In 1858, a new upsurge in the national liberation movement began in Italy. The idea of ​​a war against Austria was still popular with the Italian people. Obstructing a new revolution and striving to unite Italy under their auspices, the rulers of Piedmont had long been preparing for war, and for this purpose in 1858 entered into a secret agreement with Imperial France. The Bonapartist regime entered into an alliance with Piedmont because it was interested in ousting Austria from Italy and sought to replace Austrian domination with French. Having concluded a deal with France, the Piedmontese government hoped to win over the Italian republicans to its side, using the sentiments of mainly those part of them who believed in Piedmont as a banner of the liberation and unification of Italy. And so Cavour invites Garibaldi to his place and invites him to recruit volunteer detachments. Although the national hero was distrustful of Cavour's plans for a war against Austria, he nevertheless accepted this proposal, secretly thinking that in this war, along with others, the Sardinian monarchy would fall. If King Victor Emmanuel and his first minister Cavour wanted to use Garibaldi's popularity among the masses and the entire revolutionary democracy to their advantage, then Garibaldi counted on the fact that he would be able to use the well-armed Piedmontese army.

The war, which began at the end of April 1859, caused a general patriotic upsurge in Italy, since the people connected with it the hope of liberating the country from foreign oppression and its unification. The first significant victories over the enemy were won by Garibaldi's volunteers, among whom were many staunch Republicans. In 1848, Garibaldi was the last to leave Lombardy, and in 1859 he was the first to enter it. The inhabitants of Lombardy enthusiastically welcomed their liberators from the Austrian yoke. After the victory at Varese, victories at Como, Bergamo, Palazzo and others followed. Garibaldi occupied city after city, and the Austrians retreated in panic. By the beginning of June, detachments of Alpine shooters cleared most of Lombardy from the enemy. This was Garibaldi's first triumphal march in the revolution of 1859-1860.

Garibaldi's victories, his popularity among the broad masses frightened Cavour and Victor Emmanuel, horrified Napoleon III. Therefore, not only did the Piedmontese government poorly supply Garibaldi with weapons, they deliberately sent him to the most dangerous positions, and sometimes to certain death. The unfriendly attitude of the Piedmontese army's high command towards Garibaldi was noted by military observers of that time. K. Marx and F. Engels wrote about this indignantly. "It is possible," wrote Engels on May 30, 1859, "that by sending Garibaldi to Lombardy, Louis Napoleon and Victor Emmanuel expected to destroy him and his volunteers - elements, perhaps, too revolutionary for this dynastic war" 1 . Marx wrote almost the same thing: "In my opinion, Garibaldi is purposely sent to positions where he must perish." In the Memoirs, Garibaldi says that his corps was indeed deliberately placed in a difficult position.

One of the reasons for the hostility of the high command to Garibaldi and the secret struggle against him by the Piedmontese government was the social policy pursued by Garibaldi in the liberated areas. Garibaldi could not engage only in military

1 K. Marx and F. Engels. Op. T. 13, p. 380.

2 K. Marx and F. Engels. Op. T. 29, p. 360.

other things, life forced him to solve social issues. An acute problem for Italy was agrarian. Representatives of the bourgeois-democratic camp, to which Garibaldi also belonged, faced it again. He did not have a developed agrarian program, but he tried in every possible way to alleviate the fate of the peasants. In the areas he occupied, he exempted the peasants from exorbitant taxes.

The consequence of Garibaldi's policy was the desire of the broad masses of the people to become under his banner. But neither Cavour nor the high command agreed to increase the size of his detachment. Moreover, police surveillance was established for Garibaldi. K. Marx wrote on this occasion: "The Paris correspondent of The Times writes today that the Bonapartists are already grumbling a lot about Garibaldi's 'fame' and that 'several selected police agents' have infiltrated his detachment, sending detailed reports about him."

The successful struggle against the Austrians on the fronts contributed to the growth of the revolutionary movement. Popular uprisings broke out in Tuscany, Parma, Modena, and in the Papal States. The national liberation movement assumed a wide scope and could lead to the creation of a united and independent Italy. This caused concern and was not part of the plans of Napoleon III. Therefore, having decided that after the victories won, he would be able to get the concessions he needed from the Austrian emperor, he hurried behind the back of his ally to end the war. On July 11, 1859, the Truce of Villafranca was signed. Garibaldi was full of anger and did not recognize the truce. But he was glad that this truce would finally untie the hands of him and all Italian patriots: the royal war was over, and a real, people's war would begin. This shameful truce, which - consolidated the fragmentation of Italy and supplemented the Austrian oppression with French diktat - caused an outburst of indignation in the country. "The rise of the Italian nation," K. Marx wrote about the Treaty of Villafranca, "is accompanied by a sophisticated insult..." The democratic forces of Italy did not recognize this truce. A powerful movement of the masses rose up all over the country. Summing up his article on the Treaty of Villafranca, Marx wrote that "the Italian revolution can intervene in order to change the picture of the entire peninsula" 4 . It happened just as Marx foresaw. During the summer of 1859, the number of mass demonstrations increased every day, and the intensity of revolutionary energy increased. Particularly threatening was the indignation of the broad masses in Central Italy.

Beyond Central Italy, the South also rose up. At the end of 1859, Sicily rose again against the oppression of the Spanish Bourbons. On April 4, 1860, under the leadership of the leader of the Sicilian Republicans, Rosalino Pilo, an uprising began in Palermo. The Republican Party of Mazzini decided to take the leadership of the movement in Sicily into their own hands. To assist the rebels in Genoa, the so-called "Sicilian Committee" was organized. He began to prepare an expedition to Sicily with the expectation of capturing the island, and from there, with the help of the rebels, to undertake a campaign on the mainland and take possession of the entire Kingdom of Naples. This campaign was led by Garibaldi. Thus was conceived the legendary campaign of the Red Shirts, the Garibaldian "Thousand", which played a major role in the unification of Italy. The social composition of the "Thousand" was the most diverse: almost half of the expedition was made up of proletarian strata - workers, artisans, and the urban poor; there were many students, representatives of the petty bourgeoisie, intellectuals (engineers, lawyers, doctors, artists, poets, writers). There was not a single peasant in The Thousand, as Garibaldi himself noted with great regret.

Before the expedition sailed, on May 5, Garibaldi addressed the proclamation "To the Italians." “Italians!” Garibaldi wrote. “The Sicilians are fighting the enemies of Italy for Italy. The duty of every Italian is to help them with word, money, weapons, and most of all, with his own hand ... Left to themselves, the brave sons of Sicily are fighting mercenaries not only of the Bourbons, but also of Austria and the Roman high priest ... Let Marche, Umbria, Sabina, Rome and Naples rise to crush the forces of our enemies ... Temple a brave man will find weapons everywhere ... Do not listen to cowards ... A detachment of daredevils from my former comrades in previous battles for their homeland

3 Ibid. , page 362.

4 K. Marx and F. Engels. Op. T. 13, pp. 442, 445.

5 G. Garibaldi. Le Mille. Paris. 1875, p. 4.

help me. Italy knows them: they are those who become V build, as soon as danger arises - good, generous comrades who have dedicated their lives to their homeland, who have given it their blood to the last drop, not expecting other rewards, except for a clear conscience ... To arms! .. "6.

