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Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the
unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
(Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the independent and unified Italy in place of the several separate states, many dominated by foreign powers, that existed until the 19th century. An Italian nationalist in the historical radical tradition and a proponent of social-democratic
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
, Mazzini helped define the modern European movement for
popular democracy : ''Not to be mistaken with Irish or Marxist-Leninist People's Democracy. For the Italian party see Popular Democracy (United Left). For the Ecuatorian party see Christian Democratic Union (Ecuador)'' Popular democracy is a notion of direct de ...
in a republican state. Mazzini's thoughts had a very considerable influence on the Italian and European republican movements, in the
Constitution of Italy The Constitution of the Italian Republic ( it, Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana) was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, ...
, about
Europeanism European values are the norms and values that Europeans are said to have in common, and which transcend national or state identity. In addition to helping promote European integration, this doctrine also provides the basis for analyses that charac ...
and more nuanced on many politicians of a later period, among them American president
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
and British prime minister
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
as well as post-colonial leaders such as
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
,
Veer Savarkar Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (), Marathi pronunciation: �inaːjək saːʋəɾkəɾ also commonly known as Veer Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966), was an Indian politician, activist, and writer. Savarkar developed the Hindu nationalis ...
,
Golda Meir Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and '' kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to ...
,
David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...
, Kwame Nkrumah,
Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
and Sun Yat-sen.


Biography


Early years

Mazzini was born in
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
, then part of the
Ligurian Republic The Ligurian Republic ( it, Repubblica Ligure, lij, Repubbrica Ligure) was a French client republic formed by Napoleon on 14 June 1797. It consisted of the old Republic of Genoa, which covered most of the Ligurian region of Northwest Italy, and ...
. His father Giacomo Mazzini, originally from
Chiavari Chiavari (; lij, Ciävai ) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the river Entella. History Pre-Roman and Roman Era A pre-Roman necropolis, which dates ...
, was a university professor who had adhered to Jacobin ideology while his mother Maria Drago was renowned for her beauty and religious
Jansenist Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...
fervour. From a very early age, Mazzini showed good learning qualities as well as a precocious interest in politics and literature. He was admitted to university at 14, graduating in law in 1826 and initially practised as a "poor man's lawyer". Mazzini also hoped to become a historical novelist or a dramatist and in the same year wrote his first essay, ''Dell'amor patrio di Dante'' ("On Dante's Patriotic Love"), published in 1827. In 1828–1829, he collaborated with the Genoese newspaper ''L'Indicatore Genovese'' which was soon closed by the Piedmontese authorities. He then became one of the leading authors of ''L'Indicatore Livornese'', published at Livorno by Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi, until this paper was closed down by the authorities. In 1827, Mazzini travelled to
Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...
, where he became a member of the
Carbonari The Carbonari () was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Ru ...
, a secret association with political purposes. On 31 October of that year, he was arrested at Genoa and interned at Savona. In early 1831, he was released from prison, but confined to a small hamlet. He chose exile instead, moving to Geneva, Switzerland.


