The class system

Question 1

Describe the peasantry

Answer 1

• Priorites their own survival over the political shape of the nation
• Lack of education
• Inability to communicate with one another, as there was no common Italian language
• They tended to resist political change as they feared it would only make matters worse
• United Italy had only really meant conscription and higher taxes on basics

Question 2

Describe the agricultural workers?

Answer 2

• Agriculture strikes reached a peak of 8,000 in 1885
• They were low down in society as their wealth and wellbeing was entirely dependent upon a good harvest
• Mezzogiornio made agriculture untennable in the south
• They went on strike in an attempt to be granted shorter hours by their noble superiors
• Only 16% of agricultural strikes actually worked

Question 3

Describe the brigand class

Answer 3

• Dominated mainland southern Italy in the 1860’s
• Posed as defenders of the peasnats against gentry and state
• In reality, they look out for themselves and pursued power
• They portrayed state intervention as a war on the people in order to encourage support for their cause

Question 4

Describe industrial workers

Answer 4

• Wanted to achieve a reduction in hours through strikes
• Many of them were children working long hours
• Their riots were an indicator of what the government could and could not get away with
• There riots included phrases like ‘long live the pope’ and ‘we want the old laws’
• Riots were often ineffective, as troops were usually able to restore order

Question 5

Describe the petty bourgeois class

Answer 5

• Composed of small landowners, shopkeepers and the dependent middle classes
• They wished to move up the social ladder. They saw the power possessed by those above them and wanted a slice

Question 6

Describe the white collar workers

Answer 6

• 200,000 people
• Doctors/lawyers etc.
• They would often inherit their father’s wealth and property in their 40s
• Aspired for political power, land and status but weren’t there yet
• Industry didn’t have a direct impact on them as they had the stable income that came with a job that would seemingly always be required

Question 7

Describe the aristocracy

Answer 7

• Composed of princes, dukes and marquises
• 7387 families
• Old money families
• Wanted to stop the decline in their economic power. They therefore feared the challenge presented by parliament and industry

Question 8

Describe the nobility

Answer 8

• Inherited their titles and land
• Owned 1/3 of the cultivated land in Lombardy
• They wanted middle class ambition to be quashed, as they didn’t like the challenge to their status
• Also wanted their agricultural workers to stop striking