c1900-1914 Flashcards
what were the problems of the political system before 1900
- the ‘liberal state’ was run by conservative liberal politicians who introduced a monarchy.
- they liked to protect their own interests
- this led to a policy of trasformismo
- this led to disillusionment and public contempt with the political system
- differences between real and legal italy
what is liberalism
individuals who favour freedom
what is trasformismo
the way governments secured majorities among the different groups in parliament - typically involves bribary
what are some agricultural and regional variations that created problems in Italy’s society and economy
- share cropping was used in central Italy - farmers gave half their crops to landowners as rent for living on the land
- large-scale farmers in the Po Valley
- south was dominated by aristocratic owners who employed labourers
how was Italy doing in comparison to other economical powers
Italy was economically backward - those who promoted unification did not intend for the south to be included in this due to 89% illiteracy.
why was the pope an issue during unification
he made people choose between their religion and country - this is a clear indication of lack of uniformity
french had been rewarded with land to help northern italians invade the papal states whilst the pope was out the country
discribe italy and their relationship with the great powers
most countries thought having italy on thier side hindered them more than it benefitted them even though they tried hard to become one of the great powers.
list ways in which Italy tried to become one of the great powers of europe
join an agreement with britain to say they would ally if france ever attacked italy
attempt at creating an empire but being humiliated by their battle at adowa 96
joined triple alliance with germany and austria
explain whether italy could be defined as a strong nation state by 1914 with 3 factors for and against
economy:
/ + economy had grown stronger since unification through railways and roads for transportation. they turned to hydroelectic power instead of coal to save money. FIAT grew massively
/ - however, growth and industry was predomonantly in north, this widened the mezzigiorno line between the n and s
/ - made worse by foolish ventures to abyssinia and libya
society:
/ + under giolitti, there were multiple social reforms that tried to increase the standard of living and thereby improve the unity within the state
/ - there was little ideological agreement on educational and social aims.
/ - there were too many regional dialect differences for anything to function properly when politics was intoduced to the south.
/ - 40% of adults were illiterate
political:
/ +/- giolitti muffled the threat of different political parties by absorbing them into his own - successful in the short term but he could not please all so it led to polarisation - many minority parties were unsuccessfully intergrated into liberalism
/ - barely any italians identified with the state and its politics - made worse by the fact that oly 2% of people could vote - very little national spirit
What and when was the end of century crisis
In the 1890s Italy experienced:
- world economic recession
- bad harvests
-a tariff war with France
High taxation due to military spending on colonial ventures
When and why did the Italian working class movement take off
1890s
PSI
the psi took off due to the establishment of trade unions, cooperatives and peasant leagues
It was founded by Marxist inspiration
However highly prone to ideological splits
What were revolutionary syndicalists
Far left “part” of socialism, they believed that imminent revolution should be fostered by the constant use of weapons. They led to many general strikes. After theh realised the socialists could not satisfy their needs they split the party into reformists and maximalists - they helped birth fascism sice they sharwd antagonism towards liberalism and socialism
what problems did giolitti have to solve for giolittianism and his liberal party to be successful
gain the support of the masses yet keep the elite happy
reconcile catholicism and the newly developing forces of socialism and nationalism into the state
what periods was giolitti PM?
1892-3
1901-3 (minister of interior)
1903-5
1906-9
1911-14
1920-21
what reforms did giolitti make
he laid down a new policy of state impartiality during labour disputes, coupled with reform on working conditions and female and child labour
electoral reform which gave suffrage to the majority of male population in 1912. gave suffrage to 9 million from 2.5 million
what problems did giolitti run into whilst in power
- the economic boom of 1890-1907 slowed during 1907-8 and he was blamed for the economic decline
- as he increased the franchise he alienated liberals wo feared workers and catholics would have more influence
- industrial reforms had not gone far enough to alienated socialists whoo could now vote
- the 1911 seizure of lybia appeased conservatives and nationalists but alienated socialists whilst also strengthening the syndicalist part of socialism - conscription increased resentment
- had to use trasformismo - polarised the government
when did the socislists gain most of their support in parliament
1913 elections
reasons for the fall of giolitti
socialist advances at 1913 elections
strikes emphasised the limitations of giolittis reforms
dictatorship of the proletariat was blamed on g
the right resented giolitti since he had done too much (nationalistic endeavors) and the left resented him because he had not gone far enough.
red week
describe red week
in june 1914, the shooting of 3 protesters sparked riots, government buildings were siezed and 2 areas were declared republics.
the government used soldiers to put down unrest and restore order.
redweek frightened the bourgeoisie whilst showing the weakness of the liberal state and giolitti since the internal chaos was only interupted by external forces and ww1.
giolitti was replaced by selandra
which two parties posed the biggest threat to liberalism/ giolittianism
Socialism and catholicism since they undermined the work of trasformismo
what is socialism
a belief that all wealt should be distributed evenly to create a more equal society
