€300
The Roman Republic of 1848 - 1849
Ephemera:An important collection of 18 leaflets or broadsides, printed and distributed as propaganda during the movement which led to the establishment of the short-lived Roman Republic. The collection can be divided into three categories: letters, and proclamations; rhyming parodies of Catholic prayers; and songs or anthems. All in good condition. As a lot, ephemera, w.a.f. A Scarce Collection.
In the 1840s most of Italy was controlled, directly or indirectly, by the repressive Austrian Empire. Pius IX, elected pope in 1846 as a comparative youngster of 54, was inspired by liberal ideas and proceeded to reform all aspects of life in the Papal States, to the horror of his reactionary Curia. He expressed hostility to Austria and on 14 March 1848 granted a liberal constitution.
Patriotic groups hoped for a war of liberation against Austria and the unification of Italy under papal leadership. However, when Milan and Venice revolted against Austria a few days later, Pius insisted on remaining neutral. As all Italy began to be swept by revolutionary fervour, he rapidly lost the favour of the Roman people. On 14 November his prime minister, Count Rossi, was assassinated; the Swiss Guard was disarmed, and – feeling his life to be under threat – he escaped from Rome on the night of 24-25 November and sought refuge in the fortress of Gaeta. A republic was declared on 9 February 1849; the pope responded by excommunicating all participants and appealed for help to the Catholic powers.
In northern Italy the revolution was brutally suppressed by Marshal Radetzky. In April Rome was besieged by the army of Napoleon III and surrendered on 3 July. Pope Pius returned to Rome in April 1850 determined to have no further truck with liberalism or democracy, a trend which was fated to continue for the next hundred years.
These leaflets, while ephemeral in themselves, bring us straight to the heart of events that helped to shape the course of European history.
* A full listing of the above is available on request.
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