Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 360: Myriad Aspects of The Human World

Chapter 360: Myriad Aspects of The Human World

The Bronx, one of the main gathering places for Italian Americans, was also the headquarters of the Italian Independence Organization.

The Italian Independence Organization was far more lively compared to other revolutionary groups. They originally operated under a designated leader, with the supremely influential Carbonari Party forming their primary strength and wielding power across the Italian regions.

With the occurrence of the assassination attempt of a monarch, the Carbonari suddenly became the most well-known terrorist organization internationally. As a result, the Kingdom of Sardinia, once seen as a land of hope, also fell.

Divisions also arose among the Italian revolutionary groups themselves. While initially granting the leadership role to the Carbonari, which was due to their significant power and wide-reaching influence, and not out of genuine obedience from all parties.

Now that something has happened, of course, everyone wanted to cut ties with the Carbonari. With the name of Carbonari attached to them, even if the revolution succeeded, they would be killed by the intervention forces.

Even overseas, members of the Carbonari dare not reveal their identities. They are wanted not by one or two countries but are on the blacklist of all the monarchies in Europe, and even in the United States, they must hide their identities.

After going into exile overseas, the Carbonari erupted into fierce infighting. Everyone blamed and scolded each other, criticizing the other side for acting recklessly and ruining the great situation in Italy.

In any case, the regicide case was plotted by others and had nothing to do with themselves. Even if they were involved, they now deny any connection, for fear of being associated with this crime.

External pressures coupled with internal conflicts naturally led to the splintering of the once glorious Carbonari. Now theres the Italian National Salvation Army, the Italian Liberal Party, the Italian Mafia...

Dont misunderstand, the Mafia of this era in Italy is not the same as the organized crime syndicate of later times; it played a very important role in the process of Italian independence.

(Authors Note: The Italian name for the Mafia is the abbreviation of Morto Alla Francia, Italia Anela, meaning Death to the French is Italys Cry!)

After the Kingdom of Sardinia was occupied by France, the French became the greatest enemy in the hearts of Italians. The Italian Mafia adopted the slogan used by the Sicilian people six hundred years ago against French invaders.

The Carbonari, after the split, were far less influential and powerful than before. Because of their different ideologies, the various revolutionary organizations also had very different styles of operation.

Initially, Italian revolutionaries were mostly active on the European mainland, especially in Paris, where they were most welcomed. France had always been their biggest supporter in causing trouble for Austria.

But things always change. After the regicide case, their lives became difficult. When the French government decided to annex the Kingdom of Sardinia, these revolutionary organizations became a threat.

If it werent for the Parisian people kindly warning them ahead of time, the core members of these revolutionary organizations would probably have been captured by the French government.

As the repercussions of the assassination case intensified, many people realized that the situation was not favorable and began fleeing the European mainland.

At this time, choosing the United States was also a last resort. Revolutions also required capital, and initially, the British were good sponsors. However, things escalated too much, and the diplomatic pressure from France and Austria became too great to bear for even the British government.

After all, such things can be done secretly, but if it goes too far it will only end in mutual harm. The British could support the Italian Revolutionary Party, and France and Austria could also support the Irish Independence Organization.

Its different when they go into exile in America. Firstly, the distance is sufficient, so everyone can keep a low profile, making it difficult for France and Austria to detect. Secondly, there are many Italian immigrants in America, providing ample manpower and financial support.

Nowadays, Italian revolutionary organizations are all using local mafia organizations as cover. The federal government pretends not to see, and the wanted notices from the joint investigation team became just for show.

One of the immigrant leaders of Italian Americans, Goulart, asked, What do you all think of the proposal from the Americans?

There is strength in numbers. Although Italian Americans are heavily discriminated against in the United States, there are still over a million of them, with social influence that Poles and Hungarians cannot compare to.

The federal government naturally cannot threaten them outright but instead opts for cooperation by providing them with funds and weapons in exchange for their involvement in inciting uprisings in Italy.

