Liberal Italy Background Flashcards
What period of time does liberal Italy generally refer to?
1870-1922
What did the governmental system of liberal Italy resemble?
no established liberal political parties, just many rapidly changing coalition governments
What did Italian liberals generally believe in?
- free democratic elections
- freedom of press
- the right to private property
- freedom of religion
- support free trade
What is ‘risorgimento’?
movement to unite Italy through national identity (never really achieved)
What was liberal Italy generally characterised by, despite its ideals?
- corruption
- economic problems
- social discontent
- lack of political development
How were the Italian socialists organised?
PSI
- Partio Socialista Italiano
- founded in 1892
- led by Filippo Turati
Was the PSI popular? Statistics
Increasingly popular
- 1900 elections; PSI gained 32/508 deputies
- 1913; PSI gained 1/4 of the vote, 79/508 deputies
- 1902, 250,000 industrial workers joined socialist national federations + more strikes for higher wages
- 1910, 218,000 Italians joined socialist agricultural cooperatives
Why was the socialism increasing in popularity?
- mass internal migration; increase in population of major northern cities
–> Milan doubled in size 1880-1914
= socialism was a means for working class advancement - PSI supported by intellectuals who had lost faith in the liberals to achieve ‘Risorgimento’ (corruption, widening class gap)
How did Giolitti deal with the popularity of the PSI?
- main focus of Giolitti’s 1911 programme
- ‘trasformismo’
–> absorbed socialist deputies by offering a range of social reforms
What social reforms did Giolitti implement to absorb socialist deputies?
- 1898, non-compulsory national insurance fund for health and old age
- 1898, compulsory accident insurance in industrial work paid for by employer
- 1901, banned employment of children under 12
How successful was Giolitti’s attempt to win over the PSI by offering moderate social reforms?
- appeased moderate socialists willing to work with Giolitti for gradual change (eg. Turati)
- did not please marxists who believed in revolution
- antagonised the nationalists and the Catholics
What political influence did the Catholic Church have?
- 1909, Pope encouraged Italians to vote in 150 constituencies where socialists could win
- 1911 youth movements + sports clubs = considerable sway over popular vote (especially in the north)
How did Giolitti deal with the popularity of the Catholic Church?
- offered some concessions in return for support
–> 1904, ensured a divorce bill did not pass and promoted Catholic interests (eg. education) - YET unwilling to establish stronger links to the church
–> not prepared to give Pope concession on Roman territory = ‘Roman Question’ unsolved
–> prioritised PSI as wanted workers to support the liberal state
What did Italian nationalists believe in?
- antisocial and antiliberal
- expand Italy’s power in Africa
- claim ‘irredente’ lands
- assert Italy as a world power
–> aggressive foreign policy - unite different classes through patriotism
- thought liberal values encouraged selfishness
How were the Italian nationalists organised?
ANI
- Associazione Nazionalista Italiana
- founded in 1910
- led by Enrico Corradini
- brought together different currents of nationalism
Why did nationalism in Italy gain popularity towards the beginning of the 10th century?
- supposed failure of ‘risorgimento’
- humiliating defeat at The Battle of Adwa
- Italy’s weakness as a world power
- shame of millions Italians leaving abroad for a better life
How did Giolitti deal with the popularity of nationalism?
- difficult to deal with as refused to work with the government (corrupt, wanted to overthrow)
- First attempted to boost support through a liberal program of reform + economic modernisation
–> failed to halt nationalism’s popularity - 1911 invaded Libya = attempt to embrace nationalism by expanding Italy’s African Empire
When was the invasion of Libya?
29th September 1911 - Italy invaded Libya
= began war with Ottoman Empire over Libya
8th October 1911- Ottomans surrendered control of Libya to the Italians
How did different groups react to the Italian invasion of Libya?
- Nationalists supported
–> too - Catholic Church supported as financial interests in Libya
How did different groups react to the Italian invasion of Libya?
- Nationalists supported
–> took credit for pressuring Giolitti = increased their own support
–> blamed high casualties on weaknesses of liberal government - Catholic Church supported as financial interests in Libya
- some socialist leaders supported, eg. Bissolatti
How did Giolitti prepare for the invasion of Libya?
1902, signed deal with France
- she would support Italy taking Libya in return for Italy supporting France in taking Morocco
–> Giolitti feared France would break the deal and take Libya for herself, Italy could not afford another humiliation as with Tunisia
When was Italy unified?
1870
campanilismo
feeling of pride and belonging to place of birth, not country
What language was spoken in Italy?
local dialects = couldn’t understand each other
- Florencian dialect = official dialect
What was the North-South divide?
Question Meridionale - why was the south so much poorer than the north?
- No PM ever visited the south
- North was rapidly industrialising
–> Lancia, Fiat, Alfa Romeo factories all founded in the north
- south remained poor agricultural area
–> 1 million Sicilians migrated to America
–> lots of cholera and malaria in south
What social problems developed from the economic growth in northern Italy?
extreme economic expansion and industrialisation in north, YET poor living and working conditions remained
–> 1901-1911, 350,000 workers involved in striking
