Talk:Expedition of the Thousand

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Hey Attilios, it's great that we finally have an article on this. I've copy-edited and made some corrections that I saw fit.

One thing I was wondering about was the degree of British support for the expedition. My understanding has generally been that the British, who were not of course at war with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, did not openly support the expedition, although they certainly did nothing to stop it, as they easily could have, and covertly helped it along. I also think it would be useful if the French role was brought out more clearly, in particular Napoleon III's decision to allow Piedmontese troops to cross the Papal States, which not only confirmed the victory over Francis II, but also insured the annexation of Umbria and the Marches to the new kingdom of Italy. The causes ought to be gone into more fully, as well, especially the Sicilian unrest that predated Garibaldi's expedition, general Sicilian separatism, the weaknesses and strengths (such as they were) of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and perhaps a bit more about the situation in northern Italy (French annexation of Nice is important, as I recall, for why Cavour and Victor Emmanuel were eager to send Garibaldi off to Sicily).

More explanation of Cavour's role, in general, would be helpful. Why did he send Garibaldi off to Sicily? Why did he not want him to cross over to the mainland? and so forth. Just some thoughts. It's great, though, to just have a basic narrative of events on the subject and some historiographical analysis. john k 01:56, 30 October 2006 (UTC)