Pope dominated Rome and French troops were deployed there to protect him. In 1867 Garibaldi made efforts to acquire Rome but in vain. The Italian politicians were aware that Rome could not be acquired without the cooperation of France. When the war broke out between Prussia and France in 1870, Napoleon called his army back from Rome and in September 1870 Victor Emmanuel II established his dominance over it. Referendum was carried out in Rome and it was merged into Italy and made the capital of united Italy. With the acquisition of Rome, Italy did not remain merely a geographical entity but became an independent and sovereign nation.