Liberal Italy

Italy’s Political System

-1848 statuto: equality before the law, right of free assembly, free press

-monarchy: appoint/ dismiss gov ministers + senators, controlled foreign P

-PM: head of gov, day-day running of country

-parliament

-electorate: until 1912, only 25% of adult men could vote

Political Weaknesses

-elitist system, unstable & corrupt

-political parties no coherent ideologies- just powerful men

-trasformismo: coalitions of diff factions > unstable italian political life as they fell apart quickly > succession of short term govs

-1900-11: 9 govs, only 1 lasted more than 2 years

-individual politicians bribed political opponents

-deputies in parliament to serve local interests so not attached to their parties > could be bribed to change party/ allegiance if offered enough money eg

-little sense of national politics/ unity

Political Groupings

-liberals

-radicals + republicans

-socialists

-catholics

-nationalists

Industry

-under giolitti, industrial economic growth, investing in new industries & using new technologies

-cheaper iron & steel imports > founding of motor & engineering companies like Fiat, Isotta Fraschinin Alfa & Lancia

-sulphuric acid, rubber & electric cables industries very profitable, growing by 10.6% 1896-1913

-exports increased rate 4.5% per year

-industrial workers: increased by 2M 1901-1911

Industry in North

-north-west: specialised in engineering & textiles + geographical closeness to Europe, its transport links, pre-existing industry, accessible markets & power sources

-north: produced chemicals

-north-east: produced steel, heavy machinery

-1911: Milan, Genoa & Turin accounted for 50%of industrial income

-1910, North had 48% of nation wealth & paid 40% of taxes

Industry in South

-development only Naples, Veneto & Tuscany + some sulphur mines in Sicily

-economist Nitti policies: laws to encourage growth, construction of aqueducts & tax incentives & loans

-after 1900, internal tariffs ended & free trade introduced > damaged southern economy as southern elites wanted to protect their traditional privileges rather than introduce change & modernity

-1910, South had 27% of nation wealth & paid 32% of taxes

Development limitations

-need to import iron, steel & coal due to no resources

-large but unskilled ore force

-industrial machinery needed to be imported

-communications, transport & energy sources were all underdeveloped in most areas

Agricultural in North

-benefited from introduction of new crops 1890-1910

-production levels of key crops like wheat increased

-rich land in north eg Po Valley

-improvements in mechanisation & fertilisation improved productivity

-irrigation & drainage systems protected farms from flooding

-larger farms who’s owners employed landless labourers when needed them & sacked when they didn’t > problem

Agriculture in South

-produced luxury items like wine, oil & citrus fruits

-land was of poorer quality, partly due to deforestation

-disease & drought regular occurrences in summer > series of natural disasters 1905-08, damaging economy

-gov financial supp slow to arrive, making southerners think northern politicians didn’t care about them

Social Problems

-poverty: landless labourers vulnerable as no job security, struggling to feed fams if no money

-disease: resulted from poverty- typhus, rickets, cholera + tuberculosis & malaria killed many in south; poor living conditions made the spread of disease easier & migration to industrial towns increased problem

-illiteracy: over 69% Italians illiterate at unification, linked to poverty, wealthy afforded private schools, 80% of south were illiterate & in countryside

Giolitti’s social policies

-sickness, accident & pension schemes

-raising minimum working age to 12

-setting max number of working hours

-placing responsibility of primary schooling on central government, more interested in increasing literacy than regional authorities

-reducing food taxes to make food more affordable

-passing laws to establish public holidays

-passed laws for free treatment for malaria

-hospitals improved: more people cured of illness & life expectancy increased

-by 1914, Italians same life expectancy as Europe

-1911, illiteracy 37.6%

-number of schools increased

Migration & Emigration

-many Italians moved abroad or within Italy due to poverty & economic hardship

-thousands moved into towns to seek employment > limited to north

-approx 200,000 Italians emigrated every year after 1890s

-1912-13 alone: around 1.5 M left (most from south)

