Giuseppe Garibadli By: Monica Versace

About: Born July 4 th, 1807 in Nice, Italy. Died June 2 nd, 1882, at the age of 74. Garibaldi's family's involvement in coastal trade drew him to a life at sea.

Relationships: In 1841, Garibaldi and his Brazilian girlfriend Anita moved to Uruguay. Garibaldi worked as a trader and schoolmaster. The couple married in Montevideo the following year. They had four children — Menotti (born 1840), Rosita (born 1843), Teresita (born 1845), and Ricciotti (born 1847). Anita is said to have taught Giuseppe about the gaucho culture of southern Brazil and Uruguay. Around this time, he adopted his trademark clothing, which consisted of the red shirt, poncho, and sombrero.

Garibaldi’s Return He returned to Italy during the revolution of Many were okay coinciding with Garibaldi, however he was distrusted by most. Italy was still not a unified country, and was divided into many states A desire to be free from foreign rule, and the conservative leadership of the Austrians, led the Italian people to stage a revolution in order to drive out the Austrians. The revolution was led by the state of Piedmont.

Cont’d After the Piedmontese defeat at Novara, Garibaldi moved to Rome, to help fight. On April 30, 1849 the Roman Republican army, under Garibaldi's command, defeated a far superior French army. Later, French reinforcements arrived, and the siege of Rome began on June 1. The French prevailed on June 29. On June 30 the Roman Assembly met and debated three options: surrender, continue fighting in the streets, or retreat from Rome to continue resistance from the Apennine mountains. Garibaldi made a speech favoring the third option and said: Dovunque saremo, colà sarà Roma. (Wherever we may be, there will be Rome). A truce was negotiated on July 1, and on July 2 Garibaldi withdrew from Rome with 4,000 troops.

Italy’s Second War of Independence Garibaldi returned again to Italy in He bought half of the Italian island of Caprera, devoting himself to agriculture. In 1859, the Second Italian War of Independence broke out. Garibaldi was appointed major general, and formed a volunteer unit named the Hunters of the Alps. With his volunteers, he won victories over the Austrians at Varese, Como, and other places.

Aftermath On October 5 Garibaldi set up the International Legion bringing together different national divisions of French, Poles, Swiss, German and other nationalities, with a view not just of finishing the liberation of Italy, but also of their homelands. With the motto "Free from the Alps to the Adriatic," the unification movement set its gaze on Rome and Venice. At the outbreak of the American Civil War (in 1861), Garibaldi volunteered his services to President Abraham Lincoln. Garibaldi was offered a Major General's commission in the U. S. Army through the letter from Secretary of State. According to Italian historian Petacco, "Garibaldi was ready to accept Lincoln's 1862 offer but on one condition: that the war's objective be declared as the abolition of slavery. But at that stage Lincoln was unwilling to make such a statement lest he worsen an agricultural crisis.“ On August 6, 1863, after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, Garibaldi wrote to Lincoln: "Posterity will call you the great emancipator, a more enviable title than any crown could be, and greater than any merely mundane treasure."

The Later Years Despite being elected again to the Italian parliament, Garibaldi spent much of his late years in Caprera. In 1879 he founded the "League of Democracy," which advocated universal suffrage, abolition of ecclesiastical property, emancipation of women, and maintenance of a standing army. He became ill and was confined to a bed because of his arthritis. On his deathbed, Garibaldi asked that his bed be moved to where he could gaze at the emerald and sapphire sea. His death was on June 2, 1882 at the age of almost 75. He wished for a simple funeral. He is buried on his farm on the island of Caprera alongside his last wife and some of his children.

Bibliography Garibaldi utions_of_1848_in_the_Italian_States