CAVOUR, CAMILLO BENSO, COUNT (1810-1861), Ital ian statesman, was born at Turin on Aug. 1, 181o. Being a younger son (his brother Gustavo was the eldest) Cavour was destined for the army, and became an engineer officer. He soon developed strongly marked Liberal tendencies and an uncom promising dislike for absolutism and clericalism, which made him a suspect in the eyes of the police and of the reactionaries. After the accession to the throne of Charles Albert, whom he always distrusted, he resigned his commission (1831) . During the next few years he devoted himself to the study of political and social problems, to foreign travel, and to acquiring a thorough knowl edge of practical agriculture. Cavour's political ideas were greatly influenced by the July revolution of 183o in France, which proved that an historic monarchy was not incompatible with Liberal principles, and he became more than ever convinced of the bene fits of a constitutional 'monarchy as opposed both to despotism and to republicanism. He applied his knowledge of agriculture to the management of his father's estate at Leri, which he greatly im proved, he founded the Piedmontese Agricultural Society, and took the lead in promoting the introduction of steam navigation, railways and factories into the country. Thus his mind gradually evolved, and he began to dream dreams of a united Italy free of foreign influence. In 1847 the psychological moment seemed to have arrived, for the new pope, Pius IX., showed Liberal tenden cies and seemed ready to lead all the forces of Italian patriotism against the Austrian domination. Cavour, although he realized that a really Liberal pope was an impossibility, saw the im portance of the movement and the necessity of profiting by it. He founded a newspaper at Turin called II Risorgimento, which advo cated the ideas of constitutional reform. In Jan. 1848 the revolu tion first broke out in Sicily, and Cavour, in a speech before a dele gation of journalists, declared that the king must take a decided line and grant his people a constitution. Charles Albert, of ter much hesitation, was induced to grant a charter of liberties (Feb. 8, 1848). Cavour continued his journalistic activity, and his articles in the Risorgimento came to exercise great influence both on the king and on public opinion. When the news of the revolt of the Milanese against the Austrians reached Turin on March 19, Cavour advocated war against Austria. His article in the Risor gimento made such an impression that it put an end to the king's vacillations, and a few days after its appearance war was declared (March 25).
During the war elections were held in Piedmont. Cavour was returned in June, and he took his seat in parliament on the right as a Conservative. He was not a good speaker, but he gradu ally developed a strong argumentative power, and he rose at times to the highest level of an eloquence which was never rhetorical. After the dissolution in Jan. 1849, Cavour was not re-elected. The new parliament had to discuss, in the first instance, the all-im portant question of whether the campaign should be continued now that the armistice was about to expire. The king decided on a last desperate throw, and recommenced hostilities. On March 23 the Piedmontese were totally defeated at Novara, a disaster which was followed immediately by the abdication of Charles Albert in favour of his son Victor Emmanuel II. The new king was obliged to conclude peace with Austria and the Italian revo lution was crushed, but Cavour did not despair. There were fresh elections in July, and this time Cavour was returned. His speech on March 7, 185o, in which he said that, "Piedmont, gathering to itself all the living forces of Italy, would be soon in a position to lead our mother-country to the high destinies to which she is called," struck the first note of encouragement after the dark days of the preceding year. He supported the ministry of which Mas simo d'Azeglio was president in its work of reform and restora tion, and in October of the same year, on the death of Santa Rosa, he himself was appointed minister of agriculture, industry and commerce. In 1851 he also assumed the portfolio of finance, and devoted himself to the task of reorganizing the Piedmontese finances. By far the ablest man in the cabinet, he soon came to dominate it, but as a result of a quarrel with d'Azeglio he resigned ; he made use of his freedom to visit England and France again, in order to sound public opinion on the Italian question. In London he found the leaders of both parties friendly. At this time Sir James Hudson was appointed British minister at Turin, where he became the intimate friend of Cavour and gave him valuable assistance. In Paris, Cavour had a long interview with Prince Louis Napoleon, then president of the republic, and also met several Italian exiles in France.
