Events that led to the Birth of Eritrean Nation and Nationalism

Yosief Ghebreyohannes, Apr 17, 2006

The Nation of Eritrea is a modern social formation that is the product of nineteenth century European colonialism; however, its historical roots lie deep in the distant past. The name Eritrea is derived from the Greek word Erythree [red] the designation given by the ancient Greeks to the narrow but strategic sea that runs along Africa’s northeastern coast and separates the continent from the Arabian Peninsula. The people of the country are a mix of Arab and African ancestry who today comprise nine ethnic groups, which compose Eritrea’s physical boundaries on all sides. These diverse and divided people were brought under one entity by colonialism and unified through the impact of economic development, which had profound effect on their social and cultural differences. The root causes for the war of national independence was largely a continuation of that process as a result of the economic and social impact. Eritrea’s strategic location on the southwestern coast of he Red Sea exposed it for a series of foreign invasions. In 1557 the Ottoman Turks occupied the coastal region of the Red Sea, though they failed to penetrate the highland interior. As a result of that occupation, the Abyssinians were cut off from the outside world, however Eritrean’s had a continuous contact with it through trade and conquest..By the mid-1800s Egyptians began to move toward Eritrea from the Sudan and by 1850 controlled the Western Eritrean plains. Twenty years later, they took over Massawa, but their rule was short lived. It collapsed in 1884 as a result of the Mahdist rebellion in the Sudan paving the way for the Italians to come in two years later. During this time Italy had already established a foothold at southeastern of Eritrea by gaining a concession at the port of Assab and by 1885 they controlled Massawa, the gateway to the interior, which was finally occupied the next five years.This period is known as the ‘scramble for Africa’; it was a time when the entire continent was divided among European colonial powers. The opening of the Suez Canal in1869 had rocketed European interest in the Red Sea in particular and the Horn of Africa in general. Italy was one of these and Ethiopia became another only African state to join the mad scramble for land and subject people. It is perhaps worth pointing out that the Eritrean Southern plateau did become under Ethiopian rule briefly from 1880 to 1885 when Ras Alula conquered it but he withdrew due to attacks of the Dervish from the Sudan and Italians from the Coast. Eritrea was not, after all placed under Ethiopian political administration until long after it had taken shape as a possession of Italy. Through the first half of this century its social and economic development followed the same pattern as that of the rest of the continent with slight variations due to differences between the colonial approach of Italy and those of the other European powers. It was during this time that Eritrea was formed as a separate entity with delimited boundaries. Elaborate schemes were planned for Eritrea; more complex infrastructure was constricted than in most other European colonies. Eritreans were hired for many of these projects and a working class began to develop that included different ethnic groups. But the primary concern of the Italians was to extract raw materials and to settle Italian farmers there meant the confiscation of fertile land which in turn drove many Eritreans into the growing towns, weakening their tribal links and reinforcing their identity in economic and social fact as well as in their minds as Eritreans. The continuous migration of people toward towns weakened the chances for the emergence of strong resistance. On the other hand the severe restrictions on educational opportunities, the strict color bars in the towns combined with the loss and shrinkage of their land led many young Eritreans who could not get jobs in the towns to come together and discus about the fate of their country. However, during the Italian period Eritreans not alone form political parties and resist the Fascist rule but even they didn’t have the right to entertain together with Italians in bars and cinemas.This was the hardest time ever the Eritreans experienced. The oppressor regime ended when the Italian forces were driven out by the British- led forces in 1941. The British were initially welcomed in Eritrea as liberators. Leaflets distributed during the war with Italy had promised the people freedom, stimulating long hidden nationalist aspirations and winning many Eritreans to side with the British against the occupying Fascist forces. But the hopes of Eritreans remained fruitless, especially when the British Military Administration announced in April 1941 formal control of the colony and start to use its human and material resources into the Allied war effort. Only certain reforms were carried out for the benefit of small segment of the indigenous population, color bars were lifted, schools were constructed, formation of political parties was allowed and a limited number of Eritreans were hired in higher position of the new colonial administration, but in general the condition of the Eritrean people worsened economically and socially. The socio-economic structure established by the Italians in the towns and countryside was left intact, more land was expropriated and given over to Italian capitalist and there was mass unemployment in the urban areas.All these factors led to a generalized discontent, anger began to take the form of open agitation and in some cases mass action. The British permitted a free speech and established an active press and information service for propaganda in support of the war effort. These were taken up by Eitreans after the war to voice their own demands for internal change. Consequently, trade unions were formed; several political parties also began to take shape. These new organizational reforms reflected the social and economic transformation of the previous several decades and they were characterized by high level of political content. Comprised of members from different ethnic, religious and regional backgrounds these new organizations tended to express the interest of broadly defined class whose primary identity was as Eritreans than Tigrinya-speaking or any other ethnic sub-division in the colony. The formation of political parties during 1940s foreshadowed the rise of discontent and strong resistance across the country a decade later especially against Haile Selassie regime.Throughout this time Eritrea was wracked by social upheavals and peasant uprisings. In the western lowlands anti-feudal movement arose with serfs refusing to pay taxes and demanding emancipation from their overlords. Highland peasants also reacted spontaneously to the further expropriation of their land by attacking Italian plantations. The last illusion that peaceful protest could not bring freedom of economic and political oppression became clear with the murder of demonstrators in 1958. In the same year a very few angry men met in secret and formed the Eritrean Liberation Movement [ELM] in the Sudan. They were not ready to take up arms against the regime, but laid the groundwork for the armed uprisings that took place three years later.It was against this backdrop that a small band of men in western Eritrea came together and formed the Eritrean Liberation Front [ELF] in 1961. In September of the same year they shot the first bullet on an Ethiopian outpost at Emba Adal to start the war that liberated the whole country in 1991 that no one then could possible have anticipated.
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