The Dictatorship of Garibaldi or Dictatorial Government of Sicily was the provisional executive that Giuseppe Garibaldi appointed to govern the territory of Sicily during the Expedition of the Thousand in 1860. It governed in opposition to the Bourbons of Naples.

History

On 14 May 1860 in

Salemi Salemi is a town and ''comune'' in southwestern Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani. History Salemi is where Giuseppe Garibaldi announced the annexation of Sicily on May 14, 1860, as part of the Expedition of the Th ...

, Garibaldi announced that he was assuming

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

over Sicily, in the name of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. On 17 May,

Francesco Crispi Francesco Crispi (4 October 1818 – 11 August 1901) was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and one of the archite ...

was appointed First Secretary of State. The Redshirts advanced to Palermo, the capital of the island, and launched a siege on 27 May. On 2 June 1860 in Palermo were appointed four secretaries of State and created six

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

. Created the Sicilian Army and a fleet of the government of Sicily. The pace of Garibaldi's victories had worried Cavour, who in early July sent him a proposal of immediate annexation of Sicily to Piedmont. Garibaldi, however, refused vehemently to allow such a move until the end of the war. Cavour's envoy, Giuseppe La Farina, was arrested and expelled from the island. He was replaced by the more malleable

Agostino Depretis Agostino Depretis (31 January 181329 July 1887) was an Italian statesman and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Italy for several stretches between 1876 and 1887, and was leader of the Historical Left parliamentary group for more than a de ...

, who gained Garibaldi's trust and was appointed as pro-dictator.Agostino Depretis in ''Dizionario Biografico – Treccani''
/ref> The dictatorial government ended 2 December 1860, while November, 4, the annexation of the Kingdom of Italy was ratified by the popular plebiscite of 21 October.

First Secretary of State

(17 May – 18 July 1860) *

Giuseppe Sirtori Giuseppe Sirtori (17 April 1813 – 18 September 1874) was an Italian soldier, patriot and politician who fought in the unification of Italy. Biography Sirtori was born at Monticello Brianza, north of Milan. He started an ecclesiastic career, be ...

(18–22 July 1860) pro-dictator *

(22 July – 14 September 1860) pro-dictator *

Antonio Mordini Antonio Mordini (Barga, 31 May 1819 – Montecatini, 14 July 1902) was a longstanding Italian patriot and, after 1861, a member of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1869 he served as Minister of Public Works of the Kingdom of Italy, a m ...

(17 September – 2 December 1860) pro-dictator

Notes

Sources

* * {{Sicily Italian unification 1860 in Italy 19th century in Sicily Giuseppe Garibaldi 1860 establishments in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies States and territories established in 1860 States and territories disestablished in 1860

History

First Secretary of State

See also

Notes

Sources