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Formation of an Independent Italy
After overcoming the struggle with the Austrian Empire, the Risorgimento movement lead to the formation of an independent Italy. This occurred in March 1861. -
Papal States Taken Over by New Nation of Italy
In September 1870, the incorporation of the Papal States into the Italian empire caused Catholic Hostility to arise. -
Failure of First Italo-Ethiopian War with the Battle of Adowa (Adwa)
In March 1896, Italy attempted to annex provinces of Abyssinia- Eritrea and Tigre- however, after much military conflict, Italy faced a defeat in the Battle of Adowa. -
Italy invades and takes over Libya
In September 1911, Italy invaded Libya in attempt to expand the Italian empire and to compete with the French's influence in Africa. Even after Turkey surrendered, Italy maintained its aggressive behavior to compensate for its loss at the Battle of Adowa. -
Mussolini begins work as editor for the Socialist Party newspaper Avanti
After being released from prison for war protests, Mussolini was chosen as the editor of the Avanti. -
Mussolini kicked out of Socialist Party for pro-nationalistic sentiments regarding WW I
In November 1914, Mussolini was removed as editor of the Avanti. He was removed due to his policies that opposed the Socialist Party and because he set up the Il Popolo d'Italia to promote war. He was soon kicked out of the Socialist Party altogether. -
Treaty of London
Important liberal politicians chose Italy's position in the war by determining the side that would be most benefitable to join. The Treaty of London was signed in May 1915 and Italy was joined the Triple Entente. -
Beginning of Biennio Rosso
Due to high amounts of unemployment, militant action arose from industrial workers in January. This resulted in strikes, factory occupations, land occupations, trade unions and peasant leagues in Italy for two years. -
Fascio di Combattimento formed in Milan
In Milan, March 1919, people from various political parties met and created the Fascio di Combattimento movement in hopes of unifying nationalists and socialists. -
D’Annunzio takes Fiume
In September 1919, the work Mussolini completed in regards to Fasci di Combattimento was overshadowed by Gabriele D’Annunzio. This is because he led 2000 men to Fiume, where they quickly took control and ruled the city in defiance of the liberal government. -
Mussolini forms alliance with Giolitti
In May 1921, Giolitti, the head of the Italian government, worked with Mussolini to form an electoral alliance for the national elections to be held that month to shut down the socialists. -
Mussolini forms the PNF (Fascist Party) and is elected its leader
As the PNF is founded by Mussolini, he becomes the leader of the party. This lead to Mussolini gaining political party, causing his thirst for power. -
March on Rome and Mussolini becomes Prime Minister
On October 29th 1922, the king allowed for Mussolini to become the Prime Minister, due to his planned March on Rome. Mussolini accepted this opportunity and as his power grew so did his hunger for more power. -
Acerbo Law passed
In November 1923, the Acerbo law resulted in the most popular party to grant 2/3rds of the seats available in parliament. This was utilized by Mussolini to expand his power. -
Corfu Incident
From August 29th-September 27th, Italy was in a crisis with Greece because Italian men were murdered on Greek soil. This led to Mussolini to press for an attack against the Greek because he wanted to gain the support of his people through nationalism. -
Matteotti Crisis
In June 1924, a political member spoke out against Mussolini, however this action lead to his death. Mussolini was criticized for this and was encouraged to betray his secret police (Ceka) and blame the murder on the Ceka. -
Aventine Secession
In June 1924, due to Matteotti's death, politicians left the fascist party and boycotted Mussolini as they believed he wasn't fascist enough for the party. -
Battle for Grain
In 1925, Mussolini tried to reach autarchy by encouraging farmers to grow grain. Unfortunately, this resulted in too many farmers planting grain, which caused for a decrease in other reasources. -
Locarno Treaty signed
When the Locarno Treaty was signed, Italy felt betrayed by as they didn't receive all of the land promised to them. This was significant as it lead Italy to distrust the Allies, causing them to join the German side in World War II. -
Battle for Land and Battle for the Lira
In 1926, the Battles for Land and for the Lira began to grant more land to farmers and to revalue the Lira currency. The battles caused high prices for exports, hurting the wealth of the economy. Furthermore, only a few swamps were cleared for farming. -
Battle for Births
In 1927, the Battle for Births began to increase birthrates. This resulted in Mussolini to encourage large families and birth. However, this battle actually resulted in a decrease in birth rates. -
Kellogg-Briand Treaty signed
The Treaty of Kellogg-Briand, which outlawed war, was signed by 15 nations in hopes of preserving peace. -
Lateran Treaty with Pope
Mussolini made an agreement with the pope to gain his support of the fascist party. In order to achieved this, he gave Vatican City to the pope for a papal state, enforced religious schooling, and paid a large sum of money. However, this left the Pope as a competitor for power with Mussolini. -
Italian involvement with Spanish Civil War
Mussolini made contacts with right-winged forces in Spain after coming into power. In March 1934, Mussolini met with right-winged politicians and forces and agreed to aid them in the Civil War. -
Abyssinian Crisis
In 1935, Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia caused the League of Nations to impose economic sanctions on Italy. This caused Mussolini to press even further for autarchy. -
Stresa Front
The Stresa Front was an agreement between France, Britain and Italy to confirm the Locarno treaties, the independence of Austria and resistance to the German’s tendency to change the Treaty of Versailles. -
Rome-Berlin Axis Treaty signed
Mussolini joined an alliance with Nazi Germany. This resulted in anti-Semitism to begin affecting fascist policies. -
Munich Conference
At the Munich Conference an agreement was signed which allowed for Germany to annex the more Germanic areas of Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland). Hitler was able to get the British and French to agree to this annexation due to their fear of war, caused by World War 1, and their belief that this action would allow for peace. -
Italy invades Albania
On April 7th General Alfredo Guzzoni lead Mussolini’s troops to invade Albania. The Italians had great success and by April 10th had taken almost complete control of the countries. -
Italy enters WW II on side of Germany
In June 1940, Hitler convinced Mussolini to declare war on Great Britain and France. This sparked opposition and strikes throughout Italy. -
Mussolini brought down by coup during WW II
As the Allies became more successful, Mussolini was blamed for Italian military failures. A strong distaste for many of Mussolini’s actions- such as his nepotism and alliance with Nazi Germany- rose amongst the Italians. This caused a coup on July 24th when the Fascist Grand Council voted (19 to 7) to remove Mussolini from power. -
Mussolini killed
The day following Mussolini’s (second) arrest, Mussolini was taken by a communist lead group and he was shot along with his mistress.
