Italian Empire Impero italiano (Italian) | |
|---|---|
| 1882–1960 | |
.svg) The Italian empire at greatest extent, c. 1942. Kingdom of Italy Colonies and Possessions of Italy Protectorates and WWII-occupied territories (not all held at once) | |
| Status | Colonial empire |
| Capital | Rome |
| Official languages | Italian |
| Common languages | Somali,Amharic,Tigrinya,Oromo,Afar,Arabic,Albanian,Greek |
| Government | Monarchy (until 1946) Republic (after 1946) |
| King | |
• 1869–1878 | Victor Emmanuel II |
• 1878–1900 | Umberto I |
• 1900–1946 | Victor Emmanuel III |
• 1946 | Umberto II |
| History | |
| 1869 | |
| 1882 | |
| 1887–1889 | |
| 1889 | |
| 1899–1901 | |
| 1911–1912 | |
| 1923–1932 | |
| 1935–1937 | |
| 1939–1943 | |
| 1940–1941 | |
| 1940–1943 | |
| 1947 | |
| 1950–1960 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,775,294 km2 (1,457,649 sq mi) |
| 1938[1] | 3,798,000 km2 (1,466,000 sq mi) |
| 1941[2] | 3,824,879 km2 (1,476,794 sq mi) |
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TheItalian colonial empire (Italian:Impero coloniale italiano), also known as theItalian Empire (Impero italiano) between 1936 and 1941, was founded in Africa in the 19th century. It comprised thecolonies,protectorates,concessions anddependencies of theKingdom of Italy. In Africa, the colonial empire included the territories of present-dayLibya,Eritrea,Somalia andEthiopia (the last three being officially named "Africa Orientale Italiana", AOI); outside Africa, Italy possessed theDodecanese Islands (following theItalo-Turkish War),Albania (initially aprotectorate, then inpersonal union from 1939 to 1943)[3] and also had someconcessions in China.
TheFascist government that came to power under the leadership of the dictatorBenito Mussolini after 1922sought to increase the size of the Italian empire and it also sought to satisfy the claims ofItalian irredentists. Systematic "demographic colonization" was encouraged by the government,[4] and by 1939, Italian settlers numbered 120,000[5]–150,000[6] in Italian Libya and 165,000[5] inItalian East Africa.
DuringWorld War II, Italy allied itself withNazi Germany in 1940 and it also occupiedBritish Somaliland, westernEgypt, much ofYugoslavia, Tunisia, parts of south-easternFrance and most ofGreece; however, it then lost those conquests and its African colonies to the invading Allied forces by 1943. In 1947, Italy officially relinquished claims on its former colonies. In 1950, formerItalian Somaliland, then under British administration, was turned into theTrust Territory of Somaliland until it became independent in 1960.
Imperialism in Italy dates back toancient Rome, and the Latin notion ofmare nostrum ("Our Sea", referring to the Mediterranean) has historically been the basis forItalian imperialism, especially during the fascist era.[7] During the Middle Ages and the modern period, theRepublic of Venice and theRepublic of Genoa controlled networks of "colonies" in the Mediterranean region known as theVenetian Empire and theGenoese Empire respectively. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, Italian explorers contributed to the colonial enterprises of other European countries in the Americas:Cristopher Columbus from Genoa served Spain,Amerigo Vespucci from Florence served Portugal, theCabot brothers fromVenice servedEngland, andGiovanni da Verrazzano from Florence served France. However, no Italian power took an active role in the scramble for the Americas, with the notable exception of the Pope who acted as an arbiter between European colonial powers during theRenaissance. The geographical position of Italy, located in the center of an internal sea, without an open free access to the ocean, contributed to this purely Mediterranean policy.Ferdinand I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, made the only Italian attempt to create a colony in the Americas, in what is nowFrench Guiana, organizing in 1608 anexpedition to explore the north ofBrazil and the Amazon river in 1608 under the command of the English captainRobert Thornton. However, Thornton, on his return from the preparatory expedition in 1609, found Ferdinand I dead and his successor,Cosimo II, was not interested in the project. In 1651,Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, Italian nobleman and Grand Master of theKnights Hospitaller of Malta (at the time a vassal state of theKingdom of Sicily), possessed fourCaribbean islands:Saint Christopher,Saint Martin,Saint Barthélemy, andSaint Croix, which werecolonized from 1651 until 1665.[8][9] No other colonial attempt in the ocean was made and, by 1797, the Venetian and Genoese possessions in the Mediterranean were lost.