The slogan "Italy and Victor Emmanuel", under which the expedition was carried out, stemmed from the policy of the Action Party, carried out even before the start of the Austro-Italian-French war of 1859. The first to put forward this slogan in 1856 was the former head of the Venetian Republic, Daniel Manin, when he, together with La Farina, created the National Society. Carrying out the campaign "Thousands" under the slogan "Italy and Victor Emmanuel", Garibaldi thereby gave the expedition an official character. No matter how Cavour dissociated himself from the expedition, hastily declaring to all diplomats that he was not involved in it, no matter how he scolded Garibaldi in letters to his friends, this slogan, albeit temporarily, tied his hands. With this slogan, Garibaldi rallied all national forces under the banner of the unification of Italy. By his further activities, Garibaldi proved that, putting forward the slogan "Italy and Victor Emmanuel" for tactical reasons, he by no means abandoned his republican convictions and remained an ardent supporter of democracy and an opponent of the monarchy until the end of his life.

Until now, there is a discussion in the scientific literature on the question of Cavour's attitude to the expedition "Thousands". As you know, Cavour not only tried to force Garibaldi to abandon the expedition, but also intended to arrest him in order to disrupt the departure of the Thousand. Disregarding well-known documents, the traditional bourgeois-liberal historiography asserts that Cavour could not but contribute more or less secretly to the expedition to Sicily. Some authors, who are more careful in their formulations, say: yes, it is possible that Cavour did not contribute to the sending of the expedition, but his merit lies in the fact that he did not interfere with it. In fact, Cavour did not prevent the sending of the "Thousand" only because he was not in a position to do so, being forced to reckon with public opinion. Cavour himself wrote about this, and many memoirists, including Garibaldi, testify to this. Here is a letter from Cavour dated May 12, 1860 to the Ambassador of Piedmont in Paris, K. Nigra: “I regret the expedition of Garibaldi, and I am doing and will do what is possible so that it does not cause new complications. I did not prevent Garibaldi from carrying out my project, because in order to do this, I would have to use force. But the government cannot neglect the fact that an attempt to stop Garibaldi would cause great dissatisfaction ... to stop the intrigues of the opposition on the eve of the elections ... I cannot use violent measures to prevent aid destined for Sicily" 7 .

It is impossible to read Garibaldi's story about the battles for the liberation of Sicily and Southern Italy without excitement. With sincere pathos he narrates in his "Memoirs" about the battles, which, according to F. Engels, bore the "seal of a military genius." Calatafimi, Palermo, Milazzo, Reggio, Volturno - each of these battles inspired Italian patriots, amazed contemporaries: politicians, diplomats, military experts. Studying Garibaldi's campaign from Marsala to Palermo in detail, F. Engels noted that this was "one of the most amazing military feats of our century, and it would be almost inexplicable if the prestige of a revolutionary general had not preceded his triumphal march" 8 .

Garibaldi operated in Sicily in close contact with the rebel movement. After consulting with local leaders of the Republican Party, the guerrilla leader worked out a general plan of action. The rebels began to flock to Garibaldi, armed with whatever they could - pikes, sabers, knives, clubs, axes. Already in Salemi, located near Marsala, 4 thousand armed peasants joined the detachment of Garibaldi. A new government arose on the island. It was organized in the form of a revolutionary-democratic dictatorship, and Garibaldi assumed the title of dictator of Syria.

6 G. Garibaldi. Scritti e discorsi politici e militari. Vol. I. Bologna. 1934, pp. 239 - 241.

7 "II carteggio Cavour - Nigra, dal 1858 al 1861". Vol. III. Bologna. 1928, pp. 294 - 295.

8 K. Marx and F. Engels. Op. T. 15, pp. 63, 67.

cilia. He understood the need for a dictatorship for the final suppression of the counter-revolution and the consolidation of revolutionary gains. In Sicily, on the initiative of Garibaldi, some socio-economic activities were carried out. He freed tens of thousands of political prisoners languishing in the prisons of Palermo and other cities, set about organizing schools and shelters for homeless children. Garibaldi also took care of the families affected by the hostilities. To provide a livelihood for the needy segments of the population, he organized public works; issued a decree abolishing the grinding tax. Important socio-economic measures were taken by the revolutionary government of Garibaldi in Naples. A decree was issued on the prohibition of Jesuit corporations - centers of counter-revolution. Lands belonging to the Bourbons were nationalized; issued a decree on the distribution of state lands to peasants.

The propertied classes of southern Italy, frightened by the revolutionary character of Garibaldi's campaign, did not doze off. The landowners, the big bourgeois appealed to Victor Emmanuel with petitions for the immediate annexation of southern Italy to Piedmont. Cavour flooded Naples with his agents, who also agitated for annexation. Garibaldi, on the other hand, did not want to even think about joining Southern Italy to the possessions of the Sardinian kingdom before the liberation of Rome and Venice. Victor Emmanuel moved with an army of 20,000 to the Papal States, and then entered the Kingdom of Naples. He published an appeal "To the peoples of southern Italy", in which he called for reconciliation with the monarchy and announced "the end of the era of revolution." In this environment, Garibaldi decided to call a plebiscite on the question of joining Piedmont. The plebiscite was held on October 21, 1860, when the Piedmontese army led by Victor Emmanuel was already approaching Naples. It ended in victory for the supporters of the accession of the South of Italy to the Kingdom of Sardinia. On November 6, Garibaldi was forced to announce the transfer of power in Southern Italy, which he had liberated, to King Victor Emmanuel. Soon the decrees issued by Garibaldi were canceled and his army disbanded. After that, Garibaldi had no choice but to leave political life for a while. "I longed to return to my loneliness (to Caprera. - V. N.)", - Garibaldi finishes his story about the glorious campaign of the "Thousand". A. I. Herzen wrote with deep bitterness about Garibaldi's departure: "... he defeated the army with a handful of people, liberated the whole country and was released from it, like a coachman is released when he drove to the station" 9.

Garibaldi's expedition to the south of Italy was the largest action of the popular masses in their struggle for the unification of Italy by revolutionary means. In this campaign, the anti-feudal, democratic forces of all Italian states united. As a result of the war and revolution of 1859-1860. Italy was almost completely unified. The decisive role in the unification of the country was played by the struggle of the popular masses, led by the revolutionary elements of the bourgeoisie, the most prominent representatives of which were Garibaldi and Mazzini. Giving an assessment of the role of Garibaldi and the masses in the revolution of 1859 - 1860, F. Engels wrote: "In the person of Garibaldi, Italy had a hero of the ancient warehouse, capable of creating and really working miracles. With a thousand volunteers, he overturned the entire Kingdom of Naples, actually united Italy, broke the skillful network of Bonaparte politics. Italy was free and, in essence, united, - but not by the intrigues of Louis Napoleon, but revolution" 10 . However, not a democratic Italy was created, not the Italy for which Garibaldi devoted his glorious life to the struggle. The insufficient organization of the democratic forces, the weak participation of the peasantry in the revolution, and the wavering of the leaders of the republican bourgeoisie led to the incompleteness of the revolution of 1859-1860. in Italy. A balance of forces was created in which the Piedmontese monarchy was able to take advantage of the fruits of the victories won by the revolution and annex the already liberated states to Piedmont.

V. E. Nevler

9 A. I. Herzen. Op. T. XI. M. 1957, p. 257.

10 K. Marx and F. Engels. Op. T. 21, p. 430.

Let us preface F. Engels's article "GARIBALDI'S PROMOTION" with a popular abstract excursus based on open sources.

On May 6, 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi, with a thousand volunteers on two sailing ships, set sail from Genoa and landed in Sicily five days later. The campaign of the "Thousand Red Shirts", which liberated southern Italy, ensured the victory of the Italian Revolution of 1859-60.

