Medieval
The Kingdom of Italy (Latin: RegnumItaliæ or RegnumItalicum) was under the control of the Carolingian dynasty of the Frankish kingdom after the Franks defeated the Lombards in 774 Of a political entity. Eventually the Kingdom of Italy was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 961.
The rule of the Lombard kingdom is relatively stable than the previous Eastern Gothic kingdom, but in 774, Charlemagne led the Franks to conquer the Lombard kingdom in the name of protecting Pope Hadrian I. Charlemagne maintained the form of the Kingdom of Lombard in Italy. In 781, Emperor Charlemagne named his second son Pepin the king of Italy to manage the newly conquered Lombard kingdom. From then on, Italy was related to the Carolingian family and blood. The family ruled until 961. In 961, Otto I entered Pavia, the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Later, Otto I proclaimed himself King of Italy. In 962, Otto I arrived in Rome and was crowned "Emperor of Rome" by the Pope, thus creating the Holy Roman Empire.
From 962 to the 11th century, northern and central Italy became part of the "Germanic Holy Roman Empire", while the southern part was the Byzantine territory. Until the 11th century, the Normans invaded southern Italy and established the two kingdoms of Sicily . In the 12th to 13th centuries, the rule of the Holy Roman Empire in Italy collapsed and split into many kingdoms, duchies, autonomous cities and small feudal territories.
In 951, King Otto I of Germany declared himself King of Italy after conquering Italy. After Pope John XII crowned Otto as the Holy Roman Emperor in St. Peter’s Basilica in 962, the Confederacy of the Kingdom of Germany and the Kingdom of Italy under his rule formed the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Iron Crown of Lombardy was Italy. The king's crown. After Charles IV identified the seven electors, the Holy Roman Emperor no longer went to Rome for coronation, and the Kingdom of Bohemia became the only remaining kingdom in the empire. The title of King of Italy was completely abandoned, and the Kingdom of Italy in the Middle Ages officially withdrew from the stage of history.
Napoleon period
In 1796, Napoleon led the French army to attack Northern Italy and destroyed the Duchy of Milan controlled by Austria. In 1798, the two republics merged to form the Cisalpine Republic (Cisalpine Republic), which was still the capital of Milan as a puppet state under the French First Republic. In 1802, it was renamed the Republic of Italy, with Napoleon himself as the head of state.
In 1805, it was transformed into the Kingdom of Italy (Regnod'Italia). As a puppet state under the French First Empire, Napoleon himself was the king. The scope included the northern and central eastern regions of Italy. The capital was located Milan. In the same year, after the great victory of the French Empire in Austerlitz, on December 27, the Peace of Presburg was signed with Austria. Austria ceded Venice to France, and Napoleon merged Venice into the Kingdom of Italy. In 1814, Napoleon announced his abdication, the first empire of France fell, and the Kingdom of Italy fell together.
Unification of Italy
At the subsequent Vienna Conference, the Lombardy-Venesia Kingdom was established in the original kingdom territory, and the Austrian emperor was still the king. In 1859, the bottom of Lombard was divided and given over to the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1866, the Ministry of Venice was divided and transferred to the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.
In the 1850s, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia Cavour actively promoted the "top-down" unification policy. Through the efforts of him and Garibaldi and others, the Kingdom of Sardinia was reformed in March 1861. The name is the Kingdom of Italy, and the capital is Florence. The Kingdom of Italy continues to seek unification. In 1866, Italy took the opportunity of the Austro-Prussian War to reclaim the Venice area. However, Rome and the nearby Papal States still ruled by the French army. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, Italy took the opportunity of Napoleon III's transfer to the French army stationed in Rome to launch an attack and occupied Rome on September 20. Italy merged with Rome, and Pope Pius IX had to retreat to the Vatican. So far, the great cause of unification of Italy was completed, which opened the way for the development of capitalism, but many remnants of feudalism still remained. In January 1871, the capital of the Kingdom of Italy moved from Florence to Rome.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China
After unification, Italy and the most free period of society had differences of opposing classes, different languages, and social conservative and patriarchal attitudes were also very popular. At the level of social strata, there are also many factors of instability. The aristocracy and the upper middle class are highly traditional, and the two have a history of fighting each other in the past.
In addition, literacy is a major issue of this era. According to the 1871 census, 61.9% of people are illiterate, and 75.7% of women in Italy are illiterate. The illiteracy rate is much higher than that of Western European countries at the same time. Some historians claimed that the government was very lenient about literacy at this time. The Italian government tried to reduce illiteracy during the period of freedom and taught Italian for the establishment of state-funded schools. The worst place for public education is in southern Italy, because it received the least funding at the time.
