View source for Francesco Crispi

{{Short description|Italian patriot and statesman (1818–1901)}}
{{redirect|Crispi|the Spanish footballer|Crispi (footballer)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[Excellency|His Excellency]]
| name                = Francesco Crispi
| honorific-suffix    = [[Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation|OSSA]], [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus|OSML]], [[Order of the Crown of Italy|OCI]], [[Military Order of Savoy|OMS]]
| image               = Francesco Crispi crop.jpg
| order               = [[Prime Minister of Italy]]
| monarch1            = [[Umberto I of Italy|Umberto I]]
| term_start1         = 15 December 1893
| term_end1           = 10 March 1896
| predecessor1        = [[Giovanni Giolitti]]
| successor1          = [[Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì|Antonio Starabba]]
| monarch2            = Umberto I
| term_start2         = 29 July 1887
| term_end2           = 6 February 1891
| predecessor2        = [[Agostino Depretis]]
| successor2          = Antonio Starabba
| order3              = [[List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|President of the Chamber of Deputies]]
| term_start3         = 26 November 1876
| term_end3           = 26 December 1877
| predecessor3        = Giuseppe Branchieri
| successor3          = [[Benedetto Cairoli]]
| order4              = [[Italian Minister of the Interior|Minister of the Interior]]
| primeminister6      = Agostino Depretis
| term_start6         = 26 December 1877
| term_end6           = 7 March 1878
| predecessor6        = [[Giovanni Nicotera]]
| successor6          = Agostino Depretis
| primeminister5      = Agostino Depretis<br />Himself
| term_start5         = 4 April 1887
| term_end5           = 6 February 1891
| predecessor5        = Agostino Depretis
| successor5          = Giovanni Nicotera
| primeminister4      = Himself
| term_start4         = 15 December 1893
| term_end4           = 9 March 1896
| predecessor4        = Giovanni Giolitti
| successor4          = Antonio Starabba
| order7              = [[Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| primeminister7      = Himself
| term_start7         = 29 July 1887
| term_end7           = 6 February 1891
| predecessor7        = Agostino Depretis
| successor7          = Antonio Starabba
| order8              = Member of the [[Chamber of Deputies (Kingdom of Italy)|Chamber of Deputies]]
| term_start8         = 18 February 1861
| term_end8           = 2 March 1897
| constituency8       = [[Castelvetrano]] (1861–1870)<br />[[Tricarico]] (1870–1880)<br />[[Palermo]] (1880–1897)
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|df=yes|1818|10|4}}
| birth_place         = [[Ribera, Agrigento|Ribera]], [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1901|8|11|1818|10|4}}
| death_place         = [[Naples]], [[Kingdom of Italy]]
| nationality         = [[Italian nationality law|Italian]]
| party               = [[Historical Left]]<br />(1848–1883; 1886–1901)<br />[[Dissident Left]]<br />(1883–1886)
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Rosina D'Angelo|1837|1839|end=died}}
* {{marriage|Rosalia Montmasson|1854|1878|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Lina Barbagallo|1878}}
}}
| children            = 3
| alma_mater          = [[University of Palermo]]
| profession          = {{hlist|[[Lawyer]]|[[journalist]]}}
| parents             = Tommaso Crispi (Father)
| relations           = [[Giuseppe Crispi]] (Uncle)
}}
'''Francesco Crispi''' (4 October 1818 – 11 August 1901) was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the [[Risorgimento]], a close friend and supporter of [[Giuseppe Mazzini]] and [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], and one of the architects of [[Italian unification]] in 1860.<ref name=history>[https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-82803451 Nation-building in 19th-century Italy: the case of Francesco Crispi]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Christopher Duggan, History Today, 1 February 2002</ref> Crispi served as [[Prime Minister of Italy]] for six years, from 1887 to 1891, and again from 1893 to 1896, and was the first prime minister from [[Southern Italy]]. Crispi was internationally famous and often mentioned along with world statesmen such as [[Otto von Bismarck]], [[William Ewart Gladstone]], and [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]].<ref name=history/>

Originally an Italian patriot and democrat liberal during his first term in office, Crispi went on to become a bellicose [[authoritarian]] prime minister and an ally and admirer of Bismarck in his second. He was indefatigable in stirring up hostility toward France.<ref name="Elizabeth Brett White 1917 75">{{cite book|author=Elizabeth Brett White|title=The Foreign Policy of Francesco Crispi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KpxYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA75|year=1917|publisher=PhD dissertation U of Wisconsin--Madison|page=75}}</ref> His career ended amid controversy and failure: he got involved in a major banking scandal and fell from power in 1896 after the devastating loss of the [[Battle of Adwa]], which repelled Italy's colonial ambitions over Ethiopia. Due to his authoritarian policies and style, Crispi is often regarded as a [[Strongman (politics)|strongman]] and seen as a precursor of the [[Italian Fascist]] dictator [[Benito Mussolini]].<ref name=history/><ref name=gilmour>[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-87708350/randolph-churchill-italy-francesco.html The Randolph Churchill of Italy], by David Gilmour, The Spectator, 1 June 2002 (Review of Francesco Crispi, 1818-1901: From Nation to Nationalism, by Christopher Duggan)</ref>

==Early life==
Crispi's paternal family came originally from the small agricultural community of [[Palazzo Adriano]], in south-western [[Sicily]]. It had been founded in the later fifteenth century by [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian]] [[Albanians]] ([[Arbëreshë people|Arbëreshë]]), who settled in Sicily after the Ottoman conquest of [[Albania]].<ref name=wright61>Wright, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=aJacAAAAMAAJ Conflict on the Nile]'', p. 61</ref><ref name=treccani>{{in lang|it}} [http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-crispi_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/ Crispi, Francesco], Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 30 (1984)</ref><ref name=gilmour61>Gilmour, [https://books.google.com/books?id=57cT2FxDdp4C&pg=PT61 The Pursuit of Italy]</ref> His grandfather was an [[Arbëreshë people|Arbëreshë]] Orthodox priest; the parish priests were married men, and [[Arbëreshë language|Arbëreshë]] was the family language down to the lifetime of the young Crispi.<ref name=stillman23>Stillman, ''Francesco Crispi'', p. 23</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Crispi, Francesco in "Dizionario di Storia" |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/francesco-crispi_%28Dizionario-di-Storia%29/ |website=www.treccani.it |language=it-IT |quote=Nato da una famiglia Arbėreshė (cioè degli albanesi d’Italia)}}</ref> 

Crispi himself was born in [[Ribera, Agrigento|Ribera]], Sicily, to Tommaso Crispi, a [[grain trade|grain merchant]] and Giuseppa Genova from Ribera; he was baptised as a [[Greek Catholic]].<ref name=gilmour61/> Belonging to a family of Arbëreshë descent, he spoke Italian as his third or fourth language, alongside [[Arbëresh language|Arbëresh]] (variant of [[Albanian language|Albanian]]), [[Greek language|Greek]] and probably [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]].<ref name=gilmour/><ref name=gilmour61/> His uncle [[Giuseppe Crispi|Giuseppe]] wrote the first [[monograph]] on the [[Albanian language]].<ref name="HeKr98">{{cite book|last1=Heraclides|first1=Alexis|last2=Kromidha|first2=Ylli|title=Greek–Albanian Entanglements since the Nineteenth Century: A History|year=2023|publisher=Taylor & Francis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9PbREAAAQBAJ&dq=Giuseppe+Crispi+Francesco+Crispi&pg=RA1-PT52|isbn=9781000963755|page=98}}</ref>

A [[Philhellenism|philhellene]], Crispi wrote in an 1859 diary entry he was Greek due to Greek–Albanian ancestry and attributed part of his origins to [[Greece]].<ref name="Dakin264"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lavagnini |first=Bruno |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BnKrvwEACAAJ |title=Grecia 1859 nel Diario di Francesco Crispi: In appendice: Cavour sulla Grecia 1860 e altri scritti |date=1967 |publisher=Istituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici |pages=18 |language=it}}
* From the original: {{Cite book |last=Crispi |first=Francesco |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5DYbAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA255 |title=Scritti e discorsi politici di Francesco di Francesco Crispi (1849-1890) |date=1890 |publisher=Unione cooperativa editrice |pages=255 |language=it |quote=Giovanissimo, ardevo di vedere la Grecia, questa madre antica, alla quale devo in parte la mia origine.}}</ref> In an 1885 telegram on the Albanian question, Crispi stated he was "an [[Albanians|Albanian]] by blood and heart" and an Italo–Albanian from Sicily.<ref name="Skendi216">{{harvnb|Skendi|1967|p=216.}} [https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=8QPWCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR15&dq=The+Albanian+National+Awakening&ots=zGjQbVyql8&sig=xsmbL-yAAtc-ny3v0E4vN87JOBY&redir_esc=y#v=snippet&q=an%20Albanian%20by%20blood%20and%20heart&f=false] "Crispi... In accepting the honor, he wired to the congress that as "an Albanian by blood and heart" -he was an Italo-Albanian from Sicily"</ref> 

