Why Did Italy Take Rhodes? | Italian Colonization of the Dodecanese
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- Опубліковано 19 лис 2023
- Why did Italy colonize the Dodecanese Islands? The 1912 Italo-Turkish War saw the island of Rhodes and the surrounding Dodecanese claimed by Italy. For the next three decades, the Italians ruled the islands but their outlook on the colony and the people of Rhodes shifted dramatically over time as regimes rose and fell in Rome.
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Sources Consulted:
Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans: Twentieth Century. Vol.2. Cambridge University Press, 1983. www.amazon.com/History-Balkan...
Kaurinkoski, Kira. “The Muslim Communities in Kos and Rhodes: Reflections on Social Organization and Collective Identities in Contemporary Greece.” Slavica Helsingiensia 41. (2012): 47-78.
researchportal.helsinki.fi/en...
McGuire, Valerie. Italy’s Sea: Empire and Nation in the Mediterranean, 1895-45. Liverpool University Press, 2020. doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1b4gv3x.
Miller, Stuart T. Mastering Modern European History. London: Macmillan Education LTD, 1990.
Pauley, Bruce. Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini: Totalitarianism in the 20th Century. 4th ed. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2015. www.amazon.com/Hitler-Stalin-...
Rhodes Jewish Museum. “History.”
www.rhodesjewishmuseum.org/hi...
My grandfather, who grew up during this period, was taught Italian in school which he continued to speak fluently even in his old age. One day in summer while i was playing in my grandparents yard an old couple came up to me and asked me something in another language. Turns out they were Italian settlers that left the island in 1947 after the Dodecanese became part of Greece. The reason they came to my grandparents house specifically is because this was their family house during Italian rule and wanted to see if it was still standing. They looked very happy to see that their old family home was in good hands and surprisingly my grandfather also looked very happy to be speaking Italian after a long time.
Anyways GREAT VIDEO!👏👏👏
Which island are your people from - Rhodes or somewhere nearby? My grandfather was from Karpathos and his parents were fluent in Italian too
@@walterzamalis4846 I was born in Rhodes and as far as i know all my grandparents and great-grandparents were from Rhodes as well.
@@nukekidontheblock8349 cringe
I was on holiday on Tilos in the 1990s and needed to alert the coastguard that someone appeared to be in trouble in a boat off the beach. I ran to the local bar and, not being able to speak Greek, tried a few rudimentary phrases in Italian, which were answered fluently by some of the older customers. I was impressed by how long this quirky colonial history continued to have an impact on the island.
As a Greek, I have many friends from Rhodes. It is one of the few places that escaped Turkish colonization for some years, and it like Cyprus were two Greek regions that were colonized by the westerners in the 20th century. However the Dodecanese were fortunate enough to unite with Greece. I'd love to see a video on Northern Epirus, an ethnic Greek area in Southern Albania, which was also made a part of it for similar reasons.
The difference being,Northern Epirus was actually strategically important for Italy and Austria. In their minds,they couldn't afford Greece liberating it
@@thegreekguy1124 yes but Greece should have gained it after WW2. The Americans and Russians betrayed us
@@thegreekguy1124 tbf,Today greek epirus had a fairly big albanian community meanwhile northern epirus had a greek one.
@nihil_hd1598 only a marginal albanian population in southern Epirus while Northern Epirus had a big greek population
@@agiospipas Northern Epirus was majority Greek and there are still more Greeks of Northern Epirus than Albanians, just many of the Greeks have moved to Greece now
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought why Italy would want Rhodes of all islands.
Because all Rhodes lead to Rome
Because it was formerly roman. And all other islands in the med were owned by strong European states/allied great powers
@@abbyalphonse499😂
Naxos was too based
Why not?
This is just a theory but it is worth noticing how the motto of the house of Savoy was (and still is) “FERT” which stands for “Fortitudo Eius Rodhum Tenuit” meaning “his strength kept Rhodes” referring to wen the count Amadeus V of Savoy stopped the ottomans from besieging the Island, maybe the invasion of Rhodes could have also been stimulated by this historical/symbolical sentiment :)
I thought the same thing.
