Ave Victoria

"You can do anything with

Bayonets except sit on them."

What Really Happened: In the 1860s, Italy was in the process of uniting under the banner of Piedmont-Sardinia. With King Vittore Emanuele and his Prime Minister Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, a series of dynamic moves were taken whereby Italy would unite, not unlike Germany under Bismarck.

However, for his efforts, Cavour caught malaria and died in 1861. He had been Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia for just short of ten years, since 1852. His alliance with France had allowed him to double the size of Piedmont-Sardinia after a war with the Hapsburg Empire in 1859, annexing all of Lombardy. The duchies of Parma, Modena, Tuscany, and Romagna joined with Piedmont-Sardinia by popular vote. In exchange for this advance however, Cavour was forced to surrender Nice and Savoy to France. That stage of the war ended when Guiseppe Garibaldi brought the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and Naples into the new nation of Italy. Those were followed by two thirds of the Papal States. Then their remainder, Rome and the immediate environs, in Central Italy and the Austrians in Venetia held out against the rising nation of Italy.

On March 17, 1860, an all-Italian Parliament crowned Vittorre Emmanuel the First King of Italy, and Cavour was made its first prime minister. He then died on June 6, 1861, in Turin.

What Could Have Happened: Cavour could have avoided getting malaria, or lived through it. The temporary antidote, quinine, and the cure were known at the time he became ill. If he had been given better care, and survived, Italy would have surely had a better future.

So, in 1861, after a liberal application of quinine, Cavour lives on as the first prime minister of a united Italy. Though he wishes the capital to eventually be in Rome, for now it is held in Turin, the old capital of Piedmont-Sardinia, with Vittore Emanuele I, King of Italy.

Over the next years, social development continued apace, with the role and power of the monarchy steadily decreasing in favor of the Prime Minister and Parliament. This brought Italy critical support in England and the United States, the latter of which Guiseppe Garibaldi toured, speaking about Italy. Redshirts and Carbonari gave critical support to the Union forces against the "evil autocracy of the Confederate states". In England, Palmerston and the Duke of Cambridge made certain that no one forgot for whom the Piedmontese had fought with in the Crimean War.

No longer was Italy dependant on French support alone for her power, which was just as well as the French troops were the only ones holding Italy out of Rome, which was to the glorious capital of the new nation.

Accordingly, Britain and the United States joyfully began to furnish arms and capital to develop the new nation. That money went to develop railroads throughout the nation, and industry in the south. Soon, Italy became a self-sufficient

In 1866, Austria and Prussia go to war over the issue of Schlesvig-Holstein, resulting in the Austro-Prussian War. Cavour waits for a heartbeat, thinking that the much larger Austrian army will crush the tiny Prussian army much as the Austrians crushed the Italians without France.

To his surprise, the much smaller Prussian army destroys the Austrians at Königgrätz, pushing south of the Elbe River, inflicting 40,000 casualties while receiving only 10,000, capturing 50 artillery pieces. This gives Cavour cause to think, and then act. During the fourth week of the war, as the Hapsburg troops continue to be mauled by the Prussians, Cavour makes overtures to the Prussian minister that he would be interested in seeking an alliance. News reaches Holstein in the Foreign Office, which in turn reaches Bismarck. Bismarck realizes that the offer of an alliance is really Italy trying to find an opportunistic way into the war. He approves, and an alliance is signed before the week is out.

Italy declares war on the Hapsburg Empire, and wrenches from it the provinces of Venetia, Tyrol, Dalmatia, and Istria, as well as the cities of Fiume and Trieste at the end of five weeks. The war ends with the Treaty of Mantua, by which Austria surrender control of the Germanys to the Prussians, even giving up all Silesia, and recognizing the North German Confederation. In the same treaty the Hapsburg Empire gives Italy all territory occupied by its army during the war.

All settles down again, as the Austrians face massive internal difficulties especially in Galicia and Hungary, which for a time they consider giving independence to, only to see those rebellions ended by Russian and Austrian troops. A Dual Monarchy is formed, with one Austrian and one Magyar monarch, though the Austrian Emperor is dominant, Magyars gain large degrees of internal autonomy.

Italy digests her conquests and Italicizes them as best she can, though they are already majority Italian. There are some difficulties in Tyrol, which has a large minority Teutonic population, and Istria, which has a large Slavic minority, as well as Fiume, populated nearly entirely by Slavs.

The new alliance between Italy and Prussia is tested again in 1870 after the Second Empire declares war on the North German Confederation over the Succession to the Spanish throne. Cavour at this point wants to wait and see what is to happen, as France is a military colossus, though the Prussians have beaten Austria. It would also represent a bit of a diplomatic snafu to declare war on a former ally who had so aided Italy a decade earlier.

An aging Garibaldi makes the decision for Cavour, by leading one last crusade of Carbonari into Savoy and Nice to regain his birthplace. At once, all of Italy follows him, and Cavour is forced to declare war on the Second Empire. The Italian army, armed with Colt repeaters, quickly defeats the French Army, which was concentrated in the north, and envelopes the pocket of French troops in Rome.

The Peace of Frankfort and the Treaty of Versailles in November of 1871 see the proclamation both the German and Italian Empires and the birth of the Third Republic. Germany annexes Alsace-Lorraine, while Italy annexes Rome, Savoy, and Nice. The Third Republic will pay the German and Italian Empire a total of 20 million pounds sterling. The Italian Army will occupy Mariasselles, Lyons, Bordeaux, and Vichy until all payments have been made, and the Germans will occupy France north of the Loire until similar payments are made in full. Leopold Hollenzollern is made King of Spain.

Bismarck then comes to visit Cavour in the new Italian capital of Rome, where they discuss plans for the next decade. Bismarck has drawn up a constitution for the German Empire, mainly to suit the current situation, a government centered on Imperial Power, is written up in Genoa in early1872. Cavour moves more and more towards a liberal constitutional monarchy, similar to England. Bismarck is able to get Cavour’s guarantee to isolate France in the scheme European dealings, and to align himself towards England and maintain the alliance with the new German Empire.

To the end of establish a closer link with England, the Crown Prince Umberto marries Princess Louisa on April 20, 1873. Cavour and Bismarck on the Continent and through Alexandra, Vicky, and Victoria in England arranged the marriage. Much like the marriage between Fritz and Vicky, it does prove to be a love match, and is quite successful, though Louisa carries the same ideas in her head to her new nation that Vicky carried to hers, which caused so much trouble in the Prussian court. In this case, Louisa is lucky to have entered a state much further along to becoming a constitutional monarchy.

In 1876, the Russian foreign minister approaches Cavour, and offers an agreement. In the event that Russia goes to war with the Ottoman Empire to protect the ‘ravished Balkans Christians’ Italy will stand aside and not object, and will receive the Ottoman provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Thus assured, Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire on 5 January 1877, supporting the Bulgarian declaration of independence from the Ottomans and general insurrections by the Slavs against the Ottomans. The war, such as any against the Ottomans at this point, quickly proves to be a slaughter for the Turkish armies. The combined armies of Russia and Bulgaria push out across the Balkans, reaching the edge of Greece. They then turned to threaten the city of Constantinople in late February of 1878, only to be halted by the British Mediterranean fleet, under Jackie Fisher. He threatened that England should declare war in the event that Russian Troops attempted to occupy the city. The Russians complied, and withdrew, much to the relief of all involved.

She did, however, force a humiliating peace on the Turks at Prinkipo. The Treaty of Prinkipo, signed on March 8,1878 granted Russia considerable territory in the Caucasus, Dobruja, and the Danube delta; decreed the independence of Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro; and established a large autonomous Bulgarian principality.

At this, Cavour flew into a rage. He was not given the territory he was promised, and his coast was threatened, as was the European balance of power. He appealed to Bismarck and Disraeli, and a Congress of Great Powers was called at Venice in June of 1878. At the conference, Russia and Bulgaria are humiliated. The giant Bulgaria is reduced by two thirds of its territory, and is returned to the Ottoman Empire, as is Romania. The provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are given to Italy as trust territories. For Disraeli it is "Peace with honor" and for Bismarck it "has cemented our alliance with Italy."

While the conference was proceeding in Venice, a terrible string of events unfolded in the German Empire. Kaiser Wilhelm I, the first Kaiser of the German Empire, after reigning for seven years, died. He was assassinated as his carriage passed through the streets of Berlin. Three shots rang out, one hitting him in the heart. Though this upset the conference, all business was completed before the coronation of Kronprinz Freidriech Wilhelm and Viktoria as Kaiser and Kaiserin of Germany.

Upon the return of Bismarck to the German Empire, he finds his job first in jeopardy and then lost, as the new Kaiser sacks old ministers and begins a liberalization program with the help of Baron Stöckmar and his South German shadow cabinet.

They reduce the powers of the Kaiser and the Chancellor, and shift the Reichstag towards more and more power, and even allow it to vote on the ministers nominated by the Kaiser.

Cavour knows that this liberalization will lead to a stronger, and more reliable ally in the long run, and openly supports the democratic moves of Kaiser Fredrick Wilhelm III. He and his wife even visit a synagogue in Hanover with the Kaiser and Kaserin in support of halting Anti-Semitism "A black mark on the human soul." As Cavour calls it. The new Pope respectfully declines to participate in this, considering its recent difficulties in relations with Jews, which helped to aid the decline of the Vatican as a secular power.

With modernization of German government on the move, Cavour returns to Italy in August, to find it deeply changed. The Parliament accepted the Treaty drawn up by the Congress of Venice with great fanfare, and it was unanimously accepted.

A particularly expansionist socialist, Francesco Crispi, leaves his party and founds the Imperialist Party, which is staunchly nationalist and very expansionist. Initially, it has few members, but then others gradually join in from the Republican, Monarchist, Papist, Sicilian, and socialist party.

The new party newspaper, Il Caesaro, openly supports the creation of an empire as a necessity of all great nations that are great powers, saying, "a nation without an empire is like a Russian without a coat. Good as dead."

They gain remarkable ground in the election of 1880, and Cavour realizes that he must harness this new power, defeat it, or be unseated. So, rather than destroy some of the most able political minds in Italy, he harnesses them.

In 1881, the Italian government purchases the Italian shipping corporation that has been running out of the port of Mogadishu, and establishes Italian Somaliland. A mix of Italians emigrate there, mostly bureaucrats, gold diggers, and adventurers.

By early the next year, the Italian government sponsors emigration and the Vatican establishes a Covent, a Monastery, and a mission school. The official number of Italians in Somaliland is 2,000. The Imperialists are pushing harder and harder for more expansion and for emigration. Gangs of hoodlums begin to threaten neighborhoods of Sephardic Jews and Germans living in Italy. The Italian government offers subsides to persecuted groups if they immigrate to Somaliland. Any and all minorities in the Kingdom of Italy seem to pick up and flee to the colonies and to America. By the end of the year, there is a population of 5,000 Italians in Somaliland, along with a garrison of 200 soldiers. Native men and women are rounded up as labor to work on building telegraph lines, roads, railroads, houses, and public buildings. They are paid half that of Italian laborers but are not abused and carry equal rights otherwise. Sometimes, however, native children are kidnapped by either the Catholic Church or Italian soldiers and sent to the mission schools that have begun to dot the landscape of Somaliland.

The pattern continues, and the population of Italians and Italian citizens in Somaliland in 1888 rises to about 7,000, primarily minorities, with a garrison of 500. The Imperialist Party increasingly is looking across the border at the Kingdom of Prester John, Abyssinia, which has not had European troops enter it since 1868, under the British Napier Expedition. The Imperialists are marshaling support for a war to establish a colony, if not that, then a protectorate. A series of treaties written and signed lead to a major diplomatic incident in February of 1889. The Treaty of Assisi, when represented to the Negus of Ethiopia, is different from that the Italians have. The Italian version turns Abyssinia into a protectorate in all but name. Furious, Menelik II asks for the treaty to be redrawn, and meanwhile looks for allies. The Third Republic has its hands full trying to adapt Morocco to their interest. England will not support a nation against their daughter, the Crown Princess of Italy. Russia would like to help, but is too poor, and is too far away.

Therefore, at Easter, Negus Menelik II writes an open letter to all nations of Europe affirming his boundaries and hinting that he will defend them. "I have no intention of being an indifferent spectator if far-distant Powers make their appearance with the idea of dividing Africa, -- Ethiopia, having been for fourteen centuries an island of Christians amongst a sea of Pagans. As the Almighty has protected Ethiopia to this day, I am confident that He will protect and increase her in the future."

The Italians continue to make provocations, such as special trade agreements, and allowing that the local consulate to try all Italians, and never by Ethiopian courts for any crime they commit in Abyssinia.

Menelik refuses the concessions outlined in the treaty in the fall of 1889, and writes that he can no longer tolerate the incursions by Italian forces and declares war on Italy. "God, in his bounty, has struck down my enemies and enlarged my empire and preserved me to this day," he declares. "I have reigned by the grace of God.... Enemies have come who would ruin our country and change our religion. They have passed beyond the sea which God gave us as our frontier.... These enemies have advanced, burrowing into the country like moles. With God's help I will get rid of them."

Unfortunately, he is terribly wrong. The Italian Army much better trained and better armed than in OTL, enters Abyssinia in droves, with more on the way from Italy itself. The Abyssinian army, trained and armed by the French, makes stiff resistance at first, but then begins to break down. At the end of two months, the capital is taken, and Menelik II is executed. His son and wife flee to Addis Tigre, and attempt to form a new government. The outcome is never in doubt.

The Italians locate a proper member of the Abyssinian Royal family, crown him Negus of the Kingdom of Abyssinia, and then declare total protectorate over the entire nation. Italy controls the Horn of Africa from the Sudan to Uganda. Garrisons are established throughout the kingdom, and all seems to go well, as poorer southern Italians move into the new colony. It develops a thoroughly Sicilian and Neapolitan flavor in its fused culture. Orthodox Christendom continues to dominate the locals, and is maintained legally, whereas Islam is outlawed.

1892 proves to be an anus horriblus for the Italian Empire and Germany. First, the King of Italy is stabbed to death by an anarchist in the streets of Fiume. His son, Umberto is crowned king with his British wife made Queen Luisa, who has hurried home from England, where she has watched her brother, Albert Victor, recover from typhoid. The ailing German Kaiser, Fredriech Wilhelm, dies of lung cancer, to be replaced with his autocratic son, Wilhelm II.

Because of the new Kaiser the alliance goes under great strain. However, through the creation of Heberth Bismarck as Imperial Chancellor, a pragmatic solution is found. The German Empire maintains alliances with Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. The former two are public, the latter is secret, as Austria-Hungary and Italy could not abide by being forcibly allied to Russia.

The balance of power is stable in Europe, at least for the moment. There hiccups are coming from the Balkans, the three powers involved know well enough not to try anything for now, with Austria-Hungary cut off by Italian. However, Russia is arming and backing her Slavic siblings, making the Balkans a place to watch, however slow they may develop.

The colonies also prove to be important. Though Lord HH Kitchner of Khartoum had defeated the Mahdists, they are not gone. With the brutal suppression of Islam within the borders of Italian Abyssinia, they easily find sympathizers and safe haven, especially in the southern city of Goba. Though their existence is surely a threat to continued Italian colonial stability, it would have been graver had it come a generation before. For now the first generation of children trained by mission schools become administrators, doctors, and lawyers, and major anchors in their community. None of them were drafted from the Muslim population though, and are only just barely about to balance against the Muslim population, though the Orthodox Christians now enjoy a higher standard of living and more wealth. An Orthodox Christian lawyer even presides over the opening of the complete Abyssinian Railway, which ties the nation together for transport and military purposes.

Revolt by the Moslems is never far from the minds of those in power in Abyssinia, and major conversion efforts are launched, which mostly fail. The Moslems are resistant, and pretend to practice a form of Protestantism, which the Italians don’t believe. The Italian government hedges its bets in their colony by garrisoning it with a mix of native and Italian troops. A percentage of the graduates from the mission schools are drafted into the Armia Italiane Imperial d’Abyssinie. This should probably hold down problematic locals.

An international crisis that could lead to war erupts in 1896, when the King of Siam dies without naming an heir. Much like the collapse of the 1870s, this one can and will lead to a violent civil war. With the rotting kingdom wedged between French Indochina and British Myanmar, it is a key piece of territory. The French have come over the Mekong Delta and are attempting to claim Siam as part of the Colony of Indochina, much to the consternation one of the Regents to the Kingdom of Siam. He prevails upon the British government to aid Siam. Realizing the delicacy of the situation, Lord Salisbury calls an international conference in London.

There, the French attempt to stake their claim, but lack support. The British do not want to directly control Siam, as it would create another border problem, as in east Africa. The British would prefer a friendly nation or a neutral occupy it. So, with the backing of the Germans and the Austro-Hungarians, the Italian Empire is given protectorate over the Kingdom of Siam. Bosnia is given to Austria-Hungary. Herzegovina, Istria, and Dalmatia are made full provinces of Italy.

And that’s about where I’ll wrap this one up for this issue. What do you think of this so far? In 30+ years the world has changed a great deal, and a great deal for the better. The Great War of 1914 will not start, or, at least, not as we remember it. There will likely be a war between the two burgeoning alliance systems. Italy and France have more than a few issues to fight over, and the issue of Alsace-Lorraine stil rankles between Germany and France.

This Italy is much stronger than she was in OTL, and proves to be a much more important player in European politics, her colonies spanning the world and proving to be more stragetically critical than in OTL. Now, when will Cavour die? He was born five years after Bismarck, who died in 1898, but I suppose Cavour could die sooner than that. When he dies, he will likely be suceeded by Crispi, who will likely engage in a war agains the Ottoman Empire to take Tripoltania and Cressonia, if not more.