Giolitti's government in 1911 Flashcards
LO: influence of Giolitti, relations with socialists, Catholic Church and nationalists, and foreign policy
who was Giovani Giolitti?
One of the most important political figures in early 20th century
He was PM and other roles such as Minister of the Interior
PM for most of the period 1903-14
Skilled politician → good at forming the coalitions necessary for success in transformismo
Manipulator → prepared to use bribery and other promotions to achieve success
what was Giolitti’s vision for Italy?
Make italy modernised, stronger and united → led to him implementing modernising policies. Consequently, he was prepared to deal with a range of different political groups in order to achieve this aim
which reforms did Giolitti implement and what did they lead to
Policies related to welfare, literacy and economic prosperity.
This led to significant improvement in those areas, but they did not help all of those whom they targeted
what were Giolitti’s attempts at solving industrial workers’ grievances?
Workers joined organisations like unions e.g. Federal of Agricultural Workers (1901), Socialist and Catholic unions, to help achieve redress for their grievances
Giolitti tried to create reforms that brought these organisations and their members within the political process
He enacted measures to help them organise, protest and strike
what was Giolitti’s hopes in welfare provision for industrial workers
He hoped these measures would bring more prosperity to the alienated workers and peasants and reduce their interest in striking
BUT they did not work
why did welfare provisions for industrial workers not work?
Police supported the elites against workers, sometimes violently repressing strikes
Economic production was still the priority
However, there were some wealthy and powerful Italians who thought Giolitti was not protecting their interests anymore
how successful was the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1900 to 1913
the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) achieved 216,000 votes and 32/508 deputies
By 1913 it had grown substantially, winning nearly a quarter of all votes cast and achieving 79 deputies in parlt.
what did socialism’s growth in popularity mirror?
Italy’s industrialisation as the population in the major northern cities expanded due to mass internal migration
explain how urbanisation helped the growth of socialism
Peasants who moved to the city encountered a new modern world that was very different from the southern regions that they had come from.
Within the industrial cities the greater mixing of Italians from all pover the country encouraged dissemination of political thought and increased literacy, education, and an awareness of political engagement, which in turn encouraged the growth of socialism as a means for working class advancement
who was Filippo Turati and what were his political beliefs?
He was the son of a prefect and well educated.
Strong republican and believed the original ideas of the Risorgimento had been betrayed by the corrupt liberal order.
He was a socialist
why did Turati’s influence decline after 1911?
Turati welcomed working with Giolitti if it led to better social policies for the Italian workers and peasants.
He led the PSI in this strategy of compromise and cooperation up until the invasion of Libya in 1911, after which his influence declined due to the more radical, anti-compromise wing of the party gained greater control of party policy
what did intellectual supporters of socialism believe?
Only socialism could solve Italy’s problems of political corruption, persistent rural poverty and the widening gap between the ruling classes and the masses
how did PSI members take their message to the Italy’s poor?
They held public meetings, lectures, discussions and debates in the places where the working class and rural poor gathered, such as bars and cafes.
They promoted education as the means by which Italy’s poor could challenge the political order, working to encourage greater school attendance and providing books to workers
identify a statistic or two to illustrate the growth of socialism
By 1902, 250,000 industrial workers had joined socialist national federations
In the agriculture sectors, 218,000 Italians had joined the thousands of socialist agricultural cooperatives formed by 1910
how did Giolitti view and respond to the successes of the PSI?
He tended to view this as another oppositional force that could be dealt with through transformismo.
His programme focused on ‘absorbing’ the socialist deputies into the political system by offering a round of social reforms
which social reforms were introduced by 1910?
Introduction of a maternity fund (1910)
Offering one of the key socialist leaders, Leonida Bissolati, a place in his cabinet → this was declined (1911)
State-subsidised sickness and old age fund for the merchant navy (1913)
assess how successful Giolitti’s programme was in placating the PSI by offering moderate social reform
Overall, his programme was partly successful at least up to 1912, but he found it increasingly difficult to manouevre the entire PSI due to the more radical control of the party and the decreasing influence of transformismo
explain in detail Giolitti’s approach to dealing with the Catholic Church?
His relationship with the Church in 1911 rested on previous policies that had been implemented since 1904.
He believed the Church and the State were ‘two parallel lines, which should never meet’.
He was prepared to offer concessions to the Church in return for its support and this sense he was successful up to a point
how did he manage to win some support from the Church before 1911? give evidence to back up your answer
He offered a series of policies and compromises that could gain the support of the Church e.g. he allowed a divorce bill to quietly disappear from parlt and he promoted Catholic interests in areas such as education
how was the Church able to influence the way people voted, in turn improving Giolitti’s parliamentary majority?
- The Catholics were part of the governing coalitions in Turin, Bologna, Florence and Venice. Through these groups the church held considerable sway over the popular vote particularly in the north.
- Pope took considerable step in 1909 of encouraging Italians to vote in around 150 constituencies where the socialists had a considerable change of winning (vote against socialism)
- Sports clubs and youth movements also had an influence (particularly) on the youth
why did Giolitti prioritise the support of the PSI and Turati over stronger ties with the Church?
He believed this was key to encouraging workers to support the liberal state, and he was not prepared to give the Pope any concession on Roman Territory
over what issue was Giolitti not prepared to compromise with the pope?
the ‘Roman Question’
why did the nationalists represent the largest threat to Giolitti’s programme?
