On May 9th 1936, Mussolini proclaimed the “Italian Empire” after Italian troops occupied the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. This victory was the apex of the Fascist regime but sowed the seeds of its destruction.
Of all his titles ‘Founder of the Empire’ was Mussolini’s favorite. It made him the reincarnation of dictator Julius Caesar who had conquered Gaul. Of course, the Duce didn’t lead any Italian troops in battle as Caesar had done. The war was handled by Generals Pietro Badoglio and Rodolfo Graziani. But it was Mussolini who engineered the war in 1935 and steeled the nation against sanctions by the League of Nations.
Until 1935, Italy was considered an ally of France and Great Britain as Nazi Germany grew to menace Europe. Mussolini had demonstrated the need to contain Hitler when he prevented the Nazi takeover of Austria in July, 1934 by sending 75,000 Italian troops to the Austrian border. In April, 1935, he called the allies together to form the ‘Stresa Front’ to warn Hitler against disturbing the peace of Europe. In effect, a fascist leader was teaching the democracies collective security. But all that changed with the war in Ethiopia (aka Abyssinia).
Italy came late to the colonial game. Although it had small colonies in East Africa – Eritrea and Somalia were acquired by a reunified Italy in the 19th Century – and Libya along the Mediterranean coast that was gained from a war with Turkey in 1911-12, Italy was not officially an empire. By contrast, the French and British empires had divided most of Africa between them. Even the Germans and Belgians had more African real estate than Italy. Before Mussolini came to power, Italy had been secretly promised by France and Great Britain in 1915 some of Germany’s colonies if it entered the First World War as an ally. Italy did its part, defeating both the Germans and Austrians on its Alpine Front, only to be denied the colonies it sought.
Today, colonialism is a dirty word. It has come to mean exploitation, oppression, and racism. Yet, Europeans considered it civilizing. Poet Rudyard Kipling called it “the White man’s burden” to bring education, technology, and good government to the tribes and fiefdoms of the world. Even the United States took colonies by force or guile – the Hawaiian Islands is an example of the latter, the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico of the former (let’s not count what we took from the Native Americans!).
By 1935, Ethiopia was the only country not colonized in Africa. In 1896, an Italian force was wiped out trying to occupy it. It was a defeat that haunted Italians into the 20th Century. Revenge was surely another reason Mussolini wanted Ethiopia. He spared no expense to secure a quick victory, sending half a million men to East Africa and introducing air transport to ferry supplies within a country almost twice the size of Texas. Cruelly, poison gas was used despite an international ban. On May 5th 1936, after nine months of war, General Badoglio entered Addis Ababa. Emperor Haile Selassie fled the country.
One of the first acts of the Italian King was to free some two million slaves. Ethiopia was an ‘empire’, a patchwork of 90 ethnic groups forged through violent conquest by Selassie’s Amhara tribe; where slavery was rampant. For centuries, Ethiopia was a transit point for the African and Arab slave trade. Woke histories rarely recount this. The Italians were arguably ‘liberators.’
With the end of the war, Mussolini expected his old allies to recognize the new Italian Empire – they did not, but Hitler did. Thus began a new chapter in Italy’s relations with France, Great Britain, and Germany. Mussolini now spoke of an “Axis of understanding” running between Berlin and Rome.
The irony in all this is how colonial mega-powers France and Great Britain, by condemning Italian colonialism, ruptured the collective security against Hitler. That rupture led to the Second World War which then led to the end of colonialism – including their own – the grand pay-off!
The Founder of Italy’s empire witnessed its demise in less than seven years and his own nation occupied in 1943. The best laid plans… -JLM
Those are the ironies and contradictions in history I can’t even begin to fathom. But the end of World War Two completed what was started in World War One, the end of colonialism…and of course the matter gets very complex to the point the average person has little understanding and probably less interest in the consequences of colonialism, not to mention the immigration patterns of former colonials migrating to colonizing mother countries, and that includes even the USA and Italy with migrants from Ethiopia, Libya and Somalia.
I think the craziest thing I have observed is the many African Americans embracing Islam, totally unaware or refusing to acknowledge the role of Muslim Arab slave traders on the African continent, and that is still going on in sub-Sahara Africa today!!! And no screams or shout outs against that injustice, yet the same people go bonkers over a statue of Columbus….just don’t get it. Ken
Scholar Thomas Sowell (‘soul”), who happens to be Black has videos on YouTube that give positive balance to colonialism. He points to how colonization gave many subject countries a leg up in progress. Sadly, Haiti threw off its French imperialists early on and has never achieved stability or prosperity.
You mention African Americans who hold Muslims blameless for slavery despite the overwhelming proof of their crimes. The irony is that many African Americans are descended from Blacks who were converted to Christianity from Islam by their slave owners. It was a blessing both for them and for America – regardless of political correctness!
India, too, benefitted from the British teaching them English. This has allowed millions of them to succeed in India herself, the United Kingdom, and (lately) the United States.
But to get back to Italian colonialism: Check out this video link below to the city of Asmara in Eritrea. Note how the locals feel very positive about what the Italians left behind, namely, solid infrastructure; healthy food; religious tolerance; and a vibrant coffee culture.
Perversely, Asmara remains a pariah to the rest of the world right now thanks to the reign of (yet another) an African dictator more interested in power than in his people or nation.
As one of the few stable nations on the African continent, Eritrea is sitting on a potential economic goldmine; yet it’s not “evil colonialists” who are retarding its modern growth.
https://youtu.be/ay4OVL0Uj2E
I saw another You Tube video that shows that the Italian language is still alive and well in Eritrea and the Italian cuisine, according to some Italian tourists, is the best they have had outside of Italy.
I was curious about Ethiopian food and went into an Ethiopian restaurant, and I guess the owner was from Eritrea, because the menu was a fusion of Eritrean and Italian blends! Also a couple of years ago at our annual scholarship awards was a young lady from Eritrea, who’s parents were Italian Eritrean. She was quite articulate, and in her acceptance talk, she mentioned her background….unfortunately I did not keep the information. but her remarks were interesting…
Ken, You can find a review of an Eritrean restaurant we ate at many years ago. It’s in our Research Library The Italic Way issue VII “The Road to Asmara.” Eritreans are the Italians of Africa.
Thank you all for the fascinating read and subsequent comments and adding to my limited historic knowledge of the period. The Somaliland historical map was essential.
As an Italian family speaking Italian at home, the article provoked lively discussion.
I wondered about the ownership rights at the time of Italians residing there. I would think that Italian succession law was terminated and to whom did the title of property pass?
Whatever Italians owned in Somalia probably reverted to the new government or power elite. As we know, Somalia has since descended into anarchy and fiefdoms. Don’t know if it’s any better today.