The recent plebiscite in Tuscany had established that the vast majority of Tuscans wished to be annexed by Piedmont-Sardinia so as to join the swiftly moving march towards a united Italy. Victor Emmanuel II decreed this so on March 22, 1860. From Dresden in Germany, the deposed Ferdinand, Grand Duke of Tuscany, made an official protest against this act and appealed to the French Emperor and the international community. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Great Britain, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, British and Foreign State Papers, Vol. 57 (London, H.M.S.O., 1871), 1033-1036.