Italy Booklet 1- The Liberal State c1911-1918

Question 1

What is socialism?

Answer 1

Wanting fair rights for workers and and giving them better working conditions and pay. Can be split into maximalist and minimalist socialists (maximalists wanted a socialist revolution where workers take control whereas minimalists want better workers’ rights and were willing to work with Giolitti to achieve change).

Question 2

What is nationalism?

Answer 2

A strong patriotic identification with one’s nation which creates a shared identity for people in the same country. Nationalists wanted a revolution and thought the liberal government was weak so they were unwilling to work with Giolitti. They wanted to expand Italy’s empire and make it a great world power.

Question 3

What is liberalism?

Answer 3

A political ideology that promotes political and constitutional democracy, individual rights, civil liberties and free enterprise. Some liberals were anti-clerical liberals who disliked the Catholic Church and were angry when Giolitti made concessions to them.

Question 4

What were Giolitti’s main aims?

Answer 4

To unify Italy.
Stay in power and increase popularity of liberalism.
Weaken nationalist support.
Absorb competing parties (socialists and Catholics) through trasformismo and concessions.
Make Italy a great modern power.

Question 5

When was the PSI founded?

Answer 5

1895

Question 6

What are some concessions that Giolitti made to the socialists?

Answer 6

Banning employment of under 12s (1901).
Introduction of a maternity fund (1910).
State subsidised sickness.
Old age fund for the Merchant Navy (1913).
New policy of non-intervention in labour disputes. Arbitration courts that would settle pay disputes between employers and employees which lowered need for strikes (1906).

Question 7

Why did Giolitti struggle with the Catholic Church?

Answer 7

The Roman Question- he was not prepared to make any concessions regarding papal territory in Rome.
He also wanted to prioritise getting the support of Turati and the socialists meaning he wouldn’t offer them too many concessions as this would anger the PSI.

Question 8

What concessions did Giolitti make with the Catholic Church?

Answer 8

He got rid of a divorce bill that was close to being passed and promoted Catholic interests in education. Catholics were also part of governing coalitions in Turin, Bologna, Florence and Venice by 1911.

Question 9

When was the ANI founded?

Answer 9

1910

Question 10

What was Giolitti’s main problem with the nationalists?

Answer 10

They were rapidly gaining support and were completely unwilling to work with him. They saw all his concessions as weak and corrupt, especially his policies for the PSI. This made it very hard for Giolitti to gain nationalist support.

Question 11

When was the war in Libya?

Answer 11

1911

Question 12

Who supported the Libyan war?

Answer 12

Nationalists as they wanted to expand Italy’s empire and bring people together through war.
Catholic Church as they had considerable financial interests in Libya.
Some minimalist socialists like Bissolati who thought acquiring the colony would provide land for Italy’s peasantry.

Question 13

What was the nationalist reaction to the Libyan War?

Answer 13

They took credit for the war and blamed the liberals for the 3500 Italian deaths as well as the fact that it took so long. This increased support for nationalism and accentuated their opposition to the liberal government.

Question 14

What was the socialist reaction to the Libyan war?

Answer 14

The PSI opposed the war as imperialist militarism and radicals expelled members who had supported the war like Bissolati. This meant the PSI became more maximalist and refused further co-operation with Giolitti so he lost socialist support.

Question 15

Why did Giolitti extend the franchise in 1912?

Answer 15

He couldn’t deny the vote to the soldiers who had fought in Libya. He also hoped that with the right to vote, workers may be less inclined to support radical ideologies, particularly socialism and nationalism. He also thought that more conservative rural areas would be able to vote for him and would increase his support.

Question 16

After the extension of the franchise in 1912, what percentage of Italian voters were now illiterate?

Answer 16

70%

Question 17

How many seats did Giolitti lose in the 1913 election?

Answer 17

71

Question 18

What was the Gentiloni Pact?

Answer 18

An agreement between Count Gentiloni and liberal politicians to agree to 7 key Catholic points in exchange for the Catholic vote. Gentiloni bragged afterwards that this accounted for 228 of 318 liberals elected.

Question 19

What was the impact of the Gentiloni Pact?

Answer 19

Giolitti became very dependent on Catholic support and this made him look very weak. It also lost him the support of the socialists and anti-clerical liberals which caused him to resign in March 1914. He could no longer stay in power without working fully with the Catholic Church.

Question 20

What were the economic failures between 1911 and 1914?

Answer 20

Downturn in the economy after 1908, affecting production and exports.
Major North/ South divide where industry was centred in the North.
Income was double in the North compared to the South.
Lost more than 5 million working days to strikes between 1912 and 1914.