The standard of living is low. During the free period, especially in southern Italy, various diseases such as malaria and epidemics often break out. Initially in 1871, the high death rate of 30 deaths per 1,000 was reduced to 24.2 deaths per 1,000 in 1890. In addition, the mortality rate of children one year after birth was 22.7% in 1871, while the mortality rate of children before the age of five was very high, reaching 50%. From 1891 to 1900, the survival rate of children was 17.6 percent lower for every year of birth. Economy and Infrastructure
After the unification of Italy, the New Kingdom faced serious economic, political, and social problems. During the period of freedom, the Italian economy was still highly dependent on foreign trade and the international prices of coal and grain. After reunification, Italy has a society dominated by agriculture, with 60% of the population engaged in agricultural activities. With technological progress, foreign competition and rapid changes in export opportunities, agriculture has developed rapidly. However, these developments have not benefited all Italians. Southern Italy suffers from summer heat and drought, destroying crops. Italy is the largest exporter of wine in Europe.
The Italian government invested heavily in the development of railways in the 1870s, and from 1870 to 1890, the construction of more than twice the length of railways. The 1881 census found that more than 1 million workers were underemployed for a long time.
In 1900, a part of the Italian troops joined the Eight-Power Allied Forces to attack the Boxer Regiment in China. On June 7, 1902, the Qing concession ceded Tianjin to Italy.
World War I
In World War I, the Kingdom of Italy faced short-term and long-term problems and determined its allies and goals. In 1914, the First World War broke out. Although Italy officially joined the Allied Coalition, it only remained neutral, claiming that the Three-Power Alliance was only used for defensive purposes. Later, Italy, because Britain and France agreed to divide Fiume and Dalmatia after the war, they switched to the Allied powers and declared war on the Allied powers in May 1915.
After Italy entered the war, the number of men in the army along the border exceeded 400,000. However, Austria's defense is very strong, even if they are under-staffed, they still successfully blocked the Italian offensive. Compared with the Austro-Hungarian and German armies, the training of Italian officers is obviously inadequate. In addition, the supply of ammunition for the Italian troops is severely inadequate. This problem continues to hinder the occupation of Austrian territory. In the first year of the war, poor conditions on the battlefield led to an outbreak of cholera that killed a large number of Italian soldiers. The morale of the Italian soldiers is low. Even when they are on vacation, they are still barred from entering the cinema or bar. However, when the war was about to break out, alcohol was provided to the soldiers free of charge to ease tension. In order to maintain morale, the Italian army gave some lectures.
After 1916, the situation in Italy was even worse. At the same time, Italy is facing a shortage of warships, increased by submarine attacks, soaring freight, food supplies to soldiers, lack of raw materials and equipment, Italy maintains the war with high taxes. In 1917, France, Britain and the United States expressed their willingness to send troops to Italy to help resist the Allies, but the Italian government refused.
In 1917, Russia withdrew from the war due to the Russian Revolution. The Eastern Front war ended, and more Hungarian and German armies faced Italy head-on. Italy’s internal dissent against the war is increasing, the economy is bad, and the government uses a large amount of income from rural areas in order to maintain war funds, making it impossible for farmers to earn a living, and the number of agricultural jobs available has dropped from 4.8 million to 2.2 million. Left-wing women led protests in cities in northern Italy, demanding an end to the war. In Milan, the demonstrators protested. Eventually, the Italian army was forced to enter Milan and suppressed with tanks and machine guns. The suppression resulted in the deaths of nearly 50 people, including three Italian soldiers, and more than 800 people were arrested. With the end of the fighting in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and an armistice agreement with Italy on November 11, 1918, the First World War ended.
The rise of fascism
Before World War I, Mussolini opposed the conscription system and protested the Italian occupation of Libya. As time passed, he only called for revolution without mentioning class struggle. During the war, Mussolini was in the Italian army and was injured in a war. Although he claimed to have been injured in the battle, the cause of his injury is widely believed to be the accidental explosion of a grenade. In October 1922, Mussolini took advantage of the workers' strike and announced that he demanded that the Italian government be given fascist political power, otherwise a military coup would be launched. Since the government did not respond immediately, fascist supporters marched towards Rome, claiming that it was the fascist intending to restore Italian law and order. Under the leadership of fascism, Mussolini was appointed Prime Minister of Italy.
