The story of the Revolt of Masaniello in 17^th century Naples blurs the line between a religious revolt and a revolt based on grievances. The people of Naples were ruled by a Spanish viceroy who levied high taxes on the population, especially on foodstuffs causing mass discontent. The poor people of the city who participated in the revolt were sparked by an increase in the fruit tax, which caused a riot among local merchants and vendors.

The revolt was led by Masaniello, a fisherman who was participating in the Feast of the Virgin Mary on the public square. He is the tragic hero of his own revolt, since he led it unwittingly. The revolt started during a mock battle staged by the residence of the Naples on the feast. Masaniello was in charge of one of the stage armies, but as soon as he and the public heard about the rise in food prices and the dispute over the tax spilled out into the streets, the threat of the stage army became a physical mob. The crowd of people marched on the palace, destroying property and stealing from stores and the houses of wealthy Neapolitans.

What is most interesting about this rebellion was the use of religion by both the rioters and the authorities. Masaniello, who had attempted to stop the rampant looting and destruction of the riot, had become “a man sent from God” and the rioters shouted the name of the Virgin Mary as they raided the city. The authorities however, also invoked the religious imagery by carrying crucifixes and praying. The authorities were literally trying to exercise the demons out of the rioters, because it seemed like the crowd had been possessed by the devil himself.

Earlier in the semester, I brought up a war of greed versus a war of grievance. This is a good example of how a war (or 10 day rebellion) was fought over greed, but was attempted to be turned into a religious crusade, a war on grievance. This heightened religious imagery no doubt contributed to the madness of the crowd, so it makes sense that Masaniello finally went mad after being compared to a divine prophet.

Anderson’s analysis was particularly interesting to me, as an International Relations major, since it seems to contradict everything I have learned in my classes. In my studies, nations are the foundations of states, and states are clearly defined. They are tangible entities, the basis of everything we study, and the key actors in the system I am trying to understand.

Anderson, however, disagrees. He believes that nations are simply defined “imagined political communities,” imagined because the identification with a particular nation is made entirely in a person’s mind. This concept is rather revolutionary in politics, since “nationalist” sentiment is political capital, used to create armies and fight wars.

However, Anderson believes that the notion of “nationhood” and community was largely perpetuated by the media, print media centers that were primarily concerned with making profits. Even religious based communities bought into the capitalist notions of selling media with Martin Luther as a prime example. Through this print capitalism, a distinct language system was developed in different European states that defines the “national” borders today. Print media, Anderson argues, driven by purely capitalistic desires, has defined what people new as their nationality and the communities they identify with.

Because of the variety of languages being printed, the stretch of the imagined communities was limited and thus, confined. While the process of national identification through print media was a feature of the 1500s, it was in 1648, with the Peace of Westphalia, that the states of Europe were truly defined. Logically from Anderson’s argument, the advent of print media’s hold on nationalism helped shape the borders of modern Europe since it lay the foundation of identity and community in enclosed spheres.

Hello everyone! My name is Maria Gershuni and I am a senior International Relations major from SUNY College at Geneseo. I was born in Moscow, Russia, but grew up in Brooklyn, NY. I, like my partner Rachel, am very excited to learn more about my local upstate history because I have spent most of my education learning about faraway places. I am excited to do start this class and discover all I can about the experimental format!