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Giuseppe Garibaldi
(1807–82)

Biographical

Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian patriot, was the son of a sailor, and himself went to sea early, becoming a merchant captain in 1832. Between 1833 and 1834, he served in the navy of the kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. In 1834 he became involved in the 'Young Italy' movement of Mazzini and was condemned to death for taking part in an attempt to seize Genoa. He fled to France, and by 1836 he was living in South America, where he distinguished himself as a guerrilla fighter and privateer in the rebellion of Rio Grande against Brazil. He was taken prisoner and later eloped with and married the beautiful Creole Anita Riveira de Silva, the mother of his children Menotti, Ricciotti, and Teresa. After working as a drover, shipbroker, and teacher of mathematics, he joined the Montevideans in 1842 during their war with Buenos Aires, gaining renown as a naval commander and organiser of the Italian Legion. In 1847, he offered his services to the reforming Pope Pius IX but received an ambiguous reply. Meanwhile, Charles Albert of Sardinia, besieging the Austrians in Mantua in 1848, coldly referred him to his ministers. After the collapse of the Sardinian army, Garibaldi and his volunteers performed notable feats against the Austrians. In 1849, he joined the revolutionary government of Rome, voted for a republic, drove back the French force, and routed the Neapolitans. Meanwhile, Mazzini had been drawn into an armistice. The French, now reinforced, laid siege to Rome, and Garibaldi, recalled to defend it, mounted a brilliant resistance but was ultimately forced to retreat, pursued by the Austrians, to the Adriatic. During this flight, Anita died. Arrested by the Sardinian government and requested to leave Italy, he went to New York, where he worked for eighteen months as a candle maker before becoming captain of a Pacific merchant ship.

Garibaldi returned to Italy in 1854 and had settled as a farmer on the island of Caprera when, in 1859, the war of Italian liberation enabled him to render valuable service to Victor Emmanuel and the French. After the peace of Villafranca, he helped annex various territories to Sardinia but was not allowed to march on Rome. Meanwhile, Mazzinists had been conspiring against Bourbon rule in the Two Sicilies, and Garibaldi, in defiance of Cavour, came to their aid. 'The Thousand Heroes' landed at Marsala on 11 May 1860; within three months, Sicily was free. Crossing the straits on 29 August, Garibaldi entered Naples on 7 September, where he was greeted with cheers, even by the troops of King Francis. When Victor Emmanuel, elected sovereign by plebiscite, arrived in Naples, Garibaldi refused all rewards and retired to Caprera. Rome remained his ultimate goal, and in 1862 he embarked on a rash expedition against the city, but the Italian government sent troops against him, and he was taken prisoner at Aspromonte on 28 August. He later visited England to support Denmark’s cause and was received with wild enthusiasm by the public, though the government requested his return home. In the war of 1866, he once more commanded the 'Red Shirts' in Tyrol. Venice was subsequently ceded to Italy, and the following year, Garibaldi made his final attempt to seize Rome. Arrested by the Italian government, he escaped from Caprera and, with his volunteers, defeated the papal troops at Monterotondo, but on 3 November, he was utterly routed at Mentana by the Zouaves and the French.

Garibaldi again retired to Caprera, where in 1870 he published two poorly received novels. A third, in 1872, was based on the Sicilian expedition. That same year, he assisted the French Republic and was placed in command of the Vosges volunteers. However, crippled by rheumatism and vastly outnumbered, he achieved little success. Elected to the Bordeaux assembly, he resigned immediately after being insulted. For the remainder of his life, he was largely a helpless invalid, though he occasionally emerged into public life, such as in 1874, when he took his seat in the Chamber of Deputies in Rome. Thanks to the generosity of English friends, he became the proprietor of Caprera. An unfortunate marriage in 1860 was annulled in 1879, and in 1880, he married the nurse of his grandchildren. Garibaldi was an excellent commander of irregular forces, but his lack of political understanding sometimes harmed his cause. Nevertheless, he remains the central figure in the story of Italian independence.

Place of birth: Nice
Place of first marriage: Montevideo
Place of death: Caprera, Sardinia
Place of burial: Caprera, Sardinia

Son of Domenico Garibaldi and Rosa Raimondi. He was married firstly to Anita Ribeiro da Silva in 1842, and had issue; secondly to Giuseppina Raimondi in 1860 (annulled 1880), with no issue; thirdly to Francesca Armosino in 1880, and had issue.