1. Quarto

On May 6, 1860, the expedition set sail from Quarto (near Genoa). On the ships "Piedmont" and "Lombard", which by the way were captured, there were a thousand fighters who were selected by Garibaldi from among the volunteers. Most of them were workers, artisans, students, representatives of the intelligentsia. Young people aged 18 - 25 years predominated, but there were many people of mature and old age, and among them were veterans of many battles: participants in Garibaldi's campaigns in South America and in Lombardy in 1848 and 1859, heroes of the battles of the Roman Republic.

The outfit of the fighters was unusual - Garibaldi ordered his soldiers to wear red shirts, and his squad was called "Thousands of Red Shirts".

According to one version, Garibaldi developed this revolutionary style while living in Uruguay with his wife - he combined a red shirt, poncho and sombrero. According to another version, the idea of ​​red shirts came to Garibaldi during his life in New York. There were very popular volunteer fire brigades, whose members dressed in red flannel shirts.

2. Marsala

The expedition landed on May 11 at Marsala, on the western coast of Sicily. Garibaldi issued a proclamation: “Sicilians! We heard your heroic cry - and here we are among you. We want only one thing - the liberation of the fatherland. So, all to arms!” Sicilian rebels began to flock to Garibaldi's detachment, armed with pikes, sabers, daggers, and clubs.

In total, 4 thousand armed peasants joined Garibaldi. The movement in 1860 in Sicily: in a country with a predominantly peasant population, acquired the character of a broad popular revolution.

“The arrival of Garibaldi,” as the special correspondent of The Times reported, “utterly changed the character of the Sicilian uprising. Up to that time, the various picciotti (Young Partisans) waged guerrilla warfare with little or no communication between them. Their tactic was to appear and disappear, rushing from their safe havens to the royal troops. But none [of the peasants] had any thought or dream of drawing up a general plan or fighting the royal troops in the open field. The mountainous terrain and the absence of major roads greatly facilitated this kind of war ... The name and authority of Garibaldi and the reinforcements he brought became the link between these different detachments that came together under his command.

3. Calatafimi

The Neapolitan general Landi took an extremely advantageous position - a mountain with the strange name "Complaint of the Romans", dominating the routes to Palermo, on the one hand, to Marsala and Trapani, on the other. He had 4 battalions (including one rifle) and 4 mountain guns. The Neapolitans, armed with rifles, preferred to shoot from a distance. Garibaldi and his detachment occupied an equally strong position, the height of Vita, and was separated from the enemy by a large hilly plain.

“Having taken the heights to the left of the enemy,” writes Garibaldi in his Memoirs, “I was able to examine in detail the positions of the Bourbon mercenaries. They could only see our defensive lines. Formed from the Genoese - shooters, these lines covered our front, and other, well-armed regiments were placed behind the echelons. Our miserable artillery was stationed along the main road, on the left flank, under the command of Orsini. In our position, the most advantageous thing was to wait for the enemy in our positions. The enemies, numbering about 2 thousand people and having a large artillery, seeing only handfuls of people on our side, bravely sent out several rifle detachments with 2 guns. Approaching a rifle shot, they opened fire from cannons and rifles, continuing to approach us.

Here Garibaldi used his tried and tested method: he ordered not to shoot until the enemy came quite close. But the Genoese could not stand it and rushed to the attack.

“Our intention was by no means to attack the formidable positions occupied by large enemy forces. In vain they blew the signal to retreat - ours did not hear him and acted like Nelson in the battle of Copenhagen. Now there was no time to waste, otherwise our valiant detachment would have been doomed to death. I ordered an immediate general offensive to be trumpeted."

The enemy fled to the heights of the "Complaint of the Romans".

Garibaldi was always proud of this victory and considered it decisive in the Sicilian campaign. He enthusiastically exclaimed: "Kalatafimi! When I, who survived this battle, will lie on my deathbed, and a proud smile will appear on my lips for the last time - it will be caused by the memory of you - for I do not know a battle that would be more glorious than you!

Battle of Catalafimi

4. Palermo

The demoralized Neapolitans retreated in disorder, looting and burning villages and towns. Everywhere, on the road to Palermo, there were scattered soldier's bags, manners, helmets, even shoes, which the fugitives took off to make it easier to escape ... But the Official Gazette reported that Lundy's column "returned to Palermo after two days of glorious fighting with the consciousness of a valiantly fulfilled duty."

Volunteers flocked to Garibaldi's army from everywhere. At his disposal were already about 8 thousand people (although they had no more than half of them combat-ready).

Soon a new army of 10,000 marched from Palermo against the Garibaldians. The first meeting with her took place near the heights of Parco, along the Palermo-Corleone road.

According to the description of eyewitnesses (special correspondent of The Times), this remarkable military operation was carried out as follows.

First, Garibaldi approached Palermo from the west, to the terrace on which the town of Monreale, which was in the hands of the enemy, is located. Behind this terrace rises a round clay mountain, forming something like a colossal amphitheater (this mountain from the north limits the Gulf of Palermo and the "Golden Shell", that is, the fruitful plain on which Palermo lies).

Since the sea and this amphitheater were in the hands of the Neapolitans, they had all the advantages of a concentric position on their side, which was especially beneficial for them in the fight against partisans, who had weak artillery and were terrible only in the mountains. Another advantage of the royal troops was that the neighborhood. Palermo is indented by steep, impassable ridges, so that the roads that diverge from Palermo to the west, south, and east hardly communicate with each other. In order to transfer a military unit from one road to another, it was necessary to make a long, winding and difficult detour.

Seeing that time was lost, that it would not be possible to take Monreale without heavy losses, Garibaldi decided to deceive the enemy. First of all, he ordered the rebel detachments to surround Palermo from all sides. The Picciotti took up enemy positions along the entire chain of mountains that encircle the bay, and vigilantly guarded all the entrances and exits from Palermo. They made fires at night, and this picture made a grandiose and impressive impression.

At the same time, Garibaldi established a strong connection with the "Secret Revolutionary Committee", located inside the city. The "Secret Committee" let Garibaldi know that the city was ready to revolt at the first signal, but on the condition that Garibaldi himself approached the city gates. But the time has not yet come to storm the city. Leaving part of the Sicilian rebels at the Montreal positions, so that they continuously burned fires and disturbed the Neapolitans in every possible way, diverting their attention, Garibaldi left with the main forces, having made an unheard of difficult transition along the mountain range.

Leaving Parco and sending the cannons and baggage train along the main road (in Corleone). Garibaldi covered the retreat and fought until nightfall.

Fattori "Garibaldi in Palermo"

All night the Garibaldians quickly retreated to Pian dei Greci and, after a little rest, continued to retreat. Having reached the place where the Corleone road forks, Garibaldi ordered a small part of the rebels to retreat to Corleone with a company of riflemen and several cannons in order to divert the attention of the enemy.

Garibaldi himself, with the main mass of the troops, turned to the left of the road and made a second, amazingly difficult transition of the mountain ranges towards Misilmeri. Colonel Bosco and the Swiss von Mechel continued along the Corleone road, imagining that they were in pursuit of Garibaldi.

Meanwhile, Garibaldi was already entering the third Palermo road leading into the city from the east. He camped in the monastery of Mount Gibilrosso, where, by his order, the main forces of the Sicilian partisans had already gathered by this moment. That same night, he prepared to go down and attack Palermo. So Garibaldi will fool the enemy twice. Thus Palermo, as Garibaldi had calculated, was left almost undefended.

