Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807 – 1882) was a general of the Italian unification movement, the Risorgimento. In 1860 he led about a thousand red-shirted volunteers, the “Thousand”, ashore in Sicily and brought down the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, then handed the conquered South to King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia, opening the way to the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. With his twelve years of fighting in South America, he is called the “Hero of the Two Worlds”.
| Lived | 1807 – 1882 |
|---|---|
| Active in | Nice · South America (Brazil, Uruguay) · Sicily and Naples · Caprera |
| Known for | The Expedition of the Thousand; Italian unification; “Hero of the Two Worlds” |
| Game start | 1858 · age 51 · General in Genoa (commoner) — Redshirts |
Life at a glance
- 1807 Born on 4 July into a seafaring family in Nice.
- 1834 Takes part in a rising organised by Mazzini's Young Italy; it fails, he is sentenced to death in his absence, and he flees into exile in South America.
- 1842 Marries Anita, whom he met in Brazil, in Montevideo, and leads the Italian Legion in the Uruguayan civil war. He is said to have first worn the red shirt at this time.
- 1849 Defends the Roman Republic, retreats when it falls, and in August Anita dies in the marshes near Ravenna.
- 1859 Leads the Hunters of the Alps against the Austrians.
- 1860 On the night of 5 May he sails with the Thousand from Quarto near Genoa and lands at Marsala in Sicily on the 11th. After conquering as far as Naples, he meets Victor Emmanuel II at Teano on 26 October, hands over the South and withdraws to the island of Caprera.
- 1862 Marching on Rome, he is shot at Aspromonte by the troops of the Kingdom of Italy.
- 1867 Heading for Rome again, he is stopped at Mentana by papal and French troops.
- 1870 In the Franco-Prussian War he leads the Army of the Vosges for the French Republic.
- 1882 Dies on Caprera on 2 June.
Family
The family members who appear with this character when you start the game. Years follow the historical record; where none survives, a ? is shown.
| Relation | Name | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Father | Domenico Garibaldi | 1766 – 1841 | Ship's captain of Nice |
| Mother | Maria Rosa Raimondi | 1776 – 1852 | |
| First wife | Anita | 1821 – 1849 | Brazilian-born. Fought beside her husband and died near Ravenna in 1849 |
| Son | Menotti | 1840 – 1903 | Went with the Thousand |
| Daughter | Teresita | 1845 – 1903 | Married Stefano Canzio, an officer of the Thousand |
| Son | Ricciotti | 1847 – 1924 | Distinguished himself in the Army of the Vosges, 1870 |
| Second wife | Giuseppina Raimondi | Dates unknown | Married 1860, but they parted on the wedding day |
| Third wife | Francesca Armosino | 1848 – 1923 | Married 1880 |
In the game
You begin in December 1858 in Genoa as a general of fifty-one. You live in a stone house you built on Caprera, a small island off northern Sardinia, and Prime Minister Cavour in Turin has sent word that he wants to meet. All the land you own is half of Caprera, but in every tavern your name is sung like a song. Your wife Anita died nine years ago; you have your sons Menotti and Ricciotti and your daughter Teresita.
In the first event, “The Count in Turin”, agreeing to become the king's general raises the unification side's odds and your renown. In 1860, marriage to the Marquis Raimondi's daughter, news that your home town of Nice has been handed to France, and the departure from Quarto come one after another.
The turning point is “The Thousand”. If the expedition succeeds, real history runs through three days in Palermo, the Volturno, the handshake at Teano, Aspromonte, “I obey”, Mentana and the Army of the Vosges to the window on Caprera in 1882; if it fails, another branch runs to the end through the slope at Calatafimi, a federation under the pope's presidency and a closed Rome.
- Scenario guide Redshirts
- Era guide Victorian Era
- Related turning points What if Garibaldi's Thousand had failed?
Frequently asked questions
What were the Thousand?
The expedition of about 1,000 volunteers (around 1,089 on record) led by Garibaldi in 1860. They sailed from Quarto near Genoa in May in two ships, landed at Marsala in Sicily and within a few months brought down the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The expedition was the decisive step in joining southern Italy to the unified state.
Where did Garibaldi's red shirts come from?
The story is that in the 1840s in Montevideo, Uruguay, the Italian Legion he led got cheap red shirts made for slaughterhouse workers. From then on the red shirt became the symbol of Garibaldi and his volunteers.
Why did Garibaldi hand the conquered South to the king?
Although a republican, he judged that avoiding civil war and achieving Italian unity came first. After greeting Victor Emmanuel II as “King of Italy” at Teano on 26 October 1860, he refused any reward and went back to Caprera.
Sources
Giuseppe Garibaldi, Memoirs; general histories of Italian unification (the Risorgimento).