Garibaldi and Italy

• Early life. 
• Disciple of Mazzini.
• Revolutions of 1848-49.
• The Roman Republic.
• The march to the coast.

• Giuseppe Garibaldi was born a French citizen in Nice in 1807.
• He was only 8 years old when Nice became a part of Piedmont in the Congress Of Vienna in 1815. 
• He met Mazzini in 1831 where he decided to become a nationaist. 

• Mazzini was the founder of Young Italy - 1831. 
• He believed that Italy should be free, independent and united.
• Believed that the peole should have a say in the government. 
• Mazzinins greatest gift was inspiring others. 
• His greatest follower was Garibaldi. 
• He was quickly converted to the dream of a united Italy. 
• Joined 'Young Italy' movement. 
• 1833 became involved with Mazzinis revolutionary plans. 
• This failed and he had to flee due to a death sentence. 

• Hearing rumours that there were revolutions in Italy, Garibaldi returned home. 
• Accompanied by 60 of his men.
• Arrived in Nice.
• Offered military services to Charles Albert, King of Piedmont. 
• King didn't trust Garibaldi so refused his offer. 
• Nobody seemed to want or trust Garibaldi. 

• Enlisted in the army of the revolutionary government of Milan in Lombardy.
• Charles Alberts army was defeated at Custoza before him and his men could get close to any action. 
• An Austrian general later remarked that the one man who could have helped Piedmont win the 1848 war, they turned their backs on. 

• Garibaldi believed that only Charles Albert had the resources and army to defeat Austria and unite Italy - he was wrong. 
• Garibald abandoned the republican preference. 
• Mazzini was hurt.
• Charles Albert failed at first to welcome his new follower.
• But Garibaldi was always thinking about finding a cause for Italian unity. 
• But he could no way see that by attatching himself to Charles Albert that this is what would happen. 

• Roman Republic was declared in February 1849.
• Pope refused to make political changes to the government of Rome and was forced to escape from the city to saftey in Southern Italy. 
• Republic was short lived.
• Survived for about four months. 
• Lead by Mazzini. 
• Under his influence, Rome had never been goverened. 

• Garibaldi and the legionaries arrivedin Rome as teh city prepared.
• Garibaldi appeared a striking figure, aptrolling the city defences. 

• Pope appealed to Austria and Spain for help. 
• Louis Napoleon of France, came to help. 
• French army arrived at the gates of Rome but were driven back. 
• French reinforcments arrived.
• They were toostrong and at the beginning of July the Roman Republic fell to the soldiers of the French Republic. 

• Assemdly appointed him as 'dictator' of Rome.
• He outlined possible actions to the Assembly:

- to surrender the city

- to continue fighting inside the city

- withdraw as many men as pissble towards Venetia where the Republic was still holding out against the Austrian army.

• He collected nearly 5000 men and forced to march towards the Adriatic coast. 
• Over 800 kilometers.
• Only 1500 men reached the coast.
• Garibaldis wife died.
• Garibaldi escaped to Genoa where he was arrested but later freed on the condition that he left Italy straight away. 
• He set sail across the Atlantic, this time for North America. 

• Exile and royal service 1849-59.
• The expedition to Sicily.
• Cavour's attitude.
• Success in Sicily.
• Governing Sicily.
• Naples.
• Cavour forestalls Garibaldi. 
• Unification almost complete.

• Inherited some money from his brother. 
• Bought half a small island off the coast of Sardinia.
• Took up farming there and was able to keep in touch with events in Italy through National Society.
• Worked for unification of Italy not as a republic but as a monarchy under the leadership of the King of Piedmont. 
• Victor Emmanuel II was now King of Piedmont.
• He was much more politically able than he appeared and managed to keep on good terms with both Cavour and Garibaldi.
• Cavour was now chief minister. 
• After the meeting with Napoleon III and Cavour at Plombieres in 1858, Cavour sent Garibaldi an invitation to visit Turin. 
• Garibaldi was given detailsof the plans for forcing war on Austria in 1859. 
• French and Piedmontese troops were able to conquer Lombardy.
• Garibaldis men played an important part in the fighting in Northern Italy.
• Victor Emmanuel was now King of all of Northern Italy apart from Venetia which was still under Austrian control. 
• Nice and Savoy were now handed over to the French  - bitter blow to Garibaldi as this was his birth place. 

