Italy, throughout history, has been late and second fiddle to all sites, and all important appointments, except, to which Renaissance art history is concerned, of course. Obviously, the quality and knowledge to be their political representatives did not help much, and that that back in 1861-during its unification as a country, seemed which ruled the country people with half a brain.
This was true during the early years of last century, after the rapid unification, Italy wanted an empire, wanted to get into the history of colonialism. And he did, but by the back door. I'm late to the partition of Africa, and could not position ourselves in French and English. He became interested in the north shore of the Mediterranean, but the richer parts were already owner. When they tried to realize there were only "free" area Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. That is, a piece of desert near the sea, inhabited by a few Bedouin, unwilling to put on a silver platter their territory.
A rival affordable, must have thought the Italian dignitaries, in addition, the press of the time, begged to regain Libya's emperor Diocletian, and get the fourth coast to Italy. In short, make the Mare Nostrum, more Nostrum if possible. Seemed easy task to conquer the arid, poor and depopulated, in the hands of a decrepit Ottoman Empire. But even though the empire, was on his way to his disappearance, no knees left, after months of fighting, the Italian army invented the aerial bombardment, Lieutenant Gavotti, hand-launched four bombs from his plane on an oasis of Taguira . Case, who years later would be crucial in aviation War II world.
But in 1922, everything changed with the rise to the Italian government of Benito Mussolini. El Duce, who until hours before getting his job, had criticized the imperialist aggression, ordered to be completely swept Libyan territory, and there make his army stronger. To do this, one better than the general Rodolfo Graziani, known as the Butcher of Fezzan. Which, led with an iron hand, civilian massacres, indiscriminate shootings, burning of villages, rape women, the gas attacks and deportations of the inhabitants of a harsh desert camps, where most of them died .
Of The Butcher of Fezzan, several manuscripts are stored made during the African campaign, one of them, you can read the following. " If the Libyans are not convinced the Italian (...) then shall have a continuous struggle against them and will destroy all the Libyan people for peace, the peace of the cemeteries ...". This campaign, led by Italian butcher, was intended to stop incursions by Libyan militants, leaving the desert, cut off the progress of the invaders, and returned quickly to hide in the wilderness, so that the Italian military were able to not to say you have black eyes.
The leader of these rebels, was a short man, dark complexion and white beard, dressed always large and ornate robes, which was known as Omar al Mukhtar, and appearing in chains, humiliated and surrounded by tall Italian leaders on the same day that the military operation Butcher of Fezzan, captured him and took the " pacification "of Libyan lands, September 1, 1931, and incorporated it in Italy as a province in the year 39. It's funny, what made Mussolini after the arrest of the Libyan leader. Introduced in Tripolitania and proclaimed himself there, next to the survivors of the slaughter, "" Defender of Islam. " Where his henchmen, he was given a Bedouin sword, which had been forged in Florence. Growing up with this absurdity
land Africa, Mussolini, was launched to increase their colonies at the expense of their neighbors, and when he saw the opportunity, began to recoil from those of boys Adolfo, and rushed to the British conquest of Egypt. Obviously, during World War II, the Allies counterattacked and the Italians had to abandon their colonial intentions, and even leave Libya. Thing that the Libyans did not cry at all.
After that, Tripolitania fell to a British administration, backed by the UN. And that became independent in 1951, for a few years, had a constitutional monarchy, which sank, with the arrival, after a coup, in the hands of Gadhafi en el año 1969, que se agarro al poder, tras tantos años de desequilibrio, creado cuando el gobierno italiano abrió la caja de Pandora.
Por cierto, ese Gadafi, que ahora se fotografía en Roma con su amigo Berlusconi, lo primero que hizo nada más alcanzar el primer puesto gobernativo de Libia, fue echar a los colonos italianos-unos 20.000-, y los que no estuvieron por la labor, fueron pasados a cuchillo. Pues lo dicho, de aquellos polvos vienen estos lodos.
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