The Italian Empire, A History to Take Pride In
The Italian colonial empire was a short-lived affair but one that had
far more extensive roots than most people realize. As a united country,
the Kingdom of Italy is often described as the last to obtain an empire
and the first to lose it but Italians had been colonizers for a very
long time. One need not go back to the Roman Empire when the whole
Mediterranean basin was ruled from Italy but simply going back to the
Middle Ages or the Renaissance shows that various Italian states had
minor colonial holdings of their own.
The Republic of Genoa held
territory on the Crimean peninsula, the Kingdom of Sicily held Tunisia
for some time and the Republic of Venice had extensive holdings down the
coast of the Adriatic and in the Aegean Sea as well as controlling
Crete and Cyprus. The Grand Duke of Tuscany sent a preliminary
expedition to South America with the intention of establishing an
Italian colony in the New World but he died before the project could be
completed. Unlike virtually every other colonial power, Italians were
most often not treading on new ground but simply returning to lands
which their ancestors had held, sometimes for centuries, before them.
 |
| Governor's Palace in Eritrea |
The colonial empire of the Kingdom of Italy had humble beginnings. It
started when the Rubattino Shipping Company bought land around the Bay
of Assab on the coast of the horn of Africa from the Sultan of Raheita
in 1869 to establish a coaling station. This holding was later bought by
the Italian government and expanded to become the first overseas colony
of the Kingdom of Italy with the first Italian settlers arriving in
1880. Hearkening back to the old Roman name for the Red Sea, the
Italians named the territory Eritrea. In 1888 the first railroad in the
country was built and another improvement of particular pride was the
Asmara-Massawa Cableway which was the longest in the world at the time
(the British later dismantled it after World War II). Laws against
racial mixing were imposed but no one seemed to mind much as, for the
first time in their history, the local Africans had access to modern
medical services, improved sanitation, transportation and improvements
in agriculture. Italy lost money in the enterprise on the whole but the
lives of the natives certainly improved, particularly because of the
Italian colonial army which prevented raids on the country from
Ethiopia, particularly from the Tigray region.
As a result, many Eritreans enlisted in the Italian colonial army and
many gained quite a high reputation. Marshal of Italy Rodolfo Graziani
considered the Eritreans the best of the Italian colonial soldiers and
the famous cavalry officer, Amedeo Guillet, referred to them as the
‘Prussians of Africa’. During the Fascist era there was also a huge
increase in industrialization in Eritrea and a subsequent boom in the
population, both African and Italian. Before the outbreak of World War
II, Asmara was a growing, prosperous city dotted with coffee shops, ice
cream parlors, pizzerias and even its own race track. The fact that it
was a “planned” city meant that it had many modern conveniences that
even some cities in Italy lacked and boasted scenic wide boulevards
lined with trees. These many improvements as well as the threat from
Ethiopia worked together to ensure that Eritrea remained a loyal colony.
Not long after the first foothold in Eritrea was established, Italy also
gained new territory on the southern side of the Horn of Africa in
Somalia. In 1888 Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid of Hobyo made his province an
Italian protectorate. The following year the Sultan of Majeerteenia did
the same and the colony of Italian Somaliland was established. Here,
development was somewhat slower as the Italians left local affairs in
the hands of the local rulers, paid them a pension and focused on
foreign relations, defense and the establishment of port facilities. In
1905 the Italian government decided to establish a formal colony in the
region, partly because it was discovered that the local company had been
turning a blind eye to the continued operation of the slave trade in
the region. By 1908 the legal formalities were finished to establish
Italian Somaliland as a formal colony. The most determined problem,
early on, was the trouble caused by Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, aka “the
Mad Mullah” but that violent movement was duly done away with and in the
Twentieth Century development began to spread from the coast further
inland.