It's also worth noting that originally Italy was supposed to return Rhodes and the Dodecanese islands to the Ottomans, and were occuping them as insurance that the Ottoman authorities completely abbandoned Libya, but once Italy joined WW1 they just kept them.
frankly not , Ottomans gave those insland to Italy after loosing a war just like italy gave them to greece after loosing a war .
My grandmother is ethnic Turk from Rhodes. She grew up during italian time and moved to Turkey in 1955. She spoke and cooked italian, always loved italians. Nice to see something about how her life was when up until her teen years before Rhodes became Greece.
Rhodes were Greece from the Dawn of Time. There were many alien Invaders but even then, Rhodes was fundamentally Greek.
@@CaptainHarlock-kv4zt mate why are you talking about Rhodes being originally greek, the original commenter is saying their grandmother is a Turk in Rhodes, nothing else lol
@@LuxembourgYay Because there weren't any ethnic turks in Rhodes. There were some islam-converts, turkified Greeks..
@@CaptainHarlock-kv4zt Have you ever heard of assimilation? When Ottomans conquered Greece and greeks they sent ethnic Turks to every place they conquered. That includes Rhodes
@@PenanceWT No, they didn't. Many places of Greece never saw a turk during the whole period of ottoman occupation. There were surely many Albanian muslims but "Turks" no.
To quote Ernest Renan “Forgetfulness, and I would even say historical error, are essential in the creation of a nation.”
Interesting. An international assembly of the Knights of Malta was held on Rhodes in 1928, at which the island’s Italian Governor symbolically handed them the keys of the magistral palace and gave the Order possession of the old Auberge of Italy. Have you any idea whether the Auberge was then considered sovereign territory of the Knights, like their two enclaves in Rome?
The Italo-Turkish war is such an interesting and unique type of historical conflict! The belligerents the fronts on which it was fought (Tripolitania Fezzan and the dodecanese islands) its aftermath in the Balkan wars and the insurgency in Libya by for example Omar al Mukhtar. And that the two famous/infamous Enver Pasha and Kemal Pasha (Ataturk) fought in it.
Don't forget that it was the first war in history in which planes were used for military purposes.
WW1 and WW2 obscure alot of interesting conflicts, like the Entente Intervention in Russia and the Balkan Wars
@@devvy_01the Entente intervention during the Russian civil war between Russian Empire and Soviet Union is indeed not much discussed
The wars didn't happen. It's all been *fabrication* like Taylor Swift.
@@ptolemy_1427also the radio and motorized vehicles, it gave the rest of the world a small preview of the modern warfare everyone would get to see a couple of years later with ww1
My great grandfather was from Rhodes. He migrated to Australia because of the Greece Vs Turkey War.
Rhodes is such a fascinating island, went there last year I would 100% recomend for anyone to visit
It’s great to see my islands history ❤
Very interesting video. I learned about this when I went to Rhodes around 8 years ago but I never really understood the history behind it. Thanks for this James
wonderful video, good job!
Thank you! Cheers!
The fact that only the Dodecanese Islands were granted to Greece, and not others like Northern Epirus, despite the fact Greece fought against Fascist Italy on the Allied effort.
That area belonged to Albania before the war, and was most likely allowed to be kept by communist Albania after the war to appease Stalin
Very sad indeed
@@georgios_5342 By the way, after watching this video, I went straight to Praktiki Skepsi to see the reasons that North Epirus wasn't part of Greece. Was it because of Italian aspirations in the Adriatic alone?
@@angelb.823 Based my friend. Very good channel
@@georgios_5342 Yes. Sometime, I listen to their podcasts on Thursday evenings to see what kind of topic he discusses at the moment.
They also started a lot of mining activity in the islands.
Finally someone talking about this ❤
I am from kos, whille Italians was on the island they teach only italian in the scool, so the parents didn't let the children to go. Dispate that, when the Germans came, the locals help the Italians to escape for the germans.
So the Rhodes lead to Rome, obviously!
I like suff like this in history does minor things in history is always interesting
Very interesting video.
Please allow me a nitpick: "ch" is pronounced "k" in Italian, therefore "De Vecchi" is pronounced "De Vecki".
Thanks!
Another reason why those islands were taken by Italy was to keep it as part of the Triple Alliance.
When Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908,it pissed me off, including their partners in the Triple Alliance,see as part of the Triple Alliance treaty,all 3 agreed to both consult each other before any seizure of territory and compensation for it.
