Did Britain support Italian unification in order to eliminate the merchant navy of Naples as a competitor?
Short answerNo. Unification enlarged and combined Italian maritime capacity rather than removing the merchant fleet of Naples.
NotesA viewer proposes that Britain supported Italian unification in order to remove the merchant navy of Naples as a competitor. The explanation fails because creating a larger Italian state would not make Neapolitan shipping disappear. Unification instead combined that capacity with the maritime resources associated with places such as Venice and Genoa. An account of foreign policy should be tested against the material consequence of the policy it claims to explain.