Italian Eritrea

Italian Eritrea(Italian:Colonia Eritrea, "Colony of Eritrea") was a colony of theKingdom of Italyin the territory of present-dayEritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase ofAssabby theRubattino Shipping Companyin 1869, which came under government control in 1882. Occupation ofMassawain 1885 and the subsequentexpansion of territorywould gradually engulf the region and in 1889 theEthiopian Empirerecognized the Italian possession in theTreaty of Wuchale. In 1890 the Colony of Eritrea was officially founded.
In 1936 the region was integrated intoItalian East Africaas theEritrea Governorate. This would last until Italy's loss of the region in 1941, during theEast African campaignofWorld War II. Italian Eritrea then came underBritish military administration, which in 1951 fell underUnited Nationssupervision. In September 1952 it becamean autonomous part of Ethiopia, until itsindependence in 1991.
The leading figure of the early history of Italian enterprises in theRed SeawasGiuseppe Sapeto. When a young monk, preparing himself in Cairo for missionary work, he had been dispatched in 1837 intoAbyssinia. Afterward, he became an active advocate of European penetration, initially encouraging the French to establish themselves in the area. After 1866, following the political unification of Italy, he sought to develop Italian influence instead. As theSuez Canalneared completion, he began to visualize the establishment of a coaling station and port of call for Italian steamships in the Red Sea. Sapeto won over the Italian minister for foreign affairs, andKingVictor Emmanuel II, to whom he explained his ideas.
In the autumn of 1869 he, together withAdmiral Acton, was sent by the government to the Red Sea to choose a suitable port and arrange for its sale. This he did by paying a small deposit to theDanakilchiefs at Assab Bay in return for their promise to sell their territory to him on his return. Meanwhile, the government had been in touch withRaffaele Rubattino, whose company was planning to establish a steamship line through the newly opened Suez Canal and the Red Sea to India. It was agreed that the company would buy the territory in its own name and with its own funds, but should undertake to use it in the national interest. Sapeto returned to the Red Sea on behalf of the company, completed the purchase and bought more land to the south.
By March 1870, an Italian shipping company had thus become claimant to territory at the northern end of Assab Bay, a deserted but spacious bay about half-way between Annesley Bay to the north and Obock to the South.However, the area, — which had been long dominated by theOttoman EmpireandEgypt— was not settled by the Italians until 1880.Two years later, Italy formally took possession of the nascent colony from its commercial owners.
Most of the western coast of the Red Sea was then formally claimed by theKhedivate of Egypt(under the notional rule of the Ottoman Empire, who held the eastern coast) but the region was thrown into chaos by major Egyptian defeats in theEgyptian–Ethiopian Warand by the success ofthe Mahdi's uprising in theSudan. In 1884, theBritishHewett Treatypromised theBogos—thehighlandsof modernEritrea—and free access to theMassawancoast toEmperorYohannes IVin exchange for his help evacuating garrisons from the Sudan;
In the vacuum left by the Egyptian withdrawal, though, British diplomats were concerned about the rapid expansion ofFrench Somaliland,France's colony along theGulf of Tadjoura. Ignoring their treaty with Ethiopia, they openly encouraged Italy to expand north intoMassawa, which was taken without a shot from its Egyptian garrison. Located on acoralislandsurrounded by lucrativepearl-fishing grounds,the superior port was fortified and made the capital of the Italian governor.Assab, meanwhile, continued to find service as acoaling station.As they were not a party to theHewett Treaty, the Italians began restricting access to arms shipments and imposingcustoms dutieson Ethiopian goods immediately.
In the disorder that followed the1889 deathof Yohannes IV, Gen.Oreste Baratierioccupied the highlands along the Eritrean coast and Italy proclaimed the establishment of a new colony ofEritrea(from theLatinname for theRed Sea), with capitalAsmarain substitution ofMassawa.
In theTreaty of Wuchale(It.Uccialli) signed the same year, King Menelik ofShewa—a southern Ethiopian kingdom—recognized the Italian occupation of his rivals' lands ofBogos,Hamasien,Akele Guzay, andSeraein exchange for guarantees of financial assistance and continuing access to European arms and ammunition. His subsequent victory over his rival kings and enthronement as EmperorMenelik II(r. 1889–1913) made the treaty formally binding upon the entire country.