At the age of five, he was sent to a family in [[Villafranca Sicula|Villafranca]], where he could receive an education. In 1829, at 11 years old, he attended a [[seminary]] in [[Palermo]], where he studied classical subjects. The rector of the institute was [[Giuseppe Crispi]], his uncle. Crispi attended the seminary until 1834 or 1835, when his father, after becoming mayor of [[Ribera, Agrigento|Ribera]], encountered major difficulties in health and finances.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 8, 10–11, 14–15</ref>

In the same period, Crispi became a close friend of the poet and doctor Vincenzo Navarro, whose friendship marked his initiation to the [[Romanticism]]. In 1835 he studied law and literature at the [[University of Palermo]] receiving a law degree in 1837; in the same year, he fell in love with Rosina D'Angelo, the daughter of a [[goldsmith]]. Despite his father's ban, Crispi married Rosina in 1837, when she was already pregnant. In May Crispi became the father of his first daughter, Giuseppa, who was named after his grandmother.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 17–19, 21-23</ref> It was a brief marriage: Rosina died on 29 July 1839, the day after giving birth to her second son, Tommaso; the child lived only a few hours and in December, also Giuseppa died.<ref>Chiara Maria Pulvirenti, ''Francesco Crispi'', [https://pti.regione.sicilia.it/portal/page/portal/PIR_PORTALE/PIR_150ANNI/PIR_150ANNISITO/PIR_Schede/PIR_Unmosaicodiattori/PIR_Biografie/PIR_Crispi Regione Siciliana] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722053046/https://pti.regione.sicilia.it/portal/page/portal/PIR_PORTALE/PIR_150ANNI/PIR_150ANNISITO/PIR_Schede/PIR_Unmosaicodiattori/PIR_Biografie/PIR_Crispi |date=22 July 2011}}</ref>

Between 1838 and 1839, Crispi founded his own newspaper, ''L'Oreteo'', from the name of the Sicilian river [[Oreto River|Oreto]]. This experience brought him into contact with a number of political figures including the Neapolitan liberal activist and poet, [[Carlo Poerio]]. In 1842 Crispi wrote about the necessity to educate poor people, about the huge damage caused by the excessive wealth of the [[Catholic Church]] and regarding the need for all citizens, including women, to be equal before the law.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 26–27, 32</ref>

In 1845 Crispi took up a judgeship in [[Naples]],<ref name=sarti222>Sarti, ''Italy: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=xhoLorFC1iwC&pg=PA222 pp. 222–23]</ref> where he distinguished himself for his liberal and revolutionary ideas.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 36, 40, 44</ref>

==1848 Sicilian uprising==
{{main|Sicilian revolution of 1848}}
On 20 December 1847, Crispi was sent to Palermo along with Salvatore Castiglia, a diplomat and patriot, to prepare the revolution against the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] monarchy and King [[Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies]].<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pages 55,57</ref>

[[File:Rivolta di Palermo 1848.jpg|thumb|left|220px|The uprising in [[Palermo]], 1848]]
The [[Sicilian revolution of 1848|revolution]] started on 12 January 1848, and therefore was the very first of the numerous revolutions to occur that year. Three revolutions had previously occurred on the island of [[Sicily]] starting from 1800 against Bourbon rule. The uprising was substantially organized from, and centred in, Palermo. The popular nature of the revolt is evident in the fact that posters and notices were being handed out a full three days before the substantive acts of the revolution occurred on 12 January 1848. The timing was deliberately planned, by Crispi and the other revolutionaries, to coincide with the birthday of Ferdinand II.

The Sicilian nobles were immediately able to resuscitate the constitution of 1812, which included the principles of representative democracy and the centrality of Parliament in the government of the state. [[Vincenzo Fardella]] was elected president of [[Sicilian Parliament]]. The idea was also put forward for a confederation of all the states of [[Italy]].

The constitution was quite advanced for its time in liberal democratic terms, as was the proposal of an [[Italy|Italian]] confederation of states. Crispi was appointed a member of the provisional [[Sicilian Parliament]] and responsible for the Defence Committee; during his tenure, he supported the separatist movement that wanted to break ties with Naples.

Thus Sicily survived as a quasi-independent state for sixteen months, with the Bourbon army taking back full control of the island on 15 May 1849 by force. The effective head of state during this period was [[Ruggero Settimo]]. On capitulating to the Bourbons, Settimo escaped to [[Malta]] where he was received with the full honours of a head of state. Unlike many, Crispi was not granted amnesty and was forced to flee the country.<ref name=nyt100694>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/06/10/106099190.pdf Crispi and the Archpriest], The New York Times, 10 June 1894</ref>

==Exile==
After leaving Sicily, Crispi took refuge in [[Marseille]], [[France]], where he met the woman who would become his second wife, [[Rose Montmasson]], born five years after him in [[Haute-Savoie]] (which at that time belonged to the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]]) in a family of farmers.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pages 85, 86</ref>

[[File:Crispi giovane.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Portrait of Francesco Crispi during the 1850s]]
In 1849, he moved to [[Turin]], the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia, where he worked as a journalist. During this period he became a friend of [[Giuseppe Mazzini]], a republican politician, journalist and activist. In 1853 Crispi was implicated in the Mazzini conspiracy and was arrested by the Piedmontese policy and sent to [[Malta]]. Here, on 27 December 1854, he married Rose Montmasson.

Then he moved to [[London]] where he became a revolutionary conspirator and continued his close friendship with Mazzini, involving himself in the exile politics of the national movement, abandoning Sicilian separatism.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 138–140, 143</ref>

On 10 January 1856, he moved to [[Paris]], where he continued his work as a journalist. On 22 August, he was informed that his father had died and that three years earlier also his mother had died, but that news had been hidden by his father who did not want to increase his sorrows.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 151–152, 160</ref>

===Assassination attempt on Napoleon III===
{{main|Orsini affair}}
On the evening of 14 January 1858, as the Emperor [[Napoleon III]] and the Empress [[Eugénie de Montijo]] were on their way to the [[Salle Le Peletier|theatre in the Rue Le Peletier]], the precursor of the [[Opera Garnier]], to see, rather ironically, [[Gioacchino Rossini|Rossini]]'s ''[[William Tell (opera)|William Tell]]'', the Italian revolutionary [[Felice Orsini]] and his accomplices threw three bombs at the imperial carriage. The first bomb landed among the horsemen in front of the carriage. The second bomb wounded the animals and smashed the carriage glass. The third bomb landed under the carriage and seriously wounded a policeman who was hurrying to protect the occupants. Eight people were killed and 142 wounded, though the emperor and empress were unhurt.

Orsini himself was wounded on the right temple and stunned. He tended his wounds and returned to his lodgings, where police found him the next day.

Of the five conspirators, only one remained unidentified. In 1908 (seven years after Crispi's death) one of them, [[Charles DeRudio]], claimed to have seen, half an hour before the attack, a man approaching and talking with Orsini, and recognized him as Crispi.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 165–167</ref> But no evidence has ever been found regarding Crispi's role in the attack. Anyway on 7 August 1858, he was expelled from France.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 169–170</ref>

==In Sicily with Garibaldi==
===Expedition of the Thousand===
{{main|Expedition of the Thousand}}
In June 1859 Crispi returned to Italy after publishing a letter repudiating the aggrandizement of [[Piedmont]] in the [[Italian unification]]. He proclaimed himself a republican and a partisan of national unity.<ref name=nyt100694/> He travelled around Italy under various disguises and with counterfeit passports.<ref name=nyt100694/> Twice in that year he went the round of the Sicilian cities in disguise preparing the insurrectionist movement of 1860.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=467}} Crispi briefly visited Greece in October 1859.<ref name="Dakin264">{{harvnb|Dakin|1968|p=264.}}</ref>

[[File:Partenza da Quarto.jpg|thumb|right|220px|The beginning of the expedition, to [[Sicily]], at [[Quarto dei Mille]], [[Genoa]]]]
He helped persuade [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] to sail with his [[Expedition of the Thousand]], which disembarked on Sicily on 11 May 1860. The Expedition was formed by a corps of volunteers led by Garibaldi, who landed in [[Sicily]] in order to conquer the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]], ruled by the [[Bourbons]]. The project was an ambitious and risky venture aiming to conquer, with a thousand men, a kingdom with a larger regular army and a more powerful navy. The expedition was a success and concluded with a [[plebiscite]] that brought Naples and Sicily into the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]], the last territorial conquest before the creation of the [[Kingdom of Italy]] on 17 March 1861.

