The 1904 Italian

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

occurred in September 1904, marking the first general strike ever in Italy. The strike was called by the Chambers of Labor in several cities in response to several killings of striking workers, culminating in the shooting of a miner in

Buggerru Buggerru is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari and about northwest of Carbonia. Derek Jarman's 1976 film ''Sebastiane ''Sebastiane'' is a 1976 La ...

, Sardinia. Participation was strongest in the north and the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

. The government headed by Prime Minister

Giovanni Giolitti Giovanni Giolitti (; 27 October 1842 – 17 July 1928) was an Italian statesman. He was the Prime Minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921. After Benito Mussolini, he is the second-longest serving Prime Minister in Italian history. A pr ...

ordered local authorities to intervene as little as possible, predicting that the strike would die down on its own, which it did. Nevertheless, it shook public confidence in the strength of the state and the middle class's support for Giolitti.Clark 1984, pg. 173–174 The country would experience many general strikes in the years following 1904, with additional general strikes in 1905, 1906, 1909, 1911, and 1914.

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