Problems Facing the Liberal State c.1911-18

Question 1

What were political problems facing the Liberal State?

Answer 1

Limited francise, trasformismo and anarchism.

Question 2

How did franchise change from 1861-1912 and why was this significant?

Answer 2

Whether you had access to suffrage depended on property ownership and qualifications.

1860s - 500,000/32 million can vote; 2%.
1882 - 3 million can vote: 25%.
1912 - 8 million can vote. No women.

People now had a means of expressing their aversion to the LS clearly, after it had alienated them for 50 years. Liberals struggle due to limited support base.

Question 3

Define Trasformismo.

Answer 3

Political manoeuvring; where political power depended not on public support, but the ability to win over the conditional support of other politicians through concessions. Governments were corruptly set up and subject to collapse.

These concessions could benefit the politician or the local area, not the whole country. Depended on a greater degree of campanilismo which was born from Liberal ignorance of the masses and a cause for disunion.

Democracy was an illusion. Created support for PSI (real democracy) or nat. groups (alternative).

Question 4

How many coalitions were there 1870-1915?

Answer 4

20

Question 5

Which was the longest lasting coalition of Liberal Italy?

Answer 5

Agostino Depretis - 1881-87 - 6 years.

Question 6

Define anarchism.

Answer 6

The act of overthrowing the state and replacing it with a self-governing order of no bureaucratic rules.

Question 7

Which 3 men developed Italian anarchism?

Answer 7

Mikhail Bakunin
Giuseppe Fanelli
Errico Malatesta

Question 8

What events highlighted an anarchist threat?

Answer 8

Failed insurrections in Florence (1869) and Bologna (1874) and a failed national insurrection (1877).

29th July 1898 - King Umberto I is killed by Gaetano Bresci to avenge deaths of 100 protestors in Milan in May.

Question 9

What were the anarchist trade unions?

Answer 9

Unione Sindacale Italiana in 1912, with 800,000 members by 1919.
Unione Anarchica Italiana - 20,000 members in 1919. Began factory occupation at Biennio Rosso.

Question 10

How did Italy compare to Britain industrially in 1896?

Answer 10

ITALY -
had industrial revolution 1897-1913, average wage p/a was £8 and 60% of jobs depend on agriculture.

BRITAIN - had industrial revolution 1750-1850, average wage p/a was £31, 10% jobs are agricultural.

Question 11

What was the industrial situation in NW Italy, and why was it so successful?

Answer 11

Focused on textiles and engineering.

More powerful due to industrial tradition, accessible markets, hydroelectric power and good transport links.

Question 12

What was the industrial situation in North-central Italy?

Answer 12

Produced chemicals.

Question 13

What was the industrial situation in Sesto San Giovanni, SE?

Answer 13

Milanese commune of Lombardy which produced lots of steel/heavy machinery. Home to Gruppo Campari beverages co. from 1860 - extends to represent 50 brands in 190 countries.

Question 14

What population growth was seen in Sesto San Giovanni between 1800-1911?

Answer 14

Grew from 5,000 to 14,000.

Question 15

What were the strengths of north Italian industry?

Answer 15

1899-1910 - doubling of production rates.
1901-11 - 2 million more workers.
Industrialists could succeed due to access to state subsidies, technological advancements, plus improved agricultural production/state arbitration to create a strong workforce.

Question 16

What were the weaknesses of north Italian industry?

Answer 16

Limited and localised, mainly around industrial triangle of Genoa, Turin and Milan. 55% of 1911 profits.
Italy too weak to produce its own goods so had to rely upon trade.
Workforce was large but unskilled.
Sesto San Giovanni was an exception, as most places lacked communication/transport links and access to reliable energy sources: all needed to produce effectively.

Question 17

What percentage of industrial income did the south account for in 1911?

Answer 17

16%.

Question 18

What industrialisation could be seen in the south of Italy?

Answer 18

Pockets in Naples, Veneto and Tuscany; sulphur mining in Sicily.

Question 19

Who was Francesco Saveiro Nitti and what did he believe?

Answer 19

A liberal economist who believed that the economic development of southern Italy had been stunted by unification and so there was need for intervention.

Question 20

What did Nitti do?

Answer 20

1900 - ended internal tariffs and the establishment of a single Italian market that encouraged free trade.

1904 - Law on Basilicata - Arranged hydro-forestal reconstruction in Basilicata, and the establishment of public work schemes (aqueducts, farm houses, drains, etc.), using tax incentives and loans to encourage private participation.

1906 - Law on Calibria - same as above.

1910 - Law to Extend and Consolidate State Forestry.

1911 - Law for the Reclamation of Mountain Basins.

Question 21

Why didn’t Nitti’s measures succeed?

Answer 21

Northern initiatives were supported more than southern ones as it was in the interests of politicians to prioritise the former.

Maffeo Pantaleoni - 1910 - South pays 32% to receive 27% of income whilst North pays 40% of tax to receive 48% of income.

Question 22

Why was agricultural development seen in the north of Italy, 1890-1910?

Answer 22

Mechanisation extends crop variety and increases rate of production. More goods means more sales and more profits, so further investment can be made. Could use them to fund land drainage and irrigation, which made ore land available to use.

Question 23

What was the situation in the Po Valley?

Answer 23

Po Valley was a commercialised agricultural region in the Province of Mantua. It had a humid subtropical climate and irrigation/hydroelectric power from the River Po.

Question 24

What were problems with northern Italian agriculture?

Answer 24

Capitalist farming emerged as there was less of a demand for staff due to the mechanisation and expansion of farms. Labourers employed on short-term contracts and were subject to redundancy. This created greater social division, political tension and national instability.

Question 25

What were the positives of the agricultural industry of the south?

Answer 25

It produced some luxury products which were popular for exportation: wine, oil and citrus fruits.

Question 26

What were problems with the southern Italian agricultural industry?

Answer 26

Extensive deforestation meant there was poor soil quality and soil erosion. 
Non-mechanised so thus inefficient compared to the north and the rest of Europe. 
Natural disasters - 
Mt Vesuvius (1906)
Messina EQ and tsunami (Dec 1918) - the most destructive EQ to ever hit Europe.