The sea venture was the only desired action that was jointly decided by the "four fathers of the nation" [[Giuseppe Mazzini]], Giuseppe Garibaldi, [[Victor Emmanuel II]], and [[Camillo Cavour]], pursuing divergent goals. Crispi utilized his political influence to bolster the [[Italian unification]] project.<ref>{{Cite book|author=[[Christopher Duggan (historian)|Christopher Duggan]]|title=Creare la nazione. Vita di Francesco Crispi|publisher=Laterza|date=2000}}</ref>

The various groups participated in the expedition for a variety of reasons: for Garibaldi, it was to achieve a united Italy; for the Sicilian bourgeoisie, an independent Sicily as part of the kingdom of Italy, and for the mass farmers, land distribution and the end of oppression.

===Garibaldi dictatorship===
{{main|Dictatorship of Garibaldi}}
[[File:Crispi Segretario di Stato in Sicilia.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Francesco Crispi as Secretary of State in 1860]]
After the fall of Palermo, Crispi was appointed First Secretary of State in the provisional government; shortly a struggle began between Garibaldi's government and the emissaries of Cavour on the question of timing of the annexation of Sicily by Italy. It established a Sicilian Army and a fleet of the Dictatorship Government of Sicily.<ref>[http://oceania.pbworks.com/w/page/8470006/Ships-of-the-Dictatorship-Government-of-Sicily-in-1860 Ships of the Dictatorship Government of Sicily in 1860]</ref>

The pace of Garibaldi's victories had worried Cavour, who in early July sent to the provisional government a proposal of immediate annexation of Sicily to [[Piedmont]]. Garibaldi, however, refused vehemently to allow such a move until the end of the war. Cavour's envoy, [[Giuseppe La Farina]], was arrested and expelled from the island. He was replaced by the more malleable [[Agostino Depretis]], who gained Garibaldi's trust and was appointed as pro-dictator.<ref>[http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/agostino-depretis_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ Agostino Depretis in ''Dizionario Biografico – Treccani'']</ref>

During the [[Dictatorship of Garibaldi|dictatorial government]] of Garibaldi, Crispi secured the resignation of the pro-dictator Depretis, and continued his fierce opposition to Cavour.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=467}}

In [[Naples]], Garibaldi's provisional government was largely controlled by Cavour. Crispi, who arrived in the city in mid-September, tried to increase his power and influence, at the expense of Cavour's loyalists. However, the revolutionary impulse that had animated the Expedition was fading, especially after the [[Battle of Volturnus (1860)|Battle of Volturnus]].

On 3 October 1860, to seal an alliance with King [[Victor Emmanuel II]], Garibaldi appointed pro-dictator of Naples, Giorgio Pallavicino, a supporter of the [[House of Savoy]]. Pallavicino immediately stated that Crispi was unable and inappropriate to hold the office of Secretary of State.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 246–249</ref>

Meanwhile, Cavour stated that [[Southern Italy]] would not accept anything but the unconditional annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia by plebiscite. Crispi, who still had the hope to continue the revolution to rescue [[Rome]] and [[Venice]], strongly opposed this solution, proposing to elect a parliamentary assembly. This proposal was also supported by the federalist [[Carlo Cattaneo]]. Garibaldi announced that the decision would have been taken by the two pro-dictators of Sicily and Naples, Antonio Mordini and Giorgio Pallavicino, who both opted for the plebiscite. On 13 October Crispi resigned from the government of Garibaldi.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 249–252, 256</ref>

==Member of the Parliament==
[[File:Crispi deputato del Regno d'Italia.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Crispi during his first term as member of the [[Italian Parliament|Parliament]]]]

The [[1861 Italian general election|general election of 1861]] took place on 27 January, even before the formal birth of the [[Kingdom of Italy]], which took place on 17 March. Francesco Crispi was elected as a member of the [[Historical Left]], in the constituency of [[Castelvetrano]]; he would retain his seat in all successive legislatures until the end of his life.<ref name=sarti222/>

Crispi acquired the reputation of being the most aggressive and most impetuous member of his parliamentary group. He denounced the [[Historical Right|Right]] for "diplomatising the revolution".<ref name=seton47>Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', p. 47</ref> Personal ambition and restlessness made him difficult to cooperate with and he earned himself the nickname of ''Il Solitario'' (The Loner).<ref name=seton47/> In 1864, he finally deserted Mazzini and announced he was a monarchist, because as he put it in a letter to Mazzini: "The monarchy unites us; the republic would divide us."<ref name=sarti222/><ref name=seton47/>

In 1866 he refused to enter [[Bettino Ricasoli|Baron Bettino Ricasoli]]'s cabinet; in 1867 he worked to impede the Garibaldian invasion of the papal states, foreseeing the French occupation of Rome and the disaster of [[Battle of Mentana|Mentana]]. By methods of the same character as those subsequently employed against himself by [[Felice Cavallotti]], he carried on the violent agitation known as the Lobbia affair, in which sundry conservative deputies were, on insufficient grounds, accused of corruption. On the outbreak of the [[Franco-German War]], he worked energetically to impede the projected alliance with France, and to drive the [[Giovanni Lanza]] cabinet to Rome. The death of [[Urbano Rattazzi]] in 1873 induced Crispi's friends to put forward his candidature to the leadership of the Left; but Crispi, anxious to reassure the crown, secured the election of [[Agostino Depretis]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=467}}

===President of the Chamber of Deputies===
After the [[1876 Italian general election|general election in 1876]], in which the Left gained almost 70% of votes, Crispi was elected [[President of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|President of the Chamber of Deputies]].<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 434–435</ref>

During the autumn of 1877, as President of the Chamber, he went to [[London]], [[Paris]] and [[Berlin]] on a confidential mission, establishing cordial personal relationships with British prime minister [[William Ewart Gladstone]] and Foreign Minister [[Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville|Lord Granville]] and other English statesmen, and with [[Otto von Bismarck]], by then Chancellor of the [[German Empire]].<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 445–446</ref> In 1877 during the [[Great Eastern Crisis]] Crispi was offered Albania as possible compensation by Bismarck and the British [[Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby|Earl of Derby]] if Austria-Hungary annexed [[Bosnia]], however, he refused and preferred the Italian Alpine regions under Austro-Hungarian rule.<ref name="Skendi48">{{harvnb|Skendi|1967|p=48.}}</ref>

==Minister of the Interior==
[[File:Crispi 1870-1875.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Francesco Crispi in 1870s]]
In December 1877 he replaced [[Giovanni Nicotera]] as [[Italian Minister of the Interior|Minister of the Interior]] in the cabinet of Depretis. Although his short term of office lasted just 70 days, they were instrumental in establishing a unitary monarchy. Moreover, during his term as minister, Crispi tried to unite the many factions which were part of the [[Historical Left|Left]], at that time.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 447–448</ref>

On 9 January 1878, the death of [[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy]] and the accession of King Umberto enabled Crispi to secure the formal establishment of a unitary monarchy, the new monarch taking the title of [[Umberto I of Italy]] instead of Umberto IV of Savoy.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; 448–452</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=467}}

On 7 February 1878, the death of Pope [[Pius IX]] necessitated a [[papal election|conclave]], the first to be held after the unification of Italy. Crispi, helped by Mancini and [[Cardinal Pecci]] (afterwards [[Leo XIII]]), persuaded the [[Sacred College]] to hold the conclave in Rome,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=467}} establishing the legitimacy of the capital.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; p. 457</ref>

==Bigamy scandal and political isolation==
The statesmanlike qualities displayed on this occasion were insufficient to avert the storm of indignation of Crispi's opponents when he was accused of [[polygamy|bigamy]]. When he remarried, a woman he had married in 1853 was still living. But a court ruled that Crispi's 1853 marriage on [[Malta]] was invalid because it was contracted while another woman he had married yet earlier was also still alive. By the time of his third marriage, his first wife had died and his marriage to his second wife was legally invalid. Therefore, his marriage to his third wife was ruled valid and not bigamous. He was nevertheless compelled to resign office after only three months in March 1878, bringing down the whole government with him.<ref name=seton47/>