Once unified as a nation-state in the late 19th century, Italy intended to compete with the other European powers for the new age of European colonial expansion. It saw its interests in the Mediterranean and in theHorn of Africa, a region yet to be colonized and with access to the ocean. Italy had arrived late to the colonial race and its status as theleast of the Great Powers, a position of relative weakness in international affairs, meant that it was dependent on the acquiescence of Britain, France and Germany towards its empire-building.[10]
Italy had long considered theOttoman province of Tunisia, where a large community ofTunisian Italians lived, within its economic sphere of influence. It did not consider annexing it until 1879, when it became apparent that Britain and Germany were encouraging France to add it to its colonial holdings inNorth Africa.[11] A last-minute offer by Italy to shareTunisia between the two countries was refused, and France, confident in German support, ordered its troops in fromFrench Algeria, imposing a protectorate over Tunisia in May 1881 under theTreaty of Bardo.[12] The shock of the "Slap of Tunis", as it was referred to in the Italian press, and the sense of Italy's isolation in Europe, led it into signing theTriple Alliance in 1882 with Germany andAustria-Hungary.[13]
While attempts were made to buy theNicobar Islands fromDenmark in 1864 and 1865,[14] the genesis of the Italian colonial empire was the purchase in 1869 ofAssab Bay on theRed Sea by an Italian navigation company which intended to establish a coaling station at the time theSuez Canal was being opened to navigation.[15] This was taken over by the Italian government in 1882, becoming modern Italy's first overseas territory.[16]
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Italy's search for colonies continued until February1885, when, by secret agreement with Britain, it annexed the port ofMassawa inEritrea on theRed Sea from the crumblingEgyptian Empire. Italian annexation of Massawa denied theEthiopian Empire ofYohannes IV an outlet to the sea.[17] This ledRas Alula to unsuccessfullybesiege the Italian possession of Saati. He then ambushed and killed five hundred Italian troops at theBattle of Dogali.[18] This caused the Italian government to send reinforcements, which occupied theEritrean highlands, includingKeren andAsmara in 1889. The Italian Prime MinisterFrancesco Crispi, who coveted Ethiopia itself, signed theTreaty of Wuchale in 1889 withMenelik II, the new emperor. This treaty ceded Ethiopian territory around Massawa to Italy to form the colony ofItalian Eritrea, and – at least, according to the Italian version of the treaty – made Ethiopia an Italianprotectorate.[19] Relations between Italy and Menelik deteriorated over the next few years until theFirst Italo-Ethiopian War broke out in 1895, when Crispi ordered Italian troops into the country. Vastly outnumbered and poorly equipped,[20] the result was a decisive defeat for Italy at the hands of Ethiopian forces at theBattle of Adwa in 1896.[21] On Italy's side, the death toll was 6,889, including 4,133 Italians.[22] The Ethiopians suffered at least 4,000 dead and 10,000 wounded.[22][a]
Around the same time, Italy occupied territory on the south side of thehorn of Africa, forming what would becomeItalian Somaliland.[23] Italy also fought in theMahdist War, and since 1890 it defeated Mahdist troops in theBattle of Serobeti and theFirst Battle of Agordat. In December 1893, Italian colonial troops and Mahdists fought again in theSecond Battle of Agordat; Ahmed Ali campaigned against the Italian forces in eastern Sudan and led about 10–12,000 men east fromKassala, encountering 2,400 Italians and theirEritrean Ascaris commanded by Colonel Arimondi. The Italians won again, and the outcome of the battle constituted "the first decisive victory yet won by Europeans against the Sudanese revolutionaries".[24][page needed] A year later, Italian colonial forces seized Kassala after the successfulBattle of Kassala; Italy returned the city to the British at the end of the war three years later.
