Italian colonies and enterprises in Eritrea (XIX-XX centuries),

This work intends to give a picture of Italian business activities, particularly in Eritrea, from settlement to the proclamation of the empire. Italian colonies in Africa, Eritrea’s continent, were established in regions that, all together, had little natural resources (except Ethiopia, the colonization of which did not last very long, and Libya, whose oil was never extracted from the ground), presenting little opportunity for the colonial power that would take possession of them to accumulate great wealth. During the period in which Italy had full control, the exploitation of the colonies went through different phases, with varying degrees of importance, depending on the economic conditions, the reaction of local populations, the possibility to send resources to the Mother country and to other international markets. Thus, colonial «economic policies» reflected such phases. The sources and documents utilized were cross-checked against other types of evidence, which contributed to the reconstruction of the historic and economic situation. This included, among others, newspapers from that period, reports by the Chamber of Commerce of Eritrea and Ethiopia, personal documents of eminent personalities of that time, together with a revised survey of economic activities conducted during the years of the foundation of the empire by the fascist regime. All these documents have made it possible to gain an insight into private business activities in Eritrea and to draw a comparison with other Italian colonies. Eritrea was Italy’s first colony, in terms of its foundation date. It was also the most important for Italy and for many Italians, and their families, who were born or lived there for a long time. Throughout the period of the Italian presence, Eritrea was the only African possession where Italian colonialism was able to deploy all its resources, which were limited due to its intrinsic weakness, contrary to the colonialism of the major European powers. It would be important to understand, what role, if any, was played by the credit provided by Italian banks in the colonies also through the analysis of the sources held both in the historic archive of the Bank of Italy and in the more traditional central archive of the State. To this end, the Bank of Italy was a pioneer in Eritrea, as well a in Somalia, another former Italian colony, where it was followed by small banks founded by Italian residents, with some local collaborations, and, in 1935, by branches of Banco di Roma, Banco di Napoli and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro.