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Sardinia and the War - Part 5© Herman van Meir
To Albert VOET,
Zwijndrecht
Diplomatic activities had not ceased with the entry of Sardinia into the Crimean War. On June 1st, 1855, one day after he took over Foreign Affairs from Cavour, Cibrario wrote to Villamarina, his representative in Paris, to gain assurances for the presence of the Sardinian Government at any peace conference, for they were not sure to be invited. At the peace conference in March in Vienna, the Kingdom of Sardinia, although already part of the alliance with the French and British, were completely left out of the conference. And when they protested, all they got from Thouvenel, then in charge of French Foreign Affairs, were some vague promises. On June 17th Cibrario got an answer: for all topics in which they were involved, the Sardinians could actively take part in the discussions. For the other topics they would be 'kept informed' by the allies. This was not the answer the Piedmonts hoped for - they wanted to be treated in the same way as their allies. In the 19th century, this was a very bold objective. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, it was stated that the Secondary States would be invited whenever their interests were discussed. These ‘Congress of Vienna’ principles were still valid. For this important dispensation claimed by the Piedmonts, discussions lasted till the start of the peace conference in Paris and were eventually decided in favour of Sardinia albeit with some implicit, tacit, restrictions. After the Battle of the Tchernaya, the attitude of the other allies towards the Sardinians had profoundly changed. Not only was it much easier for them to obtain locations for hospitals, or stores and ammunition dumps in Turkey, but also they had scored on the diplomatic front. In 1855, the World Fair (Exposition Universelle) took place in Paris. Queen Victoria had already visited the Fair at the invitation of the French Emperor. In September (after the Battle of the Tchernaya!) a visit of the Sardinian King was planned for October 20th. Due the King’s illness the visit had to be postponed for a month, and he left on November 20th. The visit of the Sardinian delegation - the King was accompanied by d’Azeglio and Cavour- was, as a state visit, a complete success. However on the diplomatic side the direct results were not evident. At that time, Austria was trying to gain credence as mediator to end the war by peaceful means, and was promoting intense diplomatic activities in London, Paris and Saint Petersburg. Turin of course was excluded. The Allies now had divergent opinions, France and its Emperor had won their battles and wanted peace, London longed for a victory and was more induced to continue the campaign. Sardinia, although not asked for an opinion, was also more inclined to continue the war and to obtain more glory.
The copyright of the article Sardinia and the War - Part 5 in Crimean War is owned by Herman van Meir. Permission to republish Sardinia and the War - Part 5 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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