Failed insurrections

In 1831, Mazzini went to
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
, where he became a popular figure among the Italian exiles. He was a frequent visitor to the apartment of Giuditta Bellerio Sidoli, a beautiful Modenes widow who became his lover. In August 1832 Giuditta Sidoli gave birth to a boy, almost certainly Mazzini's son, whom she named Joseph Démosthène Adolpe Aristide after members of the family of Démosthène Ollivier, with whom Mazzini was staying. The Olliviers took care of the child in June 1833 when Giuditta and Mazzini left for Switzerland. The child died in February 1835. Mazzini organized a new political society called
Young Italy Young Italy ( it, La Giovine Italia) was an Italian political movement founded in 1831 by Giuseppe Mazzini. After a few months of leaving Italy, in June 1831, Mazzini wrote a letter to King Charles Albert of Sardinia, in which he asked him to uni ...
. It was a secret society formed to promote Italian unification: "One, free, independent, republican nation." Mazzini believed that a popular uprising would create a unified Italy, and would touch off a European-wide revolutionary movement.Hunt, Lynn; Martin, Thomas R.; and Rosenwein, Barbara H. ''Peoples and Cultures'', Volume C ("Since 1740"): ''The Making of the West''. Boston: Bedford/Saint Martin's, 2008. The group's motto was ''God and the People'', and its basic principle was the unification of the several states and kingdoms of the peninsula into a single republic as the only true foundation of Italian liberty. The new nation had to be: "One, Independent, Free Republic". Mazzini's political activism met some success in Tuscany, Abruzzi, Sicily,
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, and his native
Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, especially among several military officers. Young Italy counted about 60,000 adherents in 1833, with branches in
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
and other cities. In that year Mazzini first attempted insurrection, which would spread from
Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chamb ...
(then part of the
Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
), Alessandria,
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
, and Genoa. However, the Savoy government discovered the plot before it could begin and many revolutionaries (including
Vincenzo Gioberti Vincenzo Gioberti (; 5 April 180126 October 1852) was an Italian Catholic priest, philosopher, publicist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Sardinia from 1848 to 1849. He was a prominent spokesman for liberal Catholicism. Bio ...
) were arrested. The repression was ruthless: 12 participants were executed, while Mazzini's best friend and director of the Genoese section of the ''Giovine Italia'', Jacopo Ruffini, killed himself. Mazzini was tried in absentia and sentenced to death. Despite this setback, whose victims later created numerous doubts and psychological strife in Mazzini, he organized another uprising for the following year. A group of Italian exiles were to enter Piedmont from Switzerland and spread the revolution there, while Giuseppe Garibaldi, who had recently joined Young Italy, was to do the same from Genoa. However, the Piedmontese troops easily crushed the new attempt.
Denis Mack Smith Denis Mack Smith CBE FBA FRSL (3 March 1920 – 11 July 2017) was an English historian who specialized in the history of Italy from the Risorgimento onwards. He is best known for his biographies of Garibaldi, Cavour and Mussolini, and for hi ...
writes:
In the spring of 1834, while at Bern, Mazzini and a dozen refugees from Italy, Poland, and Germany founded a new association with the grandiose name of Young Europe. Its basic, and equally grandiose idea, was that, as the French Revolution of 1789 had enlarged the concept of individual liberty, another revolution would now be needed for national liberty, and his vision went further because he hoped that in the no doubt distant future free nations might combine to form a loosely federal Europe with some kind of federal assembly to regulate their common interests. ..His intention was nothing less than to overturn the European settlement agreed in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, which had reestablished an oppressive hegemony of a few great powers and blocked the emergence of smaller nations. ..Mazzini hoped, but without much confidence, that his vision of a league or society of independent nations would be realized in his own lifetime. In practice, Young Europe lacked the money and popular support for more than a short-term existence. Nevertheless, he always remained faithful to the ideal of a united continent for which the creation of individual nations would be an indispensable preliminary.
On 28 May 1834, Mazzini was arrested at
Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...
, and exiled from Switzerland. He moved to Paris, where he was again imprisoned on 5 July. He was released only after promising he would move to England. Mazzini, together with a few Italian friends, moved in January 1837 to live in London in very poor economic conditions.


