Topic 1: Liberal state (short) Flashcards
Giolliti’s goals
Stronger, more united and modernised italy.
To do this he would bring together differing political groups to cooperate and share ideas to achive this goal.
Giolitti’s reforms
Reforms aimed at increasing literacy, improving health and the economic situation.
WWI ended or postponed any progress.
Improved welfare, literacy and economic prosperity but did not benefit the people who needed it most.
With industrialisation workers who saw no improvement in SOL organised into unions.
Giolitti prioritised economic production over worker grievances. So workers continued to work join groups against the liberals interests increasing political divisions.
Socialist relations
Most difficult to assimilate.
Never persuaded all socialists to join his government.
Those who collaborated with G were criticised from within their parties. LW socialists deployed the alliance saying this was a failure in revolutionary duty.
Violence was used by police (unreformed) against strikers, resulting in deaths and public outcry. Socialists were outraged making compromise between the groups very hard.
Many socialists saw the gov as corrupt, capitalist and antagonistic to their goals.
Many belived his reforms did not go far enough often arguing they were made to avoid riots and instability rather than help the people.
Nationalists
Critical of G’s caution in foreign policy and abhorred his political deals and compromise.
Took advantage of upset over Italy’s status in europe, lack of colonies, economic backwardness and defeat at Adowa.
Appealed to concerns of middle-class Italians worried about G’s concessions to the socialists.
wanted:
ban on strikes
stronger police
Protection for industry from competition
Stronger army and more defence spending
Irredente lands
Colonial expansion
Church
Wanted support to counter socialists.
Catholic moderates became increasingly interested in joining the political system, partly in fear of the spread of socialism.
Influencial in local gov and in major cities.
Due to the size of the catholic vote and the need for a RW balance to the socialists G entered an alliance with the Catholic Deputies.
Always uneasy- G did not want to make promises he would never deliver (return of papal states land). So he never fully embraced them as alliance partners making a stable conservative coalition impossible.
Reasons for war in Libya
G wanted to weaken nationalist support. (appease and draw them in).
Enthusiasm for invasion- Public war pro-war G needed to respond to nationalism and patriotic support.
Claims in the region- F went back on a 1902 agreement to support Italian influence in Libya in exchange for morocco.
Events of war in Libya
September 1911
3 weeks for the navy to seize ports and coastal towns. Yet arabs did not see Italians as liberators from the Turks so the army ended up fighting the Turks and arabs.
Italy occupied Turkish islands in the Aegean, balkan war continued. Pressure was too much to resist.
On october they formally surrendered LIbya to Italy.
Guerrilla warfare continued so 50,000 troops set on permanent garrison duty to maintain dominance in Libya.
Impact of Libyan war
Increased nationalist popularity and power, claimed they forced G into the war and used connections with newspapers to reinforce this message.
Blammed G’s gov for the loss of life and cost of war claiming it was not managed properly.
Revolutionary socialists took charge of the movement.
Extension of the franchise in 1912 to literate males over 21 and all males over 30. Proposed as symbol of national unity, to add conservative rural voters and make teh electorate less radical.
Libya produced the same crops as Italy, leading to a drop in domestic crop prices. Emigrants refused to move to Libya to form an effective colony.
1912 Franchise extension
Seats declined from 370 to 318.
Still a majority and was able to form a coalition gov with the support of the Catholic Union. It was agreed the Liberals who opposed socialism and divource would receive Catholic votes.
Left G reliant on Catholic support when forming a coalition and meant granting political concessions to the Catholics and losing support from Radicals and Socialists as a result.
Support for neutrality
Germany and AH alliance unattractive. Trentino and Trieste could not be gained nationalists saw this alliance as a betrayal of Italy’s ambitions.
Neutrality was economically and militarily more favourable. The army was still busy in Libya and was not weel equipped, trained or large enough for such a conflict. Economy too weak for a large-scale conflict, possibility of economic gains without intervention.
catholics and left opposed intervention- A-H was catholic, did not care for territorial gains or imperialism.
Intervention support
Small yet vocal nationalist minority.
Wanted the A-H lands, belived money was wasted by welfare and reform.
Advocated for military spending and conquest.
Why was their a move to intervention
Nationalist movement- Great power status, A-H lands.
Press- Nationalists had strong influence, popularised their views to people. Mussolini and Gabriele D’Annunzio were vocal in support.
Police and military- broke up worker and peasant demonstrations against intervention, encouraged the opposite protesters.
Treaty of London
PM salandra favoured a treaty with the Entente for territorial gains.
1915- Growing support for entry into the war.
Entered negotiations with both sides, it was clear A-H would not give up land, B+F offered them alongside southern Tyrol.
The PM and King negotiated the TOL in secret and compelled parliament to approve it, most Deputies still opposed.
Nationalists organised huge demonstrations for intervention, D’Annunzio’s speeches attracted enormous crowds.
In reality it was Salandra’s move, supported by the crown, hoped this would lead to a reassertion of Liberal dominance against non-interventionist Catholics and Socialists.
Giolitti claimed in parliament Nationalists caused this shift which had a disastrous impact later when Mussolini and D’Annunzio claimed intervention was their work.
Signed in april promised territory and financial reparations
Salandra view at the start of the war
Calculated like many others there would be a short, victorious war.
Army quickly became bogged down in an interminable, slow moving and unsuccessful battle in the mountains and dificult terrain.
Gains after 2.5 years of war
200,000 men for an advance of only 12 miles.
Progress wiped out at the battle of caporetto in 1917
