Carbonari

The Carbonari (lit. 'charcoal burners') was an informal network of secret revolutionary societies active in Italy from about 1800 to 1831. The Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in France, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia. Although their goals often had a patriotic and liberal basis, they lacked a clear immediate political agenda. They were a focus for those unhappy with the repressive political situation in Italy following 1815, especially in the south of the Italian peninsula. Members of the Carbonari, and those influenced by them, took part in important events in the process of Italian unification (called the Risorgimento), especially the failed Revolution of 1820, and in the further development of Italian nationalism. The chief purpose was to defeat tyranny and establish a constitutional government. In the north of Italy, other groups, such as the Adelfia and the Filadelfia, were associated organizations.

The Carbonari were a secret society divided into small covert cells scattered across Italy. Although agendas varied, evidence suggests that despite regional variations, most of them agreed upon the creation of a liberal, unified Italy. The Carbonari were anti-clerical in both their philosophy and programme. The Papal constitution Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo and the encyclical Qui pluribus were directed against them. The controversial document Alta Vendita, which called for a liberal or modernist takeover of the Catholic Church, was attributed to the Sicilian Carbonari.

Although it is not clear where they were established, they first came to prominence in the Kingdom of Naples during the Napoleonic Wars. Although some of the society's documents claimed that it had origins in medieval France, and that its progenitors were under the sponsorship of Francis I of France during the sixteenth century, this claim cannot be verified by outside sources. Although a plethora of theories have been advanced as to the origins of the Carbonari, the organization most probably emerged as an offshoot of Freemasonry, as part of the spread of liberal ideas from the French Revolution. They first became influential in the Kingdom of Naples (under the control of Joachim Murat) and in the Papal States, the most resistant opposition to the Risorgimento.

As a secret society that was often targeted for suppression by conservative governments, the Carbonari operated largely in secret. The name Carbonari identified the members as rural "charcoal-burners"; the place where they met was called a "Barack", the members called themselves "good cousins", while people who did not belong to the Carbonari were "Pagani". There were special ceremonies to initiate the members.

The aim of the Carbonari was the creation of a constitutional monarchy or a republic; they wanted also to defend the rights of common people against all forms of absolutism. Carbonari, to achieve their purpose, talked of fomenting armed revolts.

The membership was separated into two classes—apprentice and master. There were two ways to become a master: through serving as an apprentice for at least six months or by already being a Freemason upon entry. Their initiation rituals were structured around the trade of charcoal-selling, suiting their name.

In 1814 the Carbonari wanted to obtain a constitution for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies by force. The Bourbon king, Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, was opposed to them. The Bonapartist Joachim Murat had wanted to create a united and independent Italy. In 1815 Ferdinand I found his kingdom swarming with them. He found an unhoped-for ally in the secret sect of the Calderari, that had separated from the Carbonari in 1813. Staunchly Catholics and legitimists, the Calderari swore to defend the Church and vowed eternal hatred to Freemasons and Carbonari. Society in the Regno comprised nobles, officers of the army, small landlords, government officials, peasants, and priests, with a small urban middle class. Society was dominated by the Papacy. On 15 August 1814, Cardinals Ercole Consalvi and Bartolomeo Pacca issued an edict forbidding all secret societies, to become members of these secret associations, to attend their meetings, or to furnish a meeting-place for such, under severe penalties.

The Carbonari first arose during the resistance to the French occupation, notably under Joachim Murat, the Bonapartist King of Naples. However, once the wars ended, they became a nationalist organization with a marked anti-Austrian tendency and were instrumental in organizing revolutions in Italy in 1820–1821 and 1831.