In 1898, in the wake of the acquisition ofleased territories by Germany,Russia,Britain andFrance in China earlier that year, the Italian government, as a matter of national prestige and to assert Italy's great power status, demanded the cession ofSanmen Bay to serve as a coaling station. Aware that Italy did not have sufficient naval power in Asian waters to back up its demand, the Chinese imperial government rejected theultimatum and all subsequent requests, arguing that Italy had no real political or economic interests in China. Italy's main newspaper considered this a national humiliation and claimed it made the country appear "like a third or fourth-rate power", provoking the fall of the Italian government. This prompted Italy to take part inthe international expedition in Beijing at the outbreak of theBoxer Rebellion the following year, and resulted in the acquisition of aconcession in Tianjin in 1901, the only example of Italian colonialism in Asia, and other minor concessions, these not administrated by the Italian government.[25][26] The concession was administered by the Italian consul inTianjin.
A wave ofnationalism that swept Italy at the turn of the 20th century led to the founding of theItalian Nationalist Association, which pressed for the expansion of Italy's empire. Newspapers were filled with talk of revenge for the humiliations suffered in Ethiopia at the end of the previous century, and of nostalgia for theRoman era.
Libya, it was suggested, as an ex-Roman colony, should be "taken back" to provide a solution to the problems ofSouthern Italy's population growth. Fearful of being excluded altogether from North Africa by Britain and France, and mindful of public opinion, Prime MinisterGiovanni Giolitti ordered the declaration of war on theOttoman Empire, of which Libya was part, in October 1911.[27]
As a result of theItalo-Turkish War, Italy gainedLibya (then divided in the colonies ofTripolitania andCyrenaica) theDodecanese Islands from the Ottoman Empire.
The 1912 Libya desert war featured the first use of an armoured fighting vehicle in military history and marked the first significant employment of air power in warfare.[28][b]
A significant number ofItalian settlers moved toTripolitania andCyrenaica, and Italian presence was still felt long after the decolonisation process began. Although native resistance to the Italian colonisers was less prevalent in Tripolitania than Cyrenaica (which waged significant guerilla warfare), a resistance group did form the short-livedTripolitanian Republic in 1918. Although it didn't succeed in setting up a republic, it demonstrated attempts to resist colonial control. The Italian colonisers set up various infrastructure projects, most notably roads andrailways.Archeology was another important feature of the Italian presence in Tripolitania, as they focused efforts in excavations in old Roman cities.
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In 1914 Italy remained neutral and did not join its ally Germany inWorld War I. The Allies made promises and in 1915Italy joined them. It was promisedterritorial spoils mainly from Austria and Turkey.[29]
Prior to direct intervention in World War I, in December 1914, Italy occupied the Albanian port ofVlorë and theSazan Island in front of it.[3] From 1916 to 1918, Italians conducted a campaign in Albania against Austrian forces (who had occupied Northern and Central Albania in pursuing the forces ofSerbia andMontenegro). In the fall of 1916, Italy started to occupy southernAlbania.[3] In 1916, Italian forces recruited Albanian irregulars to serve alongside them.[3] Italy, with permission of the Allied command, occupiedNorthern Epirus on 23 August 1916, forcing the neutralist Greek Army to withdraw its occupation forces from there.[3] In June 1917, generalGiacinto Ferrero proclaimed the Italian-controlled territory in Albania to be independent under Italian protection.[3] By 31 October 1918, French and Italian forces expelled the Austro-Hungarian Army from Albania.[3] However, in 1920, anAlbanian rebellion led the Italians to agree to return the occupied bay of Vlorë to Albania, while they annexedSazan Island to the Italian kingdom.
