Italy 1861-96 - b5 & 6 Flashcards
- Piedmontisation 1861-70 - Further attempts at unification - Brigands War & Policies of new Italy - Impact of Prussia's wars against Austria & Fr. 1866-71 on Italy; degree of unity in 1871 - Soc. & Econ. problems & Relation s w/ Church - Mezzogiorno - Policies of Transformismo - Relations w/ other European powers & colonial expansion
What were the main issues facing Italy in the 1860s?
- economically unstable - North in major debt & economic divide between N & S
- cath. church hostile to the new state
- civil war broke out in the South
What was the issue of Venetia & how was this linked to Prussia?
- April 1866 Italy signs an alliance w/ Prussia - PM Von Bismarck was struggling w. Aus for control of germany.
- Agreement that if Prussia went to war w/ Aus. Italy would follow Prussia in and declare war on Aus.
- Napoleon iii signed a secret treaty w/ bismarck saying that Fr. would remain neutral but would receive Venetia if Austria defeated => Nap. would give this to Italy as reward for providing a 2nd front in Aus.-Prus. war.
The War of 1866
- What happened at Custozza?
- What happened at Koninggratz & Sadowa?
- When did the war end?
- What was its impact?
- Italians were defeated by smaller Austrian force at the 2nd battle of custozza after js 10 days mostly due to weak Italian generalship
- Decisive battle: 3th of July: Battle of Koninggratz Austria vs Prussia in which Aus. sent 4000 troops to attack Prussian guns but only 1800 return.
- inadequate prov. for the wounded w/ injured left for 3 days on battlefield: 2000 Prussians dead, 6000 Aus. DEFEAT OF AUSTRIA
- War ended due to peace of Prague in aug. of 1866 in which Austria returned Venetia to Napoleon who gave it to Italy
- Italy felt deeply ashamed abt the way that venetia was returned. (through ceding to France)
What did the plebiscites of oct 1866 reveal?
BUT why must it be said that the plebiscites cant be used as evidence for enthusiasm for unifcation?
- only 69 were opposed to the annexation of Venetia, suggesting that there was a greater desire now for unification of Italy.
BUT can’t be used as evidence for enthusiasm for unification bc:
- voting urns were kept separate
- armed soldiers outside = intimidation tactics
- Kept a list of those who voted ‘no’ = further intimidation, swaying the votes.
- many ‘no’ votes were destroyed
- Sermons were given which preached the benefit of unification
What was The syllabus of errors 1864
- direct crit. of liberalism
- Essentially the Pope ‘advised’ Catholics to abstain from voting, gravely undermining attempts at Unification & the successes of teh KOI bc limited public voting participation & eroded support for the KOI given that teh majority of teh Italian penunsula’s pop. was Catholic & thus more likely to abide by teh temporal power of teh Pope as opposed to teh guidance of rev. leaders.
- attack religious toleration, freedom of expression & ‘isms’ e.g socialism
8- All human reason is placed on a level with religion.
19- Church is the top power.
20- Cannot exercise authority without govt permission.
24- Church cannot use force.
73- Civil contract may exist between christians nd a real marriage.
80- Roman Pontiff ought to reconcile himself and come to terms with progress.
What was so significant about 1870 in terms of the Papacy?
A Franco-Prussian war breaks out, causing teh French to withdraw troops from Rome.
- Creates opportunity for seizing of Rome bc French garrison no longer defending it so much easier to take control of.
When did the Italians act in terms of the Papacy 1870? - What was VEIIs stance?
- Italians waited until France was defeated by Prussia before launching into a seizure of Rome.
- VEIII wanted to send an army to rescue Napoleon & believed Italy needed to stay neutral in the Franco-Prus. war
- Suggested that the Pope give up his temporal power in exchange for protection & spiritual power, Pope rejects this and excommunicates both VEII and teh Italian Govt.
- 20th Sept. 1870 VEII army of 6000 march into Rome to seize teh city
- By October Roman citizens vote in overwhelming majority to join the KOI.
What were the 3 major issues with Rome?
- A French Garrison remained in place at Rome, so anyone that attacked Rome would have to face Fr. military might.
- Pope = head of teh Catholic Church and as the vast majority of Italians were Catholic, they swore greater allegiance to him than to the revolutionaries.
- Catholic church = universal, so any attack on eth Pope would be classed as an attack on all Catholic countries i.e. Spain, France, Austria.
Garibaldi’s attempts to claim Rome in 1862 & 67
1862:
- Garibaldi’s attempt to seize Rome thwarted by deployment of Italian army & Garibaldi himself was arrested.
1867:
- Garibaldi is defeated by the Papal Army & French presence in the area strengthens
What was the Pope’s position on Italian Unification? & how did he cause further divides?
believed it was his role to vehemently condemn IU
- refused to acknowledge unification = large numbers esp. of peasantry more likely to remain loyal to the Pope & the Papal states than to a unified Italy
When was the Battle of Adwa and what did it display about Italy?