[[File:Francesco Crispi anni 80.jpg|thumb|right|180px|An official portrait of Crispi]]
For nine years Crispi remained politically under a cloud, leading the "progressive" opposition. In 1881 Crispi was among the main supporters of the [[universal male suffrage]], which was approved by the government of [[Agostino Depretis]].<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 496–499</ref>

===Pentarchy===
{{main|Dissident Left}}
In 1883 the leaders of the Left, Agostino Depretis, and the Right, [[Marco Minghetti]], formed an alliance based on a flexible [[Centrism|centrist]] coalition of [[government]] which isolated the extremes of the [[Left-wing politics|left]] and the [[Right-wing politics|right]]; these politics was known as ''[[Trasformismo]]''. Crispi, who was a strong supporter of [[two-party system]], strongly opposed it and founded a [[Progressivism|progressive]] and [[Radicalism (historical)|radical]] parliamentary group called [[Dissident Left]]. The group was also known as "The Pentarchy", due to its five leaders, [[Giuseppe Zanardelli]], [[Benedetto Cairoli]], [[Giovanni Nicotera]], [[Agostino Magliani]], Alfredo Beccarini and Crispi.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cronologia.leonardo.it/storia/biografie/zanardel.htm |title=Giuseppe Zanardelli – Biografia |access-date=11 February 2017 |archive-date=6 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606125214/http://cronologia.leonardo.it/storia/biografie/zanardel.htm }}</ref>

The party supported [[authoritarian]] and [[progressivism|progressive]] internal policies, [[Expansionist nationalism|expansionism]] and [[Germanophile]] foreign policies, and [[protectionist]] economy policies.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.filosofale.altervista.org/la_politica_di_crispi.htm |title=La politica di Crispi |access-date=11 February 2017 |archive-date=11 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080357/http://www.filosofale.altervista.org/la_politica_di_crispi.htm }}</ref>

After the [[1886 Italian general election|general elections in May 1886]], in which the Dissident Left gained almost 20% of votes, Crispi returned to office as Minister of the Interior in the Depretis cabinet. Following Depretis's death on 29 July 1887 Crispi, abandoned the Dissident Left and became the leader of the [[Historical Left|Left]] group; he was also appointed, by the King, [[Prime Minister of Italy|Prime Minister]] and [[Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs|Minister of Foreign Affairs]].<ref name=sarti222/>

==First term as Prime Minister==
On 29 July [[1887 in Italy|1887]], Francesco Crispi was sworn in as the new prime minister. He was the first one from [[Southern Italy]]. Crispi immediately distinguished himself, for being a reformist leader, but his political style provoked many protests from his opponents, who accused him of being an [[authoritarian]] Prime Minister and a [[strongman (politics)|strongman]].

[[File:FRANCESCO CRISPI , 1887.jpg|thumb|right|180px|A portrait of Crispi in 1887]]
True to his initial progressive leanings he moved ahead with stalled reforms, abolishing the death penalty, revoking anti-strike laws, limiting police powers, and reforming the penal code and the administration of justice with the help of his Minister of Justice [[Giuseppe Zanardelli]], reorganising charities and passing public health laws and legislation to protect emigrants that worked abroad. He sought popular support for the state with a programme of orderly development at home and expansion abroad.<ref name=sarti43>Sarti, ''Italy: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=xhoLorFC1iwC&pg=PA43 pp. 43–44]</ref><ref name=seton131>Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', p. 131</ref>

===Internal policy===
{{main|Zanardelli Code}}
One of the most important acts was the reform regarding the central administration of the State, with which Crispi strengthened the role of the Prime Minister. The bill aimed to separate the roles of the government from those of parliament, trying to untie the first by the political games of the second. The first point of the law was to give the cabinet the right to decide on the number and functions of the ministries. The prospect was also to keep the King (as well as provide the [[Albertine Statute]]) free to decide on the organization of the various ministries. Moreover, the reform provided the establishment of secretaries, who were supposed to help ministers and, at the same time, do them as spokesmen in parliament. The reform was heavily criticized by the [[Historical Right|Rightist]] opposition but also by the [[Historical Far Left|Far Left]]. On 9 December 1887, it was approved by the Chamber of Deputies.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 612–613</ref>

[[File:Crispi e ministri al Quirinale nel capodanno 1888.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Francesco Crispi and his ministers received by the King [[Umberto I]] in the New Year's Day of 1888]]
In 1889 Crispi's government promoted a reform of the magistracy and promulgated a [[Zanardelli Code|new penal code]], which unified penal legislation in Italy, abolished the death sentence and recognised the right to strike.<ref name="seton131"/> The code was regarded as a great work by contemporary European jurists. The code was named after [[Giuseppe Zanardelli]], then [[Italian Minister of Justice|Minister of Justice]], who promoted the approval of the code.<ref>Lacche, Luigi. "A Criminal Code for the Unification of Italy: the Zanardelli Code (1889) – The genesis, The debate, The legal project". ''Sequência''. 2014, n.68. pp. 37–57.</ref>

Another important reform was that of local government, or ''[[comune|comuni]]'', which was approved by the Chamber in July 1888, in just three weeks. The new reform almost doubled the local electorate, incrementing the suffrage. But the most controversial part of the law was related to the mayors, who were previously appointed by the government, and who would now be elected by the electors, in the municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants and in all the provincial capitals. The law also introduced the office of the prefect. The reform was approved by the Senate in December 1888 and entered into force in February 1889.<ref>[[Christopher Duggan]]; pp. 660–662</ref>

On 22 December 1888, the Freemason Crispi enacted the first Italian law for the national healthcare system including the [[cremation]]<ref>{{cite journal |url = http://augusto.agid.gov.it/gazzette/index/download/id/1888301_PM|title = Ordinamento dell'amministrazione sanitaria del Regno |issue = 301 | location = Rome | date = 24 December 1888 | page = 5802 | language = it | trans-title = Law n° 5849 of 22 December 1888 | journal = [[w:it:Gazzetta Ufficiale del Regno d'Italia|Gazzetta Ufficiale del Regno d'Italia]]| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180308074536/http://augusto.agid.gov.it/gazzette/index/download/id/1888301_PM | archive-date = 8 March 2018 | url-status = live}} (article 50)</ref> after a [[1881–1896 cholera pandemic|cholera pandemic in 1884–1885 cholera pandemic]] killing approximately 50,000 persons,<ref name="pensalibero.it">{{cite web | url = https://www.pensalibero.it/nacque-per-lincubo-del-colera-la-prima-legge-sanitaria-ditalia-1888/ | title = Nacque per l'incubo del colera la prima legge sanitaria d'Italia (1888) | author = [[:it:Aldo Alessandro Mola|Aldo Alessandro Mola]]|date = 8 March 2020}}</ref><ref name=kohn82>Kohn, ''Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence'', [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpl0000unse_j5s6/page/170/mode/1up p. 170]</ref> with a serious outbreak in the city of [[Naples]] in August-September 1884.<ref name=snowden104>Snowden, ''Naples in the time of cholera'', 1884-1911, [https://archive.org/details/naplesintimeofch0000snow/page/104/mode/1up p. 104]</ref> Crispi was also the first politician to have implemented the role of the Italian lay state in the fields of [[Charity (virtue)|charity]] and [[solidarity]] which till then had been traditionally kept a monopoly of private citizens and organizations, mainly of the Italian Roman Catholic Church<ref>{{cite book | url = http://www.archivi.beniculturali.it/dga/uploads/documents/Saggi/Saggi_93_bis.pdf | pages = VII, 61 | title =  Francesco Crispi: costruire lo Stato per dare forma alla Nazione | author = Aldo G. Ricci | author2 = Luisa Montevecchi | language = it | website = [[Central Archives of the State (Italy)|Central Archives of the State, Italy]] | year = 209 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201006105236/http://www.archivi.beniculturali.it/dga/uploads/documents/Saggi/Saggi_93_bis.pdf | archive-date = 6 October 2020 | url-status = live}}</ref> that strongly adversed his reforms.<ref name="pensalibero.it" />