With such insignificant forces, the only possibility of victory lay in a surprise, quick attack. Observing complete silence, the Garibaldians began to descend the steep mountain path. But the "picciotti" (young partisans) inexperienced in military affairs spoiled everything. Seeing the first buildings on the outskirts of the city, they raised a desperate noise and shouted “Long live Italy! Long live Garibaldi! opened fire. The awakened guard raised the alarm.

However, the townspeople gave active support to their liberators. Invading the city, Garibaldi published a proclamation in which he declared himself dictator, "in the name of the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel." He had only 800 Garibaldians at his disposal (out of the glorious “thousand”, about 100 people were killed and wounded, and another hundred under the command of Orsini at that time retreated along the Corleone road, luring the Neapolitan troops). There were several thousand peasants - partisans, but they were poorly armed and poorly disciplined. The Bourbon army had 20 thousand well-armed soldiers. 9 frigates, arsenals, excellent artillery and 2 powerful fortresses. But the popular uprising and the legendary glory of Garibaldi so stunned the royal troops that they could not put up serious resistance.

Garibaldi proclaimed dictator in Palermo

After two days of bloody battles, during which the Red Shirts showed miracles of courage and heroism, Garibaldi captured the city. A revolutionary democratic government was established on the island, and Garibaldi was granted dictatorial powers. The government of the partisan leader carried out a number of important measures in the interests of the broad masses of the people: decrees were issued on the abolition of the milling tax, on the distribution of state lands to peasants, and on the opening of schools and shelters.

F. Engels. PROMOTION OF GARIBALDI

As events unfold, we begin to understand Garibaldi's plan for the liberation of southern Italy, and the closer we become acquainted with this plan, the more we admire its grandiosity. Such a plan could only be conceived or attempted to be carried out in a country like Italy, where the national party is so well organized and completely under the control of a man who has drawn his sword with such brilliant success for the cause of Italian unity and independence.

This plan was not limited to the liberation of the Kingdom of Naples; at the same time, an attack on the Papal States was to begin, in order to put work not only for the troops of the bomb-king (Ferdinand II), but also for the army of Lamoricière and the French in Rome. It was assumed that around August 15, 6,000 volunteers, who had gradually crossed from Genoa to the Gulf of Orange (Golfo degli Aranci) - the northeast coast of the island of Sardinia - would be transferred to the coast of the Papal States, while an uprising would begin in various provinces of the continental part of the Kingdom of Naples, and Garibaldi would cross the Strait of Messina and land in Calabria. Some of Garibaldi's remarks about the cowardice of the Neapolitans that have come down to us, and reports received with the last steamer that he entered Naples and was enthusiastically received by the population, indicate that the uprising in the streets of this city, which turned out to be unnecessary due to the flight of the king, was perhaps planned.

The landing in the Papal States, as already known, did not take place, partly due to the insistence of Victor Emmanuel, partly and mainly because Garibaldi himself came to the conclusion that the volunteers were unprepared to conduct an independent campaign. So he sent them to Sicily, left some of them in Palermo, and sent the rest around the island on two steamers to Taormina, where they are now. In the meantime, in the provincial towns of the Kingdom of Naples, as previously agreed, demonstrations began, which showed how well the revolutionary party was organized and how ripe the country was for an uprising. On August 17, an uprising broke out in Foggia, in Apulia. The dragoons, who were part of the city garrison, joined the people. General Flores, in command of the district, sent two companies of the 13th Regiment, which, upon arrival, followed the example of the dragoons. Then General Flores himself arrived at Foggia, accompanied by his staff; but he could do nothing and was forced to retire. His course of action clearly shows that Flores himself did not intend to seriously resist the revolutionary party. If he was going to act in earnest, he would have sent not two companies, but two battalions, and, going to the place in person, would have taken with him not a few adjutants and orderlies, but perhaps a stronger detachment. Indeed, the mere fact that the rebels allowed him to leave the city again shows quite clearly that there was at least some kind of tacit agreement between him and the rebels. Another revolt broke out in the province of Basilicata. Here the rebels gathered their forces at Corleto Perticara, a village on the banks of the Lagna River (in all likelihood, this is the same place that Corleto is called in the telegrams).

From this mountainous and remote district, they moved to the main city of the province - Potenza, where they arrived on August 17, consisting of 6,000 people. They were resisted only by the gendarmes, in the amount of about 400 people, who, after a short fight, were dispersed, and then surrendered one by one. On behalf of Garibaldi, a provincial government was formed and an interim dictator appointed. It is reported that this post was taken by the royal intendant (governor of the province), another sign of how hopeless even their own officials consider the cause of the Bourbons. Four companies of the 6th Regiment of the Line were sent from Salerno to put down this uprising, but upon arrival at Auletta, located about 23 miles from Potenza, the soldiers refused to go further and began to shout: "Viva Garibaldi!" These are the only performances about which we know some details. But besides, other cities were reported to have joined the revolt, such as Avellino, a city located less than 30 miles from Naples, Campobasso in the province of Molise (on the Adriatic coast) and Celenza in Apulia - probably the same city that is called Cilenta in the telegrams; it is located almost halfway between Campobasso and Foggia. At present, Naples itself has joined the number of these cities.

While the provincial cities of the kingdom of Naples were thus fulfilling their assigned role in the common cause, Garibaldi did not sit idly by. Immediately on his return from his trip to Sardinia, he completed preparations for landing on the Continent. His army now consisted of three divisions under the command of Türr, Cosenza and the Medici. The last two, concentrated near Messina and Faro, were directed towards the northern coast of Sicily between Milazzo and Faro, giving the impression that they were supposed to be loaded there on ships and landed on the Calabrian coast, north of the strait, somewhere near Palmi or Nicotera. As for Türr's division, one of its brigades, Hébert's brigade, was encamped near Messina, and the other, Bixio's brigade, was sent inland, at Bronte, to eliminate some disturbances. Both received orders to march immediately to Taormina, where on the evening of August 18, Bixio's brigade, along with volunteers brought from Sardinia, was loaded onto two steamships, the Torino and Franklin, and several transport ships taken in tow.

Ten days earlier, Major Missori had crossed the strait with a force of 300 men and made his way safely through the Neapolitan troops into the mountainous and rugged region of Aspromonte. Here he was joined by other small detachments, who crossed the strait from time to time, as well as the Calabrian rebels, so that by August 18 he commanded a detachment numbering about 2000 people. As soon as this small detachment landed, the Neapolitans sent about 1800 soldiers in pursuit of him, but these 1800 heroes acted in such a way that they would never meet the Garibaldians.

On August 19, at dawn, the Garibaldi expedition (he was on board the ship myself) landed between Melito and Cape Spartivento, at the extreme southern tip of Calabria.

They met no resistance. The Neapolitans were so deceived by movements threatening amphibious landings north of the strait that they completely ignored the areas south of it. Thus, in addition to the 2,000 people gathered by the Missori, another 9,000 people were able to be transferred to the continent.

When these detachments joined him, Garibaldi immediately moved to Reggio, where there were four companies of line troops and four companies of riflemen. But this garrison, in all probability, received some reinforcements, for, on August 21, it is reported, a very fierce battle took place in Reggio itself or near it. After Garibaldi stormed several advanced fortifications, the artillery of Fort Reggio stopped supporting fire, and General Viale capitulated. In this battle, Colonel Deflotte (Republican deputy for Paris in the French Legislative Assembly of 1851) was killed.

