Italy in the Early 20th Century: Facts

• Giolitti founded the bank of Italy (Banca Commerciale Italiana) in 1893
• Drew money from Austria + Germany
• Helped to cause investment in industry + technology

• Sidney Sonnino cut public spending + raised taxes on raw materials in the form of tariffs
• 25 lire / 1 pound
• encouraged investor confidence
• more investment in Iron + steel

• free from importing coal
• more sustainable
• Improve people's lives - 930,000 tons in 1913

Iron + steel industry grew
- Fiat establishing in Turin in 1901 expanding into other forms of vehicles by 1908

• Due to poor treatment in North and South
• Need reform

• more people/businesses attracted to Italian life

• most Italians poor, unsanitized and increasingly frustrated
• 25,000 died due to cholera between 1910 - 1911

• shows government is unstable and short lived
• politicians withdraw support of PM if offered a better deal - 'transformismo'

• election turnout poor
• 'Roman question' fears increased as Catholic church refuses to legitimise the unified nation

• Humiliation accentuated anger between political class
• 5,000 troops died
• Catalyst of mass protests

• Government crackdown on protests against political system
• Encouraged anarchism - KIng Umberto I killed 2 years later

• Gov encouraged development in Naples, S. Italy
• Failed: relied to heavily on emigration for S people to get good jobs

• fact to show how S. Italy was the one of the most impoverished area in Europe
• 1/2 of the population was illiterate also

• Impact from politicians not acting upon 'the southern question'
• Increased southern poverty as agriculture stagnated
• Due to more people moving to North (who could)

• shows that Italy had no strong military
• In a weak position to claim land

• worst defeat suffered by European power in Africa
• 5,000 troops killed
• Showed Italy was far from a great power, both in reality and perceived by it's citizens to be