Summary
Highlights
The video opens by questioning the nature of the Briganti: were they partisan fighters for the Bourbons, or desperate individuals fighting for liberation from centuries of misery? It asks if the phenomenon can be considered an 'Italian Vendée' and promises to analyze the problem from a specific, often overlooked, angle. The speaker notes the controversial and often extreme views on the topic, aiming for a balanced perspective supported by historical sources.
Garibaldi's 1868 letter to Adelaide Cairoli, expressing fears of being stoned in Southern Italy, is presented to highlight the public sentiment years after unification. Massimo d'Azeglio's 1861 letter to Carlo Matteucci is then cited, questioning the need for 60 battalions to control the Kingdom of Naples if universal consent was truly present, suggesting a fundamental error in the unification process. Carlo De Cesare, a Neapolitan deputy, countered d'Azeglio, emphasizing Naples's necessity for Italy's freedom and independence. The speaker refutes the idea that brigandage was a suppressed topic, showing contemporary newspaper articles openly discussing and even denouncing the phenomenon, often with violent rhetoric.
The video delves into the multifaceted identity of the Brigante. Historically, brigands were highwaymen and robbers, a persistent feature of the Italian landscape since the Roman Empire. However, the term 'Brigante' was re-appropriated during the French Revolution to denote all outlaws and political opponents, thereby demeaning any resistance as mere banditry. Patrick O'Clery's 'How Italy Was Made' is quoted, illustrating how the Piedmontese, like the French in the Vendée, labeled their opponents as brigands to discredit their national and political motivations. The speaker highlights that Southern Italian brigandage was a mix: traditional criminals, disgruntled peasants seeking social justice, former Bourbon soldiers, and genuine royalist partisans. This diverse composition, including women, created a highly heterogeneous and often uncoordinated movement.
The only common thread among the brigands, the speaker posits, was their distrust of the Italian army and the Piedmontese, whom they often viewed as invaders. The video explores the mutual mistrust: the South saw Piedmont as a latecomer to Italian culture, while Piedmont saw the South as technologically and culturally inferior. Language barriers further exacerbated this divide. The speaker clarifies that while there was significant popular opposition, it didn't fully align with the Vendée counter-revolution, which was a cohesive, religiously and politically motivated uprising against the French Revolution.
The Vendée was a unified, Catholic, and royalist insurrection, ruthlessly repressed and leading to what some historians call a genocide. In contrast, the Piedmontese government, despite its harsh methods, did not aim for extermination but rather for assimilation of the Southern regions. While Italian generals like Cadorna and La Marmora were severe, they weren't comparable to the genocidal figures of the Vendée. General Borges, a catalyst royalist leader who attempted a counter-expedition in Southern Italy, is highlighted as the closest parallel to a Vendée-like figure, but his efforts ultimately failed due to the fragmented nature of the Italian brigand movement.
The brigands themselves were often violent, not only against the royal army but also against local populations, landowners, and the National Guard, whom they viewed as traitors. This widespread violence, combined with the difficult terrain, made brigandage a harsh reality for local communities. The speaker then addresses the contentious issue of numbers, emphasizing the difficulty in accurately quantifying casualties due to unreliable reporting, dispersed groups, and concealment of bodies. While some reports suggested tens of thousands of brigands, official figures from the La Marmora commission indicated around 3,500 killed and over 7,000 captured or surrendered in a specific period.
The Pica Law of 1863 was a severe, exceptional measure implemented to suppress brigandage. Milo Iulini explains that this law, technically Law 1409, bypassed the Albertine Statute's guarantees of equality before the law and natural judges, transferring jurisdiction to military tribunals. It defined brigandage broadly, criminalized 'manutengoli' (accomplices), introduced forced domicile for vagrants, and offered monetary rewards for capturing or killing brigands. Despite being proposed by Giuseppe Pica, a former political prisoner from the South, the law was widely supported in parliament. The law led to thousands of arrests, deportations, and executions, though it didn't immediately eradicate brigandage, which persisted until around 1870.
The speaker concludes that brigandage was a symptom of a collapsing old world, exposing long-standing issues. It was suppressed with severity, but its defeat marked the end of a centuries-old phenomenon. The Savoy monarchy, through astute propaganda and frequent visits to the South, successfully assimilated Naples into the new Italian state, fostering a loyalty that was evident even in the 1946 referendum. Ultimately, Southern opposition was a complex mix, not a singular, unified Vendée. The video emphasizes the need for an honest and respectful approach to this history, acknowledging the diverse motivations and tragic consequences for all involved. The speaker invites viewers to an exclusive section for detailed source documentation.