Exile in London

On 30 April 1840, Mazzini reformed the ''Giovine Italia'' in London, and on 10 November of the same year he began issuing the ''Apostolato popolare'' ("Apostleship of the People"). A succession of failed attempts at promoting further uprisings in Sicily, Abruzzi, Tuscany, and Lombardy-Venetia discouraged Mazzini for a long period, which dragged on until 1840. He was also abandoned by Sidoli, who had returned to Italy to rejoin her children. The help of his mother pushed Mazzini to create several organizations aimed at the unification or liberation of other nations, in the wake of ''Giovine Italia'': "
Young Germany Young Germany (german: Junges Deutschland) was a group of German writers which existed from about 1830 to 1850. It was essentially a youth ideology, similar to those that had swept France, Ireland, the United States and Italy. Its main proponents ...
", "Young Poland", and "Young Switzerland", which were under the aegis of "Young Europe" ('' Giovine Europa''). He also created an Italian school for poor people active from 10 November 1841 at 5 Greville Street, London.Verdecchia, Enrico. ''Londra dei cospiratori. L'esilio londinese dei padri del Risorgimento'', Marco Tropea Editore, 2010 From London he also wrote an endless series of letters to his agents in Europe and South America and made friends with
Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...
and his wife Jane. The "Young Europe" movement also inspired a group of young Turkish army cadets and students who, later in history, named themselves the " Young Turks". In 1843, he organized another riot in Bologna, which attracted the attention of two young officers of the Austrian Navy, Attilio and Emilio Bandiera. With Mazzini's support, they landed near Cosenza ( Kingdom of Naples) but were arrested and executed. Mazzini accused the British government of having passed information about the expeditions to the Neapolitans, and the question was raised in the British Parliament. When it was admitted that his private letters had indeed been opened, and its contents revealed by the Foreign Office to the Austrian and Neapolitan governments, Mazzini gained popularity and support among the British liberals, who were outraged by such a blatant intrusion of the government into his private correspondence. In 1847, he moved again to London, where he wrote a long "open letter" to Pope Pius IX, whose apparently liberal reforms had gained him a momentary status as a possible paladin of the unification of Italy, but The Pope did not reply. He also founded the People's International League. By 8 March 1848, Mazzini was in Paris, where he launched a new political association, the ''Associazione Nazionale Italiana''. In apologising for not being able to attend the first annual celebration of the Leeds Redemption Society (a communitarian experiment) on 7 January 1847 he offered to become a subscriber.


1848–1849 revolts

On 7 April 1848, Mazzini reached Milan, whose population had rebelled against the Austrian garrison and established a provisional government. The First Italian War of Independence, started by the Piedmontese king
Charles Albert Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independenc ...
to exploit the favourable circumstances in Milan, turned into a total failure. Mazzini, who had never been popular in the city because he wanted Lombardy to become a republic instead of joining Piedmont, abandoned Milan. He joined Garibaldi's irregular force at Bergamo, moving to Switzerland with him. Mazzini was one of the founders and leaders of the Action Party, the first organized party in the history of Italy. On 9 February 1849, a republic was declared in Rome, with Pius IX already having been forced to flee to Gaeta the preceding November. On the same day the Republic was declared, Mazzini reached the city. He was appointed, together with Carlo Armellini and Aurelio Saffi, as a member of the triumvirate of the new republic on 29 March, becoming soon the true leader of the government and showing good administrative capabilities in social reforms. However, the French troops called by the Pope made clear that the resistance of the Republican troops, led by Garibaldi, was in vain. On 12 July 1849, Mazzini set out for Marseille, from where he moved again to Switzerland.


Late activities

Mazzini spent all of 1850 hiding from the Swiss police. In July he founded the association ''Amici di Italia'' (Friends of Italy) in London, to attract consensus towards the Italian liberation cause. Two failed riots in Mantua (1852) and Milan (1853) were a crippling blow for the Mazzinian organization, whose prestige never recovered. He later opposed the alliance signed by Savoy with Austria for the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
. Also in vain was the expedition of
Felice Orsini Felice Orsini (; ; 10 December 1819 – 13 March 1858) was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the '' Carbonari'' who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. Early life Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna, the ...
in Carrara of 1853–1854. In 1856, he returned to Genoa to organize a series of uprisings: the only serious attempt was that of
Carlo Pisacane Carlo Pisacane, Duke of San Giovanni (22 August 1818 – 2 July 1857) was an Italian patriot and one of the first Italian socialist thinkers. He argued that violence was necessary not only to draw attention to, or generate publicity for, a c ...
in Calabria, which again met a disappointing end. Mazzini managed to escape the police but was condemned to death by default. From this moment on, Mazzini was more of a spectator than a protagonist of the Italian Risorgimento, whose reins were now strongly in the hands of the Savoyard monarch
Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title o ...
and his skilled prime minister,
Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement towa ...
. The latter defined him as "Chief of the assassins". In 1858, he founded another journal in London called ''Pensiero e azione'' (''Thought and Action''). On 21 February 1859, together with 151 republicans, he signed a manifesto against the alliance between Piedmont and the Emperor of France which resulted in the
Second War of Italian Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...
and the conquest of Lombardy. On 2 May 1860, he tried to reach Garibaldi, who was going to launch his famous
Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand ( it, Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa (now Quarto dei Mille) and landed in Mars ...
in southern Italy. In the same year, he released ''Doveri dell'uomo'' ("Duties of Man"), a synthesis of his moral, political and social thoughts. In mid-September, he was in Naples, then under Garibaldi's dictatorship, but was invited by the local vice-dictator Giorgio Pallavicino to move away. The new
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...
was created in 1861 under the Savoy monarchy. In 1862, Mazzini joined Garibaldi in his failed attempt to free Rome. In 1866, Italy joined the Austro-Prussian War and gained Venetia. At this time, Mazzini frequently spoke out against how the unification of his country was being achieved. In 1867, he refused a seat in the
Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical funct ...
. In 1870, he tried to start a rebellion in Sicily and was arrested and imprisoned in Gaeta. In October, he was freed in the amnesty declared after the Kingdom finally took Rome and returned to London in mid-December. Mazzini died of
pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
at the house known now as Domus Mazziniana in Pisa in 1872, aged 66. His body was embalmed by Paolo Gorini. His funeral was held in Genoa, with 100,000 people taking part in it.


