Mazzini's Ideas and Inspiration and Attitudes to Change in Italy in 1830s
Introduction
Guisseppe Mazzini was born in piedmont in Genoa; was a son of a doctor
and a professor. He was a depressive and physically frail.
In the revolutions of 1820 he became a nationalist.
He tried two occupational directions, Medicine but became bored and
kept fainting as well as Law that didn't interest him.
In 1827 he amalgamated (joined) the Carbonari but was disappointed. In
1830 he took part in the revolts and was arrested then sent to France.
In 1831 he formed young Italy when he was 26 years old in Marseilles
and was based on Mazzini's own views of how revolution was to succeed
in Italy. It was a youth movement. The maximal age limit was 40(Later
raised), but most members were much younger. Their motto was 'Thought
and action'. They displayed a uniform of the national colours -Green
shirt, red belt, white trousers and a beret. They equipped themselves
with armaments -a rifle and 50 rounds of ammunition each member.
'Young Italy' was not a localised affair. Its aims were for the whole
of Italy, and its contacts international. Mazzini had grand plans for
liberal change throughout Europe, and soon groups such as 'young
Germany', 'Young Ireland'. 'And young Europe' kept pace with similar
patterns.
I do not accord that Mazzinis key ideas and inspiration transformed
attitudes to change in the 1830's.He didn't really 'transform'
anything but was an idealist that opened peoples eyes to possibilities
and capabilities.
Mazzini wanted unification and the 'universality of citizens speaking
the same tongue as he put it.' He also wanted a...
... middle of paper ...
...art in government. The
revolutionary governments were mainly middle class, except in Sicily
where peasants were involved. Elsewhere revolutionary leaders didn't
encourage popular interest and support. Not surprisingly, ordinary
people often welcomed back their past rulers with open arms because
middle class revolutionaries didn't want mass involvement in
revolution. They feared allowing the mob to intervene that was less
well educated and would animate a democracy that would unsettle
society and its class divisions would reinstate monarchies as well as
Republics.
In conclusion: I do not accord with the statement that he transformed
attitudes but he did adapt many ways of thinking and aided reform. I
believe Mazzini to be a famous important publisher and revolutionary
that made many changes, that improved society.
The North Italian states were better economically and politically than the Southern Italian states. This led to a less feeling of nationalism since the North and South were different and was one of the reasons why the early attempts in 1821, 1830 and 1848 for unification failed. A group called Carbonari was working towards unification of the Italian states. Carbonari meant the Charcoal Burners and it was a secret society. In early 19th century a Carbonari named Mazzini brought up the notion of “Young Italy”. He emphasized on the one Italian state. He soon becomes the famous Italian soldier. In 1833, Garibaldi meets Mazzini for the first time and enrolls for the Young Italy Movement. “Young Italy” movement was where Garibaldi rose up. Slowly the sense of an Italian state was coming up but still the states were lacking a leader who would lead the way to the
“I’ll be out of here and away from all you knaves for one time anyway, as not a month will pass before you’ll see whether I’m nobody or a somebody.” The story of Bianco Alfani reflected the nature of 14th century Florentine society where, as Alfani remarked, the election to public office could make or destroy a person. In late 14th century and early 15th century Florence, decreased population and expanding commerce provided a favorable environment for ambitious individuals. The real life examples of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati demonstrated the positive role of ambition in Florence. Pitti, a nobleman had an extremely successful career, partaking in military campaigns, holding public office in Florence and being an ambassador to foreign courts. Gregorio Dati, the grandson of purse venders, engaged in commerce, rising in social standing which culminated with his election to public office. Holding office was a definitive sign of success and recognition in Florence. In contrast was the tale Bianco Alfani, a deemed man unworthy of office. As told by Piero Veneziano, Alfani was the chief jailor in Florence who was duped into believing he had been named captain of the town of Norcia. Alfani publicly made a fool of himself, spending all his money and creating a great fanfare over his supposed appointment. Comparing the lives of Pitti and Dati to the story of Bianco Alfani illustrates how economic and social change in 14th century Florence produced a culture centered on reputation and commerce. For men like Pitti and Dati, who flourished within the constraints of Florentine society, their reward was election to office, a public mark of acceptance and social standing. Those who were ambitious but failed to abide by the values o...
Mussolini’s population policy was a clear effort to exercise his authoritarian control over the people of Italy, regulating the most personal and private details of their lives. In his bid for complete control, he used new laws, propaganda, and sometimes brutal tactics in order for his wishes to be recognized. It is during the 1920’s to the 1940’s that totalitarian control over the state escalated into full dictatorships, with the wills of the people being manipulated into a set of beliefs that would promote the fascist state and “doctrines.”
Ginsborg P (1990). ‘A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics: 1943-1980’ Published by Penguin; Reprint edition (27 Sep 1990).