Dalmatia was a strategic region during World War I that both Italy and Serbia intended to seize from Austria-Hungary. The Treaty of London guaranteed Italy the right to annex a large portion of Dalmatia in exchange for Italy's participation on the Allied side. From 5–6 November 1918, Italian forces were reported to have reachedLissa,Lagosta,Sebenico, and other localities on the Dalmatian coast.[30] By the end of hostilities in November 1918, the Italian military had seized control of the entire portion of Dalmatia that had been guaranteed to Italy by the Treaty of London and by 17 November had seized Fiume as well.[31] In 1918, AdmiralEnrico Millo declared himself Italy's Governor of Dalmatia.[31] Famous Italian nationalistGabriele D'Annunzio supported the seizure of Dalmatia, and proceeded toZara (today's Zadar) in an Italian warship in December 1918.[32]
At the concludingTreaty of Versailles in 1919, Italy received less in Europe than had been promised and none overseas mandate except for a promise of colonial compensations made on 7 May 1919 during the partition of Germany's colonies between France and Britain. To satisfy this promise, France and Britain directly or indirectly gave Italy, from 1919 to 1935, a number of territories to expand Libya (Cufra, Sarra, Giarabub, the Aouzou strip, other lands in the Sahara), Somalia (Jubaland), the Dodecanese (Kastellorizo), and Eritrea (Raheita, the Hanish islands). In April 1920, it was agreed between the British and Italian foreign ministers thatJubaland would be Italy's first compensation from Britain, but London held back on the deal for several years, aiming to use it as leverage to force Italy to cede theDodecanese to Greece.[33]
In 1922, the leader of theItalian fascist movement,Benito Mussolini, became Prime Minister and dictator. Mussolini resolved the question of sovereignty over theDodecanese at the 1923Treaty of Lausanne, which formalized Italian administration of both Libya and the Dodecanese Islands, in return for a payment to Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, though he failed in an attempt to extract a mandate of a portion of Iraq from Britain.
The month following the ratification of the Lausanne treaty, Mussolini ordered the invasion of the Greek island ofCorfu after theCorfu incident. The Italian press supported the move, noting that Corfu had been aVenetian possession for four hundred years. The matter was taken by Greece to theLeague of Nations, where Mussolini was convinced by Britain to evacuate Italian troops, in return for reparations from Greece. The confrontation led Britain and Italy to resolve the question of Jubaland in 1924, which was merged intoItalian Somaliland.[34]
During the late 1920s, imperial expansion became an increasingly favoured theme in Mussolini's speeches.[35] Amongst Mussolini's aims were that Italy had to become the dominant power in the Mediterranean that would be able to challenge France or Britain, as well as attain access to theAtlantic andIndian Oceans.[35] Mussolini alleged that Italy required uncontested access to the world's oceans and shipping lanes to ensure its national sovereignty.[36] This was elaborated on in a document he later drew up in 1939 called "The March to the Oceans", and included in the official records of a meeting of theGrand Council of Fascism.[36] This text asserted that maritime position determined a nation's independence: countries with free access to the high seas were independent; while those who lacked this, were not. Italy, which only had access to an inland sea without French and British acquiescence, was only a "semi-independent nation", and alleged to be a "prisoner in the Mediterranean":[36]
The bars of this prison areCorsica,Tunisia,Malta, andCyprus. The guards of this prison areGibraltar andSuez. Corsica is a pistol pointed at the heart of Italy; Tunisia at Sicily. Malta and Cyprus constitute a threat to all our positions in the eastern and western Mediterranean. Greece, Turkey, andEgypt have been ready to form a chain with Great Britain and to complete the politico-military encirclement of Italy. Thus Greece, Turkey, and Egypt must be considered vital enemies of Italy's expansion ... The aim of Italian policy, which cannot have, and does not have continental objectives of a European territorial nature except Albania, is first of all to break the bars of this prison ... Once the bars are broken, Italian policy can only have one motto – to march to the oceans.
— Benito Mussolini, The March to the Oceans[36]
In theBalkans, the Fascist regime claimedDalmatia and held ambitions overAlbania,Slovenia,Croatia,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Vardar Macedonia, andGreece based on the precedent of previous Roman dominance in these regions.[37] Dalmatia and Slovenia were to be directly annexed into Italy while the remainder of the Balkans was to be transformed into Italian client states.[38] The regime also sought to establish protective patron-client relationships withAustria,Hungary,Yugoslavia,Romania, andBulgaria.[37]
In both 1932 and 1935, Italy demanded aLeague of Nations mandate of the formerGerman Cameroon and a free hand in Ethiopia from France in return for Italian support against Germany (seeStresa Front).[39] This was refused by French Prime MinisterÉdouard Herriot, who was not yet sufficiently worried about the prospect of a German resurgence.[39]
In itssecond invasion of Ethiopia in 1935–36, Italy was successful and it merged itsnew conquest with its older east African colonies to createItalian East Africa (Italian:Africa Orientale Italiana). On 9 May 1936 Mussolini proclaimed the establishment of the Italian Empire in East Africa ("l'Impero"), withKing Victor Emmanuel III as Emperor of Ethiopia.[40] In 1939,Italy invaded Albania andincorporated it into theFascist state. During theSecond World War (1939–1945), Italyoccupied British Somaliland,parts of south-eastern France, westernEgypt andmost of Greece, but then lost those conquests and its African colonies, including Ethiopia, to the invadingallied forces by 1943. It was forced in thepeace treaty of 1947 to relinquish sovereignty over all its colonies. It was granted atrust to administer former Italian Somaliland underUnited Nations supervision in 1950. WhenSomalia became independent in 1960, Italy's eight-decade experiment with colonialism had ended.
