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Carbonari

(CHARCOAL-BURNERS)

The name of a secret political society, which played an important part, chiefly in

France and Italy, during the first decades of the nineteenth century. The

improbable claim was made that the society originated some centuries earlier, and

the French king Francis I appears in the secret documents of the Carbonari as one

of their protectors. In reality the association originated as the eighteenth century

passed into the nineteenth; it was one of the results of the political movement

which accompanied the great French Revolution and of the political principles that
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were proclaimed at that time. It is not certain whether the Carbonari, as a

political society, had its first organization in France or Italy. At any rate the

power of the association was first shown at the beginning of the nineteenth

century in the Kingdom of Naples and the States of the Church. Just as the name

"Carbonari" was adopted from the charcoal-burners, so also in their secret

intercourse they made use of many expressions taken from the occupation of

charcoal-burning. The place where the members assembled was called baracca

(hut), its interior vendita (place of selling coal), and its surroundings foresta(forest). The members called one another buon cugino (good cousin); those not

belonging to the society werepagani(heathens). The Carbonari were divided into

two classes: apprentices and masters. No apprentice could rise to the grade of a

master before the end of six months. The members made themselves known to

one another by secret signs in shaking hands. These signs for masters and

apprentices were unlike. One of the underlying principles of the society, it is true,

was that the "good brotherhood" rested on religion and virtue; but by this was

understood a purely natural conception of religion, and the mention of religion was

absolutely forbidden. In reality the association was opposed to the Church.Nevertheless, it veneratedSt. Theobald as its patron saint. The members

belonging to each separate district formed a vendita, called thus from the place of

assembly. At the head was the alta vendita, to which deputies were chosen from

the other vendite. A small hatchet was the distinguishing symbol of a master, the

apprentices were indicated by a little fagot worn in the button-hole. Initiation into

the society was accompanied by special ceremonies which, in the reception into

the grade of master, imitated the Passion of Christ in a manner actually

blasphemous. The members were bound by a frightful oath to observe absolute

silence concerning whatever occurred in the vendita. The similarity between the

secret society of the Carbonari and Freemasonry is evident. Freemasons could

enter the Carbonari as masters at once. The openly-avowed aim of the Carbonari

was political: they sought to bring about a constitutional monarchy or a republic,

and to defend the rights of the people against all forms of absolutism. They did

not hesitate to compass their ends by assassination and armed revolt. As early as

the first years of the nineteenth century the society was widespread in

Neapolitan territory, especially in the Abruzzi and Calabria. Not only men of low
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birth but also government officials of high rank, officers, and even members of the

clergy belonged to it.

In 1814 the Carbonari resolved to obtain a constitution for the Kingdom of Naples

by force. The lawful ruler, Ferdinand I, was opposed to them, but the king placed

on the throne by Napoleon, Murat, connected himself with them in March, 1815,

as he believed the time was come to create a united and independent Italy.

However, Murat was captured and shot in October of the same year and

Ferdinand once more mounted the throne. In the following years the Carbonari

grew in strength and power in all the districts of the Kingdom of Naples and made

preparations for a new revolutionary movement. From Naples the Carbonari spread

into the neighbouring territories of the States of the Church, and here also the

society sought to overthrow the absolute dominion of the papacy. The Carbonari

even promulgated a forged papal Briefwhich contained an apparent confirmation

of the association. On 15 August, 1814, CardinalsConsalvi and Pacca issued an

edict against secret societies, especially against Freemasonry and the Carbonari,

in which all were forbidden under severe penalties to become members of thesesecret associations, to attend their meetings, or to furnish a meeting-place for

such. Notwithstanding all this the propaganda of the Carbonari went on, chiefly in

the district ofMacerata, where an outbreak occurred, 25 June, 1817, which,

however, was easily suppressed by the papal troops (cf. the important report, of

Leggieri, Processo romano contro i congiurati di Macerata di 1817, ristretto

presentato alla congregazione criminale, Rome, 1818).

When the Spanish revolution broke out in 1820, the Neapolitan Carbonari once

more took up arms, in order to wring a constitution from King Ferdinand I. Theyadvanced against the capital from Nola under a military officer, Morelli, and the

Abbot Minichini. They were joined by General Pepe and many officers and

government officials, and the king on 13 July took an oath to observe the Spanish

constitution in Naples (cf. Pepe's defence of himself, Relation des evenements

politiques et militaires qui ont eu lieu a Naples en 1820 et 1821, Paris, 1822). The

movement also spread to Piedmont, and Victor Emmanuel resigned the throne in

favour of his brother Charles Felix. It was only through the intervention ofAustria,

which sent troops to Italy, that the movement was crushed and the Neapolitan
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constitution suppressed. The Carbonari, however, secretly continued their

agitation against Austria and the governments in friendly connection with it. They

formed, even in Rome, a vendita, published in the press the most violent

accusations against the lawful rulers, and won over to their cause members of

deposed sovereign families, among whom was Prince Louis, later Napoleon III.

Pope Pius VII issued a general condemnation of the secret society of the

Carbonari, 13 September, 1821. The association lost its influence by degrees and

was gradually absorbed into the new political organizations that sprang up inItaly; its members became affiliated espec ially with Mazzini's "Young Italy". From

Italy the organization was carried to France where it appeared as the

Charbonnerie, which, as in Italy, was divided into ventes. Members were

especially numerous in Paris, where the society was formed in 1821 by three

young men named Bazard, Buchez, and Flotard. The chief aim of the association in

France also was political, namely, to obtain a constitution in which the c onception

of the sovereignty of the people could find expression. From Paris as a centre the

Charbonnerie spread rapidly through the country, and by the end of the year 1821

it was the cause of several mutinies among the troops. The movement lost itsimportance after several conspirators had been executed, especially as quarrels

broke out among the leaders. The Charbonnerie took part in the Revolution of

July, 1830; after the fall of the Bourbons, however, its influence rapidly declined.

After this a Charbonnerie dmocratique was formed among the French

Republicans, the aim of which was to obtain a republican constitution for the

country; however, after 1841, nothing more was heard of it. Carbonari were also

to be found in Spain, but their numbers and importance were more limited than in

the other Romance countries.

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About this page

APA citation. Kirsch, J.P. (1908). Carbona ri. In The Catholic Encycloped ia. New York: R obe rt

Appleton Co mpa ny. Retrieved Augus t 8, 2012 from New Advent:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03330c.htm

MLA citation. Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Carbona ri." The Catho lic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York:

Rob ert Appleton Com pany, 1908. 8 Aug. 2012 .

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Gerald M. Knight.

Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. November 1, 1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.

Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email ad dress is fee dback732

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