Garibaldi Giuseppe Italian commander (born July 4, 1807 - death June 2, 1882) Italian commander, revolutionary, commanded the most victorious army in the new history of Italy, was able to achieve the unification of his country. A master in guerrilla warfare, he fought in Italy and South America for over forty years and became the most popular revolutionary leader of his era. The British glorified him as a "hero of two worlds."
Origin. Participation in the revolutionary movement
Giuseppe was born in 1807 in Nice, the son of the sailor Domenico Garibaldi, the captain and owner of a small merchant ship. In addition to the fish trade, Captain Domenico was engaged in water transportation of goods between the ports of Italy. His mother's name was Donna Rosa Raimondi Garibaldi. She was an educated woman and wished to see her son as a student in theological seminary.
At the age of 15, he began naval service under the guidance of his father. 1832 - he himself becomes the captain of his own merchant ship, but his true vocation was to participate in the revolutionary movement known as "Young Italy", which at that time was led by Giuseppe Mazzini in Piedmont (Sardinian kingdom). At that time, Italy was fragmented into a number of small states, occupied or controlled by foreign powers. 1834 Garibaldi arrives in Genoa to support the impending uprising. The uprising failed, Garibaldi was sentenced to death in absentia. He managed to escape to South America.
In South America
However, in his new homeland, Garibaldi was not going to abandon his revolutionary enthusiasm. From 1836 to 1843 he was the captain of a privateer in the Rio Grande Republic, which fought against Brazil. Then he defended Uruguay from Argentina. Then he was a field commander and improved his tactical skill, which will be useful to him in the future. Garibaldi selected for the service immigrants from Italy, such as himself, who could be quickly assembled for a military operation so that later they could dissolve among the civilian population. Although
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Garibaldi, as a rule, was opposed by superior enemy forces, he mastered the art of guerrilla warfare, quick strikes, lightning-fast raids, while evading decisive battles. At the same time, Garibaldi introduced the famous "uniform" for his soldiers - simple red shirts, which became a symbol of his army in South America, and later in Italy.
Italian revolution
After 12 years in South America, Garibaldi learns about the revival of the revolutionary movement in his homeland, known as "Risorgimento" ("Renaissance"), and returns to Italy, creating a detachment of "Red Shirts" of 3,000 volunteers. After a short, unsuccessful war with the Austrian occupiers in northern Italy and southern Switzerland, Garibaldi led his volunteers to Rome in 1849 to help his friend Mazzini defend the city from the French, who were trying to restore the pope's power.
For almost three months, Garibaldi defended Rome from the vastly superior forces of the French troops, but, in the end, was forced to cease resistance. On July 3, Garibaldi with 5,000 of his men left Rome, and the French army entered the city. The terms of the ceasefire guaranteed a free exit for Garibaldi and his men from Rome, but outside of Rome they were attacked by Austrians, French and Neapolitans; most of the rebels were killed or taken prisoner.
Giuseppe Garibaldi himself was able to escape. He left for the USA. For some time he worked in New York at a candle factory, then sailed to Peru and again became the captain of a merchant ship. 1854 - he returned to Italy, settled on the island of Caprera, near Sardinia, and became the captain of the first Italian steamer.
After the revolution
1859 - the war with Austria began, and Garibaldi again gathered the Red Shirts volunteers. After brief battles with the Austrians in the Alps, he put his army of 1000 people on 2 ships and sailed with them to the south, to support the Sicilian uprising against the King of Naples Francis II.
1860, May - "Red Shirts" liberated Sicily, and then moved the hostilities to the mainland. 1861 February - Giuseppe with his volunteers took Naples and liberated all of southern Italy. All of Italy glorified Garibaldi as a great hero, and he transferred the conquered lands under the rule of King Victor Emmanuel I, who on February 18, 1861 proclaimed all these lands to be the Kingdom of Italy.
