What do you think?
Rate this book
Italian Colonialism in Eritrea, 1882—1941: Policies, Praxis, and Impact
This dissertation has two tasks. The first task is to assess the political impact of colonialism on Eritrean society through an analysis of colonial economic, educational and native policies as well as praxis. The second task is to sketch a partial theory of colonialism.
An analysis of colonial policies and praxis (in chapters two to four) reveals the salient features of colonialism to be 1) the subjugation of the economy of the colony to the needs of the colonizing power; 2) the implementation of an educational policy with the intention of perpetuating colonialism, and 3) the definition of relations between the colonizer and the colonized in immutable terms. On the basis of these features, colonialism may be described as a system of domination established by military conquest in the interest of the colonizing power. Its objectives are the
domination and subjugation of the colony and its inhabitants.
The obvious question such a definition raises is the purpose of domination. Did the Italian ruling classes embark on colonization solely driven by the yet unexplained and perhaps inexplicable desire for domination? If the decades after colonization can throw any light on the motives of colonialism, it is that colonies and peripheries were not essential for capitalist development of the colonizing countries. Moreover, neither the duration of the colonial period nor the degree of restructuring brought about by colonialism could explain the demise of colonialism.
Since Italian colonialism was replaced by British colonialism in 1941, the analysis of the political impact of colonialism on Eritrean society is based on a hypothetical argumentation where the question is framed as follows: Had the Italians not been replaced by the British, what would their impact have been on Eritrean national consciousness? An examination of the records of the various Eritrean political parties (1946—48) preserved in the Public Records Office (London) and those related to British administration in Eritrea reveal that there was virtually no nationalist organization that articulated a desire for Eritrean independence within the boundaries that existed up to 1936. Fifty years of colonial rule were neither long enough nor sufficiently profound to bring about a political transformation that could be described in terms of Eritrean nationalism.
An analysis of colonial policies and praxis (in chapters two to four) reveals the salient features of colonialism to be 1) the subjugation of the economy of the colony to the needs of the colonizing power; 2) the implementation of an educational policy with the intention of perpetuating colonialism, and 3) the definition of relations between the colonizer and the colonized in immutable terms. On the basis of these features, colonialism may be described as a system of domination established by military conquest in the interest of the colonizing power. Its objectives are the
domination and subjugation of the colony and its inhabitants.
The obvious question such a definition raises is the purpose of domination. Did the Italian ruling classes embark on colonization solely driven by the yet unexplained and perhaps inexplicable desire for domination? If the decades after colonization can throw any light on the motives of colonialism, it is that colonies and peripheries were not essential for capitalist development of the colonizing countries. Moreover, neither the duration of the colonial period nor the degree of restructuring brought about by colonialism could explain the demise of colonialism.
Since Italian colonialism was replaced by British colonialism in 1941, the analysis of the political impact of colonialism on Eritrean society is based on a hypothetical argumentation where the question is framed as follows: Had the Italians not been replaced by the British, what would their impact have been on Eritrean national consciousness? An examination of the records of the various Eritrean political parties (1946—48) preserved in the Public Records Office (London) and those related to British administration in Eritrea reveal that there was virtually no nationalist organization that articulated a desire for Eritrean independence within the boundaries that existed up to 1936. Fifty years of colonial rule were neither long enough nor sufficiently profound to bring about a political transformation that could be described in terms of Eritrean nationalism.
- GenresEritrea
217 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1987
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
No one has reviewed this book yet.