On October 28, 1922, Vittorio Emanuele III ordered Mussolini to become the Prime Minister of Italy, letting Mussolini’s Fascist party pursue its own political ambitions, as long as they Support the monarchy and interests. Mussolini is a very young political leader, becoming the 39-year-old Prime Minister of Italy.
Totalitarian society
In the culture and society of fascism, only fascism will be regarded as the "real Italy". Anyone who has not sworn allegiance to fascism will be exiled and cannot obtain employment. The propaganda method of the fascist regime is to deliberately endorse fascism in news films, radio, and movies. A bill passed in 1926 required movie theaters to show promotional news films. Mussolini used the Roman Catholic Church to stabilize the regime, even though he had opposed the church before.
Police State
For the sake of a safe system and complete state power, Mussolini established voluntary militias in 1923. They usually wear black uniforms. Mussolini advocated the fight against organized crime, especially in the Sicilian Mafia and other areas of southern Italy, where fascists had great powers. These powers enabled him to prosecute the mafia and force many mafia to flee abroad (e.g. United States) or arrested and imprisoned.
Statism
Statism is an ideology that advocates the use of state power to achieve economic or social goals. Due to the cohesion of national consciousness, a country believes that its national power is superior to other countries, and the main focus is on promoting its own culture and pursuing its own interests, rather than the culture and interests of other countries or supranational organizations. If it refers to a person's love for the country and dedication to the national interest, it is called "patriotism." Economic nationalism advocates that the state has a dominant and commanding position in economic operations. Its methods include direct participation through state-owned enterprises or other government agencies, or indirect realization through economic plans.
The two climaxes of nationalism are fascism with central planning (Nazi Germany) and communism (former Soviet Union), but they exist to varying degrees in countries all over the world. From the end of World War II to the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, many Western European countries adopted a mixed economic system (10-45% of public ownership). In Singapore, 60% of GDP comes from government-related enterprises.
World War II
In 1923, Italian soldiers occupied part of the Greek island of Corfu and eventually took over Greece. In 1936, the fascist regime in Spain made the most important pre-war military intervention. Italy supports the movement led by Franco. Italy sent aircraft, weapons, and a total force of more than 60,000 people to aid the Spanish nationalists. Italy invaded Albania on April 7, 1939, and occupied Albania after a quick battle.
When Germany gained power in 1933, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party), Mussolini said: "This victory, Hitler is our victory." Although the Nazis did not approve of Mussolini and Fascist Italy, Hitler had long admired Mussolini's eloquence and ability. Following the occupation of Ethiopia, Mussolini and Hitler attempted to improve relations between their respective countries, but private, personal and political tensions still existed. There are significant similarities between these two ideologies. Hitler and Mussolini met for the first time in June 1934 to discuss Austria’s independence crisis. In private, Mussolini said Hitler was just "a stupid little monkey."
On September 1, 1939, Germany began to invade Poland during World War II. Mussolini publicly announced on September 24 that Italy had the right to choose to enter the war or remain neutral, which would lead to The country loses its national dignity. Mussolini told his son-in-law that he was jealous of Hitler's achievements and hoped that Hitler's strength would slow the Allied counterattack. In formulating the war plan, Mussolini and the Italian fascist regime decided to annex most of Africa and the Middle East to include their colonies, but the commander of the army had warned that Italy lacked tanks, armored vehicles and aircraft to provide for long-term warfare, and warned Mussol Rini "This is suicide" In the end, Mussolini took a suggestion, to a certain extent, waiting for Germany to invade France before deciding to participate in the war. As Germany defeated France in a blitzkrieg, Italy declared war on France. In 1940, the British Royal Navy suddenly launched an air strike against Italy, which weakened Italy’s main warships. But it did not cause serious damage to Italy. In December 1941, Italian divers planted bombs and successfully sank two British battleships. In 1942, the Italian Navy severely attacked the British escort formation, which caused the British navy to sink many ships. Over time, the Allied navy began to counterattack and took away Italy's superiority.
By 1943, Mussolini had lost the support of the Italian government and people. For the world, Mussolini was regarded as his country’s incapable and untrained army failed in the battle. . The embarrassed Mussolini was deprived of power by the king. Fascist members voted to abolish Mussolini as the leader of the party. A few days later, on July 26, 1943, Vittorio Emanuele III formally cancelled the position of Prime Minister of Mussolini, and Mussolini was immediately arrested. Italy signed an armistice agreement, and then with the same