On Cavour's return he found a new cabinet crisis, and was invited to form a ministry. By Nov. 4, he was prime minister. He devoted the first years of his premiership to developing the eco nomic resources of the country; but in preparing it for greater destinies, he had to meet the heavy expenditure by increased tax ation. Cavour's first international difficulty was with Austria; after the abortive rising at Milan in Feb. 1853, the Austrian Government, in addition to other measures of repression, con fiscated the estates of those Lombards who had become natural ized Piedmontese, although they had nothing to do with the out break. Cavour took a strong line on this question, and on Aus tria's refusal to withdraw the obnoxious decree, he recalled the Piedmontese minister from Vienna. Then followed the Crimean War, in which Cavour first showed his extraordinary political insight and diplomatic genius. In spite of many difficulties and opposition from both extreme Conservatives and Radicals, he negotiated Piedmontese participation in the campaign as a means of bringing the Italian question before the Great Powers. General Dabormida, the minister of foreign affairs, disapproved of this policy and resigned. The vacant portfolio was offered to d'Azeglio, who refused it ; whereupon Cavour assumed it himself. On the same day ( Jan. i o, 1855) the treaty with France and England was signed, and shortly afterwards r 5,000 Piedmontese troops under General La Marmora were despatched to the Crimea.
Events at first seemed to justify the fears of Cavour's op ponents. Cholera attacked the Piedmontese soldiers, who for a long time had no occasion to distinguish themselves in action; public opinion became despondent and began to blame Cavour, and even he himself lost heart. Then came the news of the battle of the Tchernaya, fought and won by the Italians, which turned sadness and doubt into jubilation. Joy was felt throughout Italy, especially at Milan, where the victory was the first sign of day light amid the gloom caused by the return of the Austrians. On the summoning of the Congress of Paris at the conclusion of the war, Cavour represented Piedmont. After much discussion, and in spite of the opposition of Austria, who as mediator occupied a predominant position, Cavour obtained that Piedmont should be treated as one of the Great Powers. By his marvellous diplomatic skill, far superior to that of his colleagues, he first succeeded in isolating Austria, secondly in indirectly compromising Napoleon in the Italian question, and thirdly in getting the wretched condi tions of Italy discussed by the representatives of the Great Powers. It was now manifest that the liberation of Italy was personified in him. Cavour's chief measure of internal reform during this period was a bill for suppressing all monastic orders unconnected with education, preaching or charity; this aroused strong opposition and led to the minister's resignation. But he was soon recalled, for the country could not do without him, and the bill was passed (May 29, 1855)• Cavour now saw that war with Austria was merely a question of time, and he began to establish connections with the revolu tionaries of all parts of Italy. He continued to strengthen Pied mont's military resources, but he well knew that Piedmont could not defeat Austria single-handed. He would have preferred an alliance with Great Britain, who would never demand territorial compensation; but although British sympathies were with Italy, the British Government was keenly anxious to avoid war. From Napoleon more was to be hoped, for the emperor still preserved some of his revolutionary instincts, while the insecurity of his situation at home made him eager to gain popularity by winning military glory abroad ; but he still hesitated, and Cavour devoted the whole of his ability to overcoming his doubts. In spite of the Orsini outrage, an "accidental" meeting between Napoleon and Cavour was arranged and took place at Plombieres in July, and although no definite treaty was signed the basis of an agreement was laid, whereby France and Piedmont were to declare war against Austria with the object of expelling her from Italy, and a north Italian State was to be formed ; in exchange for this help France was to receive Savoy and possibly Nice. A marriage was to be arranged between Prince Jerome Bonaparte and Princess Clothilde, Victor Emmanuel's daughter. But the emperor still hesitated, and Cavour saw that the only way to overcome the many obstacles in his path was to force Austria's hand. Then there was the danger lest an Italy freed by French arms should be overwhelmed under French predominance; for this reason Cavour was determined to secure the co-operation of volunteers from other parts of Italy, and that the war should be accompanied by a series of risings against Austria and the local despots.