Giuseppe Garibaldi became a hero not only for his compatriots. In July of the same year, American President Lincoln invited him to take command of the federal army, which fought the army of the newly created Confederation. Giuseppe refused: he did not like the fact that Lincoln had not yet abolished slavery, as well as the fact that he had not been offered the post of commander in chief. 1864, April - when Garibaldi arrived in London, a large crowd of people greeted him as a "hero of two worlds."
Hiking Rome
Glorified abroad, the revolutionary was not happy with the way things were in his homeland. Rome remained under the rule of the pope, and Garibaldi dreamed of a unified Italy. In 1862 and 1866. Giuseppe commanded the military forces leading the offensive against the papal possessions, but was defeated twice by a stronger enemy and was captured. Both times, thanks to the national and world fame of Garibaldi, the enemies let him go home to Caprera.
1870 - Garibaldi and his two sons fought on the side of France in the war with Prussia, so he did not participate in the capture of Rome by Italian troops in October of the same year.
Last years
1874 - by his supporters he was elected to the Italian Parliament, and was a deputy for 2 years, until he retired from public life. In the last years of his life, he expressed sympathy for socialism, advocating for the rights of workers and for the equality of women. He also opposed the death penalty.
Recently (and perhaps even earlier), Giuseppe Garibaldi became close to the Freemasons. 1876, October - he received the lifetime title of "Grand Master of the Sovereign Sanctuary of Egypt." 1881 - Garibaldi became the "great hierophant" of two large Masonic organizations at once: the Eastern Rite of Memphis and the Egyptian Rite of Misraim. In order to strengthen his leadership with both "statutes", he decided to merge them into one, but he did not quite succeed.
Garibaldi died on Caprera on June 2, 1882, and was buried there with great solemnity.
Personal life. Interesting Facts
Nowadays, a photo of the Italian revolutionary can be seen in every history textbook, his biography has been studied almost thoroughly, he is respected and revered in Italy and in other countries of the world. It would seem that he tasted the glory of his life, lived it brightly, interestingly. However, not everyone knows that there were quite difficult and even unpredictable moments in it.
Now it is not about the persecutions and numerous battles with which his biography abounds, but about the simple everyday life … Fate has prepared him many tests.
So, the first wife, Anna Ribeira de Silva, who bore him children, died of malaria while Garibaldi traveled, taking part in endless liberation battles. This turned out to be a very serious blow for him.
Over time, Italy's national hero decided to marry a second time. His chosen one was the young Milanese Countess Raimondi, whom, however, he threw practically at the altar. Family happiness did not work out in this case because of the child, whom the revolutionary refused to recognize as his own. Nevertheless, the officially held marriage burdened Giuseppe for another 19 years, until it was dissolved.
Monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi in Nice.
Almost immediately after the divorce, the national hero married for the third time. His chosen one had neither high ranks, nor a loud name, she was a simple wet nurse for Garibaldi's little granddaughter.
Despite such a rich family experience and the presence of five children, the Italian activist died in complete loneliness, left by his family and friends …
Garibaldi has established himself not only as a talented diplomat, military leader and revolutionary, but also managed to prove himself in the literary field, writing a whole series of memoirs, thanks to which the multifaceted personality of the Italian revolutionary became so clear and understandable to modern mankind.
Merit
Garibaldi's honesty and dedication impressed both his supporters and his foes. Back in South America, he showed himself to be a skilled master of guerrilla warfare, and his skill grew even more during the hostilities in Italy. But the lack of systematic military training meant that it was more difficult for Garibaldi to conduct conventional military operations against regular troops, and in such cases he often suffered defeat.
Even more important than the purely military merits of Garibaldi were his spirit of patriotism and uncompromising struggle for the liberation of his country. He is glorified in our time as a great patriot, liberator and unifier of Italy. His selfless devotion to his people won him enduring fame in his own country and made his name a symbol for future revolutionaries regardless of their views.