Ideology

An Italian nationalist, Mazzini was a fervent advocate of
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
and envisioned a united, free and independent Italy. Unlike his contemporary Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was also a republican, Mazzini refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the House of Savoy until after the Capture of Rome. While he and his followers were sensitive to the question of social justice, starting a dialogue with socialism and Mazzini, in particular, finding many affinities with the Saint-Simonians, Mazzini was vigorously opposed to Marxism which for him was "a dreadful perversion of utilitarianism because of its insistence on class interests, especially class struggle, a conflictual vision that could not harmonize with Mazzini's unitarianism". Mazzini also rejected the
classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econom ...
principles of the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
based on the doctrine of individualism which he criticized as "presupposing either metaphysical materialism or political atheism".Moss, M. E.; Moss, Micheal S. (2004). ''Mussolini's Fascist Philosopher: Giovanni Gentile Reconsidered''. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. p. 59–60. . In the first volume of Carl Landauer's ''European Socialism'', Mazzini is mentioned alongside Garibaldi as outstanding "Italian revolutionaries". Albert Charles Brouse argued that "socialism is found in its entirety in the doctrine of Mazzini", his republicanism being both "democratic and social". In 1871, Mazzini condemned the radical, anti-religious and
revolutionary socialist Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revoluti ...
revolt in France that led to the creation of the short-lived
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
.Mazzini, Giuseppe; Recchia, Stefano; Urbinati, Nadia ed. (2009). ''A Cosmopolitanism of Nations''. New Haven: Princeton University Press. p. 6. . This caused
Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
to refer to Mazzini as a "reactionary" and an "old ass"Landor, R. (18 July 1871)
"Interview with Karl Marx, head of L'Internationale"
''New York World''. Reprinted in ''Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly'' on 12 August 1871 and in World History Archives a

