Why Did Italy Become A Member Of The Triple Entente

Triple Alliance- Triple Alliance - Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy had a full offensive-defensive alliance (signed 1882). At this point in history this meant if any three of them got into war even if they started it themselves the others would follow. Britain, Russia, and France formed the Triple Entente. Britain, France, and Russia all had one thing in common, they hated the Alliance (more so Germany than anything). It also didn’t help that the Russian an Austrian had different ideas of what each country wanted with the Balkan Peninsula. While Germany was off getting

In a letter to an Italian friend, Napoleon wrote, “I do not wish to see Italy united. I want only independence. Unity would bring danger to me…” (Doc 11). Despite all of the bitter resentment, Cavour was pleasantly surprised when the northern and central states of Italy called for a fusion, and he returned to power in 1860 (McKay et al

Coming into the war “Italy had [a lack of] resources” (Life In Italy) with, “almost no transportation or industries” (Life In Italy). Due to the lack of resources “Italy’s industrialization had begun to be built in the 1890s” (Life In Italy) which was well behind the leading countries such as Germany, France and Britain. Since Italy had a slow moving industrialization it’s economy wasn't where the country wanted it to be, and one reason for joining the war in 1915 was to grow their military which would allow for a stronger economy. Due to the slow industrialization Italy “lacked proper and sufficient ammunition [along with] vehicles and ammunition” (Life In Italy), resulting in a very weak army. Infact “Italy's army was from from being able to join conflict” (Life In Italy), and because of this in 1915 they joined the war hoping to rebuild that army which would also help grow its economy. When Italy joined the war they fought with the allies mainly because they would receive many benefits including “control over territory on [the] border [of] Austria-Hungary stretching from Trentino through the South Tyrol to Trieste” (Italy Declares War on Austria-Hungary). This guaranteed territory allowed Italy to “fulfill its national dream” (Italy Declares War on Austria-Hungary) and would allow it to grow its military by being able to control some land

There was much concern about the growing cities in the north while the south remained to depend on its agriculture for support. These concern have not yet been resolved to this day. To gain more territories, Italy joined Germany and Austria in the Triple Alliance in 1882 to conquer Ethiopia and Turkey (Defusco). At the outbreak of World War I, Italy remained neutral until 1915, when the Allies promised Italy more territories (Defusco). At the end of the war Italy only received two of the territories it was promised, which created a strong nationalistic view and disappointment amongst its people.

Therefore, they strategically persuaded European powers to fight against Austria…Italy provoked Austria into war Cavour then used Garibaldi’s popular appeal to his benefit. “When Garibaldi and Emmanuel rode through Naples to cheering crowds, they symbolically sealed the union of north and south, of monarch and people.” (McKay, 837) Italy was now unified.

Nationalism contributed to the outbreaks of wars in the nineteenth century. During Germany’s unification, Bismarck aimed to eliminate all opposition to the imperial state. Bismarck fought three wars in which he increased Prussia’s power and expanded Prussian territory, paving the way for German unification. “This contest can only be settled by blood and iron. There is one way to guarantee our success.” (Document 5). In Italy, a nationalist movement, the Risorgimento, passed onto Sardinia with the hope of uniting among other states. Count Camillo Cavour, the Prime Minister of Sardinia, allied with Britain and France while acknowledging Austria to be Italy’s biggest barrier against unification. After negotiating a clandestine arrangement with France,

Whoever ignores this love of the individual regions of Italy will always build on sand.” (DOC 2) People believed the diverse social classes and power would not make for a unified country. Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, a politician from Piedmont-Sardinia, said, “Active power resides almost exclusively in the middle class and part of the upper class, both of which have ultraconservative interests to defend.” (DOC 4) Daniele Manin, a politician from Venice, wrote, “Peoples who have different origins and customs should not be forced together, because otherwise civil war will follow the war of independence.” (DOC 6) People against unification felt that bringing the diverse states together would cause more problems and do more harm than good. There were obvious pros and cons to the unification if Italy, but some civilians were on the fence.

