114 years ago today, September 30, 1911 (August 9, 1911 in the lunar calendar), Italy and Turkey competed for Tripoli. Casualties in Tripoli On September 30, 1911, Italy declared war on Turkey in order to gain control of Tripoli. After the declaration of war, Italy immediately launched an attack on Turkey and blew up a Turkish torpedo boat in the port of Preveza a few hours later. Due to the favorable position of the Italian navy, it then blockaded Tripoli. This occurred after Turkey rejected Italy's ultimatum to hand over Libya. Many Europeans believed that this situation would lead to a war in the Mediterranean and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The main concern now is to localize the war and limit it to the Tripoli area. Turkey is reported to have no hostile behavior towards Italy, so Italy's actions are widely condemned as reckless and hasty. A British newspaper said Italy was a "pirate" and a "bandit." But the Italian people took to the streets to express their support for entering the war.