Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-01-20
THE RISE OF MODERN ITALY
Prof. Williston Walkers Paper

eaten at $3.50, On assembling in the par
lor at its clese President E. w. Stoddard
introduced Prof. Williston Walker, pro
fessor of church history in the Hartford
theological seminary, as the essayist of the
evening. The theme was "The rise of
modern Italy, Prof. Walker said
THE ESSAY.
mo country in Europe presents more
striking contrasts than Italy. In none
is the civilization more ancient, none
has prouder history and yet with all
its wealth of Roman and medieval renown,
Italy as a power In the politics of modern
Europe is a new comer-the most recent
addition to the family of European states.
The power which in ancient times ruled
the world and has left deeper impress than
any other on the laws and institutions of
all lands, the country that held spiritual
sway over Europe during the middle ages
by means of the papacy, that gave birth to
Columbus, that was the leader in modern
literature and art long before the forests
on our hillsides were cleared, is neverthe-
less in the beginnings of national life as a
modern kingdom; and the United States,
so much more recent than Italy in all other
regards, may look down upon 1t with
feeling almost of venerableness as it COM
pares its political career with that of the
kingdom of Victor Emanuel and Humbert.
A brief account of how that young king
dom came to be is our purpose tonight
"a hundred years ago the condition of
Italy was one of political deafness. Dur
ing the later middle ages northern Italy
had been divided into number of princi-
palities and republics, of which Milan,
Venice and Florence were the chief, and
in which art and literature hourshed. But
in 1904, two years after the discovery of
America, King Charles VIII. of France
began war for the conquest of the penin-
sula; in this attempt he was opposed by
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, the pa
irons of Columbus. The result of this
attempt was more than half a century of
| contest waged by France and Spain for the
possession of hitherto Independent Italy.
In this war Italian freedom was lost, Spain
gained the upper hand, large portions of
Italy became the possession of the Span
ish monarchy, and such parts of the land
as did not actually come under Spanish
rule were controlled by Spanish politics,
even in the lands owing temporal allegi-
ance to the pope. The dead hand of Spain
was everywhere; and under it all Italian
| life was palsed.
Certain changes in the kaleidoscope of
European politics, into which time will not
| let us enter here in detail, led during the
course of the long wars between France
| and the rest of Europe, which filled most of
| the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
to the transfer of large part of the Span
| ish possessions in Italy to Austria. So it
came about that, a hundred years ago,
! Milan and Florence, with the adjacent
small states, belonged to Austria, Venice
was a decrepit republic, really a narrow
minded Oligarchy, the pope was in not very
efficient control of the region in Central
Italy known as the States of the Church,
while Naples and all the territory to the
southwark, including the fertile island of
Sicily, belonged to the kings of the house of
Bourbon, related to the Bourbon rulers of
France. Thus a century ago all was divi-
sion, and worst of all, the dominant in
| fluence in Italy was that of foreigners, who
willingly kept the people in political igno-
rance, and suppressed any attempts to
change this state of affairs with a high
hand. Only in one corner of Italy was
there any political power that could be
called truly Italian. This was in Piedmont,
that section of the great northern plain,
| Just below the Alps and bordering on
of Savoy, from whom the present royal
house of Italy is descended, had come into
gradual prominence, and as n result of for
tunate alliances in the wars between Aus
tria and France, had obtained the title of
king in 1713, and the possession of the
Island of Sardinia, hence the title of King
of Sardinia, in 1720. But if Piedmont
Sardinia was true Italian power, and one
| which was to be the nucleus about which
Italian nationality was to crystalline, 1t
seemed a hundred years ago as unenlight-
ened and as backward as the rest of the
peninsula The whole Italian race APP
peared to be particularly dormant, with
scarcely desire to better their condition
or to assert their unity or independence. "
Having presented, in opening his paper,
this clear and striking picture of the con-
dition of Italy one hundred years ago, the
essavist proceeded to trace the successive
events which have led that country up to
its status of the modern and united Italy
as il stands before the world today. The
state of seemingly hopeless. lethargy which
existed in Italy toward the close OF the
last century was first broken by the French
Revolution. That great struggle was who'll
ly foreign to Italy in its origin, but II gave
| 10 Napoleon DOnapdTJt MS CaiVoi' zap
Icons first work, after he became the head
of French affairs, was to attempt to deal
decisively with Austria. Nowhere, he
thought, was that country so weak as in
her possessions in northern Italy. His
brilliant campaigns in Italy followed, end
ing in Austria's defeat, and her recogni-
ton of the establishment of the "Cis-al-
pine" republic, composed of Lombardy,
Modena, Bologna and Romagna-Venice
being given to Austria to reconcile her to
the sacrifice. The absence of Napoleon
in Egypt was taken advantage of to bring
Italy again under Austrian control, but on
his return he again invaded Italy, with the
result that, by 1909, he had taken posses
sion of Venice, put his brother Joseph on
the throne of Naples, annexed the states
of the church, and gained control OF the
whole peninsula.
The period of Napoleonic rule was OF
great importance in the history of Italy
1t was the galvanic shock which aroused
the first signs of national life. Napoleon
ends were selfish ends, but he gave the
country the most enlightened government
which it had yet had. He provided uni
form laws and levied equal taxes, suppress
| "a hrioanda0a huilt GOOD roads and made