Italy affiliated with the Triple Entente. The government decided to enter the war after they deliberately mediated their options to attain benefits from the Treaty of London. The British offered Italy ample sections of territory in the Adriatic Sea region. It was compelling for Italy to join the conflict against Austria-Hungary. Unfortunately, “By the end of the war in 1918, 600,000 Italians were dead, 950,000 were wounded and 250,000 were crippled” (Trueman). Italy did not receive their promises at the Treaty of London, causing the government to become unstable (Trueman). Anyhow, a foreigner had associated himself to participate in the

(Fred Fierch)” “Among those alliances were the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente.(Also Fred Fierch)” The Triple Alliance, also known as the Allied Powers, consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, and the Ottoman Empire (Doc 7), and the Triple Entente consisted of France, Russia, and Great Britain (Doc 7). The formation of the Triple Entente, also known as the Central Powers, unified the UK and the French and “marked the end of almost a thousand years of intermittent conflict between two states (Doc 5)”. As a token of pride in my Italian heritage, I am proud to state that Italy later on switches from the Triple Entente to the Triple Alliance, because it was the victorious group of alliances.

3. In the mid-nineteenth century, Italy wasn’t unified. Italy was made up of independent states that nationalist wanted unified, but failed. Mazzini was “the most important nationalist leader in Europe and brought new fervor to the cause” (690). Mazzini desperately wanted Italy to be united and it finally was and became the Italian Republic. In 1860, the country shaped boot became a nation-state. After the war with Austria, “the forces of romantic republican nationalism compelled Cavour to pursue the complete unification of northern and southern Italy” (691).

War is inevitable, as it is simply the manifestation of the strength and vigour of the Italian people that wishes to expand itself, never looking back. Peace was considered as merely a “mask to surrender and cowardice.” Mussolini stressed that Italians required “forces, duty, and sacrifice” in order to rise again to their former greatness, that of the Roman Empire. This is also Mussolini’s rationale for harsh and severe actions against any who would resist or try and undermine fascism.

Giuseppe Mazzini was instrumental in unifying the Italian nation as his ideals spread throughout Italy’s intellectual community. Although many of his attempts at rallying the common people to a revolution failed, he circulated and popularized the idea of a fully unified Italy for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire. In his work “The Duties of Man,” Mazzini establishes that he is largely a romantic nationalist, since he draws heavily on history; however, he utilizes the power of certain liberal nationalist sentiments such as individuals’ rights in his own work.

World War I began in August of 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand at Sarajevo, in what is now Yugoslavia. Following this period Italy was in a state of civil war, with the parliament incapable of providing effective leadership. There was a rise in social tension, as well as economic problems. This resulted in a new, more aggressive breed of Italian politicians. They followed a violent anarchic political credo, also known as fascism. Although Italy’s economy was weak, following World War I, it was effected more by political factors, such as the rise of fascism, and social factors as seen through the newspaper, Il Popolo d’Italia.

We see other clear cut examples of nationalism in Italy as well. The journey that Italy took to statehood in the 1800s involved various figureheads performing different roles. The nationalism of Italy began with Mazzini who laid the ideological base for a united Italy. He wrote many pamphlets, papers, and dissertations on the manifest destiny, if you will, of the Italian people to unify. This rhetoric was stirring to the young middle class individuals of Italy who accepted this ideology and supported ideological efforts for a unified Italy. Cavour, of the province of Piedmont is where the basis of a real Italian resurgence would begin. Cavour wanted Piedmont to be the basis of the Risorgimento, or the Italian resurgence. Piedmont was developing well from an industrial perspective and by siphoning trade agreements away from Austria was able to develop into an industrial base for further operations. The actual, boots on the ground venture was led by Garibaldi who recruited many young men to serve in “The Expedition of The Thousand.” The rising nationalism of the time period, as well as the efforts of Mazzini stirred these young middle and

In the early days of Mussolini’s regime (he came to power in 1922), Italian foreign policy seemed rather confused: Mussolini knew what he wanted, which was ‘to make Italy great, respected and feared.’ But he was not sure how to achieve this, apart from agitating for a revision of the 1919 peace settlement in Italy’s favour. At first he seemed to think an adventurous foreign policy was his best line of action, hence the Corfu Incident and the occupation of Fiume in 1923. By an agreement signed at Rapallo in 1920, Fiume was to be a ‘free city’, used jointly by Italy and Yugoslavia; after Italian troops moved in, Yugoslavia agreed that it should belong to Italy. After these early successes, Mussolini became