Prince Luigi Amedeo formed an Italian-Somaliland Agricultural Society
that established new, model plantations in the colony for the growing of
sugar, bananas and cotton. The same year, 1920, saw the first modern
bank established in Somalia when the Banca d’Italia opened a branch in
Mogadishu. Surveys were done, after which more development proceeded
such as the establishment of model farms, schools and hospitals. Before
the end of the decade, Crown Prince Umberto had come to witness the
opening of a new Catholic cathedral in Mogadishu and the region’s first
international airport was established. The Sultan of Hobyo was usually
very loyal to the Italians, the only problem occurring when he was
excepted to allow British troops to land in his territory and Somalis
tended to resent the British for their colonial rule over Somali tribes
in the north (British Somaliland). After this, the Sultan was replaced
by the Italian authorities and the population was disarmed but there
were no major problems in the future and the Italians continued to abide
by their agreements and allow the original, northern protectorates to
govern themselves in their own way. Somalians were also enlisted in the
Italian colonial army and included such colorful units as a corps of
camel-born artillery.
 |
| The Battle of Adowa |
There were, of course, bound to be setbacks. When the Italians took
control of Eritrea, one of the local chieftains who had given his
approval was one Sahle Maryam of Shewa. In exchange for this, Italy gave
him support such as modern weapons in defeating his rivals to take
control of Ethiopia as Emperor Menelik II. A treaty was signed that was
supposed to ensure peace between the two, however, there was a
discrepancy in the wording as it read differently in the
Italian-language and Amharic-language versions. One established,
essentially, an Italian protectorate over Ethiopia and the other said
that Ethiopia could have Italian protection but only if and when they
wanted it. Each side, of course, accused the other of changing the text
in their version, Menelik II broke off diplomatic relations with Italy,
effectively declaring war. A small Italian colonial army of a little
over 17,500 men was later attacked by an Ethiopian army of around
100,000 and almost totally wiped out, ending, for the time being at
least, any idea of Italy establishing any sort of control or influence
over Ethiopia.
 |
| Italian troops landing in Libia |
However, of all overseas territories, none seemed more near at hand to
Italy than Tunisia. Not only was it extremely close, but it had a
sizable Italian population that had been present for a very long time.
In the “Scramble for Africa” the Italian government sat back, taking the
moral high road as it were, only to see Tunisia snatched up by the
French. This caused quite a backlash in Italy and a renewed effort to
make sure that such a thing did not happen again with the other north
African lands south of Italy, three provinces still held by the Ottoman
Sultan of Turkey, known to Italians as “the fourth shore”. Determined
not to let another power snatch this region away from them, the Italian
government began investing in the area and when the Turkish government
started to clamp down on the increased Italian interest, Italy declared
war on the Ottoman Empire in September of 1911. Italian military forces
landed on the coast and quickly seized control of the major ports while
the Ottoman forces, largely Arab raiders with Turkish officers, fell
back into the interior to strike at any Italian attempt to move south.
The situation produced a stalemate as Italy had been counting on the
support of the local Arab population and resources had not been
allocated for a major campaign in the desert interior of the country.
The Turks, likewise, could rule the desert but proved incapable of
dislodging the Italians from the coast or of challenging Italian naval
supremacy.
In 1912 the Turks finally agreed to come to terms with Italy, prompted
by the Italian seizure of Rhodes and other nearby islands and the threat
of an attack on the Dardanelles, which all powers were anxious to
avoid. The former Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and
Fezzan were ceded to Italy which, in due time, merged them into one
colonial administration, resurrecting the old Roman name for the region,
“Libia”. Actual Italian control, however, continued to remain mostly on
the coastal region and during the First World War, attacks by Islamic
insurgents, backed up by Turkey and Germany in an effort to restore
Ottoman Turkish control over the whole of north Africa, forced the
Italians back into the major port cities as the overwhelming bulk of
Italian military strength was concentrated on the critical border region
with Austria. However, all of that changed after the acquisition of
power by Benito Mussolini and his Fascist party. From 1923 until 1932 a
fierce irregular war raged in the region, known as the Pacification of
Libya. Stopping the terrorist attacks on Italian settlers and ending the
insurgency took time but finally Italian forces resorted to repressive
measures and the rebellion was ended, with the primary insurgent leader
actually being captured by a troop of Libyan cavalry fighting on the
Italian side. The first modern roads were built, port facilities were
modernized and new model farming communities were established. Much
progress was made under the governorship of Air Marshal Italo Balbo and
when he was killed at the start of World War II, witnesses remarked that
the Libyans showed more grief than the Italians at his loss because he
had made things so much better.
