. "Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved out large empires over several hundred years. Italy had arrived late to the colonial race, and its relative weakness in international affairs meant that it was dependent on the acquiescence of Britain, France and Germany toward its empire-building. One of the last remaining areas open to colonization was on the African continent."@en . . . . . "Italian Colonies (Twilight of a New Era)"@en . "Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved out large empires over several hundred years. Italy had arrived late to the colonial race, and its relative weakness in international affairs meant that it was dependent on the acquiescence of Britain, France and Germany toward its empire-building. One of the last remaining areas open to colonization was on the African continent. By the outbreak of World War I in 1915, Italy had annexed Eritrea and Somalia, and had wrested control of portions of the Ottoman Empire (Libya and Dodecanese), though it was defeated in its attempt to conquer Ethiopia."@en . .