The Second Italo-Ethiopian War cost Italy 4,359 killed in action—2,313 Italians, 1,086 Eritreans, 507 Somalis and Libyans, and 453 Italian laborers.[41] Ethiopian military and civilian dead, many of them from Italian bomb andmustard gas attacks, were estimated as high as 275,000.[41]
In July 1936,Francisco Franco of the Nationalist faction in theSpanish Civil War requested Italian support against the ruling Republican faction, and guaranteed that, if Italy supported the Nationalists, "future relations would be more than friendly" and that Italian support "would have permitted the influence of Rome to prevail over that of Berlin in the future politics of Spain".[42] Italy intervened in the civil war with the intention of occupying theBalearic Islands and creating aclient state in Spain.[43] Italy sought the control of the Balearic Islands due to its strategic position – Italy could use the islands as a base to disrupt the lines of communication between France and its North African colonies and between British Gibraltar and Malta.[44] After the victory by Franco and the Nationalists in the war, Italy pressured Franco to permit an Italian occupation of the Balearic Islands but he did not do so.[45]
After the United Kingdom signed the Anglo-ItalianEaster Accords in 1938, Mussolini and foreign minister Ciano issued demands for concessions in the Mediterranean by France, particularly regardingDjibouti,Tunisia and the French-runSuez Canal.[46] Three weeks later, Mussolini told Ciano that he intended for Italy to demand an Italian takeover of Albania.[46] Mussolini professed that Italy would only be able to "breathe easily" if it had acquired a contiguous colonial domain in Africa from the Atlantic to the Indian Oceans, and when ten million Italians had settled in them.[35] In 1938, Italy demanded asphere of influence in theSuez Canal inEgypt, specifically demanding that the French-dominatedSuez Canal Company accept an Italian representative on itsboard of directors.[47] Italy opposed the French monopoly over the Suez Canal because, under the French-dominated Suez Canal Company, all Italian merchant traffic to its colony ofItalian East Africa was forced to pay tolls on entering the canal.[47]
In 1939, Italyinvaded and captured Albania and made it a part of the Italian Empire as a separate kingdom inpersonal union with theItalian crown. The region of modern-day Albania had been an early part of theRoman Empire, which had actually been held before northern parts of Italy had been taken by the Romans, but had long since been populated byAlbanians, even though Italy had retained strong links with the Albanian leadership and considered it firmly within itssphere of influence.[48] It is possible that Mussolini simply wanted a spectacular success over a smaller neighbour to match Germany'sabsorption of Austria andCzechoslovakia.[48] Italian KingVictor Emmanuel III took theAlbanian crown, and a fascist government underShefqet Verlaci was established torule over Albania.