Giolitti & Socialists

-targeted moderate Socialist Deps to join coalitions

-socialists successful in elections, PSI winning 20% vote 1909

-deps who joined Giolitti criticised by their parties

-socialists never fully absorbed in his coalitions:

• Police repression made it difficult to compromise with state

• Socialists divided

• Wider socialist movement less prepared o engage with Giolitti than politicians

-many believed Giolitti’s policies aimed at avoiding political instability than helping people

Giolitti & Catholic Church

-fist liberal to appeal successfully to Catholic vote

-catholic supporters= balance to socialists

-catholic vote potentially huge 1913, Pope swung support behind Giolitti

-G wary of catholic alliance as he didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t deliver e.g. return of territory to Vatican > alliance wasn’t stable or permanent

Giolitti & Nationalists

-first nationalist party 1910 & by 1914, HUGE support > movement most opposed to Giolitti’s policies & methods

-hate Giolitti’s foreign P & took advantage of popular mood that bemoaned Italy’s status in Europe, lack of colonies, economic backwardness & defeat at Adowa

-appealed to middle-class Italians as they called for:

• Ban on public sector strikes

• Stronger police force

• Protection for Italian industry from foreign competition

• Stronger army & more defence spending

• Gaining Italian-speaking territories of Trentino, Trieste from Austria

• Colonial expansion

-Giolitti underestimated them as a threat due to their recent origin

Reasons for Libya Invasion

-Italy wanted to assert colonial claims in North Africa in response to France’ efforts to expand

-powerful Italian business interests pushed for invasion after investments in Libya

-popular opinion in favour

-successful Libyan war = weaken Nationalist support

Events of the Libyan war

-declared war on Ottoman Empire 29 Sept 1911

-3 weeks in, Italy seized ports & coastal towns- progress hard after

-local Arabs saw Italians as invaders than liberators > had to fight Turks AND Arabs

-only gained Libya territory through diplomacy

-occupied 13 Turkish islands in Aegean

-8 Oct, Turks formally surrendered Libya to Italy in Treaty of Lausanne

-Arabs continued to resist Italy for many years

-1,3 B lire cost + 3,500 Italian troops killed

Impact of the Libyan war

-Giolitti took military victory & acquisition of Italy’s first colony

-nationalists claimed responsibility for pushing Giolitti into taking action > gained popularity

-nationalists also blamed him for loss of life & cost of war, arguing shouldve been managed properly

-nationalists & catholics temporary alliance > led to revolutionary socialists

-led to expansion of franchise 1912 to all literate men 21+ & all regardless of education 30+

-Libya produced same crops as Italy> fall in crop prices

-emigrants refused to move to Libya to start colony

-Ottomans expelled 50,000 Italians in retaliation > loss of trade

Growth of nationalism & socialism

-they became more critical of liveral gov

-socialists thught system was to protect elite & intimidate working classes, arguing Italy’s wealth was wasted on foreign campaigns like Libya

-1913, PSI winning over 20% of total vote

-nationalists powerful in this period, support from business interests, journalists, poets & painters + believed liberal gov failing to deal with socialist threat

-Italian National Association grew in strength

Impact of Franchise Expansion 1912

-G thought would lead from more conservative peasant voters & support from grateful socialists

-1913, Giolitti’s liberals fell from 370 to 318 seats > still comfortable majority in chamber of deputies

-formed coalition with catholic union, reliant on their support

-forced to make concessions like civil marriages precede a religious sevice > radicals & socialists no longer collaborative

Giolitti’s resignation 1914

-radicals withdrew support due to concessions to catholics, coalition gov collapsing Feb 1914 > resigned March 1914

-remained a deputy hoping to build reputation

-end to Trasformismo > new political parties not loose groupings but ideologically motivated & organised

-govs tended to be nationalist, catholic, or both > risk of more aggressive politics

