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The Fiume Question (1905-1924)
1915-1924: Post-World War I controversy between
Italy and Yugoslavia over the control of the Adriatic port of Fiume
(known in Croatia as Rijeka)
Together with the Port of
Trieste,
Fiume was declared a free (tax-free) port in 1719 by Austrian emperor
Charles VI. It was subsequently annexed to the Kingdom of Hungary by
Austrian empress Maria Theresa in 1779 as a Corpus Separatum and Royal
Free City. Trieste and Fiume were the only free ports of the
Austro-Hungarian empire.
In the aftermath of the First World War, the Fiume
Question ("La Questione di Fiume" in Italian, "Riječko Pitanje" in
Croatian) was part of the larger Adriatic Question or Adriatic Problem
concerning Fiume's fate. The roots of the problem lay in the ethnically
mixed population of the Corpus Separatum in a time of growing
nationalism - Italian irredentism on one side, and the South-Slavist
Illyrian movement on the other - which ultimately led to the 1918
creation of the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs at the merging of
the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs with the kingdom of
Serbia.
Although the secret Treaty of London
(April 26, 1915 - extracts below) had assigned
Fiume to
the provisional state of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the then-neutral Italians claimed it at the Paris Peace Conference on the
principle of self-determination. Ignoring the suburb of Susak, which had
11,000 Yugoslavs and 1,500 Italians, they claimed that the rest of
Fiume had
22,488 Italians against 13,351 Yugoslavs and certain others. On Sept.
12. 1919, the Italian nationalist poet
Gabriele D'Annunzio, who
had mustered a body of men near
Trieste,
occupied Fiume
and proclaimed himself the "commandant" of the "Reggenza Italiana del
Carnaro." The Italian government, however, on concluding the
Treaty of Rapallo (Nov.
12, 1920) with Yugoslavia, resolved to turn
D'Annunzio out of
Fiume.
Giovanni Giolitti, the Italian premier, ordered the battleship "Andrea
Doria" to shell
D'Annunzio's
palace only, predicting that the surprise would cause the "commandant"
to escape at once - as indeed it did. Riccardo Zanella, the next
premier, supported Count Carlo Sforza's solution of the problem, namely
a free state of
Fiume-Rijeka with an Italo-Fiuman-Yugoslav consortium for the port;
and such a solution was approved by the Fiuman electorate on April 24,
1921. But when the Fascists gained power in Italy, the Rapallo Plan for
a free state came to nothing. Pressed by Benito Mussolini, the Yugoslav
government yielded, and a new Italo-Yugoslav treaty - Treaty of
Rome, signed in Rome on
January 27, 1924 - recognized
Fiume
itself as Italian while Susak became part of Yugoslavia. The exact
definition of the borders were the object of a joint commission, whose
results were agreed upon on July 20, 1925 in the Treaty
of Nettuno.
Following the upheaval of the Second World War, Josip
Broz (Tito) and the newly renamed Federal People's Republic of
Yugoslavia annexed Fiume and put an end to the provisions of the Treaty
of Rome.
October 4, 1905: The Rijeka Resolution
 [This
translation of the Rijeka Resolution of 1905 is from R.W. Seton-Watson,
The South Slav Question and the Habsburg Monarchy. London:
Constable and Co., 1911. The pagination of the original has been retained.]
[p. 393]
THE RESOLUTION OF FIUME (October 4, 1905)
In view of the political position into which the
Monarchy has fallen as a consequence of the crisis in Hungary, the Croat
deputies met together for the purpose of defining their attitude towards this
situation and determining the direction of the political work of the Croat
nation in the questions which are undisputed and common to all, and which do not
prejudice the theoretical standpoint which they uphold in parliamentary life,
whether as members of the Club or as individuals.
The Croat deputies hold that the public events of
to-day in Hungary arose in consequence of the struggle which aimed at gradually
securing for the Kingdom of Hungary complete State independence.
The Croat deputies regard these efforts as
justified by the very fact that every nation has the right to decide freely and
independently concerning its existence and its fate.
The Croat deputies are convinced that the two
nations, the Croatian and the Hungarian, not only in view of their historic
relations, but still more in view of the fact of direct neighbourhood and the
real needs of their life and mutual aid are thrown upon each other, and that
therefore they must avoid every cause and ground for mutual friction.
Starting from the premisses, the Croat deputies
consider it to be their duty to fight side by side with the Hungarian nation for
the fulfilment of all constitutional rights and liberties, in the conviction
that the said rights and liberties will be of advantage to the Croatian and
Hungarian nations: and thus will be laid the basis of a lasting understanding
between the two nations.
These aims - namely the mutual advantages defined
above - having been attained, there is laid down as a condition the speediest
reincorporation of Dalmatia in the Kingdoms of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia,
to whom it already falls both virtually and lawfully.
