| Type | Peace Treaty |
|---|---|
| Signed | 3 October 1866 |
| Location | Vienna,Archduchy of Austria |
| Signatories | |
| Ratifiers |
|
The1866 Treaty of Vienna was an agreement signed on 3 October 1866 and ratified on 12 October by theKingdom of Italy and theAustrian Empire that concluded the hostilities of theThird War of Italian Independence,[1] a theatre of the concurrentAustro-Prussian War.
The treaty confirmed the terms of 12 AugustArmistice of Cormons,[1] resulting in the transfer ofVenetia and most ofFriuli to theFrench Empire, who then gave the region to Italy after the consent of the inhabitants through areferendum. This represented the final division of the Habsburg ruledKingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, as theLombard half had already been ceded to the French Empire in the earlier 1859Treaty of Zurich and then by the French Empire to theKingdom of Sardinia. The treaty forced the Austrian government to recognise the sovereignty of the new Italian kingdom. This coupled with the Prussian defeat of Austria made apparent the decline of theHabsburg monarchy as agreat power. The treaty also signalled the rise of Italy as thesixth great power of Europe.[1]
Since 1848 Italian nationalist societies[2] and theKingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia[3] had been trying to unify the post-Napoleonic Italian states into a single Italian nation. The main obstacle to Italian Unification was theHabsburg monarchy, which directly or indirectly controlled much of Italy[4] and was actively invested in keeping Italy divided.[2] To overcome Austrian military might Piedmont (then Italy from 1861) would need to rely on foreign intervention by other European nations. To this end the Piedmontese Prime Minister,Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, forged an alliance with France, agreeing to turn over the French speakingDuchy of Savoy and theCounty of Nice to France in exchange for military support against Austria.[4] This support would be vital to Italian success in theSecond War of Italian Unification, which resulted in the Austrians cedingLombardy to Piedmont.
In mid-June 1866 war broke out between Austria andPrussia over the administration ofSchleswig and Holstein and the future of theGerman Confederation.[5] Italy took advantage of the situation by siding with Prussia in the conflict, declaring war on Austria on 20 June. The Italian government hoped that the ongoing Austro-Prussian campaign would allow their armies to flank the Austrian forces, seizing Venice, Friuli,Trentino, andTrieste with little difficulty. Austrian forces defeated theRoyal Italian Army at theBattle of Custoza[1] and the Italian Navy atBattle of Lissa;[6] however, in the meantime,Giuseppe Garibaldi'svolunteers had advanced in the direction ofTrento in theinvasion of Trentino, winning theBattle of Bezzecca. Later, the Habsburgs were forced to seek an armistice with Italy due to the collapse of their northern armies following the decisiveBattle of Sadowa and the rapid Prussian advance intoBohemia and towards Vienna. On 12 August, anarmistice was signed by Austria and Italy at Cormons bringing an end to the fighting.[1]
During the negotiations of the treaty, Austria agreed to surrender the land of the formerVenetian Republic (present-dayVeneto andFriuli) and theprovince of Mantua. Italian diplomats also attempted to obtainTrentino as far asSalorno, but this was unsuccessful as the Austrians adhered to the text of thearmistice of Cormons, which established the formerKingdom of Lombardy–Venetia as the border between them,[7][8] thus excluding also the Italian speaking areas ofGorizia andTrieste.[1] EmperorFranz Joseph had already agreed to cede Venetia and Mantua to France, in exchange for non-intervention in the Austro-Prussian War, but France, who was acting as intermediary between Prussia and Austria, ceded them to Italy on 19 October, as agreed in a secret treaty in exchange for the earlier Italian acquiescence to the French annexation of Savoy and Nice.[9] In the peace treaty it was written that the annexation would have become effective only after aplebiscite to let the population express their will about being annexed or not to the Kingdom of Italy;[10] this was held on 21 and 22 October, and the result was overwhelmingly in support of joining Italy.[11][6] The treaty also forced Italy to pay a cash indemnity for each Austrian fort present in Venetia, as well as requiring them to assume the state debt Venetia had accumulated while under Austrian control.[1] The treaty required Austria to formally acknowledge the existence of the Kingdom of Italy. Austria was also made to give Italy theIron Crown of Lombardy, the crown used by the medieval Kings ofLombardy and subsequently by theImperial kings of Italy andNapoleon.
For Austria the Treaty of Vienna and the concurrentTreaty of Prague with Prussia were national humiliations, one Austrian general remarked ‘that we [Austria] have sunk to the level of Turkey’.[1] As a result of the twin defeat to both Prussia and Italy the Austrian government incurred a massive state debt, throwing the government into turmoil. With the empire on the brink of collapse the Viennese government was forced to partake in theAustro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which forced the Austrian government to grant significant autonomy to theHungarian portion of the empire. This resulted in the empire being renamed as theAustro-Hungarian Empire and brought about greater equality between Hungarian and German speaking peoples of the empire.[1] With the loss of Venetia Austrian influence on the Italian Peninsula established by theCongress of Vienna was brought to an end. All this combined reinforced the idea that Austria had become a second-rate great power.
The treaty brought the Italian state greater prestige and elevated its diplomatic position in Europe as a great power. However, due to Italy’s poor performance in the war Austria-Hungary was able to retain several strategic mountains passes and mountain peaks in the Alps. This would have serious strategic implications for Italy during theFirst World War when fighting on theAlpine Front against Austria-Hungary.[1]
The Treaty of Vienna was a major milestone for the Unification of Italy, bringing Venice and the Veneto into the Italian State. After the war the Italian King,Victor Emmanuel II, proclaimed that ‘Italy was made but not complete’.[12] Although the treaty secured Venetia for Italy, sects of the Italian government and many Italian nationalists, includingGaribaldi, did not feel Italy had gained enough territory, with many had hoping the treaty would also gain Trieste and Trentino for Italy, with some going as far lay claim to the South Tyrol,Fiume (Rijeka), and theDalmatian Coast.[1] This disappointment became the driving force ofItalian irredentism in the late nineteenth century. It would be this ongoing desire to claim Trieste and Trentino that would be the main cause for Italy’s entry into theFirst World War against Austria-Hungary. After the1919 Paris Peace Settlement Italy’s territorial ambitions would be partially fulfilled with the acquisition of Trentino-South Tyrol, and Trieste, however, it was only underMussolini that the full goals of 1866 would accomplished whenFascist Italy occupied the Dalmatian coast, an acquisition that was reversed following the end of theSecond World War.
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