Declaration of neutrality 1914

-ww1 broke out Aug 1914 > Italy declared herself neutral

-continued Giolitti’s policies as he was committed to it, understandings with Entente powers

-Dec 1914, chamber of deps, G spoke in great favour of neutrality + most catholics, socialists, big businesses & most of the army

Responses for supporting neutrality

-minority

-alliance with Germany & Austro-Hungary unattractive because of Italian aim to regain territory from Austria-Hungary

-neutrality better choice economically & militarily

-catholics & left parties opposed intervention > wanted to prioritise domestic issues

Shift towards integration

-nationalist movement campaigned for it in favour of Entente Powers instead of Central Powers > could help Italy expand territory

-nationalists used press to popularise their views

-former socialist journalist Benito Mussolini + poet & nationalist Gabriele D’Annunzio vocal support

-police & military supported intervention, ecnouraging those demonstrations & breaking up arranged protests against it

Treaty of London 1915

-Antonio Salandra in favour of Entente Powers > can expand territory

-Entente promised more territory like Austrian lands in southern Tyrol than Austria-Hungary which declared wouldnt give Trentino

-treaty negotiated by Salandra & King Emmanuel III > parliament forced to accept it

-promises of territorial gains & share in any future war reparations

Military Stalemate

-italy underprepared for war: best soldiers in Libya, mobilisation of troops disorganised & shortages of arms + munitions

-general Cadorna pursued massed infantry attacks against entrenched positions > 1st 2 advances 1915, 62,000 men died & 170,000 injured with no notable change in military situation

Defeat at Caporetto October 1917

-Austrian & German forces suddenly attacked Caporetto

-shelled Italian artillery & used gas against opponents

-Italy’s response chaotic > 200,000 soldiers lost contact with regiments + thousands of troops streamed down from hills in confusion

-Cadorna blamed defeat on cowardice, executing several thousand soldiers > gov removed him, replacing with General Diaz

Socialist response to war

-opposed from start

-PSI committed to peace & gained supp from opposers of war

-still became involved in war: established local councils to organise rations & welfare + co-operatives to prevent profiteering

-trade unions helped safeguard jobs, wage rises & worker exemption from military service

-blamed for ‘sabotaging’ war effort

-Russian Revolution 1917 sparked more unrest- socialists used this as model to change Italy- appealed to workers but not army

War economy & cost of war

-by 1918, deficit in equipment & supplies made up, more cannons than Britain, created aircraft industry, fiat leading manufacturer of trucks & lorries in Europe

- ‘production at all costs’ - state bought whatever industry could produce at whatever price- industrialists celebrated & amassed huge personal fortunes

-workers placed under military discipline during war- couldnt change jobs or take strike action + working week increased > discontent increased support for socialists

-peasant soldiers promised granted land at end of war- did not materialise

Consequences of War Economy

-enormous gov budget deficit

-huge rise in national debt

-debts of more than 15 B lire to Britain & 8.5 B to USA

-inflation, large price rises & significant economic instability after gov printed out money

Diaz as General

-rations improved, troops given more days’ leave & servicemen’s association to look after welfare of troops & their families

-lost fewer men due to caution

-Oct 1918, italian army attacked Austro-Hungary forces near Caporetto

-Battle of Vittorio Veneto resulted in collapse of Austro-Hunagry front in Italy > italians took 500,000 prisoners of war causing Austrians to seek peace

Victory

-armistice signed Nov 1918

-italy lost approx 700,000 men & made enormous economic sacrifices

-gained territory, sense of unity & national pride … only short term

Italy & Peace Settlement 1919-20

-Italy gained Trentino, South Tyrol & Istria from Austria-Hungary

-gained part of Dalmatia & port of Trieste

-PM Orlando expected port of Fiume, whole of Dalmatia & other colonial teritories

-nationalists saw peace as betrayal of the country’s efforts, causing post-war instability

-named ‘mutilated victory’