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Ethiopia Italian Rule and World War II
Italian Administration in Eritrea
A latecomer to the scramble for colonies in Africa, Italy
established itself first in Eritrea (its name was derived
from the Latin term for the Red Sea, Mare Erythreum) in the
1880s and secured Ethiopian recognition of its claim in
1889. Despite its failure to penetrate Tigray in 1896, Italy
retained control over Eritrea. A succession of Italian chief
administrators, or governors, maintained a degree of unity
and public order in a region marked by cultural, linguistic,
and religious diversity. Eritrea also experienced material
progress in many areas before Ethiopia proper did so.
One of the most important developments during the post-1889
period was the growth of an Eritrean public administration.
The Italians employed many Eritreans to work in public
service--particularly the police and public works--and
fostered loyalty by granting Eritreans emoluments and status
symbols. The local population shared in the benefits
conferred under Italian colonial administration, especially
through newly created medical services, agricultural
improvements, and the provision of urban amenities in Asmera
and Mitsiwa.
After Benito Mussolini assumed power in Italy in 1922, the
colonial government in Eritrea changed. The new
administration stressed the racial and political superiority
of Italians, authorized segregation, and relegated the local
people to the lowest level of public employment. At the same
time, Rome implemented agricultural improvements and
established a basis for commercial agriculture on farms run
by Italian colonists.
State control of the economic sphere was matched by tighter
political control. Attempts at improving the management of
the colony, however, did not transform it into a selfsufficient entity. The colony's most important function was
to serve as a strategic base for future aggrandizement.
Data as of 1991
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