Religion and Politics in the Risorgimento

Religion and Politics in the Risorgimento

Religion and Politics in the Risorgimento Britain and the New Italy, 1861 1875 Danilo Raponi Marie Curie and Gerda Henkel Postdoctoral Fellow in Modern History, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Danilo Raponi 2014 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-34297-3 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-46543-9 ISBN 978-1-137-34298-0 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137342980 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

Ai miei genitori

Contents Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations viii xi Introduction: Britain and Italy, Religion and Politics 1 1 Italy as the European India : British orientalism, cultural imperialism, and anti-catholicism, c. 1850 1870 36 2 British missionary societies in Italy: evangelising a hostile land, 1850 1862 73 3 Religion and foreign policy: from Unification to the desperate folly of the Syllabus, 1861 1864 112 4 British missionaries and Catholic reaction: searching the soul of the new nation, 1862 1872 139 5 Protestant foreign relations and the last years of the Roman Question, 1865 1875 166 Conclusion: Great because Protestant, Oriental because Catholic 208 Notes 216 Select Bibliography 278 Index 290 vii

Acknowledgments Ten years ago I moved from Rome to Cambridge to pursue my research, which eventually resulted in this book. My first thanks go to the wonderful person and extraordinary scholar who welcomed me to Cambridge, Eugenio Biagini. He has been a constant source of intellectual guidance and personal encouragement over the years. Everything that I know about how to write history and what it means to be an historian, I have learnt from him. One could not possibly wish to have had a more dedicated, more supportive, and more inspiring mentor. His always extremely pertinent suggestions, comments, and highly constructive criticism have much improved my work. It is not an overstatement to say that, without his constant encouragement, this book would never have been written. The Cambridge University Library and the Zentralbibliothek Zürich have been the places where I spent most of my time reading and writing. Therefore, I would like to thank both libraries staff for their professionalism and helpfulness. Writing a book is indeed, as I have now experienced, a solitary, albeit rewarding, experience. The long and sometimes slow hours spent writing were made much more bearable and entertaining by the always pleasant company and the unceasing cheerfulness of some special friends, with whom I shared good coffees and great stories. My thoughts and thanks go to Christos Hadjiyiannis, Florian Nigsch, Jim O Leary, Magdalena Pietruch, Binoy Kampmark, Lorenzo Bellettini, and Bastian Vollmer. A number of other friends, and in particular Daniele Perito, Dario D Urso, and Nicola Pascarella, have been an unfailing source of personal support. Daniele Calabresi, Filine Wagner, Nicole Krup and Johannes Oest provided accommodation, as well as delightful company and conversation in Zurich. A project of this size has led me to visit a number of libraries and archives across Europe. The Swiss, German, and British librarians were always very timely, whilst the Italians enjoyed giving me practical demonstrations of the pensiero meridiano and reminding me, a homo currens born in the European South but with a predilection for all things Nordic, of the salutary importance of going slow. My thanks go to all of them. Special thanks go to Vera Orschel, the former archivist of the Pontifical Irish College in Rome, who guided me through the viii

