Imperialism and national pride in the Italo-Turkish war (1911-12)
Abstract
The author intended to highlight the fluctuating attitude of Giolitti’s Italy during the war in Libya (1911-12), whose choice was supported by its imperialist ambitions linked to the building of a colonial policy considered as a means to build consensus on foreign policy, on the other, statements of influential intellectuals, public pressure and continuous diatribes between members of the parliament were to be taken into account. The historical reconstruction is enhanced by first hand sources: from the documents found in the Historical and Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to an interesting letter from Senator Pasquale Villari - preserved in the Vatican Library - which was a response to critics addressed to him by the Socialist deputy Filippo Turati, who firmly opposed the war in Libya. Expectations placed on the conquest of that territory - which would have led to mass emigration and would have revived Italy's economy by seeking closer commercial ties with the East - this would have scaled down as soon as the foreseeable integration difficulties appeared, in particular those connected to an administrative Western-style legal system in the new African colony yet linked to local customs and traditions.
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