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The Eritrean insurgency traces its immediate origins to 50 years of Italian colonization from the last decade of the nineteenth century through the defeat of Italian forces at the hands of the British in 1941. Italian colonial rule was often harsh and Italian laws set standards of racism that proponents of apartheid could only admire. Eritreans nonetheless benefited from the industry and commerce and the general level of cultural development that Italy brought to their country. The fruits of Italian colonization made Eritreans think of themselves as superior to their cousins in Ethiopia and, particularly among Muslims, reinforced pre-existing inclinations toward separatism. Eritreans in fact, however, have very little in common. Eritrea has none of the characteristics that ordinarily underpin a claim to self-determination; its population has no common religion, no common language, and no common ethnic origin. It is divided about equally between Christians and Muslims. (it) |