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Mussolini enteredWorld War II in June 1940 on the side ofAdolf Hitler with plans to enlarge Italy's territorial holdings. He had designs on an area of westernYugoslavia, southern France, Corsica, Malta, Tunisia, part of Algeria, an Atlantic port in Morocco,French Somaliland and British-controlled Egypt and Sudan.[50]
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On 10 June 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France; both countries had been at war withNazi Germany since September of the previous year. In July 1940, Italian foreign minister Count Ciano presented Hitler with a list of Italy's goals that included: the annexation of Corsica, Nice, and Malta; protectorate in Tunisia and a buffer zone in Eastern Algeria; independence with Italian military presence and bases in Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Transjordan as well as expropriation of oil companies in those territories; military occupation ofAden,Perim andSokotra; Cyprus given to Greece in exchange forIonian islands and Ciamuria given to Italy; Italy is given British Somaliland, Djibuti, French Equatorial Africa up toUbangi-Shari, as well as Ciano adding at the meeting that Italy wanted Kenya and Uganda as well.[51] Hitler made no promises.[51]
In October 1940, Mussolini ordered theinvasion of Greece fromAlbania, but the operation was unsuccessful.[52] In April 1941, Germany launched aninvasion of Yugoslavia and thenattacked Greece. Italy and other German allies supported both actions. The German and Italian armies overran Yugoslavia in about two weeks and, despite British support in Greece, the Axis troops overran that country by the end of April. The Italians gained control over portions of bothoccupied Yugoslavia andoccupied Greece. A member of theHouse of Savoy,Prince Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta, was appointed king of the newly createdIndependent State of Croatia.
During the height of theBattle of Britain, the Italians launched aninvasion of Egypt in the hope of capturing the Suez Canal. By 16 September 1940, the Italians advanced 100 kilometres (60 mi) across the border. However, in December, the British launchedOperation Compass and, by February 1941, the British had cut off and captured theItalian 10th Army and had driven deep into Libya.[53] AGerman intervention prevented the fall of Libya and the combined Axis attacks drove the British back into Egypt until summer 1942, before beingstopped at El Alamein.Allied intervention against Vichy French-held Morocco and Algeria created a two-front campaign. German and Italian forces entered Tunisia in late 1942 in response, however, forces in Egypt were soon forced to make a major retreat into Libya. By May 1943, Axis forces in Tunisia were forced to surrender.
TheEast African Campaign started with Italian advances into British-heldKenya,British Somaliland, andSudan.[54] In the summer of 1940, Italian armed forcessuccessfully invaded all of British Somaliland.[55] But, in the spring of 1941, the British had counter-attacked and pushed deep intoItalian East Africa. By 5 May,Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia had returned toAddis Ababa to reclaim his throne. In November, the last organised Italian resistance ended with thefall of Gondar.[56] However, following the surrender of East Africa, some Italiansconducted a guerrilla war which lasted for two more years.
In November 1942, when the Germans occupiedVichy France duringCase Anton,Italian-occupied France was expanded with the occupation ofCorsica.
By the autumn of 1943, the Italian Empire and alldreams of an Imperial Italy effectively came to an end. On 7 May, the surrender ofAxis forces inTunisia and other near continuous Italian reversals, led KingVictor Emmanuel III to plan the removal of Mussolini. Following theInvasion of Sicily, all support for Mussolini evaporated. A meeting of theGrand Council of Fascism was held on 24 July, which managed to impose avote of no confidence to Mussolini. The "Duce" was subsequently deposed and arrested by the King on the following afternoon. Afterwards, Mussolini remained a prisoner of the King until 12 September, when, on the orders ofHitler, he was rescued by German paratroops and became leader of the newly establishedItalian Social Republic.
After 25 July, the new Italian government under the King and Field MarshalPietro Badoglio remained outwardly part of the Axis. But, secretly, it started negotiations with the Allies. On the eve of the Allied landings atSalerno, which started theAllied invasion of Italy, the new Italian governmentsecretly signed an armistice with the Allies. On 8 September, the armistice was made public. InAlbania,Yugoslavia, theDodecanese, and other territories still held by the Italians, German military forces successfully attacked their former Italian allies and ended Italy's rule. During theDodecanese Campaign, an Allied attempt to take the Dodecanese with the cooperation of the Italian troops ended in total German victory. In China, theImperial Japanese Army occupiedItaly's concession in Tientsin after getting news of the armistice. Later in 1943 the Italian Social Republic formally ceded control of the concession to Japan's puppet regime in China, theReorganized National Government of China underWang Jingwei.
In 1947, theTreaty of Peace with Italy formally ended the empire that was now totally defunct. There were discussions to maintainTripolitania (a province ofItalian Libya) as the last Italian colony, but these were not successful. In November 1949 the formerItalian Somaliland then under British military administration, was made a 10-yearUnited Nations Trust Territory under Italian administration (Trust Territory of Somaliland). On 1 July 1960, Somalia merged withBritish Somaliland to form the independentSomali Republic.
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