Retrieved 2 September 2020.
Pearce, Robert; Stiles, Andrina (2006). ''Access to History: The Unification of Italy: Third Edition''. London: Hachette UK. . as well as prompting anarchist
Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; 1814–1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, socialist and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major founder of the revolutionary s ...
to write ''The Political Theology of Mazzini and the International'', whose "defence of the International and the Paris Commune caused a stir in Italy and provoked many renunciations of Mazzini and declarations of support for the International in the press", even leading to "the first nationwide increase in membership in the organisation". In an interview by R. Landor from 1871, Marx stated that Mazzini's ideas represented "nothing better than the old idea of a middle-class republic". Marx believed that Mazzini's point of view, especially after the
Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
and the Paris Commune, had become reactionary and the proletariat had nothing to do with it. In another interview, Marx described Mazzini as "that everlasting old ass". In turn, Mazzini described Marx as "a destructive spirit whose heart was filled with hatred rather than love of mankind" and declared that " spite the communist egalitarianism which
arx Arx, ARX, or ArX may refer to: *ARX (Algorithmic Research Ltd.), a digital security company *ARX (gene), Aristaless related homeobox *ARX (operating system), an operating system *ArX (revision control), revision control software *Arx (Roman), a Ro ...
preaches he is the absolute ruler of his party, admittedly he does everything himself but he is also the only one to give orders and he tolerates no opposition". While Mazzini saw the Paris Commune as "a socially divisive mistake", many other radicals "followed the socialist lead and mythologised the Commune as a social revolution ('the glorius harbinger of a new society' in Karl Marx's words)". This event "allowed a significant section of the radical left, especially a younger generation of radicals led by the poet and satirist Felice Cavallotti and grouped around the newspaper ''Il Gazzettino Rosa'', to break openly and decisively with both Mazzini and the principles and methods of Mazzinian politics".Riall, Lucy (2007). ''Garibaldi: Invention of a Hero'' (illustrated, reprinted ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 355. . While ''Il Gazzettino Rosa'' praised Mazzini as "the 'saviour' and teacher of Italy", it insisted:
We have no more idols, we don't accept abstruse, incomprehensible formulas. ..What we object to in Mazzini is not his opinion in itself, as much as his opinion erected into a system and a political dogma. We are materialists, but we don't make a political school out of our materialism. To us it does not matter if one believes or does not believe in God. .. stead Mazzini wants to impose a new religion on us.
According to Lucy Riall, "the emphasis by younger radicals on the 'social question' was paralleled by an increase in what was called 'internationalist' or socialist activity (mostly Bakuninist anarchism) throughout northern and southern Italy, which was given a big boost by the Paris Commune". The rise of this socialism "represented a genuine challenge to Mazzini and the Mazzinian emphasis on politics and culture, and Mazzinis' death early in 1872 only served to underline the prevailing sense that his political era was over. Garibaldi now broke definitively with Mazzini, and this time he moved to the left of him. He came out entirely in favour of the Paris Commune and internationalism, and his stance brought him much closer to the younger radicals, ..and gave him a new lease on political life. From his support was born an initiative to relaunch a broad party of the radical left". For Seamus Flahert, Henry Hyndman, who was an admirer of Mazzini, thought that "Mazzini's greatness ..was obscured for younger socialists by his 'opposition to Marx in the early days of the 'International,' and his vigorous condemnation a little later of the Paris Commune", insisting that "'Mazzini's conception of the conduct of human life' had been 'a high and noble one'", praising the "No duties without rights" mention in the "General Rules" that Marx composed and passed as "a concession Marx made to Mazzini's followers within the organisation". In his two-volume autobiography, Hyndman spoke at length about Mazzini, even comparing him to Marx.
Christopher Bayly Sir Christopher Alan Bayly, FBA, FRSL (18 May 1945 – 18 April 2015) was a British historian specialising in British Imperial, Indian and global history. From 1992 to 2013, he was Vere Harmsworth Professor of Imperial and Naval History at t ...
wrote that Mazzini "had arrived at similar conclusions", referring to "the Saint-Simonian ideas of association and
Charles Fourier François Marie Charles Fourier (;; 7 April 1772 – 10 October 1837) was a French philosopher, an influential early socialist thinker and one of the founders of utopian socialism. Some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical ...
's 'law of attraction'", but "through an emotive process that owed little to rationalisation". As with the
Christian socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...
George D. Herron, Mazzini's socialism was "essentially a religious and moral revival". Mazzini rejected the Marxist doctrines of class struggle and materialism, stressing the need for
class collaboration Class collaboration is a principle of social organization based upon the belief that the division of society into a hierarchy of social classes is a positive and essential aspect of civilization. Fascist support Class collaboration is one of th ...
. Nonetheless, there was a more radical, socialist interpretation of Mazzini's doctrine within the
Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party ( it, Partito Repubblicano Italiano, PRI) is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Italy. Founded in 1895, the PRI is the oldest political party still active in Italy. The PRI has old roots and a long hist ...
, a Mazzinian party, where "there were many who believed the teachings of the Genoese patriot could be compatible with the Marxist doctrine and ..considered an alliance with the left-wing to be legitimate and desirable". Mazzini's Italian nationalism has been described as "cosmopolitan patriotism". In ''Socialism: National or International'', first published in 1942,
Franz Borkenau Franz Borkenau (December 15, 1900 – May 22, 1957) was an Austrian writer. Borkenau was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of a civil servant. As a university student in Leipzig, his main interests were Marxism and psychoanalysis. Borkenau is kno ...
described Mazzini as "that impressive Genoese" and "leader of the Italian underground democratic and unitarian movement". About Mazzini and the underground movement, Borkenau further wrote:
Mazzini did a great deal to organize and united this underground movement, known under the name of "
Young Italy Young Italy ( it, La Giovine Italia) was an Italian political movement founded in 1831 by Giuseppe Mazzini. After a few months of leaving Italy, in June 1831, Mazzini wrote a letter to King Charles Albert of Sardinia, in which he asked him to uni ...
". He conceived the idea of parallel organizations in other European countries, which should all of them join in a "Young Europe" movement. The plan had only incipient success and Italy remained the sole stronghold of this underground movement. But the idea, though not its practical execution, caught on in other European countries. One reason of Mazzini's partial failure was the emergence of socialism in France and England. France, at any rate, had a strong underground movement, much stronger under
Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...
than previously under the Bourbon restoration. But this movement gradually evolved towards the left. Ordinary democrats of the Mazzini type were no longer persecuted in France after 1830. But to the left of them arose more advanced movements.
When he was a socialist, Benito Mussolini harshly criticized Mazzini, "the religious Mazzini in particular", being "particularly opposed to Mazzini's 'sanctification'". However, after advocating interventionism in World War I and enlisting, Mussolini "found himself immersed in a patriotic atmosphere permeated by Mazzinian references".


