A comprehensive set of notes for the AQA A-Level 2L Italy and Fascism, c1900–1945 course. Covers the Crisis of Liberal Italy, c..
Includes: the political, economic and social condition of Italy c1900, the political system and Giolittianism and foreign policies.
The Crisis of Liberal Italy, c1900-1915
The political, economic and social condition of Italy c1900
Unification
The unification of Italy, also known as risorgimento was the 19th century political and social
movement which resulted in the consolidation of different Italian states into a single state, the
Kingdom of Italy (declared in 1861), which was officially completed in 1871, following the capture of
Rome.
Cavour, the Prime Minister of Piedmont (Northern Italy) was one of the key figures in the unification,
expelling Austria with the help of Emperor Napoleon III of France. He had not been attempting to
create a unified state, but rather an enlarged state in the North.
Garibaldi, a radical nationalist, organised marches of Rome in 1860, 1862 and 1867 but failed. He
joined the peasant revolt in Sicily, conquering Sicily as well as Naples.
In 1870, Prussia defeated France, which withdrew its forces from Rome, allowing Italians to finally
take control of the city.
Uniform and centralised government
Italy became a constitutional monarchy.
The hereditary monarch had the right to summon/dissolve parliament and appoint/dismiss ministers.
King Victor Emmanuel II was the first King of unified Italy (although he kept his House of Savoy
title; his son, did not keep the title and thus saw himself as the first true King of Italy).
Italy’s constitution – the Statuto Albertino – gave legislative powers to an elected assembly, set out
the powers of the King (such appointing state officials and signing bills into law) and guaranteed
basic individual freedoms. For this reason, Italy could be described as liberal.
Parliament consisted of two chambers, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the more important
of the two as it contained elected representatives.
Centeral government appointed prefects, who ran the provinces, helping to guarantee the political and
constitutional unity of Italy.
‘Real’ and ‘legal’ Italy
Unification was achieved in Piedmont’s interests. Most national and regional officials were appointed
by Piedmont and thus the South was effectively run by the North.
The Liberals favoured Transformismo as a method of forming governments. Politicians did deals
amongst themselves, such as offering certain positions/favours, to win support, creating factions and
instability in government (between 1870-1915 Italy had 23 different governments).
Politicians did not reflect national interests. For ordinary Italians, Italy was not their country but a
power that forced to pay taxes and do military service.
Italy’s politicians were from an ‘educated ruling class’ (Clark) and many rural areas were represented
by educated men from cities who had little knowledge and little regard or the interests of their
constituents.
Corruption was widespread. For example, this was shown by the 1893 Banca Romana Scandal. Whist
the country was suffering from a recession, it was discovered that the Banca Romana had illegally
issued 60 million lire, making it available as interest free loans to leading politicians, including Crispi
and Giolitti.
To begin with, only 2% of the population had the vote. This was raised to 25% of all males (7% of the
population) in 1882, with the reduction of the amount of property and level of education required to
qualify to vote and a decrease of the minimum age.
, The North/South divide
By the 20th century, industry in the South, which had once been the ‘grain basket’ of Europe was
seriously struggling: soil was exhausted and the area was dominated by large and inefficient
latifundia (noble estates). The North, on the other hand, had a much more temperate climate and was
fed by the Po River, resulting in a sharp increase in commercial farming. Milan, Turin and Genoa
became industrial engineering centres. Subsequently, industry in the North developed much faster,
creating a deep economic divide.
The abolishment of internal tariffs and the establishment of a single Italian market further damaged
Southern industry, which was unable to compete with the more advanced industrial North.
Taxes were imposed uniformly throughout Italy; however, most tax revenues were spent in the North,
which contained the majority of schools, military installations and shipyards.
Subsequently, the South lacked infrastructure: the North had 1370km of railway, whereas the South
had 100km. 90% of the South had no roads.
Moreover, the North had better access to education: 68% of the North was illiterate, whereas 87% of
the South was. This meant the South had less of a voice when it came to elections, as even after the
1882 Electoral Law, one was still required to be literate in order to vote.
The Catholic Church
Having lost the Papal States during the Unification, the Pope denounced the new Italian state. In
1874, he instructed Catholics not to participate in the new state, a message reinforced by priests and
bishops, who very influential amongst the peasantry.
The Pope excommunicated the leaders of the nation, including King Victor Emmanuel II.
In 1876, the Opera dei Congressi was created. This was a national Catholic movement, which
campaigned for the re-conquest of Italian society. It had a national appeal; by 1897, it had
incorporated 24 daily newspapers and 688 workers’ associations.
By the 1904 election, ‘non expedit’ was relaxed, allowing Catholics to vote in elections if it
prevented a socialist candidate being elected.
The economy
Large debts incurred by the Wars of Unification led to a significant rise in taxation. By 1900, Italians
were the most highly taxed people in Europe. For example, in 1868 the grist tax was placed on milled
corn, forcing an increase in bread prices, which made starvation a reality for many Italians.
In 1888, the French imposed discriminatory tariffs on Italian goods, in response to Crispi’s increase
in tariffs, an attempt to protect Italian industry against cheaper the import of cheaper foreign goods.
The ‘Tariff War’ (1888-90) triggered an economic recession: wheat prices fell by 13% (1887-94) and
wine exports dropped from 2.25 million hectolitres/year to 1 million hectolitres/year. A drastic fall in
already meagre incomes, pushed many peasants to move to towns or even emigrate (the number of
Italians emigrating rose from 992,000 (1881-90) to 1,580,000 (1891-1900)). The French also
withdrew their money from Italian banks, resulting in the failing of two large banks in 1893, which
led to the loss of 100,000 lire in savings.
The economy did develop ecspecially in the North, particularly towards the end of the 19 th century.
However, Italy did not develop as quickly as the rest of Europe. Between 1860-96, Italian wealth per
capita increased by 4%, which is insignificant when compared to 40-50% increase seen in France,
Germany and Spain.
Social developments
Education improved. The literacy of 15–19-year-olds, rose from 27% (1861), to 45% (1881) and 62%
(1901). In 1877, the Coppino Law (which aimed to make education compulsory for children between
6-9 years old) was passed, however, lack of teachers and facilities made this impossible to enforce.
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