Garibaldi, Giuseppe

Garibaldi, Giuseppe (1807-82), Italian soldier.

Giuseppe Garibaldi led an adventurous life.

He went to sea at the age of fifteen and, in 1836, fought in a revolt in Brazil.

At this time his homeland of Italy was a collection of separate kingdoms and part of it was ruled by Austria.

Garibaldi returned to Italy and led an army of volunteers, dressed in red shirts, against the Austrians. A series of wars followed and his 'Red Shirts' played an important part in these. As a result, Italy became a single country under King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia in 1870.

See Christopher Hibbert Garibaldi