The Neapolitan flotilla, which stood in the strait, was distinguished by the fact that it did absolutely nothing. After Garibaldi had landed, the commander of the naval forces "telegraphed Reggio that his ships could not offer any resistance, since Garibaldi had 8 large warships and 7 transport ships at his disposal! This flotilla also offered no resistance to the crossing of the division of General Cosenza, which apparently took place on the 20th or 21st at the narrowest point of the strait, between Scilla and Villa San Giovanni, in the very place where the largest number of Neapolitan ships and troops were concentrated. The landing of Cosenza was accompanied by extraordinary success. The two brigades of Melendez and Briganti (the Neapolitans call the brigades battalions) and Fort Pezzo (and not Pizzo, as some telegrams indicate; this place is located much further north, beyond Monteleone) surrendered to him, apparently without firing a shot. It is said to have taken place on the 21st; on the same day, after a short skirmish, Villa San Giovanni was taken.

Thus, in three days, Garibaldi took possession of the entire coast of the strait, including some fortified points; several forts, still in the hands of the Neapolitans, were now useless for them.

Over the next two days, the rest of the troops and materiel appear to have been transferred—at least we have no further reports of any further fighting until the 24th, when a fierce skirmish is said to have taken place at the point referred to in the telegrams as Lyale, but which does not appear on the maps. Perhaps some mountain stream is called by this name, and the gorge formed by it served as a defensive position for the Neapolitans. According to reports, this battle did not lead to decisive results. After some time, the Garibaldians proposed a truce, and the Neapolitan commander conveyed this proposal to his commander-in-chief at Monteleone. But before an answer could be received, the Neapolitan soldiers apparently came to the conclusion that they had served their king enough, and dispersed, abandoning their batteries.

The main body of the Neapolitans, under the command of Bosco, during all this time seemed to be inactive in Monteleone, thirty miles from the strait. These troops must have shown little desire to fight the invading troops, and therefore General Bosco went to Naples to bring back six battalions of riflemen, who, after the guards and detachments of foreign troops, are the most reliable parts of the army. It is not yet known whether these six battalions were also demoralized and seized by the same spirit of depression that prevails in the Neapolitan army. One thing is certain - that so far neither this nor any other troops have yet been able to prevent the victorious, and possibly unhindered march of Garibaldi to Naples, where it turns out that the royal family fled, and the city will open its gates, arranging a triumphal meeting for him.

Printed according to the text of the newspaper

Translation from English

Published in the newspaperNew— York Daily Tribune» No. 6056, September 21, 1860 as an advanced articles

In January 1861, the first elections to the parliament of the Italian kingdom were held. A new state has appeared in Europe, not inferior in size and power to most great powers

On the evening of January 14, 1858, an assassination attempt was made on the French Emperor Napoleon III, who was on his way with his wife to the premiere of Rossini's opera William Tell. The conspirators, who were waiting for the sovereign's carriage near the theater on the Parisian street Le Peletier, threw three bombs into it. As a result, eight people died and almost one and a half hundred were injured, but the imperial couple themselves miraculously remained unharmed. The conspiracy was led by the famous Italian revolutionary Felice Orsini, who a few years before, after sawing through the bars and tying the sheets, escaped from an Austrian prison. According to Orsini, the French emperor deserved death for betraying the cause of the revival of Italy. The patriots remembered that, after the fall of his great uncle Napoleon Bonaparte in exile, the future Napoleon III joined the Italian Carbonari and even took part in organizing the putsch, for which he almost paid with his head.

From prison, Orsini wrote a letter to Napoleon III. Without humiliating himself with a request for pardon, he urged the emperor to do everything possible for Italy to gain independence, since without it "the tranquility of Europe and Your Majesty will be only a chimera." Napoleon III was deeply shocked by the assassination itself and Orsini's behavior (which did not prevent him from sending the conspirator to the guillotine). In addition, he was not averse to weakening Austria, which occupied a significant part of the Apennines, and at the same time to renew the fairly damaged reputation of a liberal. At the direction of the emperor, the letter was printed in the newspapers, and soon France entered into a secret alliance with the Kingdom of Sardinia, directed against Austria. Thus, the failed assassination attempt accelerated the long-standing process many times over, which three years later led to the formation of the Italian kingdom.

Geographic concept

In the middle of the 19th century, Italy was in a sorry state. The country was fragmented into eight large and small states and economically backward, and thinking Italians no longer believed in the possibility of changing anything in the fate of their homeland, they were tormented by a national inferiority complex. Established after the Napoleonic Wars by the victorious powers - Russia, Austria, Prussia and England - the world order, the so-called Vienna system, really deprived Italy of any hope of unification. Its cornerstone was the principle of legitimism, that is, the inviolability of the rights of monarchical dynasties sanctified by history. In short, France should be ruled by the French Bourbons, Prussia by the Hohenzollerns, Russia by the Romanovs, and the Italian states by their monarchs. However, the Italians themselves raised great doubts about the historical rights of the latter. Almost everywhere in the Apennines, foreign or semi-foreign dynasties ruled. In the largest Kingdom of Naples (or the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) - the Spanish Bourbons, in the vast Papal States - the Roman high priest, Italian by birth, but cosmopolitan "by position". The Lombardo-Venetian kingdom was handed over by the coalition that defeated Napoleon to the Austrian Habsburgs, that is, it was actually under foreign occupation. In the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Duchy of Modena, the Austrian Habsburgs also ruled (although these formally independent states were not part of the Austrian Empire), in the Duchy of Parma, the wife of Napoleon I, Maria Louise of Austria, and after her death, the Spanish Bourbons. Of all the Apennine monarchs, only the kings of Sardinia could be considered an Italian dynasty, although their historical homeland was French-speaking Savoy.

In addition, Italian fragmentation strongly contradicted the idea of ​​a national state, which was increasingly asserted in the minds of Europeans, according to which people who speak the same language, with common cultural and historical traditions, should live in one state. Nationalism was raised to the banner by those who fought for the liberation and unification of Italy. In those days, it was a new ideology opposed to feudal legitimism. Naturally, both the Roman throne, and the patchwork empire of the Habsburgs, and the numerous "legitimate rulers" of the Apennine principalities swept away the idea of ​​a national state from the threshold. “Italy is just a geographical concept,” Austrian Foreign Minister Metternich told the Congress of Vienna. He had some reasons to adhere to such a position: since the time of the Roman Empire, there has never been a common state in the Apennines, and culturally, even linguistically, parts of the peninsula differed very significantly. However, the Italian patriots did not share the Chancellor's point of view: a movement for the revival of Italy, the Risorgimento, arose in the country. Later, this name will also be called the entire era of the formation of a single state on the Apennine Peninsula.

View from the South

Among the inhabitants of the South of Italy, there are many who believe that unification with the North meant for them not liberation, but enslavement. The age-old backwardness of the South, from their point of view, is a myth. It was in the Kingdom of Naples that the first steamships and railways in Italy were built, gas lighting first appeared here.

Almost immediately after the unification, rebel groups began to form in the rural areas of the South - where spontaneously, and where through the efforts of the Catholic curies and supporters of the Bourbons. The fact is that under the new government, taxes increased, men began to be drafted into the army (under the Bourbons, it was volunteer), the local industry, which was no longer protected by protectionist tariffs, died.

In 1863, martial law was introduced in the South - now, in order to shoot a person, it was enough for one suspicion that he belonged to the "bandits". The number of victims was huge - about a quarter of a million, millions emigrated, going to look for a better life in North or South America.

