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The life of Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of the most important figures in nineteenth-century Europe, was filled with adventure and dedicated to democratic ideals not only in his beloved Italy, but also throughout the world. Born in Nice on July 4, 1807, Garibaldi was the product of a seafaring family. At an early age, he left home and was employed on several ships sailing the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It was during this time that Garibaldi joined Giuseppe Mazzini’s Giovine Italia (Young Italy), a secret political organization, dedicated to the creation of an Italian republic.
With a death sentence hanging over his head after participating in a failed coup, Garibaldi sailed to Brazil and became involved in that nation’s civil war. It was there that he met and married Anita Ribeiro da Silva, a heroine of both the Italian Risorgimento and the Brazilian Civil War. After several close encounters with the enemy in Brazil, Garibaldi took his wife and infant son, Menotti, to Uruguay. Fighting for the forces of liberty and democracy, Garibaldi’s 200 Italian nationals, known as the Italian Legion or the Redshirts, fought to secure Uruguayan independence.
In 1849, Garibaldi added to his mystique and international fame by defending the short-lived Roman Republic. Despite Herculean efforts, Garibaldi was defeated by an overwhelming French army and forced to flee for his life. During this perilous journey, his beloved wife, Anita, died near Comacchio. Fearing arrest and still grieving, the Italian general sought sanctuary in America. Attempting to avoid public adulation, Garibaldi hoped to live quietly in his adopted homeland. He refused to accept charity, and humbly worked in a sausage factory on the estate of Antonio Meucci in Staten Island, New York. As a common laborer, Garibaldi joined a Freemasons’ lodge and a local fire department; he spent many hours socializing with fellow Italian exiles and playing bocce.
General Garibaldi returned to Italy in 1854. Living on the windswept island of Caprera, Garibaldi waited for his opportunity to help unify Italy. In 1860, Garibaldi, along with his 1,000 Redshirts, participated in one of the most remarkable military campaigns in modern history. Landing in Sicily, Garibaldi was welcomed enthusiastically; his popularity reached mythical proportions. Once he secured the island, the Italian general crossed the Straits of Messina and routed the Bourbon forces, marching triumphantly into Naples. Following his service, Garibaldi was offered great wealth, a castle and even a steamship to remain in the King’s army. Instead, the Italian Liberator returned to Caprera with only a few hundred liras and a bag of corn seed.
Angry that the King did not appoint him as governor of Sicily and Naples, the “Sword of the Risorgimento” flirted with the idea of returning to America, now in the midst of the Civil War. Responding to high-ranking government officials, Garibaldi suggested that he was willing to fight for the Union provided that slavery be abolished and, more importantly, he be appointed commander-in-chief of the army. Obviously, Garibaldi’s demands were not accepted. Yet this did not diminish his devotion to the Union’s cause. He corresponded frequently with President Abraham Lincoln and used his considerable influence to keep Great Britain neutral during the conflict. He even named his grandson after the sixteenth U.S. president.
In 1862, Garibaldi and his followers were determined to liberate Rome from the French. After landing in Palermo, he began gathering volunteers with his slogan, Roma o Morte (Rome or Death). Fearing a military conflict with France, the King of Italy dispatched his troops to Aspromonte to stop Garibaldi’s march to Rome. After a brief skirmish, Garibaldi, who had ordered his men not to fire their weapons, was himself shot and severely wounded.
Garibaldi spent his remaining days fighting to complete the unification of Italy. At the age of fifty-nine, he organized the Hunters of the Alps and helped liberate Venice from the Austrians. Ironically, the “Sword of the Risorgimento” played no role in the liberation of Rome. With the unification of Italy complete, Garibaldi devoted himself to social reforms. He advocated such things as universal suffrage, workers’ rights, free and universal education and an equitable tax system.
An unpretentious and remarkable figure, Giuseppe Garibaldi now stands as one of the lions of nineteenth-century Europe. Unfazed by wealth, the Italian patriot dedicated his life to the unification of modern Italy and the ideals of democracy around the world. •
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(Published in Voce Italiana 2007)
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