Multiple historians have touched on the change in government during Fascist Italy’s reign in World War II. In Italian Fascism: Its Origins and Development, Alexander De Grand clarifies the many promises Benito Mussolini fabricated for the Italian people in order to get them to join his cause such as the improvement on poverty with the rise of a new Roman Empire. De Grand also gives an opposite view, with some citizens seeing Fascism as a “model of efficiency.” In Melton S. Davis’ Who Defends Rome?, t...
Next, we will discuss the Risorgimento, a 19th-century movement for unification of Italy that would ultimately establish the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Before this time, the Italian peninsula
Italian Economy 1924-1936 Mussolini had inherited an Italy with limited resources. The industrialisation of the north and modernisation of agriculture left the south behind with its mass poverty and lack of education. Mussolini believed in will power as a driving force in society. The battle for the lira, grain and marshes were used to mobilise the Italian people who struggled to achieve these targets.
At the end of World War One, the Central Powers (which included Italy, Germany, and Austria-Hungary) were forced to submit to the Treaty of Versailles, which left the Central Powers with citizens who had a mounting disdain for government and organized power. In this chaos, Italy struggled to find a definitive government. As a result, from the end of WWI in 1919 to 1922 Italy, struggling in the ruins of WWI, found itself under the rule of five different governments. Following the infamous ‘March on Rome’, Benito Mussolini was chosen to be Italy’s head of government; however, Mussolini’s nascent fascist party (which was officially founded in 1919) toiled to rally around a set ideology. Though Mussolini had founded the Fascist party in 1919, the party had no set platform or ideology to organize itself around. James Whisker, a professor of Political Science at West Virginia University states, “Italian fascism had at least four principal phases.” Through these phases Italian fascism would come to fruition. The first...
The renaissance and the reformation are the beginning of the golden age of Europe. Many economic, religious, and cultural changes occurred during this time period. The economic and cultural rise of Italian city-states, the recentralization of government in northern Europe, and the separation of the Roman Catholic Church into different Catholic and Protestant groups were important achievements for Europe during this time. The renaissance and the reformation were not only the beginning of the modern western world, but also set the stage for the European rise in global colonization, which gave way to the birth of our glorious nation.
The failure of the Italian revolutions cannot be attributed to one reason as there are a plethora of reasons which could be cited as a main cause. The main reasons which could be argued as the most important reasons for the failure of the Italian revolts are the lack of organisation within revolutionary groups, the Austrian army’s strength, the political and military inexperience of those in power, the Pope’s abandonment of the revolution, the hesitation of Charles Albert to front the campaign of unity and Bonaparte’s intervention. In 1815 Italy was not recognised as a country, Metternich, an Austrian statesman, said "The word 'Italy' is a geographical expression, a description which is useful shorthand, but has none of the political significance the efforts of the revolutionary ideologues try to put on it” which shows that Italy was not considered a country this was because it was separated into different states and each had their own rulers. The system of government was mainly autocratic which meant that just one man was in charge of the entire state and so it would be true to say that Italy was not a democratic country. The French Revolution that began in 1789 meant that countries all over Europe were under the control of Napoleon Bonaparte, Italy included until the battle of Waterloo where Napoleon was defeated. All progress that had been made in the country was reversed with the Treaty of Versailles which meant that the autocratic kings were reinstated into Naples, Sardinia-Piedmont and Sicily and the duchies of Parma, Modena and Tuscany were given back to Austrian rule. The people of Italy had tasted a better life under Napoleon’s rule and wanted change, this led to the revolts.
A Closer Examination of Paolo Sarpi and the Uses of Information in the Seventeenth-Century Venice
"The manner in which Mussolini and the Fascist Party gained possession of the government was regarded in most foreign circles as an illegal act of violence." (3) As the nation of Italy began to suffer great debts, Mussolini had been summoned by the King to form a government to aid in the economic needs. This marked the birth of the Fascist Party in Italy. In the beginning of his rise to the top, Mussolini was popular amongst his people. His popularity was high, and people began to trust in his judgment and ideas. (4) He was, in essence, saving the people from the turmoil that had ensued the nat...
As the Roman Republic began expanding further and further, land distribution issues arose within the society. Rich aristocrats acquired lands from their plebeian neighbors, creating expansive latifundia throughout Rome, while the voiceless plebeian class shrunk smaller and smaller. Amidst the unrest, two brothers, each elected as tribune, arose to give the lower class a voice against the wealthy aristocrats. Both Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, fought so persistently that their opposition of the Roman government led to their respective assassinations. The assassinations of the impactful brothers led to a period of unrest and civil war in Ancient Rome, forever impacting the history of Rome. The Gracchi brothers were historically significant
For a country to be 'great' it has to have a strong economy, a stable
Among the most prominent motifs in Italian politics since the Risorgimento has been a tendency for quasi-action (inaction disguised as action), in the form of transformismo and attendismo. The first of these terms refers to the practice of "assuring the government of an adequate majority in parliament either by a prelimina...