The resistance managed to be driven underground: it was from it that the famous mafia clans later grew. For all that, in the South, in contrast to the North, few people dream of independence: the region cannot do without northern subsidies today.

Romantic start

At first, only a handful of romantics, the so-called carbonari (“coal miners”), joined the struggle. Their secret societies consisted, as a rule, of representatives of the intelligentsia and therefore were "terribly far from the people." Operating predominantly in the "cloak and dagger" genre, they cared more about the showiness of their actions than about their effectiveness. Nevertheless, the Carbonari managed in 1820-1821 to organize several major uprisings in different parts of the country, but they were suppressed by the Austrian troops.

The movement was brought to a new level by Giuseppe Mazzini, a young intellectual from Genoa, who had once joined the ranks of the Carbonari, but quickly became disillusioned with them. In 1831, while in exile, he created "Young Italy" - a new organization in spirit, which relied not on a conspiracy, but on a popular revolution. But who and how will raise the masses? On this issue, Mazzini, in the words of Marx, "has not grown up to a truly class analysis." The former Carbonari believed that the people in itself are so combustible that “one has only to strike a spark of living fire ... and all of Italy will turn into a fire-breathing volcano.”

But the reality, to put it mildly, did not meet these expectations. Usually everything happened like this: a long preparation for the operation, the landing on the coast of one of the Italian states of a handful of armed emigrant patriots, the population, instead of joining the fighters, at best looks at them with interest, at worst - surrenders to the authorities, having previously thrashed them properly. The martyrology of heroes was replenished with the names of more and more martyrs, but the number of those willing to sacrifice themselves did not decrease. One can only marvel at the tenacity - not to say stubbornness - of Mazzini himself, in spite of everything holding on to his theory of the "spark".

The deafness of the masses to the calls of the Mazzinists is easily explained: the peasants were more worried about their pressing problems than some sort of unification, and the educated estates were frightened by the radicalism of the revolutionaries and the obvious, as it seemed then, utopian goals. In addition, Italy is a Catholic country, and Mazzini and his supporters did not favor the Pope and the church in general, and Christ was commemorated only as the first revolutionary. The patriots were also deprived of the opportunity to propagate their ideas - the authorities carefully controlled all the then few channels for disseminating information. But the European revolutionary storm of 1848 was approaching, which changed a lot in the country.

northern logic

The Risorgimento is the cornerstone of Italian identity. For all that, the harmonious coexistence of the North and the South of the country was not even in the first years after the unification, and you cannot call it such today.

In 1991, the Northern League appeared in Italy - a party advocating greater autonomy for the Italian North and even for its complete independence. From the point of view of the Northern League electorate (from 5 to 28% in different regions of the North), the lazy, backward, corrupt and mafia South is a burden for hardworking northerners.

As for the unification, it was a mistake, and such a people as the Italians simply do not exist, but there are southerners - "actually Italians" and there are northerners - descendants of the Celts. The Northern League has the greatest influence in Veneto, where over the past two decades its representatives have been gaining about 20% of the vote. It is believed here that the inclusion of Venice into Italy in 1866 was illegal, and the then lost naval battle with the Austrians at Lissa by Piedmont is called "the last victory of the Venetian fleet."

This has its own logic, since almost all sailors on Austrian ships were Venetians, and the Austrian admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff had to give orders in the Venetian dialect.

Down with the empire!

However, the winds of change blew in Italy even earlier than in the rest of Europe - having taken the Holy See in 1846, Pope Pius IX began to carry out reforms in the vast Papal States. He granted amnesty to political prisoners, eased censorship, began building railways and telegraph lines. And when Pius IX opposed the entry of Austrian troops into Ferrara (Mazzini's supporters became more active there), the Italians decided that the pope was ready to lead the struggle for national unification and, therefore, victory was not far off. General enthusiasm captured even the timid by nature King of Sardinia (this state was called Piedmont by one of its main provinces) Charles Albert, who declared: “If by the grace of God I am destined to ever undertake a war (with the Austrians. - Approx. ed.) for independence, then I will personally stand at the head of the army and do what Shamil did, who rose against the mighty Russian empire!” In the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, which was actually occupied by the Austrians, the mood, of course, was even more radical. The Milanese, in order to annoy the Austrians, who held a monopoly on the supply of tobacco, all without exception quit smoking, and those few who risked appearing in a public place with a cigar or pipe were mercilessly beaten. When unrest broke out in Austria itself, the Lombards took advantage of this: they expelled the invaders and called the Sardinian king for help. Karl Albert had to confirm his belligerent statements with deeds - he declared war on Austria. On a patriotic wave, Tuscany, the Papal States and Naples also sent troops. But the forces of the Italian states and the vast Habsburg empire were incomparable, besides, the neighbors were afraid of the excessive strengthening of Piedmont, so they soon withdrew their units. On July 25, 1848, the Austrians defeated the Piedmontese army at Custotz and on August 6 entered Milan. Charles Albert was forced to conclude a truce. "The war of the monarchs is over, the people's war is beginning," one of the Italian liberals remarked at the time.

Soon, republics were proclaimed in Venice, Florence and Rome (where all the leaders of the emigration headed by Mazzini gathered), and an uprising flared in Sicily. The throne and Charles Albert staggered. Under pressure from public opinion, he was forced to take the suicidal step of resuming the war with Austria. This time the Austrians had five days to deal with Piedmont. The complete defeat was followed by the abdication of Charles Albert in favor of Victor's son Emmanuel. Resistance in Milan and Venice was crushed. A strict police regime was established in the Kingdom of Naples. In Rome, on the initiative of the French Catholics and personally Napoleon (then not yet the emperor, but the president), a French expeditionary force was introduced. For a long 10 years, graveyard calm reigned in the Apennines.

Failed union

When Pius IX, having ascended the Holy See in 1846, carried out several liberal reforms, the Italian patriots decided that he would unite the country, since such a powerful force as the church stands behind the pope. Giuseppe Garibaldi, who had been in exile for 12 years, was also taken by the idea. He sent a letter to the papal nuncio in Brazil, Gaetano Bedini, in which he wrote: “I offer His Holiness my sword and promise to create an Italian legion in the name of the motherland and the Catholic Church ... although I know that the throne of St. Peter does not need my help, because human efforts cannot shake it.”

Bedini forwarded the letter to the pope, who profusely thanked him, but declined the offer. Moreover, it soon became clear that the pontiff was not only not eager to unite Italy, but was ready to excommunicate anyone who was too zealous in this. Disappointed, Garibaldi called the pope "the most harmful creature in the world, the highest obstacle to human progress and the brotherhood of people and peoples." On his estate on the island of Caprera, he named the most stubborn donkey Pius IX (Italian for "Pionono").

Time for diplomacy

Politicians learned different lessons from the events of 1847-1849. Mazzini remained true to himself. In the 1850s, he organized several desperate, doomed to failure sorties that pushed even many revolutionaries away from him. On the contrary, the liberals came to the conclusion that spontaneous protests in themselves have no prospects. “Italy has two living forces,” wrote one of them, “the Piedmontese army and the popular uprising. None of them can win alone." Piedmont really remained the only island of liberalism in the Apennines. All of Italy looked with hope at King Victor Emmanuel. When another Verdi opera was given in Milan's La Scala, a crowd of thousands gathered around the theater, chanting Viva Verdi! The Austrians were well aware that "Verdi" in this case is an abbreviation (Vittorio Emmanuele Re d'Italia, "Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy"), but they could not arrest people for their love of music.