Once established, however, Menelik took a dim view towards Italian involvement with local leaders in his northern province ofTigray;while the Italians, for their part, felt bound to involvement given the regular Tigrayan raiding of tribes within their colony's protectorateand the Tigrayan leaders themselves continued to claim the provinces now held by Italy. Negotiations with the French over arailwaybrought things to a head: theItalian—butnotAmharic—version of the Treaty of Wuchale had prohibited Ethiopia with foreign negotiations except through Italy, effectively making the realm an Italianprotectorate. Secure both domestically and militarily (thanks to arms shipments viaFrenchDjiboutiandHarar), Menelik denounced the treaty in whole and theensuing war, culminating in Italy's disastrous defeat atAdwa, ended their hopes of annexing Ethiopia for a time.
During the late twentieth century Assab would becomeEthiopia's main port, but it was long overshadowed by nearbyDjibouti, whoserailway(completed toDire Dawain 1902) permitted it to quickly supplant traditionalcaravan-based routes toAssabandZeila.Massawaremained the primary port for most of northern Ethiopia, but its relatively high customs dues, dependence on caravans, and political antagonism limited the volume on its trade with Ethiopia.
Seeking to develop their own lands, the Italian government launched the first development projects in the new colony in the late 1880s. TheEritrean Railwaywas completed toSaatiin 1888and reachedAsmarain the highlands in 1911.
TheAsmara–Massawa Cableway(dismantled by the British as war reparations in World War II) was the longest line in the world during its time. Italian administration of Eritrea also brought improvements in the medical and agricultural sectors of Eritrean society. Despite an imposition of racial laws, all urban Eritreans had access to modern sanitation and hospital services.
The Italians also employed local Eritreans in public service, particularly the police and public works departments. In a region marked by cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity, a succession of Italian governors maintained a notable degree of unity and public order.
NicknamedColonia Primogenita("First-born Colony") in contrast to the newer and less-developed territories ofItalian SomalilandandLibya,Eritrea boasted a largernative Italian settlementthan the other lands. The first few dozen families were sponsored by the Italian government around the start of the 20th century and settled aroundAsmaraandMassawa.
TheItalian-Eritrean communitythen grew from around 4,000 duringWorld War Ito nearly 100,000 at the beginning ofWorld War II.While toleratingIslamicadherence, the Italians endorsed a huge expansion ofCatholicismin Eritrea and constructed many churches in the highlands around Asmara andKeren, centered on theChurch of Our Lady of the Rosaryin the capital.
By the early 1940s, Catholicism was the declared religion of around 28% of the colony's population, while Christianity was the religion of more than half the Eritreans.
Benito Mussolini's rise to power in Italy in 1922 brought profound changes to the colonial government in Eritrea. Afteril Ducedeclared the birth ofItalian Empirein May 1936, Italian Eritrea (enlarged with northern Ethiopia's regions) and Italian Somaliland were merged with the just conquered Ethiopia in the newItalian East Africa(Africa Orientale Italiana) administrative territory. ThisFascistperiod was characterized by imperial expansion in the name of a "new Roman Empire".
Eritrea was chosen by the Italian government to be the industrial center of Italian East Africa:
The capital of Eritrea experienced a huge increase in population: in 1935 there were only 4,000 Italians and 12,000 Eritreans; in 1938 there were 48,000 Italians and 36,000 Eritreans. Historian Gian Luca Podesta wrote thatpractically Asmara has become an Italian city("in pratica Asmara era diventata una citta' italiana").
The Italian government continued to implement agricultural reforms but primarily on farms owned by Italian colonists (exports of coffee boomed in the 1930s). In 1940, in the area of Asmara, there were more than 2,000 small and medium-sized industrial companies, which were concentrated in the areas of construction, mechanics, textiles, food processing and electricity. Consequently, the standard of living in Eritrea in 1939 was considered among the best on the continent for both the local Eritreans and the Italian settlers.