Italy was so aggrieved that they were seriously considering not renewing the Triple Alliance treaty in 1912, Germany asked Italy what it would take to keep it in the fold, Italy said it wanted Libya and the Dodecanese Islands, Italy's Triple Alliance partners agreed and the rest is history
5:55 The italian "ch" is pronounced as "k"
Im from kalymnos and as i know our grandfathers was learning Italian at school but they were greeks and speaking greek to each other even before the islands were conquered by the Italians from the ottomans. The islands were never colonies, greek people lived there since the ancient times!
Italy using the Romans as justification for conquering land seems a bit OP
If you've been James, who are you now?
Would always look at maps from ww2 and wonder why Italy of all countries controlled it thanks for clearing it up.
Me too! You're welcome!
The short answer is that these Greek islands belonged to the Turkish Empire, which was also an imperialist power, and Greece did not have the power to liberate them but imperialist Italy had the power to conquer them from Turkey in 1911 along with Libya.
You are wrong. Greece was perfectly capable and, in fact, conquered all the Aegean islands just 1 year later in the First Balkan War. The Ottoman Navy was destroyed after the Greek victories at the battles of Elli and Lemnos.
Turkish nationalism
@@auto952"AVEROF AVEROF"
This message is giving nightmares to the turks since 1912.
@@auto952 No, Greece did not, and in the First Balkan War, Greece had many allies such as Serbia and Bulgaria. This war was only successful for Greece because Italy had so decisively defeated Turkey shortly prior. You would have to be a blind nationalist or naive to believe Greece could defeat Turkey in 1910 without any assistance.
Real short answer is: Turks had lost everywhere. You had lost In the Balkans, you had lost in the middle east, you had lost in Crimea, you had lost almost everywhere and if it wasn't the Soviets, French and Italians to help you, you would had lost even in Minor Asia. So relax and don't speak loud. You are not the only one who created empires. Btw nowadays the Uighurs are the slaves of Chinese and you can't help them, Crimean Tatars, Volga Tatars, Chuvash etc are slaves of the Russians and you can't help them, Iraki and Syrian Turkmens are slaves of the Arabs and Kurds. South Azerbaijan is under the Persian rule and you can't help them.
Learn that the UK, French and Sardinians helped you against the Russians in the Crimean war (1853-1856). If it wasn't their help you would have loose Constantinople since 1853.
Learn that the Russians helped you in 1833 at the first Turco-Egyptian war and UK, Austria, Russia and Prussia helo you against Egypt at the second Turco-Egyptian war (1839-1840). How many times the European powers helped you and you don't even know your own history? That's pathetic. Almost lost your empire after the battle of Konya (1832).
You must be a kid, you don't know your own history.
So in 1922 the Greek army was in the outskirts of Constantinople and the Great Powers holded the city. So instead of simply let the Greek army get the city they choosed to give it back to Kemal without a battle. The Greek army never lost in Thrace. The great powers just decided to let Kemal hold the city because they didn't wanted the revival of an Orthodox Christian to control Bosporus.
Learn real history before you comment.
Probably at your schools in Turkey they only teach you how great you are. Typical nationalistic Turkish propaganda.
You swam well in 1821,1898 Crete liberation, 1912 and 1919 🇹🇷🏊🇹🇷🚣
“Cause all I hear is threats from a brute with no discipline, and I’m ruling over you like a boot full of my citizens!” Julius Caesar
Don't ask "why?", rather "why not?"
Indeed.
4:25 nobody expects
4:20
The Jews weren't very much of a 'minority'. At the end of the 19th century, Jews comprised almost 40% of the Island's population.
A european colony in Europe, very interesting and original.
Rhodes is just off the coast of "Turkey".
Error does not compute.
Rhodes is off the coast of asia minor occupied by turkmenistani forces.
Imagine if Italy took Amorgos .
sussy
Impasta
We should give them Mykonos... although I highly doubt that anyone sane enough would want it.
@@CaptainHarlock-kv4ztNo thanks, you can keep It. Corfù would be appreciated though.
@@giulianoilfilosofo7927 We can trade it for Sicily...
I love that you say that "Empire" is an antiquated idea while the American Empire spans the globe with 800+ military bases and 11 carrier fleets. :) But please, tell me again how "Empire" is an antiquated idea :D
Ideal. I said ideal.
