The Liberal State: Social Problems

Question 1

Why were landless labourers at risk?

Answer 1

• There were landless labourers in both the north and south
• They had no job security so they were at a higher vulnerability to poverty
• When the landowner did not need them anymore they went without work, so they often struggled to feed their families

Question 2

What problems were caused by diseases?

Answer 2

• Diseases such as typhus, rickets and cholera were much more widespread in Italy than in many other European countries
• Tuberculosis and malaria killed many people in the south even until the 1930s

Question 3

Why did poor living conditions make the situation worse?

Answer 3

• The poor conditions made the spread of disease easier

- Migration to the industrial towns only made the problem worse

Question 4

What were the issues with literacy?

Answer 4

• Literacy rates were already low when Italy was unified
• The wealthy could afford to pay for private schools and their children did not need to work to supplement the family’s income
• Illiteracy was higher in the south and in the countryside

Question 5

How many Italians were illiterate?

Answer 5

• More than 69% of Italians

- 80% of the southern population were illiterate

Question 6

How did Giolitti’s government try to combat illiteracy?

Answer 6

Introduced policies like:

• Sickness, accident and pension schemes
• Raising the minimum working age to 12 years
• Setting a maximum number of working hours
• Placing responsibility for primary schooling on central government, which was more interested in increasing literacy than regional authorities
• Reducing food taxes to make some food more affordable
• Passing laws to establish public holidays and provide free treatment for malaria

Question 7

How did the improvement of hospitals help social crisis?

Answer 7

• More people were cured of illnesses
• Life expectancy increased
• By 1914, Italians had the same life expectancy as other Europeans

Question 8

How did illiteracy improve towards the end of the period?

Answer 8

• By 1911, the national average for illiteracy was 37.6%
• The number of schools had increased
• Although literacy was still much higher in the north, the situation was improving

Question 9

What other consequence did social crisis and economic poverty cause?

Answer 9

• Migration and emigration
• Thousands moved into towns to seek employment
• Largely limited to the northern cities
• Approximately 200,000 Italians emigrated every year after the 1890’s

Question 10

In 1912-13, how many people left Italy? Why was this a bad thing?

Answer 10

• 1.5 million
• People whose skills could have been used to strengthen Italy were leaving for the USA, South America and other places abroad