ITALY (1900-1945) – ENTIRE COURSE
Contents
1. Crisis of Liberal Italy (page 2)
2. The collapse of Liberal Italy (page 7)
3. Establishment of Fascist Italy (page 14)
4. Life in Fascist Italy (page 19)
5. The Fascist Political System (page 27)
6. Fascist Economy (page 31)
7. Fascist Foreign Policy (page 37)
8. WW2 and the fall of Fascism (page 44)
1
,Problems of liberal Italy in 1900
Timeline
1861: formation of independent Italy
1871: official ‘new Italy’
1904: general strike
1911 (Sep): Italy invades Libya
1914 (Jun): ‘Red week’
1915 (May): signing of Treaty of London
Risorgimento:
Cavour (PM of Piedmont) wanted an independent state in Northern and Central Italy (not to
include poor south)
o Did a deal with Napoleon III to expel Austria from some Italian-speaking lands
o Italy gained Solferino, Magenta, Lombardy, and other states
o Austria kept Venetia
Garibaldi: radical nationalist
o Popular with masses
o Joined a peasant revolt in Sicily and Naples
Cavour took troops to Papal States to link up and Garibaldi handed over his territory
Victor Emmanuel II: King of New Italy
1861: new Italy proclaimed
1866: Italy and Prussia fight Austria, Venetia handed to Italy // Pope still rules Rome and is
protected by French troops
1871: Prussia wins against France, who withdraw from Rome, which becomes capital and
signifies complete unification
Effects of unification:
Masses not given voice at first, so failed to identify with the new state:
o 1871 = 2% males could vote, 1882 = 25% males, 1912 = most adult males
1890s: economic depression, Banca Romana caused inflation as had printed around 60 million
lire in new notes and had lent large sums to leading politicians (Giolitti had taken around 60
thousand lire, when avg. income of Italian person was around 2000 lire p.a.)
1897: poor harvests + high prices of food = street demonstrations around the country -> arrest
of socialist newspaper sellers in Milan led to widespread rioting -> army brought in and killed
around 200 people -> opposition simply went underground and liberal government lost a lot of
support
Governments were weak, MPs formed governments by competing for support with other
deputies, often done through corrupt practices meaning frequent change as allegiances
changed
o Avg. length of government was 1.8 years
Unification was dominated by the elite who were not committed to social reform
o It was never originally planned to include the poor south so it was neglected
The Pope was hostile and ensured Catholics would not be in the new state
Large debts that had built up from unification meant high taxes were imposed and no money
for social reform
Italy had been defeated by Austria in 1866 and had to rely on Prussia and France
2
, o Thus giving Italy a national inferiority complex and desire to prove itself
The Terra Irredenta
o Austria still controlled some Italian lands (Irredenta)
o Originally only focused on land with an Italian speaking population in Austrian empire
o Later became term to designate other surrounding foreign territories which Italy
believed it had a claim to
People expected the new Italy to make social reforms and become a great country, but were
neglected, leading to developments of:
Socialism:
o Developed in the north of Italy due to development in industry, trade unions and
organisations
o CGL (syndicalist): industrial wing, wanted unions to organise strikes and overthrow the
system
o PSI (radicals) (formed in 1895): won 20% vote pre-WW1 election, wanted to achieve
total socialist state // 1897: had 27,000 members and ran own newspaper Avanti!
1900: gained 200,000 votes and 32 seats in chamber of deputies
Wanted to fight for women’s rights and an 8 hour working day
o Socialists did not believe in war as it would do nothing but harm the working class who
would be the ones fighting
o 1891: Lawyer named Turati organised Italian Workers’ Congress in Milan (first decided
attempt at single, united socialist party)
Nationalism:
o Painters, journalists, poets = wanted a more vigorous authoritarian state
o Futurists: a group of people against the liberal view; strong supporters of nationalism;
wanted to build an empire promoting violence, action, and conflict along with a roaring
motor car = RADICAL CHANGE AND WAR
o 1896 = suffered humiliating defeat at Adowa (1889 Italy had rightful use of Abyssinian
port of Massawa, but their 1895 conquest of Eritrea alienated Abyssinians and led to
humiliating loss of 5000 men)
o Crispi had tried to make Italy a great power
o Triple Alliance: signed in 1882 between Germany, Austria, and Italy (opposed Entente)
o Catholicism:
o Pre-unification the pope had control over much of central Italy – the Papal States, but
now only left with control of the Vatican
o Pope ordered Catholics to shun politics and elections, millions obeyed which left a whole
generation ignorant of politics
o Pope banned Catholics from involvement in politics in 1871
o 1890s: ban lifted due to socialist threat
o 1909: Pope permitted Catholics to have full involvement in politics (run for elections
etc.)
o Always feared a catholic party as the leader could rival his influence
North/South divide
South:
3
, Very poor, 0.1% (Agrari) owned 50% land (only land suitable for farming so had control over
masses (latifunda)
4/5 illiterate
Disease and early death common
People beginning to rebel; e.g. 1894: fasci rioted so badly it put Sicily under military siege
(40,000 soldiers deployed)
Southern traditional silk industry soon wiped out by more efficient manufacturers in North
Roads and train lines had never been put in in attempt to prevent radical left from spreading to
south
Mass deforestation in 1800s led to malaria crises
North:
North had some iron and steel concerns, but development hindered by lack of coal and iron ore
Appeared prosperous
With industry came slums
Fighting over wages/working conditions meant parties like the socialists grew as did discontent
and violence in towns and cities
o Fiat (exported 4000 cars a year in 1913)
o Hydro-electric dams in Alps
o North industry towns/cities booming (Milan/Turin/Genoa)
Italy itself very poor:
57% population was rural, and 50% population were farmers, 68% dependent on land for at
least part of their livelihood
Places like America promised much more out of life, so many emigrated
Prior to 1860, Italy was made up of 8 separate states, each with its own ruler, system, and
dialect
Most Italians only felt loyalty to their region or town
Mountain ranges and islands made communication difficult
Agriculture methods used new machinery but productivity much lower than other European
levels
Large industrial working class, sizeable lower-middle class, powerful class of rich industrialists
and bankers
Only about 2% of the population spoke ‘Italian’ (local dialect of Tuscany)
Most enterprises small scale, centring around workshops and skilled craftsmen
Politics
Corrupt and inefficient
Wanted reforms such as:
o State education (break up catholic influence)
o Stimulate economic development and progress)
Trasformismo: MPs fought amongst each other and used bribery to get their way, forming weak
coalitions which often collapsed
Liberals split up into progressives and conservatives, who were united in distrusting:
o The masses, who played little part in struggle for unification
o Influence of socialists, anarchists, and republicans on the left
o The catholic church on the right
o All of these opposed to new Italian state so liberals determined to keep politics under
their firm control until old, internal rivalries overcome and they were secure
4
