Early years His parents belonged to the Sardinian rural middle class of
Bono. During his childhood both his parents died though, first his mother, at the young age of 30, and later his father. A maternal uncle, Father Thaddeus Arras, took care of Angioy's education. His uncle Thaddeus was his first teacher, but he was also taught by the Fathers Mercedari, a monastic order. Later, Angioy was educated under the supervision of Canon Giovanni Antonio Arras in
Sassari. Angioy continued his studies at the
Jesuit fathers' school ("Canopoleno"), and at 21 years he had already become a university lecturer, in the law school at the
University of Cagliari. Despite his young age he also became a deputy lawyer. Finally, at 39 he became a judge for the
Reale Udienza (Sardinia's supreme court).
The ideas of the French Revolution On the façade of the City Hall of Bono, Sardinia, an inscription says: "To Giovanni Maria Angioy, who inspired by the 1789 Revolution started the Sardinian crusade against the feudal yoke." The ideas of the
French Revolution reached Sardinia and had an influence on many intellectuals, despite limited means of communication. Angioy had read many French texts, which were a catalyst for sparking his revolutionary views. The spread of the French revolutionary theories was also favored by the fact that
Jean Paul Marat, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution had Sardinian ancestry.
Anti-Feudal revolts Sardinia was at the time ruled by the
House of Savoy. The House of Savoy was granted control of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1718 with the Treaty of London that followed the
War of the Spanish Succession: although assuming the role of King of Sardinia with this treaty,
Victor Amadeus II of Savoy moved the capital of the Kingdom to Turin in mainland Italy where the parliament was also based: the parliament and government of the Kingdom was composed exclusively of men from the mainland. Similarly to other colonial domains, Sardinia was governed by a viceroy appointed by the king and only men from the mainland were appointed in the main roles of the Sardinian administration, excluding native Sardinians from any active role in government. After receiving the title of King of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus II of Savoy sent his lieutenant, Baron de Saint-Rémy, to assume the role of viceroy of Sardinia. The new viceroy asked the Sardinian parliament, the "Stamenti", to swear to observe the laws and privileges of the nobility that had been granted by the Spanish governments that ruled the Kingdom of Sardinia before the Savoy. The acceptance of long-standing laws and privileges by the Sardinian parliament also implied the continuation of the feudal system that had been introduced by the Spanish with the conquest of Sardinia in the 15th century. This was particularly controversial because in many other regions of Europe feudalism had disappeared well before the 18th century. Feudalism had an extremely negative influence on the economy and social structure of Sardinia. It penalised the main economic activity in Sardinia, agriculture. At that time, in fact, the island was divided into fiefdoms and domains under the rule of the nobility. In these domains, taxes for farmers were very high, and annuities were due to the archbishops of Cagliari and Oristano, as well as those due to the major landowners like the Marquis Alagon of Villasor, the Marquis of
Thiesi and many others. Only seven cities (Castelsardo, Sassari, Alghero, Bosa, Oristano, Iglesias and Cagliari) were exempted from paying feudal duties (a tradition established by the Spaniards, who granted these towns to be ruled directly by the King and not by the nobility). As a consequence of the feudal system, which prevented economic mobility and entrepreneurship, town and cities were sparsely inhabited at the time, while most of the population lived in rural areas where they were hassled with harsh feudal taxation: farmers were paid a fifth of what other workers were paid. For
vassals (farmers that worked the land of the landowner), taxes were innumerable: every head of the family, in addition to other charges, was to pay a fine. After the French Revolution, French armies moved war to different countries in Europe, trying to spread their revolutionary ideas. In 1793, a French fleet carrying soldiers moved toward the Gulf of Cagliari. The French wanted to conquer Sardinia in order to use it as a base for attacks on mainland Italy. After bombarding
Cagliari from the sea, the French divisions landed on the beach at Quartu, near Cagliari, and from there, moved toward the town on foot. Most of the troops of the House of Savoy were involved in other wars against the French on the mainland of Europe, so the Sardinians organised their own defence against the invading French divisions. Eventually the French were defeated both on land and at sea. In 1793, following this
failed French invasion of Sardinia, local insurgents urged relief from feudal law and excessive aristocratic control. In response, the Sardinian nobility met in their Sardinian parliament, the
Stamenti, and issued five requests to the King
Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia to make five changes in the law to bring Sardinia more in line with the freedoms enjoyed by those in
Piedmont. Known as the "five requests". These requests were: • The re-introduction of an assembly of Sardinians (Corti Generali) to meet every ten years (the House of Savoy rulers had not summoned this assembly since 1720, infringing a practice that was taken for granted during the Spanish dominion); • Ratification of the privileges, laws and customs of Sardinia; • They asked all public offices in Sardinia to be given to native Sardinians; • The establishment of a Ministry of Sardinian Affairs in the kingdom's capital of
Turin (although the Kingdom was Sardinian by name, the House of Savoy ruled from the territories they held in mainland Italy and had made Turin, in
Piedmont, the capital of the kingdom); • Establishment of a Council of State, with the role of giving advice and guidance to the King in important decisions for the Kingdom. These requests were moderate concessions that the Sardinian nobility thought they deserved for demonstrating loyalty to the House of Savoy. As it can be seen, the requests were hardly revolutionary and only aimed at giving a more active role to the Sardinian nobility in the administration of the region. Nonetheless, the House of Savoy rejected all of these requests. Because of the requests, the Savoyard ruling class distrusted the Sardinia nobles and had commenced persecution of the most prominent Sardinians that had participated in the Stamenti. This, in turn, created increasing discontent in the Sardinians from all classes, not only in the nobility, which mounted into open hostility when the authorities tried to arrest two Sardinians. One of these Sardinians managed to escape and the anger at his persecution sparked an open revolt by the population of Cagliari on 28 April 1794. During this revolt, the mob chased and killed The General Intendant Jerome Pitzolo (6 July) and the General Gavino Paliaccio, Marquis of Planargia (22 July). These were the days of "s'acciappa" ("the chase") referring to the fact that all Piedmontese were hunted and chased across the city. Eventually, all 514 Piedmontese and Italian officials were rounded up, including Viceroy Balbiano Vincent, and expelled from Cagliari on a boat. The example was followed by other cities and the revolt spread throughout Sardinia. The island was governed by a provisional Royal Audience during this revolutionary period. Since the year 1997 the rebellion of 28 April has been celebrated in Cagliari as "Sardinia Day" ("
Sa die de sa Sardigna" in
Sardinian). ==The Post of "Alternos"==