Italy, before its process of revolution began, was mostly ruled by foreign powers and absolute monarchs. The country’s citizens decided they wanted a change in their government and freedom from the many rulers they experienced. In the beginning, the revolt was not organized and resulted in failure until they united and fought as one large group. With the help of some historical revolutionaries such as Mazzini, Garibaldi, Cavour and the combination of multiple independence wars, Italy finally saw a reconstruction of its government and a unification of the nation. According to John Grooch, William Ewart Gladstone described Italy’s fight for unification as “among the greatest marvels of our time”. After the country had been reconstructed and unified, it saw a sudden flow of people and a massive overpopulation. Without the combined efforts of a large portion of the Italian population, the peninsula would have never seen its unification, political restructuring, and the encouragement of a drastic population emigration.
B. The beginning of a revolution
1. Life before revolution
Before Italy gained independence, most of the country was controlled by the French. The provinces annexed to France, the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Naples were the main areas of control the French had dominated. By 1810, all of northern and central Italy became united under this new foreign rule and “gave the northern half of the peninsula its first experience with political unity since ancient times” says Salvatore Saladino. Napoleon Bonaparte ruled the Kingdom of Italy while the Kingdom of Naples was first ruled by Joseph Bonaparte and then by Napoleon’s brother-in-law Joachim Murat in 1808. In November 1799 Napoleon seized control of the ...
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Killinger, Charles. The History of Italy. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002.
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Journals
Buonaiuto, Claudia, and Marie-Helene Laforest. "Spelling Out Exclusion in Southern Italy." Social Identities. no. 1 (2011): 41-59.
Cavaioli, Frank. "Patterns of Italian Immigration to the United States." The Catholic Social Science Review. (2008): 213-229.
Finotelli, Claudia, and Giuseppe Sciortino. "The Importance of Being Southern: The Making of Policies of Immigration Control in Italy." European Journal of Migration and Law. no. 2 (2009): 119-138.
Hoffheimer, Michael, and Anne Quinney. "Fatal Duality: Alexandre Dumas on Garabaldi, Cavour, and the myth of the Risorgimento." Clio. no. 2 (2012): 162-185.
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
In response to the democratic backlash after World War I, in response to the Treaty of Versailles and the economic failure after the war, countries turned to a totalitarian, fascist government, regulating every facet of life of the people it ruled. Fascist Italy was no exception—over the years 1921-1943, Italy instituted a population policy, controlling it and causing it to rise. Italy’s population policy consisted of the regulation of family size, often exercising Mussolini’s bid for control in extreme manners. The reactions consisted of an economic counterpoint of family size, and disapproval of this new regime.
Ginsborg P (1990). ‘A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics: 1943-1980’ Published by Penguin; Reprint edition (27 Sep 1990).
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
In the thirty-five years preceding World War I, the United States was flooded with seventeen million “new” immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. Each group brought their own distinctive food habits from the “old” world. The Italians, a large portion of which came from Southern Italy, were part of th...
7 May 2010 “Fascism in Germany and Italy.” Online Essays. 10 July 2007. 7 May 2010 “Italian Fascism.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.
...1990s. It is fundamental to comprehend how Albanians have been treated and viewed by southern Italians in the past, how Albanians have tried to adjust to Italian society, and how present conditions stand. Albanians discovered a rough beginning in southern Italy full of blame and discrimination, though, some positive changes have occurred, mainly due to the fact that Albanians gave up their traditions to become more “Italian.” It is hoped that time will cure all, that stereotypes and negative attitudes will fade, and that Albanians will be completely integrated into southern Italian society one day. Like a famous Albanian proverb says, “Durimi është çelësi për parajsë”, which can be translated to “Patience is the key to paradise.” After all, Italian public opinion is much higher towards historically established minorities than towards newly settled immigrant groups.
Italians came to America for a new start and with the visions of achieving the American Dream. In the late 1800’s and through history, people saw America as the “land of opportunity”, “the land of milk and honey” or “The Promised Land”. They believed that America was the place that they could turn their life around and get a job to support their family better than they could in their native country. The jobs that they found were not always easy. The first Italians to America often became fruit merchants in New York and wine growers in California. Many agricultural states atte...
Once arriving in America, many Italians struggled to settle into their new country and life. They came to find jobs and start over. Yet they were not welcomed. They had to work as laborers, live in the slums. However, their cultures and family lives were impacted because many families were separated due to the conditions in Italy and lack of
During the late 1800's Italy became one of the most overcrowded countries in Europe. Many Italians began to consider the possibility of leaving Italy to escape the new low wages and high taxes. For centuries the entire Italian peninsula was divided into quarreling states, with foreign powers often controlling several states. In this chaotic situation, the feudal system ruled above the economic system, leaving money only in the hands of a select few (Wikepedia.com, 2007).
First of all, this is determined by Italy's weak and foreign expansion policy. Secondly, this is also determined by Italy's national interests. Third, after the outbreak of World War I, the Allied Powers all met the requirements of the Italian territory.
“Chi la dura la vince.” This soft-spoken Italian proverb sums up the series of events that Italian immigrants endured on their journey in America. Between 1880 and 1920, more than four million Italian-Americans immigrated to the United States of America in hopes of temporarily escaping Southern Italy’s impoverished and overpopulated society. Once in America, these new Italian-American citizens started ‘Little Italys’ or ethnic enclaves of Italians. Some Little Italies were even large enough to support a full economic structure of their own, providing a plethora of job opportunities. These ‘small’ Italian communities shielded themselves from general stereotypes and provided a sense of belonging which helped Italians establish their roots. America’s attitude toward these new Italian-American citizens can be summed up in part by Congressman James McClintic, a Democrat Oklahoman: "I say the class of immigrants [Italians] coming to the shores of the United States at this time are not the kind of people we want as citizens in this country." Inplace of responding by aggressive human nature, America’s new Italian citizens viewed this as an opportunity to enrich family and community bonds. As for Italian traditions, they struggled to be accustomed between the two Italian generations as the already ‘Americanized’ Italian children clashed with their parents, which resulted in altered traditions. One major example is Italian-American food which chain restaurants have come to paint as a type of restaurant that specializes in spaghetti with meatballs, pizza, and has red checked tablecloths.
Each and every individual country has its own ideologies, economies, and ways of governing. In the early 1900’s Italy had developed its own ideology that had a huge impact on the lives of the Italian people. This ideology was known as Fascism. Fascism was not only a way of governing, but it was also known as a social organization. Fascism became what it was in response to the movement of social theories. There is much more behind the idea of fascism such as where it came from, who the creator of Fascism was, and why it was popular among many civilians.
The Italian Unification was a big impact on Nationalism, which was led by Benso di Cavour, which supplied most of the ideology for the movement. Benso di Cavour was also the Prince of Piedmont-Sardinia and severed as King Victor Emmanuel II. Cavour built the strength of Piedmont-Sardinia by making a strong army, an environment that was healthy, and political freedom. Cavour was all for freedom of speech, gaining Napoleon III support by promising him Sa...
Harr, James. Essays on Italian Poetry and Music in the Renassisance: 1350-1600. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.