Italy 1870 - 1914

The North
Rich Contained commercial farms More industry

The South
Poor soil Natural Disasters

This all lead to the economic and social backwardness of the south.

Peasants lacking land and capital

Powerful clans and mafia

High unemployment rate

Economic Difficulties
1880s Italian industry was undercut by foreigners 1887 Government responded by introducing tariffs

This lead to a tariff war

Whole areas of Italy were ruined

More Problems
Leagues that supported socialist ideas were formed: Fasci Inflation Strikes, riots and arson broke out 1894, the Fasci were banned and a thousand people deported

1898, political parties and organisations considered subversive were banned

Economic development
So were there any economic developments between 1880-1914?
b

Italy was lacking basic resources e.g. coal and iron.

a

Industrialisation in the North worsened the North-South divide.

a

High taxes on the poor The only positive point was the industrial development in the North after 1900.

Economic development

Illiteracy fell from 42% to 11%

Impact on Italy
Ultimately, the economic problems mentioned made it more difficult for the Italian government to unify Italy. Overall, from 1880 to the 1900s, Italys economy lagged behind other European countries due to her limited key resources and the various problems previously mentioned.

Presentation by:

Natalie Chiu John Lee Lawrence Chow Helen Yeh