Although these external factors formed the integral basis for Brigandage, one cannot forget the innate physiological features of society that made such campaigns possible. It is impossible to define the Brigand as an individual who is innately immoral, however it is better to see this immorality as a by-product of the ignorance that has been inherently instilled in their personalities. It is true that ignorance may have bread from poverty and thus this clear lack of knowledge was another factor in the developing problem of Brigandage. Amidst a society where humanity weighs a lot less than social class, a silent rage begins to emerge from within even the hardest working and courageous of people. Over time these personality traits and lives of crime would become habitual and eventually a firm part of the Southern character that was also fuelled by common perceptions. This innate immorality was therefore also a product of the way in which the people of the South were viewed as a whole. It may be the case that they were merely acting in a way they were expected to behave. David Hilton Wheeler also describes a story in which a traveler met a man on his journey that erected crosses that were each symbolic of one of his Brigand murders. These tales and perceptions metamorphosed into a demonization of a large group of people that manifested itself within a devilish folk culture of myth and false religion. By the 1860’s, the youth had become conditioned to vagrancy and crime at a young age through a clear belief that this was the only way of climbing the social ladder into a comfortable way of living. Furthermore, increasing illiteracy rates in the South made it essential for the impoverished classes to develop their own sense of moral boundaries. This escalated to all aspects of the community, even amongst the female population, whose barbarism became a catalyst for the crimes of Brigandage. When this psychological immorality can be harnessed on an organized level, the rebellious mobilization of an entire class becomes a dangerous possibility. This idea relates back directly to the ideas of geography and landscape. The area of Civitaducale for instance was barren expanse that was void of natural resources. It may therefore be the case that Brigandage thrived in such areas as the actions of the people were merely mirroring the landscape in which they inhabited. Through history it has become clear that both the issues of nature and also nurture are extremely important considerations when understanding the reasoning behind the gradual emergence of Brigandage.
One can appreciate the plight of the Brigand through his own personal perspective, however it is also essential to understand the viewpoint of the other dimension, the Italian army. Throughout the Brigand war of the 1860’s it is also interesting to notice the ways in which the Italian army not only combated the problems, but the ways in which they perceived the figure of the Southern Brigand. The actions of the Brigand were often viewed as contrary to the natural law of the land and thus needed to be extinguished in the long-term interest of the unified Italian nation. The Brigand activities were a form of social uprising that manifested themselves in activities such as food and tax riots, physical attacks on public officers and also various land occupations throughout the country. With the diffusion on workers associations, incidents such as the urban bread riots or the different wage strikes became commonplace. In addition, the dissolution of protective price tariffs meant a decline in the amounts of industry that actually existed and therefore many individuals found themselves without employment. In a climate where the price of food is increasing and the possibility of employment is diminishing, the common man is more likely to resort to acts of violence that require the intervention of the armed forces. The issue was further worsened in the countryside where the peasants also faced an unfair system of taxation. It was the case that the tax weighed more heavily on the peasants than it did the owners of land and larger estates. These factors and the aforementioned reasons for Brigandage set up a direct confrontation between the Italian army and the forces they intended to suppress. The army itself was a symbol of the newfound unity of Italy and as a result needed to face the direct moral dilemma that emerged through the Brigand campaign. How does a group retain a sense of morality if they must in turn adopt a greater sense of immorality in order to defeat it? This consideration is of vital importance when considering the reactionary actions that took place.
The army regarded the figure of the Brigand with a sense of mystery and fear. This unknown entity was committing a rebellion against the very society they hoped to protect and preserve. On the other hand, it was by tackling the figure of the Brigand that questions began to be raised about the very sense of unity and nation they wanted to construct. As the army’s condition worsened through external factors such as poor supplies and a lack of communication, they began to question their own actions of severe brutality and repression. These elements of brutality include acts such as the detention of men without a trial and also the enforcement of capital punishment through the iconic procedure of the firing squads. In effect, these actions had serious moral implications that were the complete antithesis of the Italian constitution. By breaking the law themselves the army was also diminishing their status as soldiers and thus became no better than the Brigand character himself. In order to tackle this moral dilemma, the army needed to conceptualize the battle they were fighting. In order to do this a variety of legislation was introduced into the country, for instance the Pica Law of 1863. This law gave the complete blessing of the law to the army and therefore instilled in them the fact that they were symbolic protectors of the nation state. If brigandage directly opposed the legal system and threatened the future of the country, it was essential to use any means necessary to prevent further outbreaks of dissent. John Dickie alludes to the fact that to be human to these awful characters was considered in itself the worst form of inhumanity. This moral justification for brutality became physically evident when considering the daily routines of the army. An example would be shooting the Brigands in the back, a sign that they were reducing their social rank even further and therefore reducing any element of the valiant death. It is clear by the fact that almost 40% of the army was used to fight the Brigands that they considered it a major threat to the Italian nation. It is interesting to observe how they transformed themselves into a symbol of nationhood in order to explain the lack of integrity and morality displayed through their very punishments.