Religion

Influenced by his
Jansenist Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...
upbringing, Mazzini's thought is characterized by a strong religious fervour and a deep sense of spirituality. A deist who believed in divine providence, Mazzini described himself as a Christian and emphasized the necessity of faith and a relationship with God while vehemently denouncing atheism and rationalism. His motto was ''Dio e Popolo'' ("God and People"). Mazzini regarded patriotism as a duty and love for the fatherland as a divine mission, stating that the fatherland was "the home wherein God has placed us, among brothers and sisters linked to us by the family ties of a common religion, history, and language". According to A. James Gregor, "Mazzini's creed for the New Age thus radically distinguished itself from the orthodox Marxism of the nineteenth century. His Socialism was alive with moral purpose, rather than class identity, infused with exalted intent and specifically inspired by a sense of national, rather than class, mission. It saw itself, unabashedly, as a new religion, a 'climb through ''philosophy'' to ''faith''.' It was a religion predicated on a 'living faith in one God, one Law, general and immutable ... and one End". In his 1835 publication ''Fede e avvenire'' ("Faith and the Future"), Mazzini wrote: "We must rise again as a religious party. The religious element is universal and immortal. ..The initiators of a new world, we are bound to lay the foundations of a moral unity, a Humanitarian Catholicism". However, Mazzini's relationship with the Catholic Church and the
Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
was not always a kind one. While he initially supported Pope Pius IX upon his election, writing an open letter to him in 1847, Mazzini later published a scathing attack against the pope in his ''Sull'Enciclica di Papa Pio IX'' ("On the Encyclical of Pope Pius IX") in 1849. Although some of his religious views were at odds with the Catholic Church and the Papacy, with his writings often tinged with anti-clericalism, Mazzini also criticized
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, stating that it is "divided and subdivided into a thousand sects, all founded on the rights of individual conscience, all eager to make war on one another, and perpetuating that anarchy of beliefs which is the sole true cause of the social and political disturbances that torment the peoples of Europe".