LOL whAT you actually mean is that the US rents bases all over the world, how do you have the nerve to call that an empire
the only place the us doesnt pay through the nose for their presence is germany and for that reason they dont want us bases they would be fine with it if the united states payed them like they do everyone else
HOW CAN YOU BE AN EMPIRE AND PAY TRIBUTE TO EVERYONE AHAHAHA
It's neither an antiquated idea nor ideal, long live the American Empire!
American empire?
@@georgekordalis5465 American Empire!
4:23 Jews weren't persecuted at all by Spanish Inquisition, which only persecuted Christians (heretics, protestants, the suspicious of false conversions...) and, at the times where Muslims and Jews hadn't been spelled yet from the country (the kings decided to expell them, not the Inquisition), lacked any authority over them.
"All Rhodes lead to Rome"
The name Vecchi is pronounced vayki not vetchy. Otherwise a great video.
Next Up: Italian American Colonization of Rhode Island
Yooo
Commenting 4 algorithm
Why Britain colonized Gibraltar and North Ireland? why U.S colonized Hawaii?
Gibraltar for the key naval base in the Mediterranean, honestly one of if not they key British possession.
The British gained control of Gibraltar in 1714 after winning the war of the Spanish succession
@@voxinabox2422 what I mean is Italy did whatever country did for its interests in whateer time. With the difference that Rhodes came back to their rightful nation
Yes indeed, Italy had lots more reasons and right to take the Dodecanese from the Turks then those two imperial colonisers and their land trophy's. Good story but why a black blank video screen?
It's because all Rhodes lead to Rome.
So if Italy remained neutral in WW2, would italians have kept those islands until nowadays? Do you think Greece or Turkey would have fought a war for them?
unlikely, these are Greek islands, I guess they would have returned to Greece anyway after WWII
@@panter82 but Italy took them from Turkey, not Greece
They would have been given back during devolonialization in the 70s
Because all Rhodes lead to Rome.
Rhodes? where we’re going, we don’t need Rhodes
Poor Rhodes (and roads for that matter!)
All Rhodes lead to Rome
"The greek byzantine or eastern roman empire" is super misleading mate, and a bit more complex. I know what you mean, but to people who don`t it will creat the wrong impresion.
Could he have been more accurate?
@@xsfsdsdhen1739 easily, could have said "the mainly greek speaking Eastern Roman empire" or "the island's main population during the middle ages under under the eastern Roman empire and the crusaders was greek".
@@aleksandertanchev8148This is like the colored people vs people of color thing all over again
@@realkekz sorry mate, don't know what you mean... But please don't try to twist the conversation in another direction.
All I was trying to say calling the eastern Roman empire "greek" is very misleading and wrong.
@@aleksandertanchev8148 They were ethnic Greeks living in a Roman state that no longer had Rome or Italy in it, practiced a different religion, held different cultural values, had different military philosophy, and a different attitude towards the outside world. Even if they call themselves Romans, even if they are indeed the descendant state of the Roman Empire, they are fundamentally a different people. If it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck, not a pig.
Classic italian snake moves...
Also note that the phrase "una faccia una razza" mostly used by Greeks and Italians to somehow show Greek-Italian "friendship" was first used in the Italian Dodecanese to justify assimilation of the local greek population. It's essentially a colonial slogan.
Nice to see racists in the comments section.
@@countspookula6398 yeah i am racist and im in comment sections
@@countspookula6398 the further down the funnier the racist
@@countspookula6398 racism against snakes? What racism, I only labeled italian actions.
@@agiospipas Fatti una vita, vai a pescare, vai a prendere il sole e smettila di sparare cazzate.
Bucause Greeks colonize South Italy and Sicily 😂 they get jealous our brothers
All Rhodes lead to Rome!
It's Greek anyways but the Italians did good? Why don't they flee the Turks how
Out*
@@TheBlackzmanwhy would they? Turks were integral part of the island and ruled nearly 400 years. What is this effort to alienate the Turkish people that literally lived in the area? Greeks colonized the islands and the Aegean cost just like Italy and Turkey did. Stop acting like you were created in and living in Greece since the world came to place. Everyone came from somewhere else but some came early like Greeks.