===Foreign policy===
[[File:Adoua 1.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Adwa]] was the climactic battle of the [[First Italo-Ethiopian War]].]]
As prime minister in the 1880s and 1890s Crispi pursued an aggressive foreign policy to strengthen Italy's beleaguered institutions. He saw France as the permanent enemy and he counted heavily on British support. Britain was on good terms with France and refused to help, leaving Crispi perplexed and ultimately disillusioned about what he had felt was a special friendship between the two countries.<ref>Christopher Duggan,  "Francesco Crispi's relationship with Britain: from admiration to disillusionment." ''Modern Italy'' 16.4 (2011): 427-436.</ref> He turned to [[Scramble for Africa|imperialism in Africa]], especially against the independent kingdom of [[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopia]], and the Ottoman province of [[Tripolitania]] (in present-day [[Libya]]).<ref>Gianni Chicco,  "Crispi and the Question of the Tripolitanian Borders 1887-1888." ''East European Quarterly'' 16.2 (1982): 137-49.</ref>

====Relations with Germany====
[[File:Bismarck e Crispi 1887.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Francesco Crispi with German Chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] in 1887]]
One of his first acts as premier was a visit to the German chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]], whom he desired to consult upon the working of the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=467}}

Basing his foreign policy upon the alliance, as supplemented by the naval entente with Great Britain negotiated by his predecessor, [[Carlo Felice Nicolis, conte di Robilant|Carlo Felice Nicolis di Robilant]], Crispi assumed a resolute attitude towards France, breaking off the prolonged and unfruitful negotiations for a new Franco-Italian commercial treaty, and refusing the French invitation to organize an Italian section at the [[Paris Exhibition of 1889]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=467}} The Triple Alliance committed Italy to a possible war with France, requiring a vast increase in the already heavy Italian military expenditure, making the alliance unpopular in Italy.<ref name=mack92>Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', [https://archive.org/details/italyitsmonarchy0000mack/page/92/mode/1up p.92]</ref> As part of his anti-French foreign policy, Crispi began a tariff war with France in 1888.<ref name=mack107>Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', [https://archive.org/details/italyitsmonarchy0000mack/page/107/mode/1up p.107]</ref> The Franco-Italian trade war was an economic disaster for Italy which over a ten-year period was to cost two billion lire in lost exports, and was ended in 1898 with the Italians agreeing to end their tariffs on French goods in exchange for the French ending their tariffs on Italian goods.<ref name=mack134>Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', [https://archive.org/details/italyitsmonarchy0000mack/page/134/mode/1up p.134]</ref>

====Colonial policy====
Francesco Crispi was a patriot and an [[Italian nationalism|Italian nationalist]], and his desire to make Italy a colonial power led to conflicts with France, which rejected Italian claims to [[Tunisia]] and opposed Italian expansion elsewhere in Africa.<ref name=sarti43/>

Under Crispi's rule, Italy signed the [[Treaty of Wuchale]]; it was a deal reached by King [[Menelik&nbsp;II]] of [[Shewa]], later the Emperor of [[Ethiopia]] with Count Pietro Antonelli in the town of [[Wuchale]], on 2 May 1889. The treaty stated that the regions of [[Bogos]], [[Hamasien]], [[Akkele Guzay]], and [[Serae]] were part of the Italian colony of Eritrea and is the origin of the Italian colony and modern state of [[Eritrea]]. Per the Treaty, Italy promised financial assistance and military supplies.

====Albanian question====
In 1859, Crispi wrote a union between Greeks and Albanians would make Italy and Greece become closer.<ref name="Dakin265">{{cite journal|last=Dakin|first=Douglas|title=Lavagnini Grecia 1859 nel diario di Francesco Crispi. In appendice: Cavour sulla Grecia i860 e altri scritti, (1st Siciliano di studi bizantini e neoellenici, quaderni, 4.) Palermo: Istituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici. 1967|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-hellenic-studies/article/abs/b-lavagnini-grecia-1859-nel-diario-di-francesco-crispi-in-appendice-cavour-sulla-grecia-i860-e-altri-scritti-1st-siciliano-di-studi-bizantini-e-neoellenici-quaderni-4-palermo-istituto-siciliano-di-studi-bizantini-e-neoellenici-1967-pp-93-lire-2000/9C7009C4D7DB82252EE1D1D946C172D5|journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies|volume=88|year=1968|page=265|doi=10.2307/628796|jstor=628796 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Balkan geopolitics and security concerns drove Italy to [[Adriatic Question|seek great power status in the Adriatic sea]] and Crispi viewed a future autonomous Albania within the Ottoman Empire, or an independent one, as a safeguarded for Italian interests.<ref name="Skendi240">{{harvnb|Skendi|1967|p=240.}}</ref> Crispi believed the Albanians' interests against [[Pan-Slavism]] and Austro-Hungarian expansion were best served through a Greco-Albanian union and he founded in Rome a [[philhellenic]] committee that worked toward that goal.<ref name="Skendi8385175">{{harvnb|Skendi|1967|pp=83–85, 175.}}</ref> Crispi, after becoming prime minister, stimulated and intensified ethnocultural relations between Italo-Albanians and Albanians of the Balkans, moves which were considered as extending Italian influence over Albanians by [[Austria-Hungary]].<ref name="Skendi215216">{{harvnb|Skendi|1967|pp=215–216.}}</ref> To counteract Austro-Hungarian influence in northern Albania, Crispi took the initiative and opened the first Italian schools in [[Shkodër]] in 1888.<ref name="Skendi258">{{harvnb|Skendi|1967|p=258.}}</ref> Prominent Albanians involved with the [[Albanian National Awakening]] such as [[Abdyl Frashëri]] and [[Thimi Mitko]] corresponded with Crispi over the Albanian question.<ref name="Skendi165175316317">{{cite book|last=Skendi|first=Stavro|title=The Albanian national awakening|year=1967|location=Princeton|publisher=Princeton University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8QPWCgAAQBAJ&q=Crispi+&pg=PR15|isbn=9781400847761|pages=165, 175, 316–317}}</ref>

====Cerruti affair====
During the conflict between the Italian entrepreneur Ernesto Cerruti and Colombian President [[Rafael Nuñez]] Italy mobilized a small naval squadron in 1888 fears were rampant that an Italian armed intervention was imminent on Colombian coasts. Finally, faced with the threat of military intervention and international pressure, the Colombian government opted to submit to international arbitration. In 1891, Pope Leo XIII, who was respected in both countries due to widespread Catholicism, intervened as mediator in the conflict. Under Papal arbitration, an agreement was reached in which Colombia was to pay compensation to Cerruti, although in an amount lower than that originally demanded by Italy.

===Resignation===
The [[1890 Italian general election|general election in 1890]] was an extraordinary triumph for Crispi. Out of 508 deputies, 405 sided with the government. But already in October, the first signs of a political crisis grew up. Emperor Menelik had contested the Italian text of the Wuchale Treaty, stating that it did not oblige Ethiopia to be an Italian protectorate. Menelik informed the foreign press and the scandal erupted. A few days after the [[Italian Minister of Finance|Finance Minister]] and Crispi's long-time main political rival, [[Giovanni Giolitti]], abandoned the government.

However, the decisive event was a document published by the new Minister of Finance [[Bernardino Grimaldi]], who revealed that the planned deficit was higher than expected; after that, the government lost its majority with 186 votes against and 123 in favour. Prime Minister Crispi resigned on 6 February 1891.

==After the premiership==
After the fall of Crispi's government, Umberto I gave the task of forming the new cabinet to the Marquis [[Antonio Starabba di Rudinì]]. The government faced many difficulties since the beginning and in May 1892, Giolitti, who became the new Left leader after Crispi's resignation, decided not to support it anymore.

After that, King Umberto I appointed Giolitti as the new prime minister. The first Giolitti cabinet, however, relied on a slender majority and in December 1892 the Prime Minister was involved in a major scandal.

===Banca Romana scandal===
{{main|Banca Romana scandal}}
The [[Banca Romana scandal]] surfaced in January 1893 in Italy over the [[bankruptcy]] of the [[Banca Romana]],<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1893/01/27/106811738.pdf Italy Has Her Scandal; Ex-Premier Crispi Said To Be Involved], The New York Times, 27 January 1893</ref> one of the six national banks authorised at the time to issue currency. The scandal was the first of many Italian corruption scandals, and, like the others, it discredited the whole political system.

