Tag Archives: Italy

Matteotti Crisis

The murder of Giacomo Matteotti: a crisis for the Italian Fascists?

Giacomo Matteotti, an Italian socialist politician, was kidnapped and then murdered by members of the Fascist party on 10th June 1924.

The rise of Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini and the first Fascist cabinet in Italy

Mussolini, who was determined to restore the glory of the Roman Empire following the ‘mutilated victory’ of the First World War, had formed the precursor to the Fascist Party in 1919.

The Pazzi Conspiracy

26th April 1478: The Pazzi family launch their failed plot against the Medici family

The Pazzi family in Florence launched their unsuccessful plot to overthrow the Medici family with an assassination attempt against the brothers Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici.

The origins of Italian unification: 1815-1847

This revision podcast presents the background of Italian unification. Beginning with an overview of changes on the peninsula up to the late 18th Century, it firstly examines the impact of French rule under Napoleon.  The Congress of Vienna of 1815 ‘reset’ Italy, and so the podcast goes on to explore the differing opinions of how nationalism should be achieved.  There is some discussion of the failed revolutions of the 1820s and 1830s, as well as an introduction to the views of key personalities including Mazzini, Cavour and Pope Pius IX.

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Pope Pius IX

The election Pope Pius IX: a brief overview (podcast episode)

Born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, Pius IX’s election by the Papal conclave of 1846 came at a time of significant political unrest across Europe.

Flag of the Roman Republic

The Italian Revolutions of 1848-49

This IB and A Level History revision podcast looks at the causes and events of the revolutions of 1848-49 in the Italian states. Beginning with the impact of Pope Pius IX’s liberal experiment of 1846-47, it explores the development of the revolutions that followed, and which swept across the Italian states. The rise and fall of the Roman Republic is explained, before going on to assess the reasons for the ultimate failure of the revolutions.

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Cavour

Italy 1849-58: The emergence of Piedmont

This IB and A Level History revision podcast explores Piedmont before and after Cavour’s appointment as Prime Minister. Political aspects covered include the Statuto, the Siccardi Laws and the Connubio. Piedmont’s involvement in the Crimean War is also addressed, as well as Cavour’s relationship with Napoleon III. The podcast ends with a summary of the Plombieres agreement.

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Garibaldi and Victor Emanuel II

Garibaldi hands southern Italy to Victor Emanuel II

On the 26th October 1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi met with Victor Emanuel II, the King of Sardinia, at Teano and handed him control of southern Italy.

The League of Nations in the 1930s

This GCSE and IGCSE revision podcast focuses on the period following the Wall Street crash in 1929, when the world was plunged into a huge economic depression which ultimately led to strained relations between countries as they tried to survive at all costs.  While the 1920s saw presented a mix of both success and failure for the League of Nations, the 1930s arguably saw its complete collapse.

The first section of the podcast looks at the Manchurian Crisis.  Beginning with an explanation of its causes, the episode goes on to describe the League’s response and the effect that this had on the long-term reputation of the League.  This is followed by a brief description of the World Disarmament Conference of 1932-33.

The second part of the podcast focuses on the Abyssinia Crisis.  Again beginning with the causes of the crisis, the podcast then describes the League’s response.  Reference is made to the immensely damaging Hoare-Laval Pact, followed by an explanation of how the League’s failure to deal decisively with Mussolini’s aggression against Abyssinia rendered the League of Nations powerless to deal with Hitler’s subsequent aggression.

The major events of the 1930s for the League of Nations including the Manchuria Crisis, the World Disarmament Conference and the Abyssinia Crisis.

          

Wal-Wal Incident

The Wal-Wal incident between Italy and Abyssinia

On the 5th December 1934, the Wal-Wal Incident took place which laid the foundations for the Abyssinia Crisis.