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Italy's role in carrying out the Danube Confederation project of 1862
146-161Views:239In the autumn of 1861, a French-Italian-Greek plan was prepared to make Balkan peoples rebel. The leaders of the Hungarian emigration, expecting an upcoming war, consulted on establishing an offensive and defensive alliance between Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Romania. Their aim was, as opposed to in 1848-49, to make the peoples of the Danube region fight against Vienna instead of Pest, thus helping Torino acquire Venice. Ignác Helfy published the essential elements of the emigration discussions in the Alleanza newspaper, edited by himself, titled “Il programma ungherese”, which became a success in the Italian press. The Tribuno newspaper, led by Marco Antonio Canini, besides disputing Alleanza, asked the paper to reveal everything they knew. Shortly thereafter, Canini visited György Klapka and they prepared the plan of the Danubian Confederation - which Victor Emmanuel II approved as well. Canini, preparing for his diplomatic tour in the Balkan region, visited Lajos Kossuth, who thought establishing a defence alliance would be more realistic in that political situation - but Canini convinced him that a confederation had to be created between the nations involved. Kossuth’s comments on Klapka and Canini’s plan were put on paper. However, Helfy indiscreetly published them in his paper, making it impossible for Canini to conduct successful diplomatic negotiations between the countries. Finally, Victor Emmanuel II, who originally wanted one of his relatives to be the ruler of the Greek Kingdom and the leader of the Confederation, withdrew from the plans for the rebellion, due to lack of French support.