Daniel Banks, Ships, Guns and Money: The Logistics of Revolution and Garibaldi’s Campaign of 1860, Past & Present, 2024, pp. 1-36.
This article reframes the history of Italian unification and helps us understand a new dimension of why Garibaldi’s campaign against the Bourbon army was successful. Taking us behind the scenes, Banks shows that the Garibaldi expedition was enabled by more than rag-tag idealists and good public relations propaganda; its victories were also made possible through a carefully planned logistical revolution, carried out by businessmen, traders, and economic non-state actors. Shedding new light on the history of capitalism, on Genoa as a geopolitical and revolutionary hub, and on the transnational dimensions of the Risorgimento in exile, we learn how committed radicals mobilized the structures of international capitalism in favor of their cause. Through a rich array of archival, primary, and secondary sources, Banks shows us how complex networks of trade, donations, and shipping criss-crossed the Mediterranean and bolstered the Garibaldi mille. The logistics of revolution thus brought the ships, guns, and money that enabled the “Hero of the Two Worlds” to help create a unified Italy.