When in 1871 the kingdom of Italy took its present form through the
union of former Italian states (Chapter I), Italia Irredenta remained
under the rule of Austria. Italians feel, however, that Italian unity
is not complete so long as adjoining lands inhabited by Italian-speaking
people are ruled by foreign governments. So they regard these lands as
"unredeemed."

Italia Irredenta consists chiefly of the Trentino (tren-tee´no), a
triangle of territory dipping down into the north of Italy, and some
land around the northern end of the Adriatic including the important
city of Trieste. Both of these regions are ruled by Austria. For many
years this situation has led to ill feeling between the two countries.
While it has not had so direct a bearing on the outbreak of the World
War as the question of Alsace-Lorraine, it nevertheless largely explains
the entrance of Italy into the war on the side of the Allies.

RUSSIA AND THE BOSPORUS.--Still another situation which in the years
before the war was the cause of international jealousies was Russia's
long-standing ambition to control Constantinople on the Bos´porus. As
Constantinople is the capital of the Turkish Empire, the continued
existence of that state, at least on the continent of Europe, was
threatened by Russia's purpose. Russia has long been in need of an
ice-free port as an outlet for her commerce. Archangel (ark´ān´jel) in
the north is ice-bound most of the year. Vladivostok´, her port on the
Pacific, is ice-bound for three months of the year. Russian trade by way
of the Baltic must pass through waters controlled by other countries.
Naturally she has turned toward the Bosporus and Dardanelles
(dar-da-nelz´)--the straits connecting the Black Sea with the
Mediterranean--as the natural outlet for her trade, and this explains
her desire to possess Constantinople.