ed by a
revolutionary uprising to promulgate a constitution which was
identical with that forced in the same year upon Ferdinand VII. of
Spain. This ready-made instrument provided for a popularly elected
parliament of one chamber, upon which were conferred large powers; a
council of state composed of twenty-four members to advise the king;
an independent judiciary; and a parliamentary deputation of seven
members elected by the parliament, whose duty it was, in the event of
the dissolution of parliament, to safeguard the observance of the
constitution. In March, 1821, revolution broke out in Piedmont and,
after the mild-tempered king, Victor Emmanuel, had abdicated in (p. 360)
favor of his brother, Charles Albert, a temporary regent, the Prince
of Carignano, under pressure, conceded to the people a replica of the
Spanish fundamental law. In both Naples and Piedmont, however, the
failure of the progressives was complete. The reformers proved to be
lacking in unity of purpose, and when, under authorization of the
greater continental powers, Austria intervened, every gleam of
constitutionalism was promptly snuffed out. Similarly, in 1831-1832,
there was in Modena, Parma, and the Papal States, widespread
insurrection, and with rather more evidence of a growing national
spirit; but again, with Austrian assistance, the outbreaks were
suppressed.[529]

[Footnote 529: Cambridge Modern History, X., Chap.
4; Johnston, Napoleonic Empire in Southern Italy,
II., Chap. 4; Thayer, Dawn of Italian Independence,
I., 215-278.]

*395. The Revolution of 1848 and the New Constitutions.*--The turning
point came with the great year of revolution, 1848. During the
thirties and forties, by public agitation, by the organization of
Mazzini's "Young Italy," by the circulation of patriotic literature,
and in a variety of other ways, the ground was prepared systematically
for the _risorgimento_ upon which the patriots and the prophets had
set their hearts. In 1846 a liberal-minded pope, Pius IX., instituted
a series of reforms, and the example was followed forthwith by the
princes of Piedmont (Sardinia) and Tuscany. In January, 1848,
revolution broke out afresh in Naples and within a month Ferdinand II.
was obliged to yield to public demand for a constitution. The
instrument, promulgated February 10, provided for a legislative body
consisting of a chamber of peers, appo