The Great War (All 8 Volumes). Various Authors

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ coincident with Germany's increased efforts to upbuild its navy, a change had been made in the incumbency of the admiralty. One of the younger and most active members of the Liberal party, Winston Churchill, a member of the House of Marlborough, became First Lord. He created a sensation by a speech made in the Commons in March, 1913, suggesting that Germany and Great Britain should agree to stop naval construction for a period of a year. Although this proposal received a great deal of attention, it had no tangible result, and the race for increased armament continued. Neither 1913 nor 1914 brought about any diminution in the difficulties regarding the Irish question, in fact rather the opposite, and the Government even went so far as to prohibit the importation of arms into Ireland. Armed resistance against Home Rule on the part of Ulster seemed to be unavoidable. Agitation in England and Ireland over Home Rule had become so violent that the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne in June, 1914, did not arouse as much interest and attention in England as it would have done otherwise. Revolution in Ireland was a matter that England expected at that particular moment, rather than a general European war. Not until the British fleet, assembled at Portsmouth for maneuvers, left there on July 29, 1914, under sealed orders, was the country aroused to the possibility of a world war, which had been considered for so many years impossible by some and inevitable by others, and which was now about to break out.

CHAPTER VI

       Table of Contents

      ITALY

      In the middle of the nineteenth century the position of Italy was somewhat analogous to that of Germany. It consisted of a number of separate states, and, in spite of the fact that all of these states were inhabited by people speaking the same language and having the same ideals and customs, they seemed to be unable to combine. One of the results of this was the fact that the country adjoining on the north, Austria, was meddling continually with Italian affairs and attempting to gain a lasting influence over them. There were too many racial differences, however, between the two countries to permit an arrangement of this nature to continue for any length of time without causing serious conflicts. Statesmen in the various Italian states finally became convinced that it would be only a question of time before some foreign nation would succeed in dominating them unless they would be able to consolidate and show a united front to any and all outsiders.

      The difficulties in the way of Italian unification were manifold. For our purposes, however, we are not interested in them or in the means by which they were overcome beyond the fact that they finally were overcome, and that as early as 1859 a large number of the different Italian states had been united with the assistance of Napoleon III under the rule of Victor Emmanuel II, originally King of Sardinia and Piedmont. In that year, however, after Austria had been driven out of Lombardy through the combined efforts of Italian and French troops, Napoleon III suddenly arrived at an understanding with Francis Joseph, and peace was concluded between France and Austria. This left in the hands of the Austrians still an important part of northern Italy known as the Quadrilateral. Rome, too, and a considerable territory surrounding it, known as the Papal State, was not included in the newly formed kingdom of Italy, the pope refusing to give up his temporal powers and Napoleon III supporting him in that refusal to the extent of maintaining French troops in Rome.

      The Austro-Prussian War of 1866, as we have already shown, had important results for Italy. For previous to its breaking out Prussia had concluded a treaty with Italy, and when hostilities began between Austria and Prussia, Italy immediately attacked her old enemy. When peace was concluded between Prussia and Austria, Prussia insisted, in order to reward her southern ally, that Austria should relinquish practically all of her Italian possessions. Four years later, in 1870, the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War necessitated the withdrawal of the French troops from Rome, and immediately after that event the forces of King Victor Emmanuel appeared before Rome and occupied it to the great satisfaction of the Romans, and in spite of all the protests of the pope. The latter lost his temporal powers, although he was permitted to retain the Vatican. This completed the unification of Italy.

      The completion of the unification of Italy, of course, created many difficult internal problems, chief of which was the adjustment between the state and the church. The latter, as represented by the pope, refused to become reconciled to the new conditions or to acknowledge the legality of the so-called Laws of the Guarantees, according to which he was given all the privileges of a sovereign, the possession of the Vatican and Lateran palaces, and a considerable annual income. None of these appeased the church, which steadfastly refused to recognize the existence of the Italian state. The difficulties created thereby can readily be understood if one considers the immense influence that the Roman Catholic Church possesses over the minds of its members, and if one further remembers that practically all Italians are devout Catholics.

      For many years after the unification of Italy and the destruction of the church's temporal power, continuous and strong efforts were made by the latter's adherents to restore to the pope that of which, as they claimed, he had been deprived illegally. The only way in which the Italian Government could subdue and overcome these efforts was by legislation which would make these efforts not only futile but also dangerous to the pope's friends, and these repressive practices naturally resulted in a strong undercurrent of dissatisfaction. These conditions, as well as a great many economic problems, very difficult of solution, kept the new kingdom sufficiently occupied to keep it out of international politics for a considerable period of time. It was not long, however, before Italy was bound to be drawn into the general scramble for colonial possessions. Italy's interests in this direction were rather restricted, but within these restrictions they were very intense. Its geographical situation made it evident that any attempt on the part of any foreign power to gain or increase its influence in northern Africa would be a matter of grave concern to Italy. France had been deeply interested for many years in north Africa, and when the French Republic showed signs of strengthening and enlarging its interests, immediately after it had somewhat recuperated from its defeat by Germany in 1871, it was quite natural that Italy should look to Germany for an alliance to counteract France's colonial policy. The seizure of Tunis by France in 1881 undoubtedly was more responsible than any other single factor for Italy's decision to ally itself as closely as possible with Germany. Inasmuch as the latter country in the meanwhile had arrived at a very close understanding with Austria-Hungary, there were considerable difficulties in the way of an Italian-German arrangement. For not only was it difficult for Italy to forget its old struggles and quarrels with Austria, but the southern kingdom felt very keenly on the subject of the retention on the part of Austria of territory inhabited by Italians, even though this territory was comparatively small in extent. This attitude of Italy toward Austria may be called typical of one nation's attitude toward another. It shows clearly the unreasonableness of national sentiments. For even granting that Italy had a good cause for resenting Austrian rule over Italian-speaking people, the necessity of possessing this particular strip of country was much greater to Austria than it was to Italy, giving, as it did, to Austria the only seaport available, whereas Italy stood in no need whatsoever of additional opportunities of this nature. However, Italy finally reached the decision that, between the danger of having to face alone the further extension of French power in north Africa or burying the hatchet with Austria, the latter proposition was the easier and more advantageous. As a result of this decision a treaty was arranged finally between Germany, Austria, and Italy in 1883, and this new alignment of three central European powers has since been known as the Triple Alliance. We must not forget, however, that in spite of this arrangement Italy never really has been a sincere friend or well-wisher of Austria, and it is this fact which formed the basis for the final disruption of the Triple Alliance and the entrance of Italy in the war of 1914 on the side of the Triple Entente.

      The arrangement with Austria and Germany enabled Italy to enter upon a colonial policy in Africa in the vicinity of the Red Sea. As has been the case of all other colonial powers, this undertaking was wrought with a great many difficulties. It forced Italy to fight wars in distant countries, expensive in money as well as in human life, and though, in spite of repeated defeats, Italy's СКАЧАТЬ