Italy in early 20th century, c1911-18 Flashcards
LO: the liberal political system, economic and social problems, the north-south divide, Italy as a 'great power'
liberal features of political system
Fundamental rights protected under constitution e.g. equality before the law
Parliament partially elected → Chamber of Deputies (lower house) every 5 years
authoritarian features of political system
Kig had significant political powers e.g. appoint or dismiss PMs
Senate (upper house) appointed by King
King headed army which could be used to crush protests
strengths of political system
PM depended on parliament for support, so king couldn’t just appoint anyone PM
political weaknesses
King had a lot of political power
Limited franchise → 25% adult men could vote until 1912
Under developed parties
Prefects who ran provinces tried to ensure govt supported candidate won elections
‘Roman Question’ → split between Italian state and Catholic Church
‘Transformismo’ → since political parties were so weak, govts were formed of factions that had come together to make a coalition govt.
problems in liberal Italy
- The unification process was dominated by the Elite who were not committed to major social reforms.
- The pope was hostile to the new liberal state.
- Debts incurred in the wars of unification meant the new govt. imposed high taxes and restricted spending on social reforms.
- The reliance on foreign armies to unify Italy contributed to a national inferiority complex, and a desire to show that Italy was a great power.
- Italy’s failure to defeat Austria in 1866 left Austria holding Italian land.
(recap again) how was the political system?
- corrupt govt (transformismo)
- ‘legal Italy’ vs ‘real Italy’
- parties did not reflect popular wishes
- very few people had the vote
- basic rights in constitution
- liberal politicians were elitist
economic and social development
- The new Italian govt united Italy economically by abolishing internal tariffs and establishing a single Italian market.
- The rapid growth of industry in the North after the turn of the century reinforced the economic divide between the North and South.
- New state inherited large debts caused by the wars of unification, and raised taxes to pay off these debts.
- Taxes fell mainly on the poor.
- Governments considered education an important issue.
Catholic Church
- Influencial + powerful
- Pope denounced new state as considered liberalism a sin (allowed freedom of religion)
- Pope more worried about socialists
national boundaries and foreign policy
- Italians felt dissatisfied because they have never gained all the land they claimed on their north-east borders.
- Italian government resented not possessing these ‘unredeemed lands’ (Italia Irredenta), but realised Italy was not strong enough by itself to take on Austria.
- Wanted to gain colonies
examples of economic expansion and industrialisation experienced by the north of Italy
- The iron and steel industries grew significantly, as did the newer chemical, mechanical, and electrical industries.
- The Italian car industry was a great success, with companies such as Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia established.
- Industrialisation and improved techniques helped increase agricultural production.
impact of industrialisation on the wider population
No benefits and living standards of both industrial and rural workers were low
Protests against unemployment, food shortages and high taxation were common
→ between 1901-11 there were over 1,500 strikes involving nearly 350,000 workers
Accentuated north-south divide
what was the barrier to creating a unified nation?
the north-south divide
How far were economic problems the main cause of social discontent in Italy between c1911-18?
- Southern workers suffered as south was less modernised than the noth e.g. Nitti tried reforms like tax incentives to improve this but failed
- After 1900 internal tariffs ere ended and free trade introduced which damaged the southern economy as elites wnated to protect traditions
- Problems with agriculture in the south like disease and drought common
- As a result, south was significantly less wealthy than noth
- Thus south workers believed northern politicians did not care about them
What event led to the southern population distrusting the northern politicians?
Government financial support after a series of natural disasters from 1905-8 was slow to arrive, which decreased living standards on the south
what was the questionne meridionale?
the question as to why the south had fallen into such povery and what could be done to alleviate it
what were the theories for the reasons for poverty in the south
poor economic structure, geography, history and poor treatment by the rich
what did southern intellectuals call for ?
greater economic invesment but little was done
what were the issues that led to north-south divide?
- politicians tended to ignore major issues in the region
- as industrial economic expansion centred on larger northern cities like Genoa, Milan and Turin, the south agriculture based economy stagnated
- govt census 1911 showed almost half of Italy’s 2.2 million workers were employed in northern provinces (Industrial Triangle)
- peasants suffered from poor diet, malnutrition, lack of clean water, etc e.g. between 1910-11 25,000 people died from cholera in Naples
- over half of the population in south was illiterate
- by 1911 income per head in northern industrial was double that in south
- policies like trying to encourage industrial investment in Naples failed
how was emigration in Italy between 1901-13 and its impact?
- between 1901-13, around 200,000 southern italians left Italy every year inc. 1 million Sicilians out of a population of only 3.5 million
- mass emigration reduced economic strains in the south, but failed to deal with central, long-term issues
how did Italy lag behind other European powers?
- Italy’s industrial development was behind that of Britain and Germany.
- Geographically it was disadvantaged by the fact that the French and Britain navies dominated the Mediterranean.
- It tended to be viewed as ‘the least of the great powers’.
meaning of irredentism
- This is the belief that Italy should reclaim the areas of Istria and the South Tyrol.
- This was due to the fact that many of the population in these areas were ethnically Italian and spoke the language.
- At the time it fell within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
why was Italy not able to reclaim the irredente lands?
Italy did not have either the military power or the diplomatic means to reclaim the areas from the other powerful European nations
what were the extent of success of Italian attempts to gain influence over Tunisia?
- Italy had first focused on Tunisia, an area with particular economic and strategic interests, but in 1881 France, with the diplomatic support of Britain, invaded Tunisia and claimed it for themselves.
- The resulting considerable anger within the Italian government led to the signing of a defensive alliance with Austria and Germany.
what was the reason why many Italians were angered by the resulting Triple Alliance with Austria and Germany?
Many Italians were angry at the signing of the Triple Alliance as Austria was their traditional enemy and the country that was seen as the barrier to the recovery of the irredente lands.
how was the Battle of Dogali a failure? + when did it happen
the British govt informed Italy it would agree to Italian expansion in Abyssinia in 1884
BUT attempts to gain this part of Africa as a colony failed at the Battle of Dogali in 1887
The Italian forces were defeated by the Ethiopian army and 500 Italian soldiers died
how was the Battle of Adwa a failure? + when did it happen
1 March 1896
Worst defeat ever suffered by a European power in Africa
5,000 Italian troops killed and thousands more injured at the hands of King Menelik of Abyssinia’s army
what had been the hopes for conquering Abyssinia?
The PM at the time, Francesco Crispi, had hoped that colonisation in Africa would be a means of uniting Italians of all classes and regions in patriotic pride at Italy’s foreign expansion.
what was the significance of the humiliation at Adwa?
the humiliation of the Battle of Adwa accentuated growing anger towards Italy’s political class and was the catalyst for the mass protests and riots that rocked Italy at the end of the 19th century.