Question 21

What were the economic successes between 1911 and 1914?

Answer 21

By 1911 there were 6 major car producers in Turin alone, employing over 6000 workers.
By 1914, FIAT supplied half of Italy’s vehicles.
One third of the world’s silk supply was supplied by Italy in 1913.
Iron and steel industries thrived.

Question 22

When and what was Red Week?

Answer 22

A week of chaos where buildings were torched, railway stations seized and churches attacked. Hundreds of workers lost their lives in battles against authorities and Italy appeared to be on the verge of revolution. It was organised by the PSI and included anarchists and republicans too. It was in June 1914.

Question 23

Who replaced Giolitti after he resigned in 1914 and what did he link liberalism to?

Answer 23

Antonio Salandra. He believed he could strengthen the liberal position in Italy by linking more closely to nationalism. In 1913, he said “the flame of idealism at the heart of Italian liberalism is patriotism- love of the fatherland”. He tries to steal support from the nationalists to minimise the threat they pose to him.

Question 24

What alliance was Italy a part of before the war?

Answer 24

The Triple Alliance with Austria and Germany. This wasn’t popular in Italy as Austria was an old enemy.

Question 25

What was the nationalist argument for involvement in the First World War?

Answer 25

They hoped that they could gain irredente lands if they allied with the Triple Entente and won the war and that afterwards, France and Britain would be supportive of Italian ambitions in the Mediterranean. Italy also needed to stop the Triple Alliance from winning if they ever wanted to gain irredente lands. A neutral Italy would also be weak and isolated post-war.

Question 26

Why did Salandra want to join the war?

Answer 26

The war would give him emergency powers so he could sort out the political situation in Italy. He also hoped it would create a more united Italy. He also didn’t want Italy to be isolated post-war which would happen if they stayed neutral.

Question 27

Why did the socialists oppose intervention in WW1?

Answer 27

There was a lack of working class support for the war so the PSI (that was largely popular with them) also wouldn’t support intervention in the war. It would also halt progress in dealing with Italy’s deep social and economic problems.

Question 28

Why did the Catholics oppose the war?

Answer 28

The Pope thought it would lead to unnecessary casualties and they didn’t want Catholic Italy fighting Catholic Austria.

Question 29

Why did Giolitti oppose intervention in the First World War?

Answer 29

He thought Italy wasn’t ready militarily or economically for war and that they would have to make huge sacrifices for the war effort which would be unpopular with Italian people.

Question 30

When did Salandra secretly sign the Treaty of London, pledging to support Britain, France and Russia?

Answer 30

26th April 1915

Question 31

How did the King’s actions result in Italy joining in WW1?

Answer 31

He threatened to abdicate if the Treaty of London wasn’t honoured as he didn’t want to betray both sides of the war (having betrayed Austria and Germany for not joining in originally) because it would isolate Italy. This stopped Giolitti pressuring Salandra not to go to war and this led to Italy going to war on 25th May 1915.

Question 32

When and what was the Strafexpedition?

Answer 32

In 1916, an offensive by the Austrians that was mostly contained by the Italians but the scale of the threat caused major discontent in the army and the government.

Question 33

When does Paolo Boselli become Prime Minister?

Answer 33

1916, after the Strafexpedition.

Question 34

When was the Battle of Caporetto?

Answer 34

October 1917

Question 35

What happened at the Battle of Caporetto?

Answer 35

Sudden and brutal attack by the Austrians and Germans that was a humiliating military defeat for Italy. Italian defences were weak and whole units were left without orders. At least 200,000 soldiers lost contact with their regiments and 400,000 deserted the army.

Question 36

When was the Battle of Vittorio Veneto?

Answer 36

October 1918

Question 37

Why wasn’t any significant progress made on the Italian front?

Answer 37

The war was being fought in the Alps where the terrain was very harsh so it was hard to move large volumes of troops and equipment. Infrastructure was poor and so was visibility making it hard to attack as they couldn’t even see the enemy. Morale was poor as soldiers couldn’t see why they were fighting and many peasant conscripts from the South didn’t speak the same language as their generals.

Question 38

How many Italians were killed during the First World War?

Answer 38

650,000

Question 39

What happened to demobilised soldiers after the war?

Answer 39

Struggled to adjust to normal life and there was a divide between those that fought in the war and those that stayed at home. Particularly strong divide between peasant conscripts who were mostly from the South and Northern industrial workers who were deemed too important for war manufacturing to go and fight.

Question 40

What was the economic cost of war?

Answer 40

148 billion lire

Question 41

What is a pyrrhic victory?

Answer 41

A victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. The heavy toll negates any sense achievement or profit.