Thought and action

Mazzini rejected the concept of the "rights of man" which had developed during the Age of Enlightenment, arguing instead that individual rights were a duty to be won through hard work, sacrifice and virtue rather than "
rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...
" which were intrinsically owed to man. Mazzini outlined his thought in his ''Doveri dell'uomo'' ("Duties of Man"), published in 1860. Similarly, Mazzini formulated a concept known as "thought and action" in which thought and action must be joined together and every thought must be followed by action, therefore rejecting intellectualism and the notion of divorcing theory from practice.Schumaker, Paul (2010). ''The Political Theory Reader'' (illustrated ed.). Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 58. .


Women's rights

In "Duties of Man", Mazzini called for recognition of
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
. After his many encounters with political philosophers in England, France and across Europe, Mazzini had decided that the principle of equality between men and women was fundamental to building a truly democratic Italian nation. He called for the end of women's social and judicial subordination to men. Mazzini's vigorous position heightened attention to gender among European thinkers who were already considering democracy and nationalism. He helped intellectuals see women's rights not merely as a peripheral topic, but rather as a fundamental goal necessary for the regeneration of old nations and the rebirth of new ones. Mazzini admired Jessie White Mario, who was described by Giuseppe Garibaldi as the "Bravest Woman of Modern Time". Mario joined Garibaldi's Redshirts for the 1859–1860 campaign during the
Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...
. As a correspondent for the ''Daily News'', she witnessed almost every fight that had brought on the unification of Italy.


Legacy

Mazzini's socio-political thought has been referred to as Mazzinianism and his worldview as the Mazzinian conception, terms that were later used by Benito Mussolini and Fascists such as
Giovanni Gentile Giovanni Gentile (; 30 May 1875 – 15 April 1944) was an Italian neo-Hegelian idealist philosopher, educator, and fascist politician. The self-styled "philosopher of Fascism", he was influential in providing an intellectual foundation for ...
to describe their political ideology and spiritual conception of life. In the first volume of his ''Reminiscences'', Carl Schurz gives a biographical sketch of Mazzini and recalls two meetings he had with him when they were both in London in 1851. While the book ''10,000 Famous Freemasons'' by William R. Denslow lists Mazzini as a Mason and even a Past Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Italy, articles on the Grand Orient of Italy's own website question whether he was ever a regular Mason and do not list him as a Past Grand Master. Often viewed in Italy of the time as a god-like figure, Mazzini was nonetheless denounced by many of his compatriots as a traitor. Contemporary historians tended to believe that he ceased to contribute anything productive or useful after 1849, but modern ones take a more favourable view of him. The antifascist
Mazzini Society The Mazzini Society was an antifascist political association, formed on a democratic and republican basis, situating itself within the tradition of the Risorgimento, and created in the United States by Italian-American immigrants in the late 1930s. ...
, founded in the United States in 1939 by Italian political refugees, took his name and served Italy from exile, as he had. In London, Mazzini resided at 155 North Gower Street, near Euston Square, which is now marked with a commemorative blue plaque. A plaque on Laystall Street in Clerkenwell, London's Little Italy during the 1850s, also pays tribute to Mazzini, calling him "The Apostle of Modern Democracy." A bust of Mazzini is in New York's
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
between 67th and 68th streets just west of the West Drive. The 1973–1974 academic year at the
College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...
was named in his honor.


See also

*
Italian nationalism Italian nationalism is a movement which believes that the Italians are a nation with a single homogeneous identity, and therefrom seeks to promote the cultural unity of Italy as a country. From an Italian nationalist perspective, Italianness is ...
* Italian unification * Jessie White Mario * Giuseppe Garibaldi *
Revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states The 1848 Revolutions in the Italian states, part of the wider Revolutions of 1848 in Europe, were organized revolts in the states of the Italian peninsula and Sicily, led by intellectuals and agitators who desired a liberal government. As Italia ...
*
Roman Republic (19th century) The Roman Republic ( it, Repubblica Romana) was a short-lived state declared on 9 February 1849, when the government of the Papal States was temporarily replaced by a Republicanism, republican government due to Pope Pius IX's departure to Gaeta. ...


Works

* ''Warfare Against '' (1825) * ''On Nationality'' (1852) * ''The Duties of Man and Other Essays'' (1860). J.M. Dent & Sons, London, 1907 . * ''A Cosmopolitanism of Nations: Giuseppe Mazzini's Writings on Democracy, Nation Building, and International Relations'' Recchia, Stefano, and Urbinati, Nadia, editors. Princeton University Press, 2009.


