Since 1382, Trieste had been part of the
Habsburg monarchy, whereas neighboring
Istria had been divided for centuries between the Habsburg monarchy (its central, northern and eastern parts) and the
Republic of Venice (its western and southern parts). The population of the territory has been diverse and mixed, with different and often changing ethnic majorities in different parts of the territory.
Italian-speakers have been predominant in most urban settlements and along the coast, with significant ethnic
South Slavic minorities of
Slovenes and
Croats inlandespecially in the Trieste district, where Slovenes represented a third of the population by the end of
World War I (although most of them were recent arrivals, after 1880, from interior Slovene districts). The countryside of the territory was mostly populated by ethnic Slovenes or Croats in the southernmost portion of the area. There were also smaller numbers of
Istro-Romanians,
Greeks,
Albanians, as well as a sizeable
Triestine Jewish community. The local
Triestine dialect reflects this ethnic mix. Based on the Romance
Venetian language, the dialect was influenced by ancient
Rhaeto-Romance substrate. In addition, some Triestine vocabulary are of
German and
Slovene origin, and there are also loanwords from other languages, such as
Greek. The variations of spoken Slovenian and
Serbo-Croatian in the territory were also largely dialectal, sharing words with the Triestine and Istrian dialects. In the southernmost part of the territory, the
Croatian-based dialects are of the
Chakavian type, while the Venetian-based Istrian is also commonly used. displaying national flags of European countries, including one for Trieste with a blue background (the United Nations' official colour) At the end of World War I in 1918 and the
dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the
Kingdom of Italy annexed Trieste, Istria and part of modern-day
western Slovenia, establishing the border region known as the
Julian March (Venezia Giulia). In 1924, Italy also annexed the
Free State of Fiume (now the city of
Rijeka in Croatia). During the 1920s and 1930s, the Slavic population was subject to forced
Italianization and discrimination under the
Italian Fascist regime led by
Benito Mussolini. They were also exposed to
state violence by mobs incited by the ruling fascist party
PNF, which included the infamous burning of the
Slovene National Hall in Trieste on 13 July 1920. Because of this, some native Slovenes and Croats emigrated to the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, while others joined the
TIGR resistance organization, whose methods included more than 100 bombings and assassinations, mostly against Italian authorities in the region, and especially in the areas around Trieste and
Gorizia to the north.
World War II ) and Italy (
Monfalcone) Beginning in 1940, Italy joined
World War II alongside
Nazi Germany as one of the
Axis powers. When the
Fascist regime collapsed and Italy capitulated with the
Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943, the territory in and around Trieste was occupied by the German
Wehrmacht armed forces, which made the city the capital of their regional
Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral (OZAK). Amid the collapse of
German front line towards the end of the war,
Yugoslav Partisan units (
4th Army and the
9th Corps) entered Trieste on 1 May 1945, after a battle in the town of
Opicina on the outskirts of Trieste. The
2nd New Zealand Division also arrived the following day, and forced the surrender of some 2,000 German troops holding out in Trieste, who warily had refused to capitulate to Yugoslav troops, fearing reprisals and executions. An uneasy truce then developed between New Zealand and Yugoslav troops occupying the area, until British General
William Morgan proposed partition of the territory into separate military-administered zones. Yugoslav leader
Josip Broz Tito agreed with the idea on 23 May, as the British
13th Corps was moving forward to the proposed demarcation line. A formal agreement on partition was signed in
Duino on 10 June, which created the so-called
Morgan Line dividing the Julian March territory. Yugoslav troops withdrew to their area on 12 June 1945.
Establishment of the territory and provisional government In January 1947, the
United Nations Security Council approved
Resolution 16 under Article 24 of its charter calling for the creation of a free state in Trieste and the region surrounding it. A permanent statute codifying its provisions was to become recognized under international law upon the appointment of an international governor approved by the Quatripartite Powers (the
United Kingdom, the
United States,
France, and the
Soviet Union). On 15 September 1947, the peace treaty between the
United Nations (UN) and Italy was ratified, establishing the Free Territory of Trieste. Official languages were Italian and Slovene, possibly with the use of Serbo-Croatian in the portion of Zone B south of the
Dragonja River. However, local government bodies were never formed, and it continued to be run by military authorities, respecting the administrative division demarcated by the Morgan Line: Zone A, which was and had a population of 262,406including Trieste itselfwas administered by the
British and
American forces; Zone B,which was with 71,000 residentsincluding north-western Istriawas administered by the
Yugoslav army. in
Poland Between October 1947 and March 1948, the
Soviet Union rejected the candidacy of 12 successive nominees for the civilian governor of the territory, at which point the Tripartite Powers (United States, United Kingdom, and France) issued a note to the Soviet and Yugoslav governments on 20 March 1948 recommending that the territory be returned to Italian sovereignty. Since no governor was ever appointed under the terms of UN Resolution 16, the Territory never functioned as a real independent statealthough its formal status and separate sovereignty were generally respected. It operated as a separate state in the
Marshall Plan (launched in April 1948) and the related
OEEC (formed in March 1948). Meanwhile, the
Tito-Stalin split in mid-1948 led to the deterioration of relations between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, which resulted in a political stalemate, and the proposal to return the territory to Italy was suspended until 1954. However,
postage stamps were issued, with Italian issues
overprinted for use in Zone A, and Yugoslav ones overprinted for Zone B. Later, issues specific to each area were produced. The
Allied Military Government (AMG) thus continued to administer Zone A. The governance was split into peacekeeping and law enforcement sectors, with the local command comprising 5,000 Americans in the
Trieste United States Troops (TRUST) and 5,000 British personnel in the
British Element Trieste Forces (BETFOR). According to the estimates published by the Allied Military Government, the population in Zone A as of 1949 was about 310,000, which included 239,200 ethnic Italians and 63,000 ethnic Slovenes. According to contemporary Italian sources, in Zone B, there were at the time 36,000 to 55,000 Italians and 12,000 to 17,000 Slovenes and Croats. According to the Yugoslav census of 1945 (which was described as "falsified" by US military intelligence), in the part of Istria which was to become Zone B there were a total of 67,461 inhabitantsincluding 30,789 Slovenes, Serbs and Croats, 29,672 Italians, and 7,000 people of unidentified nationality. Elections in the Territory were held twice, in 1949 and 1952, but only for municipal councils. The elections for what was supposed to be the People's Assembly (Free Territory of Trieste's national legislature) were never held.
Change in the Administration On 5 October 1954, the London Memorandum was signed by ministers of the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and Yugoslavia. The memorandum did not change the de jure status of the Free Territory of Trieste, == Governors of the territory ==