In 1852, the talented liberal politician Camillo Cavour took over as prime minister of Piedmont. No one in the country, including the king, understood as clearly as he did that without enlisting the support (or at least neutrality) of the major powers and without swaying European public opinion to their side, that is, without powerful diplomatic preparation, Italy could not be united.

Cavour considered the two "progressive" countries of Europe, Great Britain and France, to be natural allies in the fight against "reactionary" Austria. When in 1853 both of these powers, in alliance with the Turks, entered the war with Russia (the Crimean War), the Italian and European liberals for some reason decided that it was the forces of light that had entered the battle with the forces of darkness, and if Russia was crushed, Europe would be rebuilt on new, liberal principles. Therefore, Sardinia joined the anti-Russian coalition and sent an expeditionary force to the Crimea. Italy did not receive direct dividends as a result of this war, but the French began to perceive the Italians as their allies, and Austria, which had betrayed Russia, found itself in complete diplomatic isolation.

Acting very actively on the foreign policy front, Cavour did not forget about domestic affairs. He put forward the idea of ​​an "alliance of two forces" - a monarchy and a national revolution. He managed to attract under his banner Giuseppe Garibaldi, who managed to become famous both as a fearless Mazzinist revolutionary and as a talented naval commander who fought on the side of the Brazilian Republicans. This secured Cavour the support of many Italian radicals. Even the most ardent of them, Mazzini, admitted: "It is no longer a question of a republic or a monarchy: it is a question of national unity, of whether we should be or not be."

royal war

Cavour had nothing to do with the Orsini conspiracy, but the assassination attempt on Napoleon III played into his hands, as it prompted the French emperor to join the Italian struggle for reunification. In July 1858, in the French resort of Plombière, Cavour secretly met with Napoleon and agreed that in the event of a war with Austria, France would support Piedmont, for which he would receive two of its French-speaking provinces - Savoy and Nice. Both sides agreed that the strategic goal of the union was to create in Italy a confederation of independent states under the nominal leadership of the pope and the patronage of France. Napoleon III thought in this way to please both liberals and Catholics at once. On the one hand, he contributed to the national revival of Italy, which was demanded by all the liberals of Europe, but at the same time he maintained the secular power of the pope. Piedmont was assigned a deliberately subordinate role in the alliance.

Enlisting the support of France, Cavour began to vigorously prepare for war. Secret instructions were sent to neighboring Italian states to local nationalists: “When the war with Austria begins ... you will blow up bridges, cut telegraph lines, set fire to weapons, food, fodder depots, take hostage high-ranking officials collaborating with the Austrians, as well as members of their families.” However, in order to start a war, there was no reason - neither France nor Piedmont wanted to look like aggressors in the eyes of Europe. But then the Austrian government began to stir, which could not fail to notice the military preparations of the Italians - Vienna presented an ultimatum to Piedmont demanding to disarm. The best gift for Cavour and Napoleon III could not be imagined!

The so-called Second War of Independence began on April 29, 1859. The combined Franco-Sardinian army, the backbone of which was the French, defeated the Austrians at Magenta and Solferino, and both battles were extremely bloody, since with the advent of rifle bolts the density of fire increased many times over, and the troops still moved across the battlefield in close columns in the old fashioned way (the conclusion of the Geneva Convention and the creation of the Red Cross was largely a reaction to the horrors of Solferino). However, the Austrians were not defeated, and most importantly, in Italy, events did not develop at all the way Napoleon III had hoped for. Instead of a controlled local "revolution", he received an element that began to live according to its own laws: in the central Italian duchies dependent on Austria, supporters of unification with Piedmont came to power as a result of coups, and the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bconfederation was forgotten. This did not suit the French emperor in any way, and he hastened to conclude a separate peace treaty with the Austrians, according to which the Habsburgs lost only Lombardy, while Venice remained with them. Meanwhile, it was no longer possible to drive the genie out of the bottle - Italy was seething. Piedmontese politicians, on the one hand, added fuel to the fire, encouraging the radicals who launched propaganda activities throughout the country, and on the other hand, they frightened Napoleon III and Europe with a revolution in every possible way: they say that today one has to choose not between the old order and unification, but between unification under the auspices of Piedmont and revolutionary chaos.

So, Cavour managed to achieve the accession to the Sardinian kingdom of the central Italian duchies. (Nice and Savoy he still had to cede to the French.) Piedmont, thus, received even more than he could count on. However, complete unification was still far away: Venice in the north, the papal lands in the center and the vast Kingdom of Naples in the south remained outside the jurisdiction of Victor Emmanuel.

Madness of the brave

The moderates, including Cavour, were quite satisfied with what had been achieved and saw no reason to rush things. But the radicals, led by Garibaldi, did not think so. They linked their hopes for the unification of all of Italy primarily with the Papal States, where they had many supporters. But here the stumbling block was the same reformer Pope Pius IX - there was no more ardent and staunch opponent of unification than he was in Italy. The Pope, and indeed many devout Catholics, believed that for such a fundamentally supranational institution as the Church, the national idea is fatal. Pius IX did not stop even before the excommunication of Victor Emmanuel from the Church. Millions of European Catholics stood behind the pope, and it was dangerous to offend him. Therefore, when Garibaldi and like-minded people began to prepare a campaign against Rome in 1860, the Piedmontese authorities decisively stopped these preparations.

The south of the country remained, but the Bourbons ruling in the Kingdom of Naples had a strong army, effective police and rich experience in suppressing various kinds of popular uprisings. In addition, the peasants, who made up the majority of the inhabitants of the kingdom, treated the Risorgimento and other master's undertakings with complete indifference. But among the townspeople, especially the inhabitants of Palermo, who felt like second-class citizens in the kingdom, there were many supporters of unification. When unrest broke out in the city once again, the revolutionary Rosolino Pilo sent a telegram to Garibaldi, in which he greatly exaggerated their scale. Garibaldi could not come to the rescue and began to form a detachment of volunteers. Cavour opposed this in every possible way, and if Garibaldi and his “Thousand” (according to some sources, 1088, according to others 1117 people participated in the campaign) were allowed to board ships and sail to Sicily, it was only because the authorities were afraid of popular indignation. On May 11, 1860, the Garibaldians landed on the western coast of Sicily. They had practically no weapons, only flintlock guns, which at that time had already turned into museum rarities. Therefore, having met two days later with well-armed and significantly superior government troops, the Garibaldians immediately rushed into a bayonet attack. The losses for such a small detachment were huge - 200 people were killed and wounded, but the enemy could not withstand such pressure and retreated. From a military point of view, the victory looked more than modest, from a psychological point of view it became a real triumph. "Thousand" rolled across Sicily, acquiring like a snowball with new fighters. Garibaldi approached Palermo with a detachment of three thousand. He actually did not have to storm the capital of the island: an uprising broke out in the city, and on June 6 the garrison laid down their arms.

Poor Garibaldi

Now the goal of Garibaldi was Naples, and then Rome, although his forces were clearly not enough to conduct such large-scale military operations. Moreover, France demanded that Victor Emmanuel prevent the landing of the Garibaldians on the continent. The king really ordered Garibaldi to stay in Sicily, but in a secret message he wrote exactly the opposite. Here he even went against Cavour, who was worried about the colossal popularity of the people's leader. “If Garibaldi penetrates the continent and takes possession of the Kingdom of Naples,” he wrote, “he will become the absolute master of the situation.”