Through Giolitti’s term from 1911-14 the nationalists became a highly influential political movement. Nationalism was a powerful force across Europe in the early 20th century, where it tended to be more ideological than organised political parties
which factors meant the nationalist movemet gained particular strength in Italy?
Humiliating defeat at the Battle of Adwa 1896, country’s weakess as a world power, and the shame felt at the fact millions of Italians had to leave the country in the search for a better life
what were nationalist’s main beliefs?
Only through an aggressive foreign policy that looked to expand Italy’s power in Africa and claim the ‘irredente’ lands could Italy assert itself as a world power
Anti-socialist and anti-liberal
what was nationalists’ main aim?
to unite the differing classes and the Italian people within their patriotic love for Italy and sweep away the decadent liberal order that had failed to uphold the values and potential of the Risorgimento
who were nationalists’ supporters and the reason for their support?
educated middle-class → iewed it in terms of a force for national renewal which would undermine the rising popularity of socialism and destroy the cynical corruption of Rome, bringing about a new, more dynamic Italy
what was nationalists’ attitude towards Giolitti’s attempts to work with the socialists?
they opposed it and viewed it as demonstrating the weakness and corruption of the liberal order
what was the nationalist party?
Italian Nationalist Association (ANI)
describe ANI, its leaders, and its beliefs
- 1910 Associazione Nazionalista Italiana (ANI) under Enrico Corradini.
- War would unite the classes and create an Italian nation that was not regionally divided.
- Corradini claimed that the nation should override any individual needs and that the greatest thing any Italian could do was to die for their country.
why did Giolitti find the nationalists difficult to deal with?
the nationalists saw him and the liberal politicians as representing everything that was weak and corrupt about Italy and needed to be overthrown
what policy did Giolitti have to try to weaken the nationalists’ support?
liberal programme of reform and economic modernisation, which he hoped would encourage Italians to view the Liberals in a more positive light
why did this programme fail?
nationalism had a greater attraction due to its more passionate patriotic message, which promised to unite the Italian people under a powerful and assertive Italy
what was the Triple Alliance?
Signed by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882 and was a promise to give each other military support in the event of a war
why was the Triple Alliance showing signs of strain by 1911?
Italy’s key interests in the Balkans clashed with its supposed ally Austria who also held the territory that many Italians believed was rightfully theirs
What was Giolitti’s approach to dealing with Austria?
He resisted taking a more aggressive stance towards Austria as many nationalists presumed him to do so
what was the purpose of Giolitti being prepared to expand Italy’s colonial empire?
Giolitti hoped that a successful Libyan war would weakn nationalist support.
Italy wanted to assert colonial claims in North Africa in response to France’s apparent efforts to expand in the region.
Powerful Italian business interests pushed for the invasion after establishing investors in Libya
Popular opinion was strongly in favour of the invasion
explain the two reasons for the war with the Ottoman Empire
- Invasion of Libya by the Italians would gain the support of the Catholic Church who had considerable financial interests in Libya
- Italy had signed a deal in 1902 in which Italy would support French expansion in Morocco in return for the French backing Italian influence in Libya. In 1911, France began to consolidate its control over Morocco and Giolitti feared it was preparing to break the deal and expand into Libya too
when did Italy declare war on the Ottoman Empire ?
on 29 September 1911
outline the course of the war by covering Italy’s naval forces’ invasion through to the continuing occupation
- Within 3 weeks, Italian forces had seized many of the ports and coastal towns and the govt. committed 70,000 troops in its invasion.
- The local Arabs saw Italians as invaders instead of liberators, so the army had to fight both Turks and Arabs.
- Italy gained Libyan territory only through diplomatic pressure.
- Italy occupied 13 Turkish islands in the Aegean.
- Ottomans had begun a war in the Balkans with Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece in October 1912, thus they could not continue war with the Italians.
- On 8 October 1912, the Turks formally surrendered Libya to Italy in the Treaty of Lausanne.
- The war cost 1,3000 million lire and 3,500 Italian troops were killed in the fighting.
- Italy was forced to keep 50,000 troops in Libya to pacify the Arab population.
what were the negative consequences of the acquisition of Libya?
- Libya produced the same crops as Italy, leading to a fall in Italian crop prices.
- Emigrants refused to move to Libya to start an Italian colony.
- The Ottoman Empire expelled 50,000 Italians in retaliation for the war, resulting in a loss of trade.
- The nationalists claimed responsibility for pushing Giolitti into taking action.
- They gained popularity as a result.
- They also blamed Giolitti for the loss of life and the cost of war, arguing that had it been managed properly Italy would have had even more success.
- Led to the nationalists and Catholics into a temporary alliance and weakened moderate socialists.
- This meant that Revolutionary Socialists took over the movement.
what were the positive consequences of the Libyan war?
- The invasion was greeted with an outpouring of national enthusiasm, even from socialist leaders such as Bissolati, who had hoped that acquiring the colony would help provide land for Italy’s poor peasantry.
- Extension of the electoral franchise in 1912 to all literate males over the age of 21 and all males regardless of education over the age of 30.
- Conscripted men were fighting overseas and it was proposed as a symbol of unity that they be given the vote.
- It also intended to bring more conservative rural voters to the polls.