These soldiers also became prominent historiographers and therefore are an important part in our perception of the South and Brigandage to this very day. They are but a small part of a wide-ranging literary canon that helps us identify the true nature of Brigandage and thus identify the extent to which it thrived throughout the 1860’s. It is clear that Brigandage cannot be defined by a singular term or as a specific concept, it I therefore important to distinguish the various forms of brigandage that existed in Italy at the time. To merely look at the idea of Brigandage from literary material such as the memoirs of a specific soldier in a specific region would lead to a misinterpretation of the term Brigandage. It is therefore key to analyze the spectrum of viewpoints that actually exist in order to gain a non-bias perspective of Brigandage. Many historiographers have stressed the importance of social factors in understanding the evolution of Brigandage. For many, the sheer brutishness of the violence cannot be explained by mere facts and rationale. In the South, various kidnappings took place where the victims were held for specific ransoms. If the victims families decided not to pay the full amount of money, they would then receive their loved one with part of their anatomy missing, for instance the severance of ears and limbs. In effect, this visceral act cannot be viewed rationally and therefore we are required to view it in terms of the irrational and the background of morality in which Brigandage was born. Secondly is the perspective of literature that presents the Brigands perspective. These myths and hyperbolic oral traditions of the impoverished classes acted as the instrument of championing the Brigand character and giving him the status of a cult hero. With the circulation of such material it is obvious why the masses tended to act in the vain of these romanticized ideals. Many critics also viewed the Brigand character as an alien figure that did not belong in the Italian nation. This often manifested itself through the language of literature that often had racist connotations and that also acted as a means of dehumanizing the Brigand. The peasants may have been dehumanized economically, however it was the dehumanization through texts that helped vilify their cause and negate the idea of social reform they truly craved. Examples of this are the constant referral of Brigandage as a scientific entity that becomes a disease upon the nation. By portraying them as cancerous leaches, these critics have subsequently shaped the way in which we tackle the southern question today. Whereas the later historical texts may attempt to view the brutal fight against Brigands as a waster of national resources and an infringement on national morality, the contemporary pieces of the time were often produced by the military of the time and thus we can notice a clear desire to explain the battle in terms of a battle against good and evil. This epic struggle was quite obviously described with reference to the Dantesque concept of the Inferno. By alluding to Dante, the person was alluding to a pertinent symbol of national Italia identity. The Brigand became a man who deserved his place in hell rather than on earth. It was the soldier’s role to never show mercy upon such creatures and banish them to death where they belong. Evidently, these epic tales act as a contrasting analytical tool to the mere facts of history such as politics and economics. The different forms of literary text and literary critic allow us to see Brigandage as a multifaceted period of history that cannot be uniformly defined successfully.
In conclusion it can be stated that Brigandage was an obvious problem within the context of Italy throughout the 1860’s. The problem did not occur suddenly as it was in fact the culmination of many years of repression and injustice within the social system. In a system that ignores the plight of the impoverished, a desire for revenge and a need to sustain oneself grows on a daily basis until it reaches the stage of violence and civil unrest. The economic hardships of the peasantry functioned simultaneously with a sense of ignorance through a lack of knowledge. The Southern community had both the practical reasoning to revert to Brigandage, and also the moral capacity to do so that has been instilled in them through years of hardship. The sheer fact that the army questioned their motives for brutally repressing Brigandage helps us to identify their cause. In order to conceptualize their battle, the army needed to forget the inequalities of life and consider only the welfare of the Italian nation as a whole. The army became a mechanic extension of the law that clearly infringed on the jurisdiction of the constitution. The literature of the time helps us to see how these soldiers were demonizing their enemies and rendering the Southern population as an alien stain upon the rest of the country. When we consider the opinions of historians and also the opinions of the active particpants against the wider backdrop of historical fact, we can then identify the levels to which Brigandage actually existed. Brigandage without a doubt has taken second place to wider issues of the period, however it is obvious that the decade of conflict in the 1860’s was time of bloodshed that reveals a great deal about the character of a nation.
Bibliography
- J.A.Davis, Conflict and Control, London 1988, Chapters 6-8.
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E. Hobsbawm, Bandits (London 1969)
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J. Dickie, 'A word at war', in History Workshop Journal, no.33
