🟢| Unit 2 - Italians

Question 1

Points

6

Answer 1

• Cafes + Fish & Chip Shops
• Sundays
• Hairdressing
• Lack of Social Life
• Mussolini
• Insular

Question 2

Cafes + Fish & Chip Shops

Answer 2

• The Italians opened family run cafes and fish and chip shops in many of the Scottish towns and cities, an example being Nardinis in Largs.
• This made their experience positive as they were generally welcomed by the Scots due to providing a service and not creating a threat to Scottish jobs.

Question 3

Sundays

Answer 3

• Italian businesses and establishments were often open on Sunday which was the traditional Christian day of rest, and due to this almost all Scottish businesses were closed.
• This made their experience negative as the Scots didn’t appreciate the lack of respect for their religion and therefore were known to look down upon the Italians for this.

Question 4

Hairdressing

Answer 4

• Italians became involved in Glasgow hairdressing and in 1928 the College of Italian Hairdressers was established.
• This made their experience positive because this was another way in which they gained employment based on their own skills, and the Scots were positive about this due to new job opportunities.

Question 5

Lack of Social Life

Answer 5

• Italians were heavily restricted socially, particularly around the 1920s and 1930s, as they worked long hours in their businesses and their identity revolved around this.
• This made their experience negative because Italians therefore struggled to build relations with Scots due to working so much and not being tolerated beyond their service.

Question 6

Mussolini

Answer 6

• After Mussolini became fascist dictator of Italy in 1922 there was a development of fascist dictator clubs in Scotland so that Italian immigrants could retain affinity with Italy due to their good qualities. Branches of La Casa del Fascio was first established in Glasgow.
• This made their experience negative because Scots already felt as if Italian’s loyalties lay in Italy more than Scotland as they would send money back home, so this only reinforced this.

Question 7

Insular

Answer 7

• Italian immigrants were very insular. Their businesses, like Vissochis in Broughty Ferry, only employed family members and immigrants would only marry their fellow Italians.
• This made their experience positive as they would be less exposed to discrimination from the Scots as they remained reserved, but would also make their experience negative as they were not properly assimilating in their new home country.