Articles

* "Is it Revolt or a Revolution?" in '' Tait's Edinburgh Magazine'', June 1840, pp. 385–390


Footnotes


Further reading

* Bayly, C. A., and Eugenio F. Biagini, eds. ''Giuseppe Mazzini and the Globalisation of Democratic Nationalism, 1830–1920'' (2009). * Claeys, Gregory. "Mazzini, Kossuth, and British Radicalism, 1848–1854," ''Journal of British Studies,'' vol. 28, no. 3 (July 1989), pp. 225–261
In JSTOR
* Dal Lago, Enrico. ""We Cherished the Same Hostility to Every Form of Tyranny": Transatlantic Parallels and Contacts between William Lloyd Garrison and Giuseppe Mazzini, 1846–1872." ''American Nineteenth Century History'' 13.3 (2012): 293–319. * Dal Lago, Enrico. ''William Lloyd Garrison and Giuseppe Mazzini: Abolition, Democracy, and Radical Reform.'' (Louisiana State University Press, 2013). * Falchi, Federica. "Democracy and the rights of women in the thinking of Giuseppe Mazzini." ''Modern Italy'' 17#1 (2012): 15–30. * Finelli, Michele. "Mazzini in Italian Historical Memory." ''Journal of Modern Italian Studies'' (2008) 13#4 pp. 486–491. * , a standard scholarly biography. * Ridolfi, Maurizio. "Visions of republicanism in the writings of Giuseppe Mazzini," ''Journal of Modern Italian Studies'' (2008) 13#4 pp. 468–479. * Sarti, Roland. "Giuseppe Mazzini and his Opponents" in John A. Davis, ed. ''Italy in the Nineteenth Century: 1796–1900'' (2000) pp. 74–107. * Sarti, Roland. ''Mazzini: A Life for the Religion of Politics'' (1997) 249 pp. * Urbinati, Nadia. "Mazzini and the making of the republican ideology." ''Journal of Modern Italian Studies'' 17.2 (2012): 183–204. * Wight, Martin; Wight, Gabriele, and Porter, Brian, eds. ''Four Seminal Thinkers in International Theory: Machiavelli, Grotius, Kant, and Mazzini'
Oxford: Oxford University Press
2005.
Influence of Mazzini on Damodar Savarkar and the Free India Society


Primary sources

* Mazzini, Giuseppe. ''A cosmopolitanism of nations: Giuseppe Mazzini's writings on democracy, nation building, and international relations'' (Princeton University Press, 2009). * ''The Living Thoughts of Mazzini Presented by
Ignazio Silone Secondino Tranquilli (1 May 1900 – 22 August 1978), known by the pseudonym Ignazio Silone (, ), was an Italian political leader, novelist, and short-story writer, world-famous during World War II for his powerful anti-fascist novels. He was no ...
'', London: Cassell and Company, Limited, 1939; second edition, 1946. * ''Essays: Selected from the Writings, Literary, Political, and Religious, of Joseph Mazzini'', London: Walter Scott, 1887.


Other languages

* * * * Giuseppe Leone e Roberto Zambonini, "''Mozart e Mazzini – Paesaggi poetico-musicali tra flauti magici e voci "segrete"'', Malgrate, Palazzo Agudio, 25 agosto 2007, ore 21.


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External links

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Mazzini's influence on Savarkar
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mazzini, Giuseppe 1805 births 1872 deaths Burials in Italy Carbonari Critics of atheism Critics of the Catholic Church Critics of Marxism Deaths from pleurisy Freemasonry-related controversies Italian classical liberals Exiled Italian politicians Italian Freemasons Italian independence activists Italian male writers Italian nationalists Italian people of the Italian unification Italian radicals Italian republicans Italian social democrats Italian social liberals Jansenists Pan-European nationalism Liberalism in Italy People of the Revolutions of 1848 Politicians from Genoa University of Genoa alumni Italian deists 19th-century Italian philosophers