Italian colonization of Libya
Italian rule over Libya from 1911 to 1943.
The Italian colonization of Libya began in 1911 and lasted until 1943. The territory, previously an Ottoman possession, was occupied by Italy after the Italo-Turkish War, resulting in the colonies of Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica. These were merged in 1934 into the colony of Italian Libya, and in 1939 the coastal provinces were incorporated into metropolitan Italy as the Fourth Shore.
Quick Facts
- Start of colonization
- 1911
- End of colonization
- 1943
- Initial colonies
- Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica
- Unified colony created
- 1934
- Name of unified colony
- Italian Libya
- Incorporation into metropolitan italy
- 1939
- Official renunciation of claims
- 1947
Facts from the source article.
Italian Tripolitania and Cyrenaica (1911–1934)
Italy attacked Tripoli on 3 October 1911, claiming to liberate the Ottoman wilayats from the Sublime Porte's rule. Despite a major Arab revolt, the Ottoman sultan ceded Libya to Italy through the 1912 Treaty of Lausanne. The Italians raised the Savari, colonial cavalry troops recruited from the Arab-Berber population, as part of the Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali della Libia. By 1914 Tripoli was largely under Italian control, but Cyrenaica and the Fezzan saw rebellions led by the nomadic Senussi. Sheikh Sidi Idris al-Mahdi as-Senussi, later King Idris I, led Libyan resistance through the outbreak of the Second World War. After the Italian invasion of Cyrenaica in 1913, the Senussi Order fought back. The latter left most of inland Cyrenaica under Senussi control. Relations between the Senussi and the Tripolitanian Republic were acrimonious; a Senussi attempt to extend power into eastern Tripolitania led to a pitched battle at Bani Walid, forcing the Senussi to withdraw into Cyrenaica.
Italian Libya (1934–1943)
By 1934 Libyan indigenous resistance was effectively crushed. In 1937 the colony was split into four provinces: Tripoli, Misrata, Benghazi, and Derna; the Fezzan area became the Territorio Sahara Libico under military administration. In March 1937 Mussolini visited Libya, opening the Via Balbia military highway. For propaganda he had himself declared Protector of Islam and was presented with a symbolic sword. Mussolini encouraged Arab nationalism to confront Britain and France. He introduced 30,000 more Italian colonists, bringing their numbers to over 100,000, settled mainly in Sahel al-Jefara and the Jebel Akhdar on land partially cleared of indigenous inhabitants during the 1920s colonial war. The 1939 census recorded 108,419 Italians (12.37% of the total), concentrated on the coast. The 22,000 Libyan Jews were initially allowed to integrate, but after summer 1941, with the arrival of the German Afrika Korps, they were moved to internment camps under Nazi SS control. On 9 January 1939 the coastal regions were incorporated into metropolitan Italy. By 1939 the Italians had built 400 km of railroads and 4,000 km of roads. During World War II a new road, the Via della Vittoria, and a Tripoli-Benghazi railway were under construction. On 13 September 1940 the Via Balbia was used for the Italian invasion of Egypt.
Decolonization
Between 1943 and 1951, Allied forces occupied Libya. Britain took charge of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, while France controlled Fezzan. The 1947 peace treaty forced Italy, which had wanted to keep Tripolitania, and France, which sought Fezzan, to give up all claims to Libya. The country stayed unified as it went through decolonization. The 1981 film Lion of the Desert, starring Anthony Quinn and Oliver Reed, showed the last years of Omar al-Mukhtar. Italy banned the movie in 1982, with Giulio Andreotti saying it harmed the army’s honor. In July 1998, Italy formally apologized to Libya. Ten years later, in August 2008, the two countries signed a friendship treaty. Italy agreed to provide $5 billion in goods and services, including building the Libyan part of the Cairo-Tunis highway. In return, Libya promised to fight illegal immigration from its coast and boost investments in Italian firms. Italy ratified the deal on February 6, 2009, and Libya on March 2, during Silvio Berlusconi’s visit to Tripoli. He acknowledged Italy’s past killings, destruction, and repression in Libya, calling it a full moral admission of colonial harm. Cooperation stopped in February 2011 because of the civil war that removed Gaddafi. On September 26, 2011, Italian energy firm Eni resumed oil production in Libya, showing strong ties between Rome and Tripoli. Italy’s embassy in Tripoli stayed one of the few Western embassies open during the post-civil war violence, as Italy remains Libya’s top trade partner.
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