Europe 1860: Expedition of the Thousand

In return for French support, Sardinia ceded Savoy and Nice to France. Free to move south, the Sardinians secretly sent the famed Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi with a thousand volunteers to land in Sicily and overthrow the powerful Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

This map has in-depth notes in the Journal, exclusive to Patrons on Classical Tier and above. Find them in the events descriptions, marked with the Journal icon .

Main Events

18–22 Mar 1860 Annexation of the United Provinces of Central Italy

Unwilling to break the Treaty of Zürich by annexing the United Provinces of Central Italy, but also unwilling to enforce the treaty by restoring the old regimes, King Victor Emanuel II of Sardinia recalled the former prime minister Cavour in January 1860. Cavour quickly entered into talks with the British and French and, having gained their support, arranged plebiscites in the territories of Central Italy. Backed by the favorable results, the Kingdom of Sardinia annexed the Royal Provinces of Emilia on 18 March and Tuscany on the 22nd. in wikipedia

24 Mar 1860 Treaty of Turin

In exchange for French support in seizing Lombardy–Venetia from the Austrian Empire in 1859, the Kingdom of Sardinia had agreed to cede Nice and Savoy to France, but this pact was broken by Napoleon III’s armistice with the Austrians. To resolve the issue, France accepted Sardinia’s annexation of Central Italy and in return Sardinia signed the Treaty of Turin in March 1860, affirming that it would cede Savoy and Nice on the condition that their populations consented to it. Plebiscites held in both regions the following month overwhelmingly supported French annexation, which took place soon afterwards. in wikipedia

11 May 1860 Landing at Marsala

On 11 May 1860, with the covert support of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi and his 1,089 Redshirts landed at the relatively undefended western Sicilian port of Marsala. Intimidated by the presence of two British warships moored in the port, the navy of the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies did not interfere with the landing and only after the disembarkation did they attack Garibaldi’s two steamships, sinking one and capturing the other. As the Bourbon army had around 90,000 active soldiers and over 50,000 reserves, the authorities anticipated that Garibaldi’s meager force would be swiftly suppressed. in wikipedia

27–28 May 1860 Siege of Palermo

Garibaldi’s Redshirts take Palermoin wikipedia