 |
| Victory parade in the Ethiopian capital |
The next colonial acquisition for Italy was Ethiopia, which, of course,
was the cause of much controversy. It was sparked by an attack on an
Italian outpost which was on land that the Ethiopians claimed as their
own. The fact that this was not something instigated by Italy is evident
enough by the amount of time it took to transfer military forces to
Eritrea and Somalia to fight the actual war. The League of Nations
opposed this and the issue became larger than Ethiopia but was, rather,
seen by Mussolini as a struggle against the leaders of the existing
international world order, embodied by the League. The fighting was
harsh but, in the end, Italian forces conquered Ethiopia in seven months
and merged it, administratively, with Eritrea and Somalia into “Italian
East Africa”. Tensions were high at first and when the Viceroy, Marshal
of Italy Rodolfo Graziani, was badly wounded in an assassination
attempt, there were bloody reprisals. However, he was replaced by the
Duke of Aosta under whose administration the country was at peace and
began to see considerable improvements, including the abolition of
slavery in the country. Plans for the modernization of the capital and
other projects were ultimately canceled by the outbreak of World War II.
 |
| Italian troops enter Durazzo, Albania |
The Kingdom of Albania was occupied by Italian forces with practically
no opposition by the native population shortly before the outbreak of
World War II, however, again, the fact that Italy joined World War II so
shortly thereafter, and the Italian presence was removed after 1943,
meant that the Italians were able to have very little impact on Albania.
Although, it is worth pointing out, that the period of union with
Italy, following the conquest of Greece and Yugoslavia, was the only
time that the nationalist goal of “Greater Albania” was actually
achieved, albeit for a short time. Before World War II had ended, all
Italian colonial possessions were, of course, taken away and given
independence or, short of that, given nominal independence under the
temporary stewardship of a parent country. It is worth pointing out
though that, at the time of Italian entry into World War II, there was
no widespread opposition to Italian rule in any of the colonies.
The Italian presence in Albania was not entirely welcomed but not
entirely opposed either and most of those in the Albanian government had
previously been in the government of Ahmed Zog, the previous potentate
of the country. Libya, Eritrea and Somalia were all quite calm and
peaceful under Italian rule, the only place where any opposition at all
existed was in Ethiopia. That is understandable given that, unlike all
the others, the Ethiopians had a history as a previously independent
country with their own sense of nationhood. However, even there, serious
opposition had been dealt with and most accepted the change and got on
with things. In fact, of all the colonial troops who served in the
Italian royal army in World War II, the only native soldier to earn the
highest Italian decoration for bravery was an Ethiopian. So, even there,
considerable levels of support and devotion did exist. What is
illustrative of the Italian colonial enterprise overall, and why
Italians should not be ashamed of their short-lived period of
imperialism, is the fate of the former Italian colonies after Italian
rule was removed and these places became independent.
 |
| Colonial Mogadishu |
The Kingdom of Albania was occupied by the Germans and then, after the
Allied victory in World War II, fell to the communists of Enver Hoxha
who established a Marxist tyranny, so fanatical and so murderous that it
alienated Stalinist Russia, Maoist China and Tito’s Yugoslavia in turn.
Albania fell into oppressive poverty and had the lowest standard of
living of any European country. To this day, it has not fully recovered.
Italian East Africa was occupied by the Allies (mostly British imperial
troops) and broken up into the countries that exist today. Somalia was
under the military administration of Britain and became nominally
independent though in 1949 stewardship over the country was given to the
Italian Republic until 1960 when it was joined with the former British
colony of British Somaliland to create the country as we know it today.
And, as we know, Somalia has become the go-to example in the world for a
“failed state”, being reduced by poverty, crime and internal warfare to
a state of total chaos. When one thinks of Somalia today it is only as a
place of anarchy, warlords and a nest of pirates. Somalis have fled
their failed independent homeland in huge numbers, going as far abroad
as Minnesota and Sweden to get as far away from their nightmarish native
land as possible.
 |
| Asmara station, Eritrea |
In Eritrea, the first Italian colony, the British military ruled the
place until 1950 because no one could decide what to do with it. One
person who knew exactly what he wanted to do with it was the de-throned
Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie who was pushing for Allied support
for the Ethiopian annexation of Eritrea even before British imperial
forces had set him back on his own throne. The United Nations, in the
1950’s, finally agreed that Eritrea would be joined with Ethiopia in a
“federation” with Eritrea officially remaining independent. That charade
ended in 1962 when Haile Selassie dissolved the Eritrean parliament and
unilaterally declared the country to be part of Ethiopia. Not
surprisingly, war broke out immediately as the Eritreans fought the
Ethiopians in a brutal conflict that spanned the next thirty years, only
ending when the Eritreans made an alliance with a faction of Ethiopian
rebels after which the UN stepped in to hold a referendum. This, of
course, resulted in the Eritreans voting for their independence in 1993.
