Q

The Quadrilateral Name applied to the four fortress-towns in Lombardy-Venetia (Peschiera, Verona, Mantua, and Legnano) that were crucial to the HABSBURG EMPIRE'S control of northern Italy in the mid-nineteenth century. During the REVOLUTIONS OF 1848–9 all but the first provided a continuously secure base for the Austrian troops commanded by RADETZSKY in their campaign against the army of PIEDMONT-SARDINIA. The Quadrilateral was also vital to defensive strategy in the less successful FRANCO-AUSTRIAN WAR of 1859, before being finally relinquished when Venetia was lost at the end of the AUSTRO-PRUSSIAN WAR of 1866. (See also ITALIAN UNIFICATION)

Quadruple Alliance Treaty of cooperation, signed in November 1815, between the Habsburg Empire, Prussia, Russia, and Britain. Coming at the end of the NAPOLEONIC WARS as the culmination of the VIENNA CONGRESS, it aimed at producing a “Concert of Europe” to prevent any resurgence of BONAPARTISM or any other disruptive force stemming from France. More generally still, it became associated with a CONGRESS SYSTEM intended to supply an international forum for the periodic discussion of potentially divisive issues. In the event, the Aix-la-Chapelle Congress of 1818 enlarged this four-power agreement so as directly to include “restoration” France, thus creating a Quintuple Alliance. Due particularly to CASTLEREAGH'S dissent from METTERNICH'S aspirations about using it as pretext for conservative interference in the domestic affairs of other European states, this compact rapidly foundered and served little effective purpose after the Verona Congress of 1822.

Quai d'Orsay Synonym for the French foreign ministry, derived from the name of the embankment on the river Seine in Paris where, except under the VICHY REGIME, its offices have been located continuously since the 1850s. Despite the importance of foreign affairs, until the late nineteenth century the Quai d'Orsay was organized on a modest scale, and in 1900 still employed only 100 staff. Its growth came in the twentieth century as the processes of BUREAUCRACY became ever more sophisticated and expansive. (See also BALLHAUSPLATZ; WILHELMSTRASSE)

Quintuple Alliance (see under QUADRUPLE ALLI-ANCE)

Quisling, Vidkun (1887–1945), NORWAY'S most significant advocate of FASCISM and of COLLABORATION with NAZISM. A professional soldier, he served as military attaché in Petrograd (1918–19), then Helsinki (1919–21), before overseeing relief work in the Soviet Union. As minister of defense (1931–3), he became notorious for tough right-wing attitudes, before leaving government to found the Nasjonal Samling, a fascist party committed to “Nordic” RACISM. This grouping remained marginal, and Quisling failed to win a parliamentary seat. His moment came early in WORLD WAR II, with the German invasion of April 1940, when he attempted a coup. This reinforced Norwegian antipathy towards the aggressor, and support for the government of King Haakon VII exiled in Britain. Recognizing Quisling's unpopularity, the Germans occupiers governed Norway through a Reichskommisar, Josef Terboven. However, in February 1942 HITLER consented to Quisling becoming minister-president, whereupon the latter pursued policies aligned with Nazi dictates. This further hardened Norwegian RESISTANCE and Quisling had to be kept out of the limelight. He was arrested in May 1945, tried for treason, and executed in October that year. His name became quickly synonymous with that of “collaborator” in the worst sense.