Italy, relations with
Italy, relations with. Medieval English kings were several times involved in fierce disputes with the papacy concerning church–state relations. The papal refusal to grant a divorce to Henry VIII precipitated the English Reformation. Rome supported the Jacobite cause from 1688, and continued to excite the hostility of British liberals as well as protestants far into the 19th cent. The Italian Renaissance, in contrast, attracted growing admiration, and until the mid-19th cent. the Italian language was second only to French in popularity in Britain. Italy became one of the highlights of the grand tour for the sons of wealthy families. Trade was also important, with Italian merchants proving influential in London in the Middle Ages.
In the 18th cent. Savoy-Piedmont attracted interest politically and strategically, as a possible barrier against France and a restraint on Austrian influence. By 1814–15 Castlereagh, however, was so impressed by the success of French arms since the 1790s in the politically divided and relatively backward peninsula that he looked primarily to the Habsburgs to police and protect Italy. Palmerston, in contrast, as early as 1848–9, was considering alternatives to Austrian rule. Only ten years later, he led a government which gained significant credit during the unification of much of Italy (1859–60)—although British policy had been by no means consistent. Approval of unification was assured only once it became evident that the new Italy would not become a dependency of France. Anglo-Italian relations continued to be much influenced by relations with that power. For ten years from 1887 the two states subscribed to the Mediterranean agreements in order to maintain the status quo in that region.
In 1915 Italy finally opted to fight beside Britain and her allies in the First World War, but Italian patriots were disappointed when their country's services were not more amply rewarded in 1919. In the 1930s the fascist regime of Mussolini was tempted to manœuvre between Nazi Germany on the one side and Britain and France on the other in search of territorial gains. The British responded ambivalently to Mussolini's war against Abyssinia in 1935–6, and only succeeded in driving Il Duce closer to Hitler. Italian involvement on the side of Franco in the Spanish Civil War led to further difficulties. Mussolini, however, did not enter the Second World War until France was on the verge of defeat. The Mediterranean became a major war theatre to which Churchill enthusiastically assigned forces in the belief that southern Europe was the ‘soft underbelly of the axis’. But Italy's surrender in 1943 left the allies confronted by strong German opposition, and they became increasingly conscious of the difficulties of the terrain rather than of an easy route into the heart of Europe. Italy's volte-face in 1943 did not prevent losses at the peace treaty of 1947. It was deprived of all its colonies except Somalia, kept as a trusteeship, made small territorial concessions in the Alps to France, and surrendered Istria and Dalmatia to Yugo-Slavia. But Trieste was returned to it in 1954.
In the 18th cent. Savoy-Piedmont attracted interest politically and strategically, as a possible barrier against France and a restraint on Austrian influence. By 1814–15 Castlereagh, however, was so impressed by the success of French arms since the 1790s in the politically divided and relatively backward peninsula that he looked primarily to the Habsburgs to police and protect Italy. Palmerston, in contrast, as early as 1848–9, was considering alternatives to Austrian rule. Only ten years later, he led a government which gained significant credit during the unification of much of Italy (1859–60)—although British policy had been by no means consistent. Approval of unification was assured only once it became evident that the new Italy would not become a dependency of France. Anglo-Italian relations continued to be much influenced by relations with that power. For ten years from 1887 the two states subscribed to the Mediterranean agreements in order to maintain the status quo in that region.
In 1915 Italy finally opted to fight beside Britain and her allies in the First World War, but Italian patriots were disappointed when their country's services were not more amply rewarded in 1919. In the 1930s the fascist regime of Mussolini was tempted to manœuvre between Nazi Germany on the one side and Britain and France on the other in search of territorial gains. The British responded ambivalently to Mussolini's war against Abyssinia in 1935–6, and only succeeded in driving Il Duce closer to Hitler. Italian involvement on the side of Franco in the Spanish Civil War led to further difficulties. Mussolini, however, did not enter the Second World War until France was on the verge of defeat. The Mediterranean became a major war theatre to which Churchill enthusiastically assigned forces in the belief that southern Europe was the ‘soft underbelly of the axis’. But Italy's surrender in 1943 left the allies confronted by strong German opposition, and they became increasingly conscious of the difficulties of the terrain rather than of an easy route into the heart of Europe. Italy's volte-face in 1943 did not prevent losses at the peace treaty of 1947. It was deprived of all its colonies except Somalia, kept as a trusteeship, made small territorial concessions in the Alps to France, and surrendered Istria and Dalmatia to Yugo-Slavia. But Trieste was returned to it in 1954.
C. J. Bartlett
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Italy, relations with