Eritrea got it, established a dictatorship and haven’t had another
exercise in democracy since. Needless to say, thirty years of war,
terrorism and finally Marxist dictatorship have left the country an
impoverished wreck.
 |
| Haile Selassie & Winston Churchill |
Ethiopia, again, is really in a class by itself and cannot entirely be
compared to the others. Still, the post-Italian period has not been
pleasant for the country, though it would also be worse than the
pre-Italian period as well. Haile Selassie was put back in control of
the country and money poured in from the victorious Allies through
various aid funds. Still, this did not benefit the country overall as
serious divisions and problems remained which Haile Selassie struggled
to deal with. He championed the cause of pan-African unity and
opposition to European colonialism in Africa (even while imposing his
own sort of colonial rule over the unwilling population of Eritrea) but
this ultimately proved to be not so beneficial to the “Conquering Lion
of Judah” as he styled himself. Most of the anti-colonial movements in
Africa were communist and after some particularly hard times the
communists managed to overthrow Haile Selassie in 1974. This time there
was no British Empire to put him back on his throne again and he was
murdered the following year. His replacement was a communist
dictatorship so vicious and so oppressive that it must rank among the
very worst in the entire world. Oppression, murder and misery prevailed
to the point that the very name of Ethiopia became synonymous with
“starvation” in the rest of the world. Again, even after the communist
regime officially fell, the country has still not recovered from the
decades of murderous misery the communists inflicted on it.
 |
| King Idris |
Finally, we have the case of Libya. British military rule gave way to
the creation of a new monarchy under the former Emir of Cyrenaica who
became King Idris I of Libya in 1951. The British and Americans
established close ties with the new regime, built military bases there
and in 1959 Exxon discovered vast deposits of oil in the country which
changed things considerably. New wealth brought greater resentment and
efforts to promote unity failed, mostly because neither the King himself
nor any of his people recognized him as a “Libyan” but rather as the
Emir of Cyrenaica who had been imposed by western powers over the whole
country. He was accused of favoring his own circle when it came to
dishing out the oil revenues and of being too friendly with foreign
powers and foreign oil companies. This culminated in King Idris being
overthrown while on holiday by a military coup led by Colonel Muammar
Gaddafi in 1969.
 |
| Gaddafi with African chiefs |
Gaddafi, as we know, established a brutal and farcical dictatorship over
the country, marked by tyranny at home, support for terrorism abroad
and for the increasingly bizarre behavior of Gaddafi himself. Whether it
was his painfully long orations at the UN, his threats of war against
Switzerland or his bevy of buxom female bodyguards, no one could accuse
Gaddafi of being boring. He also used the threat of floods of illegal
immigrants to extort huge financial benefits as well as groveling
apologies from the Italian government. In 2011 the hated dictator was
overthrown, with air support from NATO, and given mob justice on the
streets of Sirte. Since that time, Libya has fallen into chaos and is
increasingly becoming a hotbed of terrorism, economically stagnant,
politically unstable and extremely dangerous. Certainly, a far cry from
what it had been during the tenure of Air Marshal Italo Balbo to be
sure. And this in a country, it is worth remembering, where Italian-born
Roman legions marched long before the first Arab ever cross the Sinai
or the name of Mohammed was known to the world.
 |
| The wartime peak of Italian expansion |
No, the historical record clearly shows that Italians have no reason to
feel ashamed of their colonial past overall. Certainly there were
unpleasant episodes in a couple of places but, on the whole, these parts
of the world often saw their only periods of sustained stability and
progress while under the Italian flag and the Crown of Savoy. Without
exception, none of them have fared better after Italian rule was
withdrawn. On the contrary, their record as independent states has been a
record of failure. That does not mean, of course, that anyone in any of
these places is nostalgic for the colonial past. National and racial
awareness exists today in a way that did not exist in those days, though
it is interesting to note that the Albanian government recently
requested the return of the Italian military to deal with the influx of
illegal immigrants (aka “refugees”) into their country, many of them
fleeing former Italian colonies that have since become failed states.
That, in itself, rather tells the story doesn’t it? European rule once
came to Africa and, now that it is gone, Africans (and others) are now
coming to Europe to live once more under their former imperial rulers.