With a view to approaching to the realization of
the reincorporation of Dalmatia, it is necessary that an end shall be put as
soon as possible to the present intolerable parliamentary and constitutional
political conditions in Croatia and Slavonia, and that such [p. 394] conditions
shall be introduced as shall correspond to the needs of civilized countries and
to the claims of constitution and liberty, to the guaranteed liberal
constitutional institutions, such as, for example:
An electoral law such as will render possible and
assure the elections of such national representatives as shall be the true
expression of the unhindered and free national will;
Compete press freedom, with the abolition of
objective proceedings and the introduction of juries for political and press
offences;
Freedom of Assembly and Association and free
expression of opinion;
Realization of judicial independence, the
guarantee to every judge that he cannot be removed or held responsible for his
judicial acts;
Organization of the special institution of a
court of constitutional law for the protection of the interests and political
rights of the citizens against the arbitrary action of the authorities;
Organization of a special court for the criminal
responsibility of all public officials for violation of the law.
The Croat deputies are convinced that a lasting
understanding between the Croat and Hungarian nations can be most speedily
attained by the punctual and strict fulfilment of the rights of the Croatian
nation, as contained in the existing Croato-Hungarian Compromise, and by the
alteration of the relations which belongs to the sphere of affairs which are
to-day common alike to Croatia and Hungary, and to the Western half of the
Monarchy - in such a way that an independent political, cultural, financial and
general economic existence and development may be assured to the Croatian
nation.
As a natural consequence of events, every advance
made by the people of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia will exercise a favourable
influence upon the condition of those of our race who live in other lands,
particularly at the most exposed point, namely in the sisterland of Istria.
With a view to examining and, previous to
realisation, revising the principles, aims and demands here enunciated, a
committee of five deputies has been elected, who will have the further task of
advancing a preparing for decision those questions which are common to all our
countries or are of advantage to the general national wellbeing.
From the meeting of Croatian National deputies
Fiume, October 3,
1905
April
26, 1915: The Treaty of London (Extracts)
[Source: Great Britain, Parliamentary Papers, London, 1920, LI Cmd. 671,
Miscellaneous No. 7, 2-7. The Treaty of London was signed on April 26, 1915. Its
provisions were to cause some difficulty during the Versailles Peace Conference
in 1919. Articles 4 and 7 relate to Istria and are shown in bolded text.]
ARTICLE 1. A military convention shall be
immediately concluded between the General Staffs of France, Great Britain,
Italy, and Russia. This convention shall settle the minimum number of military
forces to be employed by Russia against Austria-Hungary in order to prevent that
Power from concentrating all its strength against Italy, in the event of Russia
deciding to direct her principal effort against Germany....
ARTICLE 2. On her part, Italy undertakes to use
her entire resources for the purpose of waging war jointly with France, Great
Britain, and Russia against all their enemies.
ARTICLE 3. The French and British fleets shall
render active and permanent assistance to Italy....
ARTICLE 4. Under the Treaty of Peace, Italy shall
obtain the Trentino, Cisalpine Tyrol with its geographical and natural frontier,
as well as Trieste, the counties of Gorizia and Gradisca, all Istria as far as
the Quarnero and including Volosca and the Istrian islands of Cherso and Lussin,
as well as the small islands of Plavnik, Unie, Canidole, Palazzuoli, San Pietro
di Nembi, Asinello, Gruica, and the neighbouring islets....
ARTICLE 5. Italy shall also be given the
province of Dalmatia within its present administrative boundaries....
ARTICLE 6. Italy shall receive full sovereignty
over Valona, the island of Saseno and surrounding territory....
ARTICLE 7. Should Italy obtain the Trentino and
Istria in accordance with the provisions of Article 4, together with Dalmatia
and the Adriatic islands within the limits specified in Article 5, and the Bay
of Valona (Article 6), and if the central portion of Albania is reserved for the
establishment of a small autonomous neutralised State, Italy shall not oppose
the division of Northern and Southern Albania between Montenegro, Serbia, and
Greece....
ARTICLE 8. Italy shall receive entire
sovereignty over the Dodecanese Islands which she is at present occupying.
ARTICLE 9. Generally speaking, France, Great
Britain, and Russia recognise that,... in the event of total or partial
partition of Turkey in Asia, she ought to obtain a just share of the
Mediterranean region adjacent to the province of Adalia....
ARTICLE 11. Italy shall receive a share of any
eventual war indemnity corresponding to their efforts and her sacrifices.
ARTICLE 13. In the event of France and Great
Britain increasing their colonial territories in Africa at the expense of
Germany, those two Powers agree in principle that Italy may claim some equitable
compensation.... ARTICLE 14. Great Britain undertakes to facilitate the
immediate conclusion, under equitable conditions, of a loan of at least
50,000,000 pounds....
ARTICLE 16. The present arrangement shall be
held secret. Sources:
- H-Net Humanities & Social Sciences
OnLine, Hapsburg Discussion Network - The Rijeka Resolution, October
4, 1905 - https://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~habsweb/sourcetexts/rijeka.htm
- World War I, The Treaty of London -
https://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1915/londontreaty.html
- Encyclopedia Brittanica - The Fiume
Question - https://www.britannica.com/seo/f/fiume-question/ (this
URL is no longer available as a free online service)
- See also:
https://www.worldatwar.net/nations/other/fiume/
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