Garibaldi, Leader of the Italian National Salvation Army, proposed, Since we will eventually launch an uprising anyway, having American sponsorship can still lighten our burden, so we can agree to them.

Unable to accept defeat directly after the French occupation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Garibaldi, along with his supporters, launched an armed uprising.

Unsurprisingly, the rebel army was quickly suppressed by the French forces. If they hadnt fled quickly when the timing was right, they would have been captured.

After the failed uprising, they became wanted fugitives by the French, unable to stay in the Italian territories. On the issue of cracking down on the Italian revolutionary organizations, France and Austria had already reached a consensus, so the European continent was no longer safe.

After the Polish uprising broke out, the Italian independence organizations were inspired, and the armed revolutionary faction led by Garibaldi became restless, wanting to continue launching armed uprisings.

Antonio, leader of the Italian Liberal Party, objected, But now France and Austria are too powerful. Even if the uprising succeeds, we wont be able to withstand their counterattack.

Before the situation on the European continent changes, we should not act rashly, to avoid wasting precious revolutionary forces in vain.

This was the opinion of most people. Among the revolutionary organizations of various countries, aside from Poland, the situation of Italy was the direst.

Although Poland was occupied by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, as long as the revolutionaries remained calm, they would only be fighting for independence from Russia and still had the support of other European countries. In the short term, they only had one enemy.

For Italy to fight for independence would be tragic. They could not avoid France and Austria, and even Spain was an obstacle. Many European countries sympathized with them, but very few dared to provide support.

Even the British, who originally supported them, have now suspended their support. John Bull certainly did not think they could overthrow the twin mountains of France and Austria to unify the Italian territories.

Under this background, not only was the probability of a successful uprising low, but it was also easy to bring trouble upon themselves. Dont think that being in America made them safe. If France and Austria were enraged enough, they would dare to organize a joint force to land directly in New York to teach them a lesson.

In this era, the great powers were so domineering. Previously, they had not made a big fuss because they did not take the revolutionaries seriously and hadnt deemed them worthy of mobilizing troops for a battle.

But if they truly provoke France and Austria, theyll stop at nothing to crush them, and the current federal government of the United States cant shelter them when that happens.

If France and Austria were willing to compromise with the federal government, perhaps the next day the revolutionaries would be deported as wanted criminals. Politicians promises are only effective within the scope of their own interests.

Garibaldi explained, We only agreed to launch an uprising in the Italian territories, but did not commit to as to where to do it.

In regions like Sardinia, Lombardy, and Venetia, where the enemys strength is strong, we simply dont have the possibility of success.

But, why not consider a different approach? Why must we start with the difficult and end with the easy? Cant we go to regions where the enemys strength is weak?

History has already taught us that the path to Italian unification cannot succeed starting from northern Italy.

Why did the Kingdom of Sardinia fail? Its because they targeted the wrong place from the very beginning!

What if in 1848, instead of Lombardy and Venetia, we attacked Central and Southern Italy first?

At that time, France and Austria were deeply embroiled in revolutions and incapable of intervening. If we had first unified the central and southern regions of Italy, leaving only Lombardy and Venetia, could the French have swallowed us whole?

People always reflect. Although there was some hindsight bias, everyone had to admit that their strategic thinking had been wrong from the start.

The strategic mistakes of the Kingdom of Sardinia were made by many present. They naively believed that Austria was vulnerable and could be easily defeated, leading to the unification of Italy.

Under this mistaken belief, they manipulated public opinion to force the government to launch the Austro-Sardinian War, which ultimately doomed the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Whats even more disastrous was the assassination attempt of a monarch, masterminded by who knows which genius, which directly buried the Kingdom of Sardinia and made the road to Italian unification even more distant.

Varghese, leader of the Italian Mafia, expressed his doubts, Its not that easy. The central and southern regions of Italy are also controlled by the great powers. Once we launch an uprising, Austria, Spain, and France are all likely to intervene militarily.

