Among the clichés in modern European history, one of the most common is of Italy as ‘the least of the Great Powers’, unable to punch above its weight in the international arena and classed as a ‘latecomer’ to imperial conquest. In this article, I suggest instead that historians have been looking in the wrong place, and in the wrong period, for evidence of Italian ambition. By concentrating on territorial acquisitions in Africa, they are assessing only a small, relatively unproductive and arguably atypical slice of Italy’s global presence. I argue that even before national unification, and long before acquiring a formal Empire, Italy built a global influence structured by the activities of overseas migrants. Yet, despite the recent ‘turn’ to global history and the stress on diversity in colonial experience, the chronology and geography of the European nation-state still shape our understanding of nineteenth-century Empire. Looking at the hugely successful Italian colony in Peru, at both its commercial and scientific interests and at a violent attempt to establish a settler colony in Chanchamayo, in the Peruvian Amazon, I argue that this Italian world was driven not a nation state but relied instead on a common culture, a culture that was created by a capacity for local assimilation, by Catholic notions of civilisation and by ideas of white racial superiority. Modern imperialism was shaped as much by ‘lesser’ powers, often before – or without – the nation-state, and in continuity with the practices of the early-modern period. Moreover, mundane migrants could be the most successful empire-builders. I conclude with a call to take note of the full and diverse range of nineteenth-century colonial activities, and not to assume the primacy of formal Empires in the period of ‘High Imperialism.’

中文翻译：

---

帝国的隐秘空间：19 世纪秘鲁的意大利殖民者

在现代欧洲历史上的陈词滥调中，最常见的一个就是将意大利称为“列强中最小的”，在国际舞台上无法超越自己的重量，被归类为帝国征服的“后来者”。在这篇文章中，我建议历史学家一直在错误的地方和错误的时期寻找意大利野心的证据。通过专注于在非洲的领土收购，他们只评估了意大利全球影响力中一小部分、相对低效且可以说是非典型的部分。我认为，即使在国家统一之前，早在获得正式帝国之前，意大利就已经建立了由海外移民活动构成的全球影响力。然而，尽管最近“转向”全球历史并且强调殖民经验的多样性，欧洲民族国家的年代和地理仍然塑造着我们对 19 世纪帝国的理解。看看在秘鲁取得巨大成功的意大利殖民地，无论是商业利益还是科学利益，以及在秘鲁亚马逊地区的 Chanchamayo 建立定居点的暴力尝试，我认为这个意大利世界不是由一个民族国家驱动，而是依赖于关于共同文化，一种由当地同化能力、天主教文明观念和白人种族优越观念创造的文化。现代帝国主义同样受到“次要”大国的影响，通常在民族国家之前或之后，并且与早期现代时期的做法保持一致。此外，平凡的移民可能是最成功的帝国建设者。