Pre War Years Flashcards
What did the unification of Italy do to the political system of the nation?
- Created a constitution that guranteed equality before the law, rights of free assembly and a free press
- Established a constitutional monarchy with the king head of state - able to appoint and dismiss ministers/senators. Usually controlled foreign policy
- A bicameral legislature - Senate and Chamber of Deputies
How did the king and prime minister interact?
King - head of state, able to appoint and dismiss ministers/senators. Usually controlled foreign policy, the face in a crisis
Prime Minister - head of government, ran the day-to-day. Needed support of government to keep power
What issues did the unification bring for the people?
- Significant differences between the unified states - language, culture and politics
- In 1861 between 2.5-10% of Italians spoke standard Italian
- Not everyone supported unification
What political weaknesses developed in Italy after unification?
- Small franchise - only 2% of the country could vote, people felt alienated
- Party system was weak, led to reliance on trasformismo and instability of the governments formed
What were the key groups in Italian politics? Name their key interests
- Liberals - desired uniformity/order. For the educated middle classes
- Radicals/Republicans - called for change to the Italian political system. Abolition of monarchy power
- Socialists - aimed to further working class rights (universal suffrage, women’s rights, 8hr working day)
- Catholics - catholicism, withdrew from political life. Pope did not acknowledge Italy as a state til 1929
- Nationalists - aggressive, expansionist foreign policy. create a create Italian empire
What industrial issues did Italy experience in the early 20th century?
- Industrial growth limited - only in Northern Italy. In 1914 55% of industrial income generated in Milan, Genoa and Turin
- Lack of key resources such as iron, steel, coal meant a need to import them
- Labour force large but unskilled
What positive things happened for the Italian economy in the early 20th century?
- Between 1901 - 11: exports increased at a rate of 4.5% a year and the number of workers involved in production increased by 2 million
- Workers conditions and wage increased
What happened in regards to agriculture in Italy?
- In the north subsidence farming ended sue to more effective manufacturing methods BUT this contributed to social divisions grew due to insatiability of work and more political agitation
- In the south deforestation, disease, earthquakes in Calabria (1905) and the eruption of Vesuvius (1906) and Etna (1910) and a tidal wave in 1908 all damaged crops. Southern hatred of the government grew
What was the effect of poverty on the Italian people?
- Typhus, rickets and cholera were much more widespread in Italy than other European nations
- Tuberculosis and malaria killed people frequently even going into the mid 1930s
- Disease and illness significantly worsened by mas migration leading to cramped living conditions
- Illiteracy rates were high - 80% in the south and 42% in the north
Name the one successful policy introduced by Liberal government
Universal manhood suffrage was introduced in 1912
Give evidence of unsuccessful policies introduced by the Liberal government between 1900 -1913
- Between 1901 -13 200,000 Italians left Southern Italy each year due to extreme poverty
- 1910/11 25,000 peope in Naples died of cholera w/half of the population in this area illiterate
- 1911 - half of Italy’s 2.2 million industrial workers were employed in northern provinces of Lombardy, Liguria and Piedmont
What were the 6 issues that Giolitti’s government faced between 1911-1914?
- The ANI - nationalists
- The PSI - socialist
- Catholics
- Libyan war
- Extension of the franchise
- Economic weaknesses
How did the ANI cause Giolitti’s government problems?
- By compromising with the PSI, the Liberal government lost the support of the ANI and increasingly posed a threat to both parties
- Took credit for the Libyan war, claiming they forced the govt.’s hand
- They grew in power between 1910 and, greater organisation under Corradini
- Had a number of educated middle class supporters who wanted to undermine the socialist and bring about a new dynamic Italy
How did the PSI cause Giolitti’s government problems?
- Giolitti sacrificed relations with the church in order to sustain support from the PSI so couldn’t solve Roman question
- A faction within called the Maximilists believed in violence and undermined the ties between the Liberals and PSI
How did the catholic party cause Giolitti’s government issues?
- Encouraged the Invasion of Libya die to economic investment in the country
- Didn’t resolve the Roman question due to aim to keep PSI support and did not give the pope any concessions