Mussolini's government considered the colony as a strategic base for future aggrandizement and ruled accordingly, using Eritrea as a base to launch its 1935–1936 campaign to conquer and colonize Ethiopia. Even inWorld War IIthe Italians used Eritrea to attackSudanand occupy theKassalaarea. Indeed, the best Italian colonial troops were theEritrean Ascari, as stated by Italian MarshallRodolfo Grazianiand legendary officerAmedeo Guillet.Furthermore, afterWorld War I, service with the Ascari become the main source of paid employment for the indigenous male population of Italian Eritrea. During the expansion required by the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936, 40% of eligible Eritreans were enrolled in these colonial troops.
According to the Italian census of 1939 the city ofAsmarahad a population of 98,000, of which 53,000 (54.0%) wereItalians. This fact made Asmara the main "Italian town" of theItalian empirein Africa. Furthermore, because of the Italian architecture of the city, Asmara was calledPiccola Roma(Little Rome).The total number of Italians in all of Eritrea was 75,000 in that year.
Asmara was known to be an exceptionally modern city, not only because of its architecture, but Asmara also had more traffic lights than Rome did when the city was being built. The city incorporates many features of a planned city. Indeed, Asmara was an early example of an ideal modern city created by architects, an idea which was introduced into many cities across the world, such asBrasília, but which was not altogether popular. Features include designated city zoning and planning, wide treed boulevards, political areas and districts and space and scope for development. Asmara was not built for the Eritreans however; the Italians built it primarily for themselves and made the city a typical Italian city with even its own car race (called theAsmara circuit).
The city has been regarded as "New Rome" due to its quintessential Italian touch, not only for the architecture but also for the wide streets, piazzas and coffee bars. While the boulevards are lined with palms and indigenousshiba'khatrees, there are numerablepizzeriasand coffee bars, serving cappuccinos and lattes, as well asice creamparlours.
Many industrial investments were endorsed by the Italians in the area of Asmara andMassawa, but the beginning ofWorld War IIstopped the blossoming industrialization of Eritrea.
When the Alliescaptured Italian-held Eritreain January 1941, most of the infrastructure and the industrial areas were extremely damaged and the remaining ones (like the Asmara-Massawa Cableway) were successively removed and sent to India andKenyaaswar reparations.
The subsequentItalian guerrilla warwas supported by many Eritrean colonial troops (like the hero of Eritrean independence,Hamid Idris Awate)until the Italian armistice in September 1943. Eritrea was placed underBritishmilitary administration after the Italian surrender inWorld War II. After the defeat of Italy, there were 70,000 Italian settlers in Eritrea.
The British initially maintained the Italian administration of Eritrea, but the country soon became involved in a violent process of independence (from the British in the late 1940s and after 1952 from the Ethiopians, who annexed Eritrea in that year).
During the final years ofWorld War IIsome Italian Eritreans like Vincenzo DiMeglio defended politically the presence of Italians in Eritrea and successively promoted the independence of Eritrea.He went to Rome to participate in a conference for the independence of Eritrea, promoted by the Vatican.
After the war DiMeglio was named director of theComitato Rappresentativo Italiani dell' Eritrea(CRIE). In 1947 he supported the creation of theAssociazione Italo-Eritreiand theAssociazione Veterani Ascari, in order to ally with the Eritreans favorable toItalyin Eritrea.
As a result of these creations, he cofounded thePartito Nuova Eritrea Pro Italia(Party of Shara Italy) in September 1947 as an Eritrean political party favorable to the Italian presence in Eritrea.  It obtained more than 200,000 applications for membership in a single month, the majority of whom were former Italian soldiers andEritrean Ascari.  The organization was even backed by the government of Italy.  The main objective of this party was Eritrean freedom, but they had a pre-condition that stated that before independence the country should be governed by Italy for at least 15 years.
With thepeace treaty of 1947, the newItalian Republicofficially accepted the end of the colony. As a consequence the Italian community started to disappear, especially after theEthiopian Empiretook control of Eritrea in 1952.
Both theMaria Theresa thalerand the Ethiopian birr initially circulated in Italian Eritrea andItalian Somalia. Since 1890, theEritrean tallerowas minted in Rome, divided into 5lire, which joined the previous coins without finding favor with the local population, such as the italicum thaler minted in 1918.With the annexation to the Italian East Africa, the official currency for all the colonies of the Horn of Africa became theItalian East African lira.