1896 - Italian army defeated by African farmers, underlining the complete weakness of their military force
This halted/prevented Italy from pursuing its FP aim of colonial expansion, proving that it wasn’t able to effectively contend with nations like Austria
Evidence that the KOI effectively coped w/ problems 1861-96
Industrial devt:
- Tariff of 1887 somewhat aided ind. development bc helped provide protection for Italy’s industry, govt. purchases in metal & mechanical sectors for a large navy helped to drive industry.
- Although the existing banking system collapsed, its successor paved way for further ind. development.
- Decisions to introduce modern infrastructure & link Italy to European markets = massively improved trade
NS DIVIDE:
- some areas i.e. Bari-Lecce in south were able to profit from wine, olive & fruit production due to rail links.
BUT OVERALL N/S DIVIDE NEVER FULLY RESOLVED: education never equal, economic imbalances prevalent = increased tensions.
ST FIX: Piedmont was able to resolve some issues by extending its own laws & systems across the Italian peninsula.
KOI failed to effectively cope w/ problems 1861-96
AGRICULTURAL CRISIS/SOUTHERN PROBLEM:
- Increasing tariffs in 1887 meant more money was focused on int. affairs instead of the domestic = ensured cont. emigration & allowed latifundia to flourish. =Many people emigrated causing a societal imbalance.
- Govt. response/lack of action to the agrarian crisis ensured Italian economic stagnation & a worsening of N-S divides.
EDUCATION:
- Govt failed to push for education i.e. whilst laws obliged fathers to send boys & girls to school this was not legally enforced & schools remained underfunded.
- Coppino Law of 1877 = meant to raise no. yrs of education to 3 at minimum etc yet v. ineffective due to a lack of funding so quality of education & attendance were markedly low & system for distributing money favoured North over teh south.
- Much of action taken by Govt served to reinforce N-S educational divide, worsening tensions, oft. focusing of secondary education of teh elites.
Pre-existing issues/Issues out of the KOI’s control
- religious divides/religion as a major opposition to unification & revolutionaries as teh average devout Italian was more likely to remain loyal to the Church than rev leaders
- language - major language barriers still present as there was no 1 unifying language but hundreds of Italian dialects
- lack of raw materials i.e. coal - harder to industrialise
Economic issues of KOI
- serious geo, soc. & econ issues due to need to unite North and South.
-
How did the government worsen the economic situation? - what did this lead to?
- introduced higher taxation which meant that the cost of living rose & quality of life declined bc unable to pay new taxes.
- Peasantry’s lives were worsened by overcomplicated legal systems & by conscription which took away key land workers
- created HUGE social discontent: 1861 25k took to hills of Naples & sicily to avoid military service & eventually joined the mafia = unveiled the fact that teh KOI govt. couldn’t effectively deal with social unrest or teh N/S divide.
What did peasants begin to do?
began to migrate in search of work - mass migration became a major problem for italy
- many began to turn to crime (Mafia organisations)
- Especially the case in Palermo, capital of Sicily & in the overcrowded City of Naples.
How/why did the mafia begin to cause further issues for the Italian Govt?
the mafia took advantage of the civil unrest and were joined by many migrating peasants
- increased crime rates = greater tensions across Italy
What was Latifundia?
- Process by which a number of large land owners in the South were able to enclose public/common land to add to their estates
- meant that common land disappeared & so the peasantry had no land to carry out agricultural practices = increased food insecurity & starvation etc.
Why was Pope Pius IX a problem for unification?
- refused to recognise the KOI
- encouraged Catholics to abstain from voting
- v. hostile towards the new state
How can it be argued that the Govt. failed to effectively deal with the issue of the Pope?
1871: law of guarantees acc meant that the Govt. weakened itself by making its strongest opposition even stronger.
The Pope now had an annual income of 3 million lira & the Pope & catholic press could now denounce KOI freely = rallying greater opposition to the cause for unification
How can it be argued that the Govt. effectively dealt with the issue of the Pope?
- ‘71 Law of Guarantees to regulate the Pope’s position - allowed own dip. rep. in the Vatican & an annual income of 3 mil lira = helped relieve tensions bc now teh Vatican/Papacy less likely to rally opposition against KOI
What was the problem of the Mezzogiorno?
- South: exceptional levels of poverty & deep-seated violence could lead to possible insurrections
- large desire for political separation from the mainland - no desire to unite italy
Evidence that the Govt. effectively dealt with the problem of the Mezzogiorno?
- introduced free trade
- high priority given to the right wing to sort budget deficit
- able to fund more development with the money saved, helping to reduce the development gap between the nations.
Evidence that the Govt. ineffectively dealt with the problem of the mezzogiorno?
- The introduction of the Grain tax meant that the south was harder hit creating a worse economic environment & exacerbating tensions
- taxes were funnelled into centralisation which meant that many local southern govts were unable to stay afloat.
