Following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, the Free states in the Italian independence discovered it was now possible to join together. Victor Emmanuel wanted such to happen and to gain French support in a war with Austria by giving Nice (pronounced Neess) to France. The result saw the northern and central provinces were united. Giuseppe Garibaldi began unifying the southern provinces and in 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was formed with Venice joining following a war with Austria that saw a Prussian victory in 1866 and Rome in 1870 after taking the chance when French troops were drafted into the Franco-Prussian war. During World War 1, as a finishing touch to the unification that was more or less completed 1870, Trento and Trieste as well as its surroundings including Istria were annexed. What happened to Victor Emmanuel with most of the Italian states unified? Well, he became Victor Emmanuel II from 1861 until his 1878 death.