (Plombieres), the 1859 war, and plebiscites adding the centre and south. Garibaldi's Thousand unlocked the south (Sicily, Naples, 1860) and handed it to Victor Emmanuel. France beat Austria in 1859 (for Nice and Savoy); Prussia's wars gave Venetia (1866) and Rome (1870). Judge by an explicit criterion, not by calling one figure 'more important'.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Describe the event, not its effect
On the 8-mark 'explain two effects' question, candidates narrate the fighting (Magenta, Solferino, the landing of the Thousand) instead of saying what resulted. The effect must be the OUTCOME: Lombardy passing to Piedmont, the central duchies voting to join, Bourbon rule collapsing in the south. Knowing the event is not enough; explain it as a consequence.
Digest (## Generic skills, Paper 1 Q(b)): the effect "must be explained as an outcome/consequence, not just stated or described" (June 2024 & June 2023 Paper 1). DS2 not individually reported.
Assert importance without criteria
On the 16-mark 'how far do you agree' question, strong candidates assert one factor was 'more important' without applying and explaining criteria, the standard ceiling below the top level. State a criterion (indispensable to the outcome, or widest lasting effect) and judge against it, rather than restating both sides and naming a winner.
Digest (## Generic skills, Paper 1 Q(c)): candidates "assert that something was more important/significant without applying and explaining criteria" (June 2024 & June 2023 Paper 1). DS2 not individually reported.
Drift outside 1848-70
Examiners note candidates 'lost relevance by dragging in events outside the stated period'. For DS2, avoid straying before 1848 (the 1820s-30s Carbonari, or Mazzini's Young Italy of 1831) or after 1870. The question is anchored in 1848-70; earlier background or later history earns nothing, however accurate.
Digest (## Generic skills, Paper 1 Q(a)): candidates "lost relevance by dragging in events outside the stated period" (June 2024 Paper 1). DS2 not individually reported.
Quoting the extract, not analysing it
On the 6-mark impression question (AO4), merely selecting or quoting words that support an impression caps the answer at Level 2. To reach Level 3, analyse HOW the impression is created: the author's selection of evidence, tone, emphasis, or what is left out. Inferring the impression and copying phrases is not enough.
Digest (## Generic skills, Paper 1 Q(a)): Level 3 requires analysing "HOW the impression was created... selection of evidence, tone, emphasis, or omission" (June 2024 & June 2023 Paper 1). DS2 not individually reported.
Plombieres vs Villafranca
These are easily swapped. Plombieres (1858) was Cavour's SECRET deal with Napoleon III for French help against Austria, in return for Nice and Savoy. Villafranca (1859) was Napoleon III's early separate peace after Solferino, which left Venetia with Austria and disappointed Piedmont. One started the 1859 war; the other cut it short.
Rome was NOT the capital in 1861
When the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861, Rome was NOT part of it. It remained under the Pope, protected by a French garrison. The first capital was Turin, then Florence from 1865. Rome fell only in 1870, after France withdrew during the Franco-Prussian War, and only then became capital. Unification was not complete in 1861 either: Venetia stayed Austrian until 1866.
Garibaldi won the SOUTH, not the north
Do not swap the two figures. Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand (1860) conquered the SOUTH: he landed in Sicily, beat the Bourbons of the Two Sicilies, and took Naples. He did NOT fight Austria or conquer the north; Cavour's Piedmont, with the French army, beat Austria in 1859 to gain Lombardy. Garibaldi handed the south to Victor Emmanuel II at Teano, not a republic.
Structure the 16-mark judgement
Treat the two stimulus bullets as a starting frame and add your own knowledge. Argue both sides with dated detail (Plombieres 1858, the Thousand 1860), then judge 'how far' against an explicit criterion, not by asserting a winner.
Give two developed effects
The 8-mark question needs TWO distinct effects, each explained as an outcome. Signpost them ('One effect... a second effect...') and develop each with accurate detail. Naming two effects, or explaining one twice, will not reach the top band.
Analyse the extract's craft
State the impression, then explain the author's craft: the detail selected, the tone, what is emphasised, what is omitted. Quote briefly as evidence; the marks reward analysing HOW the impression is built, not retelling content.
In 1848 "Italy" did not exist as a state. The peninsula was divided into separate states, and the wealthy north-east (Lombardy and Venetia) was ruled by the Austrian Empire. The movement to unite Italy is called the Risorgimento ("resurgence"). Between 1848 and 1870 Italy was unified in stages, led above all by the northern kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia under King Victor Emmanuel II and his minister Count Cavour, with the soldier Giuseppe Garibaldi conquering the south.
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