The current turmoil in Europe is not enough to keep them at bay. Regardless of which one sends troops, we will find it difficult to handle.

Garibaldi gave a cold laugh and said, What is there to be afraid of? This uprising is not just us alone.

The Americans want to alleviate the pressure theyre facing, so its not just us theyll support. The French Revolutionary Party, the Spanish Revolutionary Party, the Hungarian Independence Organization, and others are all our allies.

If we all launch uprisings together, the enemy will have to prioritize based on severity. As long as we defeat those few decadent Italian states, we will have succeeded in the first step.

Once we unify the central and southern regions of Italy, well be a medium-sized country. Even France and Austria wont be able to swallow us whole. By exploiting the contradictions between European countries, we can survive.

With capital, we can then gradually accumulate strength and look for an opportune moment to unify the whole of Italy.

This was meant to boost morale, but among the many European revolutionary organizations, few had real strength.

The Polish Independence Organization was already in action, in a deadly struggle with the Russians, so they could not be relied upon.

The French Revolutionary Partys recent enthusiasm for revolution has greatly diminished. Many have turned their allegiance to Napoleon IIIs rule, especially after the annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

The Irish Independence Organization had nothing to do with them since Britain was not an obstacle to Italian independence, so there was no basis for cooperation.

The Spanish Revolutionary Party has been persistently fighting, and launching uprisings is common for them. Their headquarters are in Spain itself; the branch in the United States is just a small one.

It seemed the only ones capable of creating a diversion were the Spanish Revolutionary Party. But the question was, why would they help? Dont think that all revolutionary organizations truly acted as one family when interests clashed, there were many conflicts.

The most typical example is the conflict between the French Revolutionary Party and the Italian Revolutionary Party. The radical ideals of Greater France inherently include the Italian region, and most of the French Revolutionary Party supports Napoleon IIIs annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

This conflict is irreconcilable. Moreover, French revolutions are almost always highly dramatic; they hardly need leadership from others.

As long as the monarch acted in a way that incurred heavens wrath and peoples resentment, or suddenly angered the people, then regardless of who launched the uprising, Parisian citizens would spontaneously join in.

A specific example was the February Revolution. After a demonstration, a few people got angry, attacked some policemen, and then declared a revolution. From the start of the uprising to its success, casualties were fewer than ten.

This kind of jaw-dropping revolutionary movement was unique to the situation in France. Other countries could not replicate it if they really tried, there would surely be bodies strewn everywhere.

The bloody sacrifices of the French Revolution typically occur after the revolution.

Before that, or during the revolutionary process, even thousands dying would be considered severe casualties; while in the later struggles, it was nothing to be proud of if tens of thousands did not die.

Garibaldi had long wanted to start an uprising in Sicily, but unfortunately, his strength was insufficient, and he had too few supporters to be confident.

After all, with the Kingdom of Sardinia gone, even if he wanted to gather a thousand men for the Redshirts, it wouldnt be an easy task.

Leaving aside funding and personnel, just getting people to their destination was a huge challenge. Without coordination, they might be thrown into the sea to feed the fish along the way.

Even if they landed in batches, without the cooperation and cover of local revolutionary organizations, such a major operation would never escape the rulers notice.

After a heated argument, everyone finally decided to go ahead with it. They agreed to launch armed uprisings in the central and southern regions of Italy. As for Sardinia, Lombardy, and Venetia, whoever wanted to tackle those tough nuts could go right ahead.

Even if they could not unify all of Italy, many would be satisfied with unifying central and southern Italy. After all, they were only using this slogan to deceive ordinary people if they actually believed it themselves, that would truly be foolish.

The Italian territories had never been unified before. Now it was only the capitalists pushing for unification for their own benefit one must not think that the Italian people were that committed to the idea of unification.

During this period, the United States was not peaceful. Many revolutionary organizations in exile here were holding meetings to discuss. Some were deciding to take action, some were watching from the sidelines with indifference, and most were fishing in troubled waters.