The bank had loaned large sums to property developers but was left with huge liabilities when the real estate bubble collapsed in 1887, but feared that publicity might undermine public confidence and suppressed the report.<ref name=seton154>Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', pp. 154–56</ref>

Even Umberto I was involved in the scandal and Crispi's reputation emerged greatly strengthened: he could overthrow Giolitti's government at any time or impair the reputation of the King. Giolitti and his allies defended themselves by trying to collect compromising news against Crispi, but the judicial inquiry into the Banca Romana left the latter essentially harmless.

==Return to power and second term==
[[File:Francesco Crispi.jpg|thumb|right|180px|An official portrait of Crispi, during his second term]]
In December 1893 the impotence of the Giolitti cabinet to restore public order, menaced by disturbances in Sicily and the [[Banca Romana scandal]], gave rise to a general demand that Crispi should return to power.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=467}}

===Fasci Siciliani===
{{main|Fasci Siciliani}}
The [[Fasci Siciliani]] were a popular movement of [[democracy|democratic]] and [[socialist]] inspiration, which arose in [[Sicily]] in the years between 1889 and 1894.<ref>''Fascio'' (plural: ''fasci'') literally means "[[fasces|faggot]]" (as in a bundle of sticks), but also "league", and was used in the late 19th century to refer to political groups of many different (and sometimes opposing) orientations.</ref> The Fasci gained the support of the poorest and most exploited classes of the island by channelling their frustration and discontent into a coherent programme based on the establishment of new rights. Consisting of a jumble of traditionalist sentiment, religiosity, and socialist consciousness, the movement reached its apex in the summer of 1893, when new conditions were presented to the landowners and mine owners of Sicily concerning the renewal of sharecropping and rental contracts.

Upon the rejection of these conditions, there was an outburst of strikes that rapidly spread throughout the island, and was marked by violent social conflict, almost rising to the point of insurrection. The leaders of the movement were not able to keep the situation from getting out of control. The proprietors and landowners asked the government to intervene. Giovanni Giolitti tried to put a halt to the manifestations and protests of the [[Fasci Siciliani]], his measures were relatively mild. On 24 November, Giolitti officially resigned as prime minister. In the three weeks of uncertainty before Crispi formed a government on 15 December 1893, the rapid spread of violence drove many local authorities to defy Giolitti's ban on the use of firearms.

In December 1893, 92 peasants lost their lives in clashes with the police and army. Government buildings were burned along with flour mills and bakeries that refused to lower their prices when taxes were lowered or abolished.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1893/12/27/109716817.pdf Shot Down by the Soldiers; Four of the Mob Killed in an Anti-Tax Riot in Sicily], The New York Times, 27 December 1893</ref><ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/01/03/106092087.pdf Sicily Under Mob Control; A Series of Antitax Riots in The Island], The New York Times 3 January 1894</ref>

On 3 January 1894, Crispi declared a [[state of siege]] throughout Sicily. Army reservists were recalled and General Roberto Morra di Lavriano was dispatched with 40,000 troops.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/01/04/106092311.pdf The Italian Government Alarmed; More Troops Called Out for Service in Sicily], The New York Times, 4 January 1894</ref><ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/01/05/106092650.pdf Martial Law Proclaimed In Sicily; Stern Measures Resorted To to Quiet the Anti-Tax Troubles], The New York Times, 5 January 1894</ref> The old order was restored through the use of extreme force, including [[summary executions]]. A [[Lunigiana revolt|solidarity revolt]] of anarchists and republicans in the [[Lunigiana]] was crushed as well.<ref name=seton165>Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', pp. 165–67</ref>

The repression of the Fasci turned into outright persecution. The government arrested not just the leaders of the movement, but masses of poor farmers, students, professionals, sympathizers of the Fasci, and even those simply suspected of having sympathized with the movement at some point in time, in many cases without any evidence for the accusations. After the declaration of a state of emergency, condemnations were issued for the paltriest of reasons. Many rioters were incarcerated for having shouted things such as "Viva l'anarchia" or "down with the King". At Palermo, in April and May 1894, the trials against the central committee of the Fasci took place and this was the final blow that signalled the death knell of the movement of the [[Fasci Siciliani]].<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/05/31/106867139.pdf Sicilian Rioters Sentenced], The New York Times, 31 May 1894</ref>

===Financial crisis and assassination attempt===
[[File:Francesco Crispi assault 1894.jpeg|thumb|right|180px|The failed attempt to kill Crispi by the anarchist Paolo Lega on 16 June 1894]]
Crispi steadily supported the energetic remedies adopted by his Minister of Finance [[Sidney Sonnino]] to save Italian credit, which had been severely shaken by the financial crisis of 1892&ndash;1893 and the [[Banca Romana scandal]]. Sonnino's proposals were harshly criticized both by members of the Left and the Right, causing his resignation on 4 June 1894; on the following day Crispi resigned too, but the King gave him again the task to form a new government.

On 16 June 1894, the anarchist [[Paolo Lega]] tried to shoot Crispi but the attempt failed.<ref name=nyt170694>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/06/17/106908504.pdf Premier Crispi's Escape; Two Shots Fired At Him In The Streets Of Rome], The New York Times, 17 June 1894</ref> On 24 June an Italian anarchist killed French President [[Marie François Sadi Carnot|Carnot]]. In this climate of increased fear of anarchism, Crispi was able to introduce a series of anti-anarchist laws in July 1894, which were also used against socialists. Heavy penalties were announced for "incitement to class hatred" and police received extended powers of preventive arrest and deportation.<ref name=seton165/>

The whole parliament expressed solidarity with the Prime Minister who saw his position considerably strengthened. This favoured the approval of the Sonnino law. The reform saved Italy from the crisis and started the way for economic recovery.{{Clarify|date=April 2022|reason="save[d] Italy from the crisis" is vague}}

===Giolitti and Cavallotti's accusations===
In 1894 he was threatened with expulsion from the [[Freemasonry|Masonic]] [[Grande Oriente d'Italia]] for being too friendly towards the Catholic Church.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1894/10/10/archives/crispi-to-be-expelled-by-freemasons.html Crispi to be Expelled by Freemasons], The New York Times, 10 October 1894</ref> He had previously been strongly anticlerical but had become convinced of the need for rapprochement with the Papacy.<ref>"Crispi, a Freemason of deist convictions who had opposed the Law of Guarantees, had warned Bismarck and [[Léon Gambetta]] of the international danger of the Papacy in 1876, and had sacked Torlonia as late as 1887, gradually emerged as the leader of the effort to form an alliance with Catholics in defence of the established order." [http://jcrao.freeshell.org/Italy-1900.html Secular Italy and Catholicism: 1848&ndash;1915], by [[John Rao]], in Models and Images of Catholicism in Italian and Italian American Life Forum Italicum of the Center for Italian Studies at S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook, 2004, pp. 195–230 2004</ref>

At the end of 1894, his long-time rival Giovanni Giolitti tried to discredit Crispi by submitting to parliament a few documents that were supposed to ruin it. It was actually some old papers attesting loans contracted by Crispi and his wife with the [[Banca Romana scandal|Banca Romana]].

Moreover, Crispi's uncompromising suppression of disorder, and his refusal to abandon either the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]] or the [[Eritrea|Eritrean colony]], or to forsake his Minister of the Treasury, [[Sidney Sonnino]], caused a breach with the [[Italian Radical Party|radical]] leader [[Felice Cavallotti]]. Cavallotti began a campaign of defamation against him.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=467}} Cavallotti himself proposed to establish a commission, which should investigate the relations between Crispi and Banca Romana.

On 15 December the commission published its report and this caused some riots in the Chamber. Crispi, in defence of the institutions, submitted to the King a decree to dissolve parliament. On 13 January 1895 Umberto I dissolved the parliament and Giolitti, who was under trial for the bank scandal, was forced to move to Berlin, because his parliamentary immunity expired, and the risk of being arrested.