The moment war was seen to be imminent, parties of Italians of all classes, especially Lombards, poured into Piedmont to enlist in the army. Cavour also had a secret interview with Garibaldi, with whom he arranged to organize volunteer corps so that the army should be not merely that of Piedmont, but of all Italy. Every day the situation grew more critical, and on Jan. 1o, 1859 the king in his speech from the throne pronounced the memorable words "that he could not remain deaf to the cry of pain (il grido di dolore) that reached him from all parts of Italy" —words which, although actually suggested by Napoleon, rang like a trumpet-call throughout the land. In the meanwhile the marriage negotiations were concluded, and during the emperor's visit to Turin a military convention was signed between the two States, and Savoy and Nice were promised to France as a reward for the expulsion of the Austrians from Italy. But Napoleon, ever hesitating, jumped at the Russian proposal to settle the Italian question by means of his own favourite expedient, a con gress. To this Austria agreed on condition that Piedmont should disarm and should be excluded from the congress; England sup ported the scheme, but desired that all the Italian States should be represented. Cavour was in despair at the turn events were taking but decided at last reluctantly to accept the proposal, lest Piedmont should be abandoned by all, while he clung to the hope that Austria would reject it. On April 19, the Austrian emperor, on the advice of the military party, did reject it; and on the 23rd, to Cavour's inexpressible joy, Austria sent an ultimatum demand ing the disarmament of Piedmont. Cavour replied that his Gov ernment had agreed to the congress proposed by the Powers and that it had nothing more to say. On quitting the chamber that day he said to a friend : "I am leaving the last sitting of the last Piedmontese parliament"—the next would represent united Italy. France now allied herself definitely with Piedmont, and England, delighted at Cavour's acquiescence became wholly friendly to the Italian cause. A few days later Austria declared war.
As La Marmora now took the chief command of the army Cavour added the ministry of war to the others he already held. His activity at this time was astounding, for he was virtually dictator and controlled single-handed nearly all the chief offices of the State. The French and Piedmontese forces defeated the Austrians in several battles, and the people rose in arms at Parma, Modena, Florence and Bologna; the local princes were expelled and provisional governments set up. Cavour sent special commis sioners to take charge of the various provinces in Victor Emman uel's name. But these events, together with Prussia's menacing attitude, began to alarm Napoleon, who, after Solferino, con cluded an armistice with Austria at Villafranca on July 8, without previously informing Cavour. When Cavour heard of it he was thunderstruck; he immediately interviewed the king at Monzam bano, and in violent, almost disrespectful language implored him not to make peace until Venice was free. But Victor Emmanuel saw that nothing was to be gained by a refusal, and much against his own inclination, signed the peace preliminaries at Villafranca, adding the phrase, "pour ce qui me concerne," which meant that he was not responsible for what the people of other parts of Italy might do (July 12). Lombardy was to be ceded to Pied mont, Venetia to remain Austrian, the deposed princes to be rein stated, and the pope made president of an Italian confederation.
The cabinet resigned the next day, and Cavour privately advised the revolutionists of central Italy to resist the return of the princes, by force if necessary. Palmerston, who had mean while succeeded Malmesbury as foreign minister, informed France and Austria that Great Britain would never tolerate their armed intervention in favour of the central Italian despots. On Nov. To, peace was signed at Zurich, and on the fall of the Rattazzi-La Marmora cabinet the king, in spite of the quarrel at Monzam bano, asked Cavour to take office again. Napoleon still refused to consent to the union of Tuscany with Piedmont, and Cavour saw that Napoleon might be ready to deal ; although the bargain of the preceding year had not been exactly fulfilled, as the Aus trians were still in Venice, he again brought forward the ques tion of Nice and Savoy. On March 24, the treaty was signed, and the emperor's opposition to the annexation of central Italy with drawn. On April 2, the parliament representing Piedmont, the duchies of Parma and Modena, Tuscany and Romagna, met, and Cavour had the difficult and ungrateful task of explaining the cession of Nice and Savoy. In spite of some opposition, the agreement was ratified by a large majority.