How effective was govt. foreign policy? - WARG = Effective
- Was somewhat able to establish greater diplomatic connections, allowing it to project an image of greater power: 1882 Triple Alliance w Germany & Habsburg
- 1890 under Crispi Italy unifies its East African colonies to form Eritrea, essentially allowing Italy to participate in teh scramble for africa = increasing power
How effective was govt. foreign policy?: SARG: Not effective
- quite weak bc alliances like the Triple Alliance politically & economically weakened Italy = became a junior partner as opposed to dictating actions to like likes of Germany.
- Furthermore Italy continued to lose most if not all wars and battles, e.g. the Battle of Adwa 1896 which consistently undermined its international position as a great power bc it couldn’t project itself as a strong nation on teh same level as powers like BR, Austria etc = humiliated on the international stage.
What issues remained by the end of the period?
- Ultimately there was no real united sense of Italian identity due to the continued issue of language barriers & fact that no singular unifying language was spoken.
- emigration as a manifestation of social divisions
- Economic divisions between n/s
How did teh Italian govt of 1871 onwards face opposition & then repression?
- Anarchism spread rapidly in the early years of the nation = indicative of extreme social discontent w/ unification
- Uprisings in Bologna & Matese in 1874 & 77
- Many were exiled & King Umbert was assassinated in 1900
- not perceived as much of a threat as organised socialism was considered more of a l-t threat
- 1884 = PSRI party founded (socialist) & 1895 PRI founded as a marxist party
Radicals & Republicans - 1871 onwards
- Many wanted regions returned to Italy.
- Italian Radicals = Garibaldi in teh 1870s absorbed into teh left govt.
- 1880s = challenge imperialism & growth of workers parties
- 1890s = institutional reforms, regional autonomy & civil rights & socialist legislation based on pact of Rome.
- Fear of ideas & growth of outsider parties -> constitutional debate based on Sonnino’s article ‘return statuto’ to greater power
- 1900 election - victory for left = won 96 seats.
How was teh agricultural revolution as issue for Italy 1871 onwards?
- 1873 - 1913 there was a 100% increase in wheat production in the north & yet a 8% decrease in teh south
- land reclamation focused more on gains for the North than the South, worsening Southern economic stagnation. (only 2300 ha of land given to south out of a possible 352000)
- attempts at reform i.e. Sonnino’s attempt at creating alliterate south were opposed w/ hostility by Southern govts.
How were economic divisions a challenge for Italy from 1871 onwards?
- Can be considered the greatest divide of Italy bc it originated the N/S divide and was never properly dealt with. Often govt. intervention exacerabted the economic divides, inhibiting true unification.
- Capitalistic North vs the Feudal South
- Latifundia & teh sale of church lands meant that local elites consolidated power whilst the South suffered due to the revoking of Common Land
- 1887 tariff worsened economic situation as Southern Wheat growers were the hardest hit, causing the decline of southern industry & only compounded by the reciprocal French tariffs which caused wine & oil production to fall
How was language a challenge for Italy from 1871 onwards?
- major obstacle as linguistic differences not only increased social tensions but inhibited full unification
- continued issue since the very start of the period = the state lacked the will & resources to promote widespread education reforms to aid these linguistic divisions
- Exacerbated teh exclusion of the south from the north bc it was typically the south that had a largely illiterate population: 70% illiterate by 1871
How was emigration a challenge for Italy from 1871 onwards?
- how many migrate to US by 1879
- How many ‘Italians’ had been permanently lostbetween 1900-1914
- came as a manifestation of social divisions & revealed the utter uncapable nature of the Italian govt. in terms of resolving social issues.
- 1879: 20,000 emigrate to USA
- Transatlantic migration = mostly southern immigrants (70%)
- Permanently lost 1.5 million between 1900-1914
transformismo
Definition: the creation of a centrist coalition of government to eradicate political left & right and thus political discourse
- Chamber of deputies under PM control = no party system thus Italian ppls desires arent accounted for.
- Constantly changing govt. - 28 PMS from 1871 to 1892
- Govt. was non-ideological, meaning that it had no coherent doctrine
- Govt of the right was dominant until 1876 & introduced public order & expenditure policy
- 1876 - 87 dominant left & transformismo of Depretis
- Refirms = compulsory primary education 1877, abolition of the Grist Tax ‘83
- 1887 - 96 - crispi reforms widen local suffrage 1889 by 2 million & councils could elect own mayors
What was the Brigands war? - what occurred, who was involved, what did it demonstrate, how was it dealt with?
- Occurred between 1861-65
- Around 25k Italians took to the hills mostly to avoid conscription & began to pursue crime & brigandage.
- Brigands war was emphatic of the issue of teh unresolved N-S divide that had led to grave social/civil unrest.
- 100k Piedmontese soldiers were needed to crush teh Brigands
- More italians were killed in the Brigands war than in teh wars of independence
- Govt. attempted to deal with teh issue through the implementation of teh exceptionally harsh ‘Pica Laws’ of 1863 => anyone suspected of associating with Brigands/ or participating in brigandage had to be judged in a miolitary court.