@@abdullatifakay4404 The turks are alien Invaders to the Aegean and the wider region of Eastern Mediterranean. The Greeks are indigenous to the region of the Eastern Mediterranean and especially the Aegean.
In order to be an integral part of a region you must have contributed to the progress of this specific land.
@@abdullatifakay4404 "What is this effort to alienate the turkish people that literally lived 8n the area?" Or, in other words, what is this effort to alienate the thieves and murderers who were completely incapable to create a viable civilization and were literally moving from place to place spreading misery and destructions?
In contrast, the Mongols kept their homeland free and they are still living in their ancient homeland.
The Altai mountains are still under non-Turkic rule.😏
@@abdullatifakay4404 we were the first inhabitants of the islands. Educate yourself thats ridiculous
because rhodes didnt in fact lead to rome.
Simply because it has always been Venetian
What
do you mean with "Geman counterpart"? Fascism is Fascism N4z1sm is N4z1sm two different things. So sad that you believe on this narrative.
*500 years of ottoman Greco-Turk history wont be leaving those islands any time Soon*
More like 3500 years of Greek history with some special guest appearances.
that some special guest appearances consists Greece's one third of its history. We have affected the Greek history nearly as Roman Empire. Special guest hahaha of course.
@@abdullatifakay4404 The Ottoman invaders held Rhodes captive for 390 years. Comparing this period with the seemingly eternal Greek presence on the Island, the Ottoman occupation was a mere episode. The ugliest and the most unbeneficial for the indigenous Greek islanders of Rhodes .
@@chrism7199 Correction: Everyone laughs in their face but they are too ignorant to understand it.
@@CaptainHarlock-kv4ztI assume you live in Rhodes
Rhodes has been colonized for at least 3000 years
Sure, if by "colonized" you mean "settled" or "inhabited," but in this context I'm referring to the colonization that was characteristic of European powers in the 19th and 20th centuries.
6:42 to an extent? It was definitively to appease the Nazis, who were seemingly the only option for the Italians after the split with France.
This video gets a 👍
Thanks a ton!
You're welcome
because all rhodes lead to rome.
“Italy, first as a fragile democracy…” wtwhat, it was a monarchy from the getgo lol
A constitutional monarchy.
Democracy doesn't mean republic, just look at the Uk or Norway
Why do you speak that way? It sounds silly
What way? If its how I pronounce certain things, its because I grew up in both the UK and USA and ended up with a hybrid accent.
@@LookBackHistory I have no idea what he's on about, I really enjoy hearing you talk tbh
turkey actually borrowed rhodes to italy
No they didn’t, Turkey renounced all claims to the islands (along with Cyprus) in the Treaty of Lausanne.
@@northseapirate2313 nope we still own two big islands and unhabitable ones
@@koseku3 I mean the Dodecanese
@@koseku3Learn that the UK, French and Sardinians helped you against the Russians in the Crimean war (1853-1856). If it wasn't their help you would have loose Constantinople since 1853.
Learn that the Russians helped you in 1833 at the first Turco-Egyptian war and UK, Austria, Russia and Prussia helo you against Egypt at the second Turco-Egyptian war (1839-1840). How many times the European powers helped you and you don't even know your own history? That's pathetic. Almost lost your empire after the battle of Konya (1832).
You must be a kid, you don't know your own history.
So in 1922 the Greek army was in the outskirts of Constantinople and the Great Powers holded the city. So instead of simply let the Greek army get the city they choosed to give it back to Kemal without a battle. The Greek army never lost in Thrace. The great powers just decided to let Kemal hold the city because they didn't wanted the revival of an Orthodox Christian to control Bosporus.
Learn real history before you comment.
Probably at your schools in Turkey they only teach you how great you are. Typical nationalistic Turkish propaganda.
You swam well in 1821,1898 Crete liberation, 1912 and 1919 🇹🇷🏊🇹🇷🚣
There many Turks and theirs descendants, who escaped Greek colonization of Rhodes and other islands.They are keep telling stories about islands and their life on them.
Also many Germans in 1945and their descendants escaped French colonization of Paris...😏🤣
Greel colonization of rhides and other Islands 😂😂😂 what's this new turkish propaganda ??? The greeks were already in said islands befor ethe turk were even an idea the turks were the imperial lists who came uninvited