KEY TOPIC 1 Flashcards
1
Q
What were the key problems facing Italy in the early part of the 20th century?
A
- Economic and Social Problems
- The Political System
- North/South Divide
- Italy as a Great Power
2
Q
What were the key ‘economic and social problems’ Italy faced in the early 20th century?
A
- Poor compared to rest of Europe
- Illness mainly in the South (infected water for example killed 1000’s)
- 1891-1.5 million Italians living in America
- Wheat tariff introduced, price of bread increased for people
- Lack of coal, so couldn’t mass produce
- Rich in the north, poor in the south
3
Q
What were the key ‘political system problems’ Italy faced in the early 20th century?
A
- Liberalism emerged in the 1860’s
- One royal family took over all (Piedmont)
- King head of army, expected to take part in foreign policy
- Lack of clear political parties made governing difficult, and lacked national tradition
- King normally chose a prime minister on relationship rather than policies
- Most of the population were Roman Catholic, and Pope feared the liberals
4
Q
What were the key ‘north/south divide’ problems Italy faced in the early 20th century?
A
- People in the south found it difficult to identify with the new Italy
- Unification bought higher taxes for the south
- New state accompanied the north and repressed the south
- 1881 - illiteracy in north was 33%, south 80%
- North had 56% of vote, south 26%
- Ministries relied on South support as they were easy to bribe and manipulate
- 1888, 3 years of schooling became compulsory, but barely affected the south
5
Q
What were the key ‘Italy as a great power’ problems Italy faced in the early 20th century?
A
- Crispi wanted Italy to play a part as a great power
- Crispi had agreements with the British called ‘Mediterranean Agreements’. British not thrilled as they saw Italy as a liability rather than an ally
- Lacked economic power compared to other great powers
- Italy’s weakness exposed when they were defeated by the Abysinnian Army
6
Q
Who was Giovanni Giolitti?
A
- Italian prime minister on 5 separate occasions
- 1901-1914 known as ‘Giolitti’ era
- Believed he could use ‘transformismo’ in all of his political opponents
- Goal of making Italy modern, industrialised, and successful
- Had faith in liberal government
- Wanted socialist, nationalist, and catholic support
7
Q
Who were the Socialists?
A
- Known as the PSI
- 1900 - 216,000 votes, 32 seats
- 1/4 votes, 79 seats in 1913
- Increased literacy, education, and political awareness
- Believes socialism was the only answer to Italy’s problems
- 250,000 industrial workers joined socialist national federations by 1902
- Giolitti believed he could gain their support through ‘transformismo’
8
Q
What difficulties did Giolitti face from the Socialists?
A
- Found it difficult to win over the entire PSI
- Socialists split into extremists and gradual change supporters, and he found it had to win over the extremists
- Compromises with them made him less popular with Nationalists and Catholics
9
Q
What difficulties did Giolitti face from the Catholics?
A
- 1904, he said “church and state were 2 parallel lines, which should never meet”
- Became the first Italian prime minister to win a catholic organised vote, but did this by compromise and deals
- For example, scrapping the ‘divorce bill’
- Catholics had a lot of power in the north
- He welcomes church support, but focuses on the PSI
- Not willing to give the pope any concession on roman territory
10
Q
Who were the Nationalists?
A
- Large threat
- 1911-1914 highly influential
- Gained strength using Italy’s past problems
- Aimed to unite different classes in Italy
- Believed Liberal values only made selfish individualism
11
Q
What difficulties did Giolitti face from the Nationalists?
A
- Didn’t like that he worked with the socialists
- ANI brought a nationalism into a more organised form
- Saw Giolitti and other liberal politicians as everything weak and corrupt in Italy
- Nationalism had greater attraction that Liberalism did
- Giolitti has to try and expand Italy’s border to try to please them
12
Q
What was Giolitti’s Foreign Policy?
A
- Triple alliance had signs of strain by 1911
- Interests in the Balkans clashes with its ‘ally’ Austria
- Nationalists forced Giolitti to take a more aggressive approach to Austria as they had Italian speakers
- 1902, Italy support French invasion of Morocco, French support support Italian expansion in Libya
13
Q
What were the key features of Italy’s invasion of Libya in 1911?
A
- It has Nationalist and Socialist support
- Italy’s naval fleet secured most of Libya’s ports and seaside towns
- Giolitti hoped he would get Ottoman (Turkish fighter) support, but he didn’t
- Italian forces occupied 13 Turkish held islands
- 08/10/1911, Ottoman surrendered
- 50,000 Italian troops remained in Libya, which caused 3,500 deaths
14
Q
What were the effects of the Italian invasion of Libya in 1911?
A
- Gained Giolitti a lot of support
- 1912, his plan ‘appeared’ successful
- Social reforms got PSI support
- Libya victory for Nationalist support
- Catholics started working with the Liberals
15
Q
What were the key features of the growing instability in Italy between 1912 - 1914
A
- Invasion of Libya
- Franchise Extension (more people can vote)
- Giolitti resignation
- Nationalism an Socialism growth
- Declaration of Neutrality
