Liberal State 1911-1918 Flashcards
Impact of the extension of the Franchise
1912 - all men who had completed military service or over 30.
70% of the electorate were illiterate
Liberals lost 71 seats in the 1913 election
3 million to 8 million
Main successes of Giolitti
Real wages increased by 25% (1890-1913)
Libyan War (1911) - imperialism - Nationalist support + Financial Interests - Catholic church
Good relations with Turati (socialist leader) - arbitration courts in 1906.
Some Catholic support - 1904 Divorce Bill
Industrial Production double 1899-1910
Increase in agricultural production
Attempted Southern Development - 1904 - The special law to stimulate growth in Naples
Maximum working hours introduced
Reduced Food taxes
Sickness / Pension Schemes
Raised minimum working age to 12
Failures of Gioliiti
Libyan War (1911) - Increased ANI support
PSI opposed imperialism shown in the Libyan War
Maximalist PSI members refused to cooperate
Economic development limited to north - 55% income = Golden triangle (1911).
Gentiloni Pact (1913) - Liberals withdrew support of him
Lost 71 seats in 1913 election
North-South Divide Evidence
80% illiteracy in the South vs 42% Piedmont (North)
Only 6 schools to 10,000 ppl (South)
Golden Triangle - Milan,Turin + Genoa (north)
55% of Italy’s wealth = Golden Triangle (1919)
Migration of the Contadini
Poor Diets / lack of clean war - poor health + high infant mortality rates (south)
Frequent strike action (South)
Arguments for Intervention in WW1 + Supporters
Nationalists // Salandra’s Liberals
Neutrality makes Italy look weak
Italy would become isolated in post-war negociations
Irredentism
Unite Italy + resolve N/S divide
If victorious, they could expand in the Mediterrean.
Arguments against intervention in WW1 + Supporters
Giolittian Liberals // Catholics // PSI
Italy was not economically ready for war - Italian military spending (10 mil) < Austria’s (22mil)
Working class were reluctant to fight - prefect surveys
Disrupt economics / social reforms
Catholics in Austria
Key Developments of WW1
Treaty of London (April 1915) - Salandra + Sonnino secretly negociate Italian entry into WW1 on the side of Britain + France in return for irredentist aims.
1915-16 = Military Stalemate, minimal progress made by either side, many casualties - 62,000 died in 1915
Strafexpedition (1916) - Austrian offensive launched.
Caporetto (1917) - Italian defeat = 10,000 italians killed, majority of Veneto lost.
Vittorio Veneto (1918) - Italian victory - split Austrian army in two
Armistice - Signed in 4th Nov. 1918
Economic Effect of WW1(+/-)
Positive -
Fiat - 25,000 vehicles in 1918, workforce 6,000 - 30,000
Produced more machine guns that Britain overall
Alfredo Dallolio - utilised female labour in factories, increased working hours + banned strikes.
1/4 munitons workers were women.
20% growth in the North (1911-21)
Negative -
Italy’s machine guns vs Austria = 2:12 (1915)
National debt = 85bn lira (1919)
25% fall in wages
2 million unemployed in 1919
Political Effect of WW1
Positive -
Temporary political union after Caporetto - fight for survival ideas
Negative -
PSI consistently opposed war - many arrested after Caporetto (1917) for their defeatist attitude.
Greater politicial polarisation - left vs right
Nationalists took credit for Vittorio Veneto (1918) // criticised libs for Caporetto (1917)
ToL not upheld - Orlando walks out of negociations
Occupation of Fiume (1919)
Russian Revolution (1917)
Split liberals - Giolitti vs Salandra
1919 - PPI created by Luigi Sturzo
Social Effect of WW1
Positive -
PSI trade unions did help safeguard jobs, wage rises and workers exemption from war.
Negative -
c. 700,000 killed
North / South divide worsened
Army divisions with dialects / language barriers
Bienno Rosso (1919-20)
400,000 workers went on strike (1919)
Govt. failed to deliver land reform in the South.
Peasant soldiers resented Govt. - 1/2 Lira a day
75hr working week at Fiat (1916)