Acknowledgments ix papers of Rector Tobias Kirby with unbounded dedication, professionalism and competence. Gabriella Ballesio, the archivist of the Società di Studi Valdesi, not only helped me to navigate through the maze of that impressive archival collection with ease and passion, but also welcomed me to Torre Pellice with infinite kindness and arranged my stay in the Waldesian Valleys. Kathleen Cann, the former archivist of the British and Foreign Bible Society, shared with me her inestimable knowledge of the society s archives. A transnational research on a transnational topic is by definition expensive, thus I am happy to acknowledge the debt I owe to the many institutions that made my work possible thanks to their generous financial support. The University of Milan and Luiss University in Rome funded my PhD together with the Faculty of History of the University of Cambridge, which awarded me the Prince Consort and Thirlwall Prize Scholarship. The faculty also supported my travel and research expenses with grants from the Cambridge Historical Society and the Members History Fund, as well as from the AHRC Doctoral Fund. The Warden and Fellows of Robinson College were also very kind as they strongly supported my research by offering me College affiliation, a lodging and several research grants. The University of Cambridge kindly sponsored my travel expenses with a grant from the Sir Bartle Frere and Worts Travelling Scholars Funds. A number of other people and institutions have supported my research one way or the other. I would like to mention Il Circolo, an Italian Cultural Association based in London, whose members generously funded part of my research in The National Archives. I am also grateful to the former Ambassador of Italy to the Court of St James s, His Excellency Giancarlo Aragona, for the splendid reception he organised to celebrate this award. After a few years in a different career, I was given the opportunity to return to academic life with a generous postdoctoral research fellowship from the Gerda Henkel Foundation and the Marie Curie Actions programme of the European Commission. I am grateful to them and to Andreas Fahrmeir, who has warmly welcomed me to the Department of History of the University of Frankfurt. Philippe Sarasin very kindly invited me to teach at the Department of History of the University of Zurich, which proved to be a wonderful experience. I am very grateful to him, as well as to Carlo Moos and Svenja Goltermann, for offering precious scientific and career advice. It is equally a pleasure to record my thanks to Colin Barr, Derek Beales, Martin Brett, Renato Camurri, Martin Daunton, Fabrizio De Donno, Boyd Hilton, Anthony Howe, Michael Ledger-Lomas, Peter Mandler, Norman McCord, William

x Acknowledgments O Reilly, Jonathan Parry, Roberto Romani, Massimo Rubboli, and Frank Trentmann for their kind assistance with my inquiries and for having read and commented on various parts of the manuscript. I am particularly indebted to Maurizio Isabella who, with his contagious enthusiasm, has constantly encouraged me to push the boundaries of my research further and has always promptly responded to my queries and requests. For his unflinching support and for inspiring my work with his highly innovative and stimulating approach to the writing of Risorgimento history, I thank him. I owe a special debt to Lucy Riall and Alvin Jackson. The two anonymous referees at Palgrave read the manuscript thoroughly and provided much valuable insight. Most of their recommendations and criticism have been taken into account and, as a result, this book has been much improved. None of the above is responsible for the mistakes that remain, which are solely mine. Jenny McCall and Holly Tyler at Palgrave Macmillan have made the process of getting the book through peer review and to production a very enjoyable one. I thank them for their enthusiasm, their editorial wisdom, and their belief in this undertaking. Elizabeth Magba has very kindly copy-edited the whole manuscript with her immense knowledge of the beautiful intricacies of the English language. Nothing that I can say with words would be sufficient to convey the extent of my love and gratitude to my wife, Simone Westermann. I owe her an enormous debt for tolerating me even when, upon returning home from work, I would run to my desk and to my historical writing. Her love, patience, humour, ideas, encouragement, and the simple fact of her being her amazing self always next to me, kept me going. I am forever grateful to her for making my life so wonderful. Her family made this dark-haired Italian man feel instantaneously at home in a predominantly blue-eyed German family, and for this I am much obliged to them. All my relatives, be they in Italy or Canada, with their curiosity for what I was doing and with their constant encouragement, have motivated me to do always better. A special thought goes to nonno Guido, an exemplary man and a caring grandfather, who I know would have been proud of his grandson s book. My sister, Ilaria Raponi, has kept me distrustful of conventional wisdom and has invited me to look at things from unorthodox perspectives. For this, and for reminding me to look at the bright side of the world, she deserves a huge thank you. Above all, I thank my parents, Giuseppe Raponi and Stefania Cavaliere, who, with their boundless love and selfless care, have made everything possible. This book is dedicated to them.

Abbreviations ACS ASMAE ASTV ASV BL Bod. BPP DDI IC ODNB RBFBS TNA Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Rome Archivio Storico del Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Rome Archivio Storico della Tavola Valdese, Torre Pellice Archivum Secretum Vaticanum, Vatican City British Library, London Bodleian Library, Oxford British Parliamentary Papers Documenti Diplomatici Italiani Archives of the Pontifical Irish College, Rome Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Reports of the British and Foreign Bible Society, University Library, Cambridge The National Archives, Kew xi