M2- Challenges to the Liberal State Flashcards
what had WW1 show to Italians?
the failures of the Liberal govt in keeping promises
divisions between different classes of Italians
greater violence between political groups
what problems did the Liberal government face after the war?
the economy was suffering from debt and inflation
rising tension in the South with conscripts returning home believing they were promised land reform
returning soldiers in the North clashed with factory workers who they believed were cowards for not fighting
what did many Southern conscripts do upon return?
forcibly occupy thousands of hectares of land
who led Italy at the Paris Peace Conference?
Vittorio Orlando
along with the terms of the Treaty of London, what else did Orlando seek claim to at Versailles?
the Croatian port of Fiume
he claimed that it had an Italian majority (but this was far from the case)
what view did the Allies hold of Italy?
that it had performed poorly in the war and thus was undeserving of great power status
what part of the Treaty of London did the Allies reject in 1919?
parts of the Balkans
the Dodecanese islands
and Orlando’s claim to Fiume
why was Orlando’s handling of the terms of the Versailles agreement an example of liberal weakness?
he had left the conference early, in anger
this allowed the French and British to handpick the African colonies for themselves
had no reason to give Italy anything
showed Italy as in a lower position to the other powers in Europe
which land did Italy acquire after the war?
Trent
Trieste
Istria
northern Dalmatia
what did d’Annunzio label the Italian terms of the treaty?
a mutilated victory
who replaced Orlando in June 1919?
Nitti
what actions did Nitti take to anger the Italian people?
gave up claims to Dalmatia and Fiume in the hopes of a stronger relationship with the Allies
reduced military spending
issued deserters during the war amnesties
which groups of Italians were angry at Nitti’s actions?
the Nationalists and the military
what was Nitti called?
cagoia
how did would the Fascists later use the Versailles settlement to win support?
they claimed that Italy needed a strong government who would fight for Italian interests abroad, not a weak liberal government who have humiliated Italy
what were the new right-wing groups made up of?
ex-soldiers and nationalists who were angry by the Liberal state
when was the occupation of Fiume?
12 September 1919
how many men did d’Annunzio take to seize Fiume?
2000
when did the Italian navy remove d’Annunzio’s army from Fiume?
25 December 1920
15 months later
what had the occupation of Fiume shown about fascism?
it was popular amongst Italians
many Italians saw d’Annunzio as a hero, showing that fascism had a strong place in Italian society
also showed fascism to be anti-liberal as it took advantage of the failures of the Liberal state by using violence and decisive action
who had learnt the most from the occupation of Fiume?
Mussolini:
- saw the power of violent intervention
- saw the popularity of fascism
- saw a weakness in the Liberal state which he could exploit to take over Italy
what were the problems with the Italian economy?
millions of soldiers were demobilised and returned home without a job
wartime companies struggled to stay afloat
periods of labour militancy
how many unemployed in November 1919?
2 million
what happened to the living standards of the Italian people?
massively worsened
inflation was high —–> led to savings being wiped out
wages and pensions had declined rapidly
which two major munitions companies collapsed in 1921?
Ansaldo
Ilva
which Italian bank was forced to close after the collapse of Ansaldo?
Banca di Sconto
what was the period of labour militancy in 1919 and 1920 called?
Biennio Rosso
what had socialists and communists been inspired by during the war?
the socialist revolution in Russia 1917
what did the socialists and communists call for?
greater worker rights
a communist revolution
members of socialist unions in 1918
250,000
members of socialist unions in 1920
2 million
strikes in January 1920
railway strikes
strikes in April and September 1920
telegraph strikes
strikes in July 1920
Army strikes
when was the largest strike during Biennio Rosso?
September 1920
how many workers took over factories in Sept 1920?
400,000
how did the Liberal government deal with Biennio Rosso?
had managed to calm it down by ending the strikes and seeking compromises
BUT
had already shown how weak the Liberal government was and many Italians did not trust the Liberals to prevent Italy from a socialist takeover
why were landowners angered by the Liberal state?
land owners were being threatened by socialist farming unions who carried out violent attacks on the farms of farmers who refused to join
they were angered by the weak government response
what political reform did the Liberal government introduce to deal with public anger?
switch to PR
11 million more men could vote
any Italian who had served in the war or was over 21 could now vote
when did the PPI form?
1919
who led the PPI?
Luigi Sturzo
what aims did the PPI have?
introduce land reform
was extremely anti-liberal
would have appealed to Italians who were fed up of the lack of land reform which was promised by the liberals
how had the PSI changed after the war?
they took a more radical approach after being encouraged by events in Russia
supported strikes and factory occupations
why would the liberals struggle to form coalitions with the PSI and PPI through transformismo?
both were adamant on not working with the liberals
PSI seats won in 1919 election
156
PPI seats won in 1919 election
101
how had the Liberals manage to remain in power?
through forming a coalition
why was the 1919 election a failure for democracy for the Italian people?
the Italian people had voiced their support for the PSI, yet the Liberals were still able to remain in charge
major flaw in the PR system
what effect did the 1919 election have on the Italian people?
more Italians shifted towards the extremes
when did Nitti’s government fall?
June 1920
who replaced Nitti as PM?
Giolitii for the last time
how had the Liberal government failed to deal with Biennio Rosso?
lack of any force in deterring the threat from the left
instead Nitti had tried to urge industrialists to make concessions to workers to end the strikes
how many seats did the Liberals win in the 1919 election?
91