Giolitti and Cavallotti's attacks were soon renewed more fiercely than ever. They produced little effect and the [[1895 Italian general election|general election of 1895]] gave Crispi a huge majority of 334 seats out of 508.<ref name=NS>[[Dieter Nohlen|Nohlen, D]] & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p. 1047 {{ISBN|978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref> On 25 June 1895, Crispi refused a request to allow a parliamentary inquiry into his role in the Banca Romana scandal, saying as a prime minister he felt he was "invulnerable" because he had "served Italy for 53 years".<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.116">Mack Smith, Denis ''Italy and Its Monarchy''. 1989. p.116.</ref> Despite his majority, Crispi preferred to rule via royal decree instead of getting legislation passed by parliament, leading to concerns about authoritarianism.<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.116"/>

===Italo-Ethiopian War and resignation===
{{main|First Italo-Ethiopian War}}
[[File:Crispi Caricature by Henri Meyer Makallé 1896.JPG|thumb|left|180px|French caricature of Crispi, who suffers the failure of Makallè, by the Ethiopians, aided by French]]
During his second term, Crispi continued his colonial expansionist policy in [[East Africa]]. King Umberto I commented that "Crispi wants to occupy everywhere, even China and Japan".<ref>Mack Smith, Denis ''Italy and Its Monarchy''. 1989. p.113.</ref> Crispi was strongly supported by the king, who alluding to his personal dislike of him, stated "Crispi is a pig, but a necessary pig", who despite his corruption, had to stay in power for "the national interest, which is the only thing that matters".<ref>Mack Smith, Denis ''Italy and Its Monarchy''. 1989. p.115.</ref> Crispi took a very belligerent line on foreign policy as he, during a three-month period in 1895, talked quite openly about attacking France, sent a naval squadron to the eastern Mediterranean to prepare for a possible war with the Ottoman Empire in order to seize Albania, wanted to send an expeditionary force to seize a city in China, and planned to send a force to South Africa to forcibly mediate the dispute between Great Britain and the Transvaal Republic.<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.119">Mack Smith, Denis ''Italy and Its Monarchy''. 1989. p.119.</ref> Crispi, who favoured a militant anti-French line, wanted to revise the Triple Alliance as the preamble to the Triple Alliance spoke of preserving peace in Europe while "for Italy, it must be the opposite; for us, the Triple Alliance must mean war!"<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.119"/> Those who knew him by this stage of his life considered Crispi to be almost mindlessly bellicose as he broke off diplomatic relations with Portugal over a supposed slight, saying he deserved more respect from this "entirely unimportant country" ruled over by a "minuscule monarchy".<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.119"/>  &nbsp; &nbsp;

The main event which occurred during his premiership was the [[First Italo-Ethiopian War]], which originated from a disputed treaty which, the Italians claimed, turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Much to their surprise, they found that Ethiopian ruler [[Menelik II]], rather than opposed by some of his traditional enemies, was supported by them, and so the Italian army, invading Ethiopia from [[Italian Eritrea]] in 1893, faced a more united front than they expected. In addition, Ethiopia was supported by [[Russian Empire|Russia]] with military advisers, army training, and the sale of weapons. France supported Ethiopia diplomatically in order to prevent Italy from becoming a colonial competitor.<ref name="Robert G. Patman 2009">{{cite book|first=Robert G.|last=Patman|title=The Soviet Union in the Horn of Africa: The Diplomacy of Intervention and Disengagement|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2009|location=Cambridge|pages=27–30|isbn=9780521102513}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Biographies&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=SUIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2108101557&source=Bookmark&u=clov94514&jsid=51a203640e752f3531eac3c88ed17924|title=Menelik II|work=Gale|access-date=30 August 2016}}</ref>

Full-scale war broke out in 1895, with Italian troops under the command of General [[Oreste Baratieri]] having initial success until Ethiopian troops counterattacked Italian positions and besieged the Italian fort of [[Meqele]], forcing its surrender. In April 1895, Crispi withdrew part of the Italian army from Ethiopia to save money.<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.114">Mack Smith, Denis ''Italy and Its Monarchy''. 1989. p.114.</ref> He told General Baratieri that if he needed more money to just impose more taxes on the Ethiopians and "copy Napoleon who made war with the money of those he conquered".<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.114"/> Crispi did not understand that Ethiopia was a poor country and the money necessary to sustain a modern army could not possibly be raised from taxing the Ethiopians, causing major problems for the Italian Army in Ethiopia.<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.114"/> Through Crispi fought the war against Ethiopia on the cheap, he used secretly used public money to bribe journalists to write pro-war articles in the Italian newspapers while those foreign journalists who reported critically about the war were expelled from Italy.<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.114"/> Italian newspapers that reported critically about the war with Ethiopia were heavily fined by the Crispi government with the offending editions of the papers being burned under the grounds that it was "unpatriotic" to criticize the government in wartime.<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.114"/>

On 22 February 1896, Umberto dismissed General Baratieri as commander of the Italian expeditionary force, ordering him to remain in command until his successor arrived. On 25 February Crispi sent a telegram to Baratieri veiledly accusing him of cowardice and incompetence by engaging in small skirmishes and avoiding decisive battles ("[yours] is not so much a war, but the military version of consumptive disease"), and ended with demanding he took decisive action "whatever the cost to save the honour of the army and the prestige of the monarchy".<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.121">Mack Smith, Denis ''Italy and Its Monarchy''. 1989. p.121.</ref> In response to Crispi's telegram, on the evening of 29 February Baratieri met with his brigadier generals and with their support decided to ignore his own doubts and attacked a much larger Ethiopian force on 1 March 1896 near [[Adwa]].<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.121"/> In the [[Battle of Adwa]] the Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italians a decisive loss and forced their retreat back into Eritrea. General Baratieri took no responsibility for the defeat, blaming his men, saying they were cowards who had let him down at Adwa.<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.121"/> By contrast, the British military observer stated the ordinary Italian soldiers at Adwa "were as good as fighting material as can be found in Europe", but they had been let down by their officers who had shown no leadership abilities whatsoever.<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.121"/> &nbsp;

The casualty rate suffered by Italian forces at the Battle of Adwa was greater than any other major European battle of the 19th century, beyond even the [[Napoleonic Era]]'s [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]] and [[Battle of Eylau|Eylau]].<ref name=vand4>Vandervort, Bruce. ''Wars of Imperial Conquest in Africa, 1830–1914''. 1998, page 164.</ref> More Italians were killed in one day's fighting at Adwa than in all the wars of the Risorgimento.<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.121"/> Crispi announced after Adwa that he planned to continue the war against the "barbarians" of Ethiopia, and would be sending more troops to the Horn of Africa, which prompted a public backlash against the unpopular war.<ref name="Mack Smith 1989. p.121"/> After the humiliating defeat of the Italian army, riots broke out in several Italian cities, and within two weeks, the Crispi government collapsed amidst Italian disenchantment with "foreign adventures".<ref name=vand>Vandervort, ''Wars of Imperial Conquest in Africa, 1830–1914'', pp. 162–64</ref><ref name=nyt050796>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/07/05/106918840.pdf Italy's African Fiasco], ''The New York Times'', 5 July 1896</ref> In Rome, people demonstrated under the slogans "death to the king!" and "long live the republic!" as the war had badly damaged the prestige of Umberto who had backed Crispi so forcefully and strongly.<ref>Mack Smith, Denis ''Italy and Its Monarchy''. 1989. p.122.</ref> Crispi was opposed to making peace with Ethiopia, saying he regarded it as humiliating for the Italians to make peace with "barbarians" as he called the Ethiopians and said he did not care about the lives of almost 3,000 Italians taken prisoner by the Ethiopians who were being held as hostages, saying they were "expendable" compared to the "glorious" national mission of conquering Ethiopia.<ref>Mack Smith, Denis ''Italy and Its Monarchy''. 1989. p.124-125.</ref>

==Downfall and death==
[[File:Francesco Crispi caricature 1895.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Caricature of Crispi shown as a balloon ''Ciccio'' (fat) hovering above a group of men and women representing the country]]
The ensuing [[Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì|Antonio di Rudini]] cabinet lent itself to Cavallotti's campaign, and at the end of 1897, the judicial authorities applied to the Chamber of Deputies for permission to prosecute Crispi for embezzlement. A parliamentary commission of inquiry discovered only that Crispi, on assuming office in 1893, had found the secret service coffers empty, and had borrowed money from a state bank to fund it, repaying it with the monthly instalments granted in regular course by the treasury. The commission, considering this proceeding irregular, proposed, and the Chamber adopted, a vote of censure, but refused to authorize a prosecution.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=467–468}}

Crispi resigned his seat in parliament, but was re-elected by an overwhelming majority in April 1898 by his Palermo constituents. For some time he took little part in active politics, chiefly on account of his growing blindness. A successful operation for [[cataract]] restored his eyesight in June 1900, and notwithstanding his 81 years, he resumed to some extent his former political activity.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=468}}

