Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)

The Kingdom of Italy was a country that started in 1861 after the Italian unification until the dissolution of the country in 1946. In 1922 it became Fascist Italy. After defeat in World War II the people voted in 1946 to change it into the modern day Italian Republic.

Kingdom of Italy Regno d'Italia
1861–1946
Top: Civil Flag Bottom: State Flag Coat of arms
Motto: FERT (motto of the House of Savoy)
Anthem:  Marcia reale d'ordinanza (1861–1943) La leggenda del Piave (1943–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy in 1942
Capital	Rome
Recognised national languages	Italian
Demonym(s)	Italian
Government	Constitutional monarchy and Fascist dictatorship
Legislature	Italian Parliament
History
• Established	1861
• Disestablished	1946
Area
• Total	310,190 km2 (119,770 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate	42,993,602 (1936)
Currency	Italian lira
Today part of	Italian Republic (mainly), Slovenia, Croatia

History

Unification

See the main article: Italian unification

Before 1861, Italy was not one country. Instead, there were many kingdoms and duchies (places ruled by dukes) in the Italian Peninsula. In 1861, the King Victor Emmanuel II, who was the king of the Kingdom of Sardinia wanted to unite Italy, and he invaded the countries. Later, They all became one country and King Victor Emmanuel II became the King of Italy.

Colonies

Italy began their colonial empire in the 1880s, when they conquered Eritrea and Somalia. In 1912, they took Libya from the Ottoman Empire. In 1936, Italy also conquered Ethiopia, creating the colony of Italian East Africa. When they lost WW2, their colonies were lost to the British Empire and the French Empire.

Fascism

See also: Fascism and Government of Fascist Italy

Before World War I, Italy was friends with the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. But Italy wanted parts of Austria-Hungary. In 1915, the United Kingdom promised the lands of South Tyrol, Istria and Dalmatia, and Italy joined the Triple Entente. After Italy won WW1, Italy did not get all of those places. After the Blackshirts' March on Rome of 1922, Benito Mussolini became Prime Minister. He was the leader of the National Fascist Party and didn't like Italy not getting all their promised land in WWI. He made Italy into a dictatorship without much liberty.

When World War II began, Mussolini led Italy into alliance with Hitler and the Axis powers. In 1943 the Allies of World War II invaded and began conquering Italy. Mussolini's leadership ended and he was killed in 1945. Nazi Germany controlled Italy at that time, but Germany also eventually was invaded by the Allies. Hitler killed himself and Nazi Germany was gone. Italy was independent again.

Aftermath of World War II

After WWII, Italy was left in huge debt, causing Italy to be poor. Many people from Italy emigrated to the United States to escape being poor. In 1946, the people voted to get rid of the monarchy (kings and queens) and establish the new Italian Republic. Slowly, the new government helped Italy get back up again into its current state. Also, dramatically, people stopped emigrating because life in Italy was becoming better.

List of monarchs

• Victor Emmanuel II (1861–1878)
• Umberto I (1878–1900)
• Victor Emmanuel III (1900–1946)
• Umberto II (1946)

  

  This is the flag of Italian fascism, a symbol of Benito Mussolini's ideology.