The situation in the kingdom of Naples was now becoming critical, and Cavour had to follow a somewhat double-faced policy, on the one hand negotiating with the Bourbon king (Fran cis II.), suggesting a division of Italy between him and Victor Emmanuel, and on the other secretly backing up the revolutionary agitation. Having now learnt that Garibaldi was planning an expedition to Sicily with his volunteers, he decided not to oppose its departure; on May 5, it sailed from Quarto near Genoa. Gari baldi with his immortal Thousand landed at Marsala, and the whole rotten fabric of the Bourbon Government collapsed. He crossed over to the mainland, and entered Naples in triumph. But Cavour feared, that, although Garibaldi himself had always loyally acted in the king of Italy's name, the republicans around him might lead him to commit some imprudence and plunge the country into anarchy, and that Garibaldi might invade the papal States, which would have led to further international complica tions. But the pope had made considerable armaments; his forces, consisting largely of brigands and foreigners under the French general Lamoriciere, maintained a menacing attitude on the fron tier; Cavour decided on the momentous step of annexing the papal States with the exception of the Roman province. The Italian forces crossed the frontier from Romagna on Sept. 11, and were everywhere received with open arms by the people; Ancona was taken, Lamoriciere was defeated and captured at the battle of Castelfidardo, and on the loth King Victor marched into the Neapolitan kingdom. On Oct. 1, Garibaldi defeated the Neapoli tan troops on the Volturno, and Gaeta alone, where King Francis of Naples had retired, still held out.
Cavour had to use all his tact to restrain Garibaldi from march ing on Rome and at the same time not to appear ungrateful. He refused to act despotically, and summoned parliament to vote on the annexation, which it did on the iith. Two days later Gari baldi magnanimously gave in to the nation's will and handed his conquests over to King Victor as a free gift. Gaeta sur rendered on Feb. 13, and King Francis retired to Rome. Par liament was dissolved once more; the new chamber showed an overwhelming majority in favour of Cavour, and Victor Em manuel was proclaimed king of Italy.
The last question with which Cavour had to deal was that of Rome. In October he declared in parliament that Rome must be the capital of Italy, for no other city was recognized as such by the whole country, and in Jan. 1861 a resolution to that effect was passed. But owing to Napoleon's attitude he had to proceed warily, and made no attempt for the present to carry out the nation's wishes. At the same time he was anxious that the Church should preserve the fullest liberty, amid he believed in the prin ciple of "a free Church in a free State." The long strain of these last years had been almost unbearable, and at last began to tell ; the negotiations with Garibaldi were particularly trying, for while the great statesman wished to treat the hero and his volunteers generously, he could not permit all the Garibaldian officers to be received into the regular army with the same ranks they held in the volunteer forces. This question, together with that of Nice, led to a painful scene in the chamber between the two men, although they were formally reconciled a few days later. For some time past Cavour had been unwell and irritable, and the scene with Garibaldi undoubtedly hastened his end. A fever set in, and after a short illness he passed away on June 6, 1861. He was buried on his ancestral estate of Santena.
The death of Cavour was a terrible loss to Italy; there remained many problems to be solved in which his genius and personality were urgently needed. But the great work had been carried to such a point that lesser men might now complete the structure. He is undoubtedly the greatest figure of the Risorgimento, and although other men and other forces co-operated in the move ment, it was Cavour who organized it and skilfully conducted the negotiations necessary to overcome all, apparently insuperable, obstacles. (L. V.) BIBLIOGRAPHY.--C. Benso di Cavour, Opere politico-economiche Bibliography.--C. Benso di Cavour, Opere politico-economiche (Cuneo, 1855) and Discorsi parlamentari (Turin, 1863-72) ; W. de la Rive, Le Comte de Cavour (1862), the work of a contemporary and intimate friend; H. von Treitschke, "Cavour" in his Historische and politische Aufsdtze (Leipzig, 1871) ; G. Massari, Il Conte di Cavour (Turin, 1873) ; L. Chiala, Lettere edite ed inedite del Conte di Cavour (Turin, 1883-87) ; D. Zanichelli, Gli Scritti del Conte di Cavour (Bologna, 1892), and Cavour (Florence, 19o5) ; G. Buzzaconi, Bibliografia Cavouriana (Turin, 1898) ; Countess E. Martinengo Ces aresco, Cavour (London, 1898), an excellent little monograph; F. X. Krauss, Cavour (Mainz, 1902); E. Artom, L'Opere politica del Sena tore I. nel Risorgimento Italiano (Bologna, 1905), a biography of Cavour's devoted private secretary, containing new material ; W. R. Thayer, Life and Times of Cavour (1911) ; F. Ruffeni, La Giovinezza del Conte di Cavour (1912) ; P. Orsi, Cavour and the Making of Mod ern Italy (new ed. 1926) ; G. M. Paleologue, Cavour (1926) ; Il Car teggio (Bologna, 1926) .