The powerful Neapolitan fleet and the 20,000-strong corps guarding the coast were supposed to prevent the landing. Nevertheless, on August 19, it took place, and then the Sicilian miracle was repeated: 5,000 volunteers in a week, practically without resistance, reached the capital of the kingdom. In jubilant Naples, Garibaldi arrived by train, accompanied by only a few companions. The government troops remaining in the city were powerless to stop him.

The Neapolitan king retreated north with his remaining loyal units and settled in the city of Gaeta. It was a formidable force, and if Garibaldi had led his detachment further to Rome, the Bourbons would immediately regain everything they had lost. The campaign had to be postponed, which Cavour immediately took advantage of. He again exposed the bogey of the revolutionary elements to the European powers - if they do not untie the hands of Piedmont, then Italy will be under the rule of radicals like Garibaldi. As a result, all the great powers, except Austria, agreed to the invasion of Sardinian troops into the Papal States, and through it into the Kingdom of Naples. The Pope, who was still guarded by the French corps, Victor Emmanuel was still forced to leave Rome and a small area around it - Lazio, but the last king of Naples, Francesco II, was left nothing (although he resisted for about six months). So respectable Piedmontese politicians, through the hands of half-despised radicals, did the impossible - they turned the "geographical concept" into a single kingdom. At the same time, the main radical, with which Cavour frightened the European monarchs, showed complete loyalty to Victor Emmanuel. “The king told me that, although Garibaldi still rushes about with his fantasies, he is ready to obey him in everything and always,” one of the ministers wrote to Cavour. "Poor Garibaldi!" He has only a few thousand soldiers and no political influence!” In fact, Garibaldi's influence was enormous, but he did not use it, and when the king refused to give him control of the South of Italy for a year, he retired and retired to his estate.

At hastily arranged plebiscites, the population of the Apennine principalities spoke in favor of joining Piedmont, and in March 1861 Victor Emmanuel was proclaimed king of Italy. His popularity among the people was great, but it could not be compared with the popularity of Garibaldi. The leader of the Red Shirts was constantly approached either with a proposal to run for some kind of elective post, or with a request to protect him from the arbitrariness of the authorities, or even to lead the troops of the northern states of America that were at war with the southern ones. Finally, having learned that the Piedmontese authorities not only did not reward him, but were directly persecuted, Garibaldi returned to Turin. There, like-minded people immediately began to flock to him, eager to continue the cause of the unification of Italy. “It seems to me that the time has come for us to take on our cross again,” Garibaldi said then and began to prepare a campaign against the Papal States. But times have changed - Urbano Rattazzi, who took the chair of prime minister after the sudden death of Cavour, without hesitation, used force against the Garibaldians who moved on Rome. The leader of the Red Shirts was seriously wounded and even spent some time in prison. Rome, on the other hand, was annexed to the kingdom and became its capital only in 1871, after France, defeated by Prussia, withdrew its troops from the Holy City. As for Venice, it went to Italy five years earlier and also thanks to Prussia, which forced Austria, which lost the war to her, to leave the Apennines.

Creation of Italians

The rapid success of the Risorgimento amazed Europe, and most of the citizens of the emerging nation-state themselves, often poorly understanding each other's speech, perceived it as a miracle. “Well, we have created Italy, now we have to start creating Italians,” Cavour noted shortly before his death.

In fact, the North and the South of the country, both economically and culturally, differed quite significantly. Different provinces spoke different dialects, so that many could not even read the Italian classics: Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio. And the Florentine dialect in which they wrote began to be perceived as literary Italian relatively recently - in the 1830s. In fact, it became a national language only after the publication of Carlo Collodi's book The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1883. Children adored this book, and the generation that grew up on it finally received a single language and became a single people. True, far from urban centers, where people did not particularly read books, modern Italian was spoken only in the 1950s thanks to radio and television.

The national hero of Italy, a legendary figure, a member of the Risorgimento liberation movement - all this is about the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi. His name has become the personification of freedom and unification. The Fascist Party, like communists and liberals, considered him the ancestor of their ideology. Many streets in the world are named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, monuments are erected to him, he is revered.

Short biography of Giuseppe Garibaldi

The revolutionary was born in 1807 in Nice, which at that time was part of Italy. Giuseppe's father owned a sailboat and transported goods on it over short distances around the country. From a young age, the boy tried to expand his horizons, he got acquainted early with the work of Dante and Petrarch, he was interested in the details of the battles and military campaigns of Napoleon and Hannibal. He knew many foreign languages, such as French, English and Spanish.

From the age of 15, Garibaldi sailed on merchant ships. As a sailor, he visited Russia, traveled around the Mediterranean Sea. In 1821, the Greek struggle for independence from Turkish oppression began. In 1828, riots swept through Italy, the authorities responded with mass repressions and executions. Upon returning from the next flight, Giuseppe felt the heavy atmosphere of his native land, considered that he could be followed and tried to leave Nice as soon as possible.

The turning point was for Garibaldi's acquaintance in 1833 with Emile Barro, a supporter of the utopian movement, and with a representative of the Young Italy organization. These meetings greatly influenced the formation of Giuseppe's views. After the unsuccessful uprising of the Mazzinists in 1834, Garibaldi, fearing arrest and death, went to South America. There he actively fights for the independence of the Latin American republics, fights on the side of the Republicans, becomes a Freemason and an ardent opponent of the Catholic Church. However, he has kept in touch for 13 years with his associates from Italy.

Soon Garibaldi returns to Italy to take part in the war with Austria. However, this conflict ends with the defeat of the Italian army. Throughout the first half of 1849, Giuseppe Garibaldi fought for the proclaimed Roman Republic against the French and Neapolitans, who were trying to stop the conflict. On July 3, 1849, he fell under the yoke of the French army, the revolutionary detachment retreated to the north, seeking to soon continue the struggle for freedom.

However, Garibaldi decided not to give up on any account. The strongest troops were thrown in order to break his detachment. He had to go to Venice to find support among the supporters of his ideas. As soon as he reaches Piedmont, Garibaldi is arrested and expelled from the country.

In 1859, Victor Emmanuel II becomes king, who is going to start a war against Austria in order to liberate Italian lands. Garibaldi returns to his homeland and accepts an invitation to take part in the campaign. The Austrian army was defeated. As a result of the war, part of central Italy joins Piedmont, and the territory of Nice goes to France.

In 1860, Garibaldi led a detachment of more than a thousand people to unite the lands of Italy. He receives permission from Victor Emmanuel II and sets off with his detachment to the coast of Sicily. Soon the enemy troops were defeated, and the commander's detachment triumphantly enters Palermo, the capital of Sicily. After numerous battles, the entire territory of the island falls under the control of Garibaldi.

After the end of the war in 1861, the lands of the kingdom were annexed to Sardinia. However, Garibaldi's main goal was the return of Rome. This decision of the commander was vehemently opposed by Victor Emmanuel II. He was categorically against the invasion of those lands that belonged to the Pope.

In 1866, after another war with Austria, thanks to Garibaldi, Venice returned to Italy. Soon the commander again makes an attempt to annex Rome and begins to look for like-minded people who could support him. However, Garibaldi is arrested, but he manages to escape from under the escort and again try to gather volunteers for the next trip to Rome. Giuseppe is defeated by the French army for the city. It took several years for the French to leave the territory of Rome, as the war with Prussia began. The Italian army took advantage of this moment, occupied the city and annexed it to their territory.

Giuseppe Garibaldi, the idol of the revolutionaries, died in June 1882 on the island of Caprera. The name of the man who gave his all to the struggle for the freedom of the motherland remained forever in the memory of independent Italy.

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