We explain what the 1915 London treaty was and what their clauses were. In addition, the problems for its application after the First World War.
What was the Treaty of London?
The London Treaty was a secret treaty signed on April 26, 1915 by the governments of Italy, the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire. The signing of the London Treaty favored Italy's entry into the World War I (1914-1918) to fight next to the entente.
The countries of the entente had interest in the entrance of Italy in the war due to their border position with the territory of the Austro -Hungarian Empire, which was part of the central empires. In exchange for its military alliance, They promised to accept the annexation of a series of territories to Italy when the war ended . The Italian government entered the war in May 1915.
When the war ended, The Italian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 He did not achieve the recognition of all the territorial claims that had been agreed in the London Treaty . This fact was characterized by some Italian nationalists as a “mutilated victory” and was part of the arguments used by fascism against liberal politicians and allied powers in the interwar period.
Key points
- The London Treaty was signed by Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Russia on April 26, 1915.
- He decided the entry of Italy in the First World War on the side of the entente in exchange for the recognition of territorial annexations for Italy at the end of the war.
- The entrance of Italy in the war in May 1915 ended its participation in the Triple Alliance, with the German Empire and the Austrohungal Empire, which had been formed in 1882.
- At the Paris Peace Conference, after the end of World War I, Italy did not get all the territorial demands included in the London Treaty, which caused among the nationalists the idea that they had obtained a “mutilated victory”.
- See also: Chronology of World War I
The historical context
Before World War I broke out in 1914, Italy was part of the Triple Alliance with the German Empire and the Austrohungal Empire . However, Italy's position in the triple alliance was increasingly uncomfortable.
After solving its colonial conflicts with France and obtaining French consent for the Italian annexation of Libya in 1902, which led to the invasion of this country in 1911, the differences between Italy and Austria-Hungary became increasingly evident. Both powers competed for hegemony in the Adriatic Sea and Italy aspired to territories populated by Italians under Austrian domain.
When World War I started, Italy declared himself neutral On August 3, 1914. The Italian government then began a negotiation with both alliances: the entente (headed by France, the United Kingdom and Russia) and the central empires (headed by Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire). Finally, on April 26, 1915, The Italian government signed a secret treaty with the entente, known as London Treaty for the city in which it was signed.
- See also: World War I alliances
From the Treaty of London to the Paris Conference
The London Treaty was signed by representatives of Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Russia. In it, Italy promised to leave the triple alliance and to enter the war next to the entente . In return, Allied countries promised to recognize after the war the Italian annexation of the regions of the Trentino, Alto Adigio, Trieste, Istria, part of Dalmia, the territories of Libya, Eritrea and Somalia in Africa and concessions in Anatolia.
Italy officially entered the war in May 1915 and remained in the entente throughout the entire conflict. When the Paris Peace Conference was held in 1919, the president of the Italian Council of Ministers, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, was one of the “great four” made by the main decisions about the postwar world.
However, the Italian delegation faced the opposition of the other allied leaders before some of their claims. In particular, the US President Woodrow Wilson was contrary to Italian territorial claims over Dalmia which was inhabited by Slavic populations and, therefore, its annexation for Italy was against the principle of nationalities Wilson defended in its fourteen points.
Finally, some of the annexations that had been agreed in the 1915 London Treaty, such as much of Dalmatia and some colonial territories, did not take place at the Paris Conference of 1919, which caused a deep nationalist discontent in Italy.
The war had cost Italy more than half a million deaths and territorial gains in regions such as the Trentino and the high adign were seen as insignificant. This perception of “Mutilada Victoria” was used by the fascist movement that came to power in 1922 .
- World War I peace treaties
- Consequences of World War I
- PERIOD OF DELIVERY (FIRST STAGE)
- Chronology of the interwar period
References
- Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Treaty of London. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/
- Sevillano Calero, F. (2020). The Europe of award. The disrupted order. Synthesis.
- Showalter, from & Royde-Smith, JG (2022). World War I. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/
- Stone, N. (2013). Brief History of World War I. Ariel.
