Before the Opium War in 1840, the Qing Dynasty was still a superpower in the east. The emerging European and American powers, in the process of frantically expanding their sphere of influence and seizing colonies on a global scale, have always been jealous of the Qing Dynasty at first, and they do not know the truth. Until after the Opium War, the British had the courage to break the door of the Qing Dynasty for the first time with a strong ship and cannon, and the world image of the Qing Dynasty has since plummeted, everyone knows that the Qing Dynasty is a paper tiger that is strong in the outside world, and it will be pierced at one time, and the Western powers have thus set off a frenzy of dividing up the Qing Dynasty, making the Qing Emperor miserable.
The Sino-Japanese War of 1894 made the international situation facing the Qing Dynasty extremely worse. Japan, the land of projectiles, once trembled under the guns of the Western powers, and was able to defeat the seemingly powerful Qing Dynasty, further stimulating the aggressive ambitions of the Western powers. Since then, the Qing Dynasty has been reduced to a piece of fat and fresh meat in the eyes of the great powers, and has been arbitrarily bullied and slaughtered, and the land has suffered heavy losses in compensation, and the great powers have made ill-gotten gains here, relying on powerful force as a backing, and the cannon has sounded gold and silver, and the pots and pans have been full.
Seeing that Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and other countries have dug up the "gold mine" in the Qing Dynasty, Italians can't help but feel itchy. Among the European countries at that time, Italy's comprehensive national strength was in the lower reaches, and its economic and military strength was not strong. This is mainly because Italy only initially completed its unification around 1871, the process of the industrial revolution was relatively lagging behind, the strength was much worse than that of Britain and France and other countries, coupled with the domestic economic recession, sharp social contradictions, and self-care, so it delayed the opportunity to join and divide the Qing Dynasty.
Another reason was because the Italians at that time expanded in the main direction of overseas colonies, ethiopia in Africa. But the Italian invasion in Ethiopia was met with fierce resistance from the locals. Faced with the poorly equipped African militia, which still dominated by swords, spears and bows, and the Italian regular army with advanced firearms, it was difficult to win, the war was long-standing, and even suffered a crushing defeat of 16,000 troops in the Battle of Adua.
It is not surprising that Italians have always been known for their romantic temperament and artistic cells, but they are very adept at fighting, as can be seen from the poor performance of the Italian army during World War I and World War II. The Italians were frustrated in expanding their colonies in Africa, so they aimed their spearheads at the Qing Dynasty in the east and wanted to get a piece of the Qing Dynasty.
In February 1899, the Italian minister to China, Martina, formally submitted his credentials to the Qing Dynasty, demanding in an extremely strong tone that Sanmen Bay in Zhejiang be leased as its naval base. In order to gain momentum, Italy also sent three warships to demonstrate to the Qing Dynasty in the waters of Sanmen Bay, and soon increased the number of warships to six.
The Italians were full of thoughts, like other European powers, that when the cannons were fired, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty would obediently tame them. Who knew that the Qing Dynasty, which had always been weak, was unexpectedly tough this time, and categorically refused the Italians' demands. The Italians, enraged, submitted an "ultimatum" to the Qing dynasty in March of that year, showing off their cards, claiming that if the Qing dynasty did not agree with its demands, it would speak with cannons.
Who knew that the Qing Dynasty did not play its cards according to the routine, and righteously refused it again, and at the same time ordered the governors of Fujian and Zhejiang, the governors of Zhejiang, and the governors of Liangjiang, so that they could vigorously fight and actively prepare for war, and once the Italians went to war, they would be dealt with head-on. Faced with the tough attitude of the Qing Dynasty, the Italians touched a nose of ash and had to return home in a daze.
Why is this happening? In fact, it is not surprising to put it bluntly. At that time, Italy was already in a state of internal and external difficulties, the domestic economy was in recession, the people's grievances were boiling, and the defeat of the war in Africa had caused a great loss of its military strength, and it did not have the strength and confidence to fight another transnational war at that time.
On the other hand, the European countries that were involved in the division of the Qing Dynasty at that time were also full of contradictions between each other in order to seize the sphere of influence and interests. Britain and France and other countries tried to continue to expand their sphere of influence in the Qing Dynasty, and they were reluctant to let the Italians join in, one more competitor. Therefore, they not only watched the fire from the other side of Italy, but even took the initiative to report to the Qing Dynasty, so that the Qing Dynasty touched the old bottom of Italy, determined that Italy's strength was limited, and did not dare to use force easily, so they would adopt such a tough attitude, which is also a rare highlight in the diplomatic history of the Qing Dynasty.
References: Italy and China, Historical Materials of Qing Dynasty Diplomacy