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Political Thinkers
Giuseppe Garibaldi
(1807-1882)
The Italian National Hero who fought
for Italy’s
independence and unification, Garibaldi is also known as the Hero of Two Worlds
for his military accomplishments in
Europe and
South America.
Born on July 4 in Nice (Nizza) – a town that was first a part of
Italy
then ceded to
France – Garibaldi
received a good education, learning English and Italian languages, and he
developed an early interest in ancient
Rome;
but had an inclination for the sea, following his father’s trade. Later, while
at sea, he developed a greater interest in many subjects and learned about
science, agriculture, literature, poetry, politics, and social justice.
In 1821, Garibaldi started his
apprentice as a seaman, three years later he began his career, traveling the
Mediterranean
and the Black Sea,
and in 1832, he became a Captain. A year later he met Giuseppe Mazzini – founder
of La Giovine Italia
(Young Italy), a political movement created to unite
Italy
– and Garibaldi joined him. Garibaldi’s participation in an aborted attempt of
an uprising in Piemonte resulted in a sentence for his death. He escaped to
France,
and in 1836, traveled to South America,
where he met Anna Maria Ribero da Silva, known as Anita. Anita joined Garibaldi,
fighting along side him in
Brazil
and Uruguay.
In 1843, Garibaldi created the Italian Legion, aiding
Uruguay
in its fight against
Argentina.
When Garibaldi learned of the election of Pope Pius IX, he was one of the many
who believed the pope was more liberal and open to a unified
Italy,
and offered to assist. The pope refused, but Garibaldi heard about other
uprisings for unification and returned, with some of his legionnaires, to
Italy.
After Pope Pius IX fled
Rome,
Garibaldi defended Rome
against the French, but after additional French troops arrived, he – along with
Anita and his troops – retreated. On his way to northern
Italy,
Anita died, and Garibaldi, hunted by the French, Austrian, Spanish, and the
Papal army, leaves for Tangier, then
America
in 1850. In New York,
he stayed on Staten Island
with Antonio Meucci, and later travels to
Peru
and England.
He returned to
Italy in 1854, and
purchased land on Caprera, a small island off the coast of
Sardinia; and in
1858, met with Camillo Benso di Cavour in
Torino to discuss
the unification of
Italy. Encourage
by uprisings in southern
Italy,
in 1860, Garibaldi assembled 1,000 volunteers, known as Red Shirts, to seize the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from the Neapolitan Bourbons. After his victory, he
gives the territories to Victor Emmanuel II, addressing him as the King of
Italy. Garibaldi continued to fight for complete unification of
Italy,
leading two expeditions into
Rome. He retired in 1871,
spending most of his time on Caprera, and died there in 1882.
LINKS:
Garibaldi and
the Risorgimento
Garibaldi’s Speech to His Soldiers
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Written by Janice Mancuso
Biographies
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