The Italian entrance into the First World War provides the backdrop to this well-crafted study of South American Italian immigrant communities, Atlantic World analysis, and transnational identity in the early twentieth century. Upon joining the war, the Italian government sought to “nationalize” emigrants, including over two million who had relocated to the South American countries of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. Through its Emigration Commission and other government-related institutions such as the Dante Alighieri Society, chambers of commerce, and international remittance banks, Italy reminded countrymen who retained citizenship of their reservist obligations and called upon Italian émigré communities to volunteer support for the homeland through patriotic and nationalist appeals.
The response to this call by South American Italian communities was both supportive and antagonistic. In his analysis, Galante presents an effective social history of Italian immigrant institutions in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and São Paulo. In addition to established outlets such as the press, mutual aid societies, the Italian Red Cross, and chambers of commerce, Italian immigrants created ad hoc patriotic bodies such as the Italian War Committee in Buenos Aires and the Pro-Patria Committee in São Paulo to coordinate support for the Italian war effort.
The author notes that while overall there was broad support from the Italian immigrant communities for military service and war loans, significant distinctions also emerged. Buenos Aires and Montevideo support was broad-based, successful, and substantive on both accounts. By contrast, support in São Paulo exhibited “less enthusiasm.” Galante notes that the Brazilian movement was dominated by the upper and middle classes, who captured leadership positions and set agendas. Their campaigns included a “punitive” tone in sharp contrast to those in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. This generated sharp criticism from the working-class segments of the Brazilian immigrant community.
In addition, the substantial German immigrant presence in Brazil added a dimension of ethnic rivalry absent from Argentina and Uruguay. Ultimately, the decision of Brazil to enter the war on the side of the Allies further generated anxieties, as opposed to the Argentine decision to remain neutral. Galante notes that social class also accounted for significant anti-war activity, principally by organized labor. Socialist, anarchist, and syndicalist organizations equated militarism and nationalism with imperialism and capitalist domination. Significantly, at this point Communism was not yet an important factor beyond the aspirations presented by the Russian Revolution. Despite episodes of government suppression, the anti-war movement was substantial and effective as a counterpoint in immigrant communities.
Galante places this Italian-South American dynamic within the historiography of Atlantic World analysis. He argues that the characteristics of this “Italo-Atlantic” experience during the war effectively extend this analytical model into the twentieth century. He finds that the Italian efforts to use themes of nationalism and patriotism to build a transatlantic community to support the war, and the resonance of the Italian immigrant communities, both pro and con, do echo themes of Atlantic World models. Additionally, he notes that following the war there were efforts to continue and even expand upon some of the institutional, social, and cultural interactions. Veterans’ organizations and museums to the war effort were established, and libraries and civic groups labored to sustain ties with the mother country. However, Galante concludes that ultimately this was an attempt that could not be sustained.
In the post-war period and into the 1920s, any possibility of a transatlantic identity quickly dissipated. Galante notes that in Italy repatriation efforts floundered with institutional inefficiency and corruption, and, ironically, that as Italian national identity grew, so also did hostility toward emigrant communities and a disdain for elements of solidarity across the Atlantic. South America, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina witnessed growing xenophobia, pressuring immigrant communities to affirm their loyalty to the nation through expressions of assimilation and hyphenated identities. In addition, in the place of a transatlantic identity, there emerged a broad acceptance across South America of another identity: “Latin American,” an accepted transnational identity that accommodated nationalism.
Based on extensive archival work in Argentina, Brazil, and Italy and a substantial foundation of secondary works, this well-written volume is a welcome addition to the community of Atlantic World studies as well as scholarship interested in cultural and identity creation.
