Hello everyone! I am a little tipsy so I may mess up my name, but I am Baron Vincenzo Macchi di Cellere. I have served as Italian Ambassador to the United States since 1914.
On April 16, 1915, our nation agreed to the infamous Treaty of London. We agreed to join the United Kingdom, France, and Russia to sacrifice our promising young men in the struggle against the Central Powers. We left the Triple Alliance to fight alongside the Triple Entente, a risky decision, and for what? Well, it certainly wasn't out of the kindness of our hearts! (Although us Italians are certainly kind people.) We were promised land: slivers of Austria-Hungary, who we were integral in defeating, and just a few African colonies. Surely, this is a reasonable request for our war efforts.
The United States (I mean you DuBois) may cry self-determination, but I implore you all to think about the long-term consequences of denying us this land. In the beautiful Italy right now, both a nationalist movement and a communist movement are bubbling. We can all agree that if nationalists or communists come to power, that is bad for Europe and bad for the world, and may even lead to lesser self-determination down the road. We have been forced to face our past mistakes at this war's conclusion, let us not create a new mistake by stripping Italy of our rightful possessions.
Hello everyone! In case you have forgotten, I am the Italian ambassador, Baron Vincenzo Macchi di Cellere.
In the wake of this Great War, I think we can all recognize that we must take collective steps to reduce the risk of repeating our mistakes. Without the aggression of the Central Powers, namely Germany and Austria-Hungary, such a conflict would not have happened. We must not let such aggression go unchecked, and so it is important that these nations face consequences. On the flip, the countries defending order, including Italy, have suffered not only in blood but in dollars. Needless to say, reparations need to be paid.
At the same time, we need stability more than ever. Stripping nations of lands they were promised will only heighten tensions. Although self-determination is certainly a noble goal, it is utopian—in other words, largely unrealistic at this time. We've heard about these peoples' “rights” to rule themselves, but have we considered the rights of the empires? Who are you to strip us of our God-given land?
The world must return to prosperity. Bringing free trade to the Mediterranean, which was detailed in the 14 points, will enter Italy, Europe, and the world into a new age. Additionally, the proposed League of Nations will allow the world to bring conflicts to the diplomatic stage, not the military stage. All countries will have the opportunity to be represented, while the nations who have proven themselves to protect order will be allowed the most prominent seats.
I hope you will consider these points, and thank you Claire and Pierre, I have had such a fun time at this salon.
I signed Letter 1 which called for freedom of the seas and of trade. The restriction of trade, specifically in the Mediterranean Sea like prior to World War I, hurts Italy economically. I was also going to sign Letter 2, which calls for a League of Nations, but DuBois snuck in the praise of “national self-determination with the achievement of dismantling European empires and creating new states”, which is antithetical to Italy's values. Needless to say, I also didn't sign Letter 3, which had the explicit purpose of calling for self rule.
I drafted and signed Letter 4, which states that nations should maintain their claims over their colonial territories and receive the spoils of war promised upon entering the war. These territories were promised by France, who did sign, and Britain, who did not (Russia also promised these territories but they're kinda dealing with their own thing right now).
I supported reparations from the aggressors of the war, specifically Germany. Italy suffered an unexpectedly large financial burden from the war, and so reparations would specifically help Italy recover. However, I did not sign Letter 5 because it called for reparations from France and Britain and to “exploited” colonies. As a representative from Italy, a country who allied with said countries during the war and has an empire of its own, I deemed this unfair.