The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1906-01-11
HOW ITALY BECAME A GREAT POWER.
,aAA-

"Great Power" spelled with a
capital &c" and "P." The
majority of readers has but very i'm
perfect idea as to the meaning of this
expression, further than what is i'm
piled by the word itself. The Great
Powers are of European origin, and
constitute political state of affairs,
expressing the existence of power, or
influence, which entities the country so
designated to rank as an equal with the
most powerful nations of EurOpe-nOw
of the world. The advent of new
Great Power on the political horizon is
usually heralded to the world by the
other Great Powers through their rails
ing the ranks of their representatives to
the new power from ministers to am
bassadors. About fifteen years ago
such an interchange of ranks COM
menced between the United States and
the six European Great Powers. JAP
an, which made such brilliant mill
tary and naval showing in her late war
with Russia, has not as yet been accep-
ted as Great Power, and, probably,
will not be so accepted until she has
demonstrated that her sphere of influ-
ence extended beyond the immediate
vicinity of her island home. The
manner in which some countries be-
came Great Powers is highly instruct
i've. Of all the countries, the case of
Italy is the most unique, and as inter-
esting as it is anomalous. For this
reason 1 shall present it as an illus
tration; tho, in order to insure correct
understanding, it becomes necessary to
bear in mind the political status quo
of Italy during the last sixteen
centuries.
Since the downfall of the Roman
Empire no country in the whole world
has been visited by SO many vicissi-
tudes as the Peninsula of Italy. In
vaded, overrun and possessed in turn
by the Goths under Theodore and his
successors, by the Greeks under
Belisarius and Narses; by the Huns
under Attila and Alaric, the unhappy
country entered the times of the middle
ages only to be exposed to still greater
evils; for Italy now became the COM
mon battlefield, not only of half doz-
en- foreign countries, but also Of
individual provinces and cities of their
own country. The German emperors,
ocpooiollv thooo of <ho uO,,co al Covoou
Hohenstanfen and Hapsburg, appeared
to take as much interest in Italian as in
German affairs. The French and
Spaniards also frequently took a hand
in the matter, and the bones of con-
tention of the different countries were
combated for on Italian soil. Even
the German Landsknechte, band of
freebooters, held the upper part of the
peninsula in abject subjugation at two
different times. The hand of destiny
supplemented the distinctions made
by the hard of man; for 20 other
European country has been ravished
SO frequently by pests, (the black death)
cholera, and other epidemic diseases in
their worst form, as unfortunate Italy.
In point of barbarity and cruelty, the
Italian cities and provinces far sur
passed the foreign invaders.
War, strife and turmoil reigned su-
preme in Italy; not during years or dec
AIDES, but during centuries-fourteen
consecutive centuries. In all that time,
not even an attempt at unification was
made. On the contrary, every city
looked out for her individual interest,
and was a mortal enemy to even her
nearest neighbors, with whom she was
in almost continuous warfare In spite
of all this, Italy showed such an ex-
traordinary amount of vitality, as has
never been equaled by any other
country. Venice and Genoa, under
the reign of the Doges, and entirely
through their own exertions and
maritime enterprises, became i'm
mensely wealthy and powerful, and at
times were factors in the world poll
tics, which had to be reck oned with by
all other nations. To lesser extent,
similar renown was temporarily
acquired by the cities like Florence,
Ravenna, Milan and many others.