• April 1860 - revolt started in Palermo in Sicily against the King Of Naples. 
• Probably organised by followers of Mazzini. 
• Garibaldi was working on how to get back Nice from France - blowing up balot boxes.
• Diverted from this plan by news of the revolt in Sicily. 
• He began to collect more followers and by early May had a force of about 1200, they were known as 'The Thousand'.
• They were ready to sail in the port of Genoa.
• Ready to sail in the name of 'Italy and Victor Emmanuel'.

• He thought that the expedition was unlikely to succeed. 
• Was too rushed, number of men was too small and had poor resources. 
• He didn't think it was a good idea either. 
• He believed that Sicily, like most of the South, was poor and backward.
• Refused Garibaldis request for arms.
• Made it clear that it went without Piedmontese support. 
• Later reports say that Cavour tried to convince Victor Emmanuel to arrest Garibaldi. 

• Landed in Sicily on May 11th. 
• From Marsala they advanced to Palermo, the capital, gathering support on the way.
• They defeated a Neapolitian army. 
• Numbering now about 3000. 
• They reached Palermo at the end of May and found 20,000 enemy troops waiting for them. 
• Garibaldo quickly took posession of Palermo.
• Island of Sicily was his.
• Speed of his success was mainly because of his bold stly of leadership.

• Garibaldi appointed himself as 'dictator' of Sicily. 
• Abolished tax collected on corn being milled to flour.
• Won support of peasants.
• But then he changed sides and lost support of the peasants. 
• But won support of the landlords whos help he needed through restoring law and order. 
• His obsession with a united Italy had led him to betray Mazzini's teaching about the importance of unsupporting the unprivalidged. 
• He introduced Piedmontese laws into Sicily.
• Refused to hand over land to Victor Emmanuel for the moment. 
• Cavour would be suprised at Garibaldi's success. 
• Cavour would have prefered things done much more quietly and with more credit to Piedmont, Victor Emmanuel and himself. 

• Cavour was correct in his assumption that Garibaldi would next attempt to take Naples and then move northwards. 
• He tried to arrange a revolution in Naples in favour of Victor Emmanuel but this failed. 
• Tried to then give orders to Garibaldi to stop but he was far to quick for him. 
• Although heavily outnumbered, Garibaldi fought his way north towards the city of Naples. 
• His plan was to move northwards, to the Papal States and then to Rome, and so complete the geographical unification of Italy. 
• Fcat that he was delayed in Naples gave Cavour time to act. 

• Most pressing need was to stop Garibaldo from attacking Rome. 
• Only way to do this was tosend an army from Piedmont to the Papal States to meet him before he could reach the city in Rome. 
• Pope didn't want anyone to enter his territory. 
• Piedmontese army, with Victor Emmaluel at its head matched through the Papal States.

• Piedmontese army reached Neapolitan territory.
• Garibaldi abnd Victor Emmanuel met on October 26th.
• Garibaldi had no intention other than proving himself a loyal subject. 
• He saluted Victor Emmanuel as 'the first King of Italy'.
• Handed over teritory to king. 
• Ballots that were held showed an overwhelming wish for annexation by Piedmont. 
• November 7th - Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel rode together in a triumphal state entry into Naples. 
• Garibaldi handed over all his conquests to Victor Emmanuel.
• Garibaldi refused all titlesand rewards. 
• He retired to his Island with a years supply of mararoni. 
• All Italy expect from Rome and Venetia had been united under Victor Emmanuel and the constitution of Piedmont had been extended to the whole of the new Kingdom of Italy.