Soon afterwards, however, his health began to give way and he died in [[Naples]] on 11 August 1901;<ref name=nyt120801>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/08/12/101079469.pdf Ex-Premier Crispi Dead; Potent Factor in Italian Politics Expires After Long Illness], The New York Times, 12 August 1901</ref> according to many witnesses, his last words were: "Before closing my eyes to life, I would have the supreme comfort of knowing that our homeland is beloved and defended by all its sons".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cilibertoribera.it/indexFRANCESCO%20CRISPI.htm |title=Casa natale di Crispi |access-date=12 February 2017 |archive-date=11 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211034728/http://www.cilibertoribera.it/indexFRANCESCO%20CRISPI.htm }}</ref>

==Legacy==
Crispi was a colourful and intensely patriotic character. He was a man of enormous energy but with a violent temper. His whole life, public and private, was turbulent, dramatic and marked by a succession of bitter personal hostilities.<ref name=seton47/> According to some Crispi's "fiery pride, almost insane touchiness and indifference to sound methods of government" were due to his Albanian inheritance.<ref name="wright61"/> Although he began life as a revolutionary and democratic figure, his premiership was authoritarian and he showed disdain for Italian liberals. He was born as a firebrand and died as a firefighter.<ref name=rep131212>{{in lang|it}} [http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2012/12/13/crispi-una-vita-spericolata-fuggendo-dalla-sua.html Crispi, una vita spericolata fuggendo dalla sua Ribera], La Repubblica, 13 December 2012</ref> At the end of the 19th century, Crispi was the dominant figure of Italian politics for a decade. He was saluted by [[Giuseppe Verdi]] as 'the great patriot'. He was a more scrupulous statesman than Cavour, a more realistic conspirator than Mazzini, and a more astute figure than Garibaldi. His death resulted in lengthier obituaries in Europe's press than for any Italian politician since Cavour.<ref name=history/>

[[File:Crispi ritratto intero.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Crispi during his last years]]
As prime minister in the 1880s and 1890s, Crispi was internationally famous and often mentioned along with world statesmen such as [[Otto von Bismarck|Bismarck]], [[William Ewart Gladstone|Gladstone]] and [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Salisbury]]. Originally an enlightened Italian patriot and democratic liberal, he went on to become a bellicose authoritarian prime minister and ally and admirer of Bismarck. He is often seen as a precursor of [[Benito Mussolini]]. Mussolini portrayed the Liberal era (1861–1922) as a perversion of the idealist vision of Mazzini and Garibaldi, and Crispi was the lone prime minister of the Liberal era whom ''Il Duce'' depicted in favourable terms.<ref name="Kallis, Aristotle p.32-33">Kallis, Aristotle ''Fascist Ideology'', London: Routledge, 2000 p.32-33.</ref> In particular, Mussolini praised Crispi as the inventor of "Italian imperialism" as opposed to "western imperialism", presenting his foreign policy as the inspiration for Fascist foreign policy, and the period after 1896 was excoriated as a period of decline caused by the alleged pusillanimous policy of Giolitti.<ref name="Kallis, Aristotle p.32-33"/> Mussolini presented his foreign policies such as conquering Ethiopia to "avenge Adawa" and making an alliance with [[Nazi Germany]] as a continuation of Crispi's foreign policy who likewise tried to conquer Ethiopia and made an alliance with the [[German Empire]]. His reputation was a victim of [[Italian Fascism]], which awarded him an abundance of street names, most erased after 1945. With the collapse of Fascism, Crispi's reputation was left fatally tarnished.<ref name=history/><ref name=gilmour/>

Historian R.J.B. Bosworth says that Crispi:
: pursued policies whose openly aggressive character would not be equaled until the days of the Fascist regime. Crispi increased military expenditure, talked cheerfully of a European conflagration, and alarmed his German or British friends with this suggestions of preventative attacks on his enemies. His policies were ruinous, both for Italy's trade with France, and, more humiliatingly, for colonial ambitions in East Africa. Crispi's lust for territory there was thwarted when on 1 March 1896, the armies of Ethiopian Emperor Menelik routed Italian forces at Adowa ... In what has been defined as an unparalleled disaster for a modern army. Crispi, whose private life (he was perhaps a trigamist) and personal finances...were objects of perennial scandal, went into dishonorable retirement.<ref name=bosworth29>Bosworth, ''Italy and the Wider World'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=VL1vjYQRR-0C&pg=PA29 p. 29]</ref>

==Authored books==
* {{cite book |title=Crispi per un antico parlamentare |author=Francesco Crispi |year=1890 |publisher=E. Perino |url=https://archive.org/details/crispiperunanti00crisgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/crispiperunanti00crisgoog/page/n71 5] |quote=Francesco inauthor:Crispi}}.
* {{cite book |title=Repubblica e monarchia |author=Francesco Crispi, Giuseppe Mazzini |year=1865 |publisher=V. Vercellino |url=https://archive.org/details/repubblicaemona00mazzgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/repubblicaemona00mazzgoog/page/n67 3] |quote=Francesco inauthor:Crispi}}.
* {{cite book |title=Ricorso del Collegio di Maria di Mezzojuso in provincia di Palermo al ... |author=Francesco Crispi |year=1862 |publisher=Tip. del Diritto diretta da C. Bianchi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwoBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA3}}
* {{cite book |title=Cronistoria Frammenti |author=Francesco Crispi |year=1890 |publisher=Unione cooperativa editrice |url=https://archive.org/details/cronistoriafram01crisgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/cronistoriafram01crisgoog/page/n7 3] |quote=Francesco inauthor:Crispi}}.

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle= Crispi, Francesco |volume= 7 | pages = 467&ndash;468 }}

== Sources ==

* Bosworth, R.J.B. (2013). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=VL1vjYQRR-0C Italy and the Wider World: 1860-1960]'', New York: Routledge, {{ISBN|0-415-13477-3}}
* {{cite journal|last=Duggan|first=Christopher|date=2002|title=Nation-building in 19th-century Italy: The Case of Francesco Crispi|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Nation-building+in+19th-century+Italy%3A+the+case+of+Francesco+Crispi-a082803451|journal=History Today|volume=52|issue=2|pages=9–18}}
* Duggan, Christopher. "Francesco Crispi's relationship with Britain: from admiration to disillusionment." ''Modern Italy'' 16.4 (2011): 427–436.
* Duggan, Christopher (2002). ''[http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206118.001.0001/acprof-9780198206118 Francesco Crispi, 1818&ndash;1901 : From Nation to Nationalism]'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-820611-9}}
* Gilmour, David (2011). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=57cT2FxDdp4C The Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, its Regions and their Peoples]'', London: Penguin UK, {{ISBN|978-0-14-192989-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Kohn |first= George C.| title=Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence: From Ancient Times to the Present |year=2001 |location=New York |publisher=Facts on File |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpl0000unse_j5s6/|isbn=0-8160-4263-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Mack Smith |first=Denis |title=Italy and Its Monarchy |year=2001 |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/italyitsmonarchy0000mack/mode/1up |isbn=0-300-05132-8}}
* Sarti, Roland (2004). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=xhoLorFC1iwC Italy: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present]'', New York: Facts on File Inc., {{ISBN|0-81607-474-7}}
* Seton-Watson, Christopher (1967). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=nJkOAAAAQAAJ Italy from liberalism to fascism, 1870–1925]'', New York: Taylor & Francis, {{ISBN|0-416-18940-7}}
* {{in lang|it}} Scichilone, Giorgio (2012), ''Francesco Crispi'', Flaccovio, Palermo, {{ISBN|978-88-780-4349-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Snowden |first=Frank M. | title=Naples in the time of cholera, 1884-1911 |year=1995 |location= Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/naplesintimeofch0000snow/page/4/mode/1up |isbn=978-0-585-13106-1}}
* Stilllman, William James (1899). ''[https://archive.org/details/francescocrispii00stil Francesco Crispi: Insurgent, Exile, Revolutionist and Statesman]'', London: Grant Richards
* Vandervort, Bruce (1998), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=0eNgUeSBTi0C Wars Of Imperial Conquest In Africa, 1830-1914]'', London: Taylor & Francis, {{ISBN|1-85728-486-0}}
* {{cite book|author=White, Elizabeth Brett|title=The Foreign Policy of Francesco Crispi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KpxYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA75|year=1917|publisher=PhD dissertation U. of Wisconsin-Madison}}
* Wright, Patricia (1972). ''[https://books.google.com/books?ei=B2wRVPnnKOP_ygPA3YEY Conflict on the Nile: the Fashoda incident of 1898]'', Heinemann, {{ISBN|978-0-434-87830-7}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Francesco Crispi}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=37976| name=Francesco Crispi}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Francesco Crispi}}
* {{OL author|812637A}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/003548}}

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