Y215: Italy and Unification 1789-1896 | OCR A-Level History A (H505)
Y215: Italy and Unification 1789-1896
- 80 questions
- 8 subtopics
- Non-British period study, one of twenty-four
- Y201 to Y224
Italy and Unification 1789–1896 is unit Y215 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-four options in unit group 2, the non-British period study; a student sits one of them.
Its four key topics are Italy 1789–1847, the Revolutions of 1848–1849 and their aftermath, the Risorgimento and the establishment of a new Kingdom of Italy 1850–1861, Italy 1861–1896. 80 recall questions across 8 subtopics.
Sample questions from Y215: Italy and Unification 1789-1896
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Italy 1789–1847: Italy in 1789, Napoleonic rule and the Vienna Settlement
What was the immediate impact of the French Revolution on Italy?
Show the answer
French armies from 1796 swept away the old states and set up satellite republics such as the Cisalpine, the Roman and the short-lived Parthenopean Republic of 1799, giving a minority of educated Italians their first taste of constitutional government. -
Italy 1789–1847: Carbonari, revolutions of 1820–1821 and 1831, extent of support for nationalism
Describe the revolutions of 1831.
Show the answer
Risings inspired by the July Revolution in France seized Modena, Parma and the Papal Legations and set up provisional governments, but Austrian troops crushed them within weeks and Menotti was executed. -
The Revolutions of 1848–1849 and their aftermath: the revolutions of 1848 and the war with Austria
What happened in Venice in 1848?
Show the answer
Manin was freed from prison, led a rising that expelled the Austrians, and proclaimed the Republic of St Mark, which held out longer than any other revolutionary government. -
The Revolutions of 1848–1849 and their aftermath: the failure of the revolutions and Piedmont after 1849
Why did the revolutions of 1848–49 fail?
Show the answer
The revolutionaries were divided between republicans, federalists and supporters of Piedmont, town and countryside pulled apart, no state could match the Austrian army, the Pope withdrew, and France intervened against Rome rather than for Italy. -
The Risorgimento and the establishment of a new Kingdom of Italy 1850–1861: Cavour, Plombières and the war of 1859
Describe the Italian National Society.
Show the answer
Founded in 1857 by La Farina and Manin with Garibaldi as vice-president, it united moderates and disillusioned republicans behind the programme of unification under the Piedmontese monarchy. -
The Risorgimento and the establishment of a new Kingdom of Italy 1850–1861: Garibaldi and the new kingdom
How did Cavour respond to Garibaldi's success?
Show the answer
He publicly disowned the expedition while privately allowing it to sail, tried to have Sicily annexed at once to take it out of Garibaldi's hands, and feared that a march on Rome would bring French intervention. -
Italy 1861–1896: Piedmontisation 1861–1870, Brigands’ War and the policies of the new Italy
How did the government suppress the brigands?
Show the answer
The Pica Law of 1863 imposed military tribunals, summary execution and deportation across whole provinces, and the campaign cost more Italian lives than all the wars of unification. -
Italy 1861–1896: Rome, the south, Crispi and colonial expansion
Outline the main problems of the Mezzogiorno.
Show the answer
Great estates worked by landless labourers, exhausted soil and deforestation, malaria, almost universal illiteracy, no industry and heavy taxation left the south far poorer than the north.
The 8 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Italy 1789–1847: Italy in 1789, Napoleonic rule and the Vienna Settlement | Recall questions on how Italy was governed and divided in 1789, the impact of the French Revolution, Napoleonic Italy and its legacy, the Vienna Settlement and Austrian domination. | 8 |
| Italy 1789–1847: Carbonari, revolutions of 1820–1821 and 1831, extent of support for nationalism | Recall questions on the Carbonari, the revolutions of 1820–1821 and 1831, the influence of intellectuals and nationalist movements, extent of support for nationalism. | 12 |
| The Revolutions of 1848–1849 and their aftermath: the revolutions of 1848 and the war with Austria | Recall questions on the outbreak of revolution, the constitutions of 1848, the Five Days of Milan, Venice, Charles Albert’s war, the papal allocution and the Roman Republic under Mazzini. | 9 |
| The Revolutions of 1848–1849 and their aftermath: the failure of the revolutions and Piedmont after 1849 | Recall questions on the fall of the Roman Republic, Novara, the end of revolution in Venice and the south, why 1848–49 failed, the Statuto, Moncalieri, the Siccardi Laws, Cavour’s rise and Victor Emmanuel II. | 11 |
| The Risorgimento and the establishment of a new Kingdom of Italy 1850–1861: Cavour, Plombières and the war of 1859 | Recall questions on the Crimean War and Congress of Paris, the National Society, the Orsini attempt, Plombières, the provoking of Austria, the war of 1859 and the armistice of Villafranca. | 8 |
| The Risorgimento and the establishment of a new Kingdom of Italy 1850–1861: Garibaldi and the new kingdom | Recall questions on the annexation of the central duchies and its price, Garibaldi’s Thousand in Sicily and on the mainland, Cavour’s response, the invasion of the Papal States, Teano and the proclamation and character of the kingdom. | 12 |
| Italy 1861–1896: Piedmontisation 1861–1870, Brigands’ War and the policies of the new Italy | Recall questions on Piedmontisation 1861–1870, Brigands’ War and the policies of the new Italy. | 9 |
| Italy 1861–1896: Rome, the south, Crispi and colonial expansion | Recall questions on the Law of Guarantees and the papacy, Italian unity in 1871, the Mezzogiorno and rural poverty, trasformismo and the Left, Crispi, economic troubles, the Triple Alliance and expansion in Africa. | 11 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby units
OCR A-Level History A Active Recall Guide
Every unit, not just this one. 6,240 questions with their answers.