The Eritrea Problems in HIMs Reign
(Information out of Prof Ullendorf's "The Ethiopians")
The Italiens came very late to colonial posseissions in Africa. When they arrived, most of the lands were already captured by other colonial powers. All they could get then was Italien Southern Somalia and they tried to get also Eritrea.
In the 1880s Italiens settled on the Eritrean coast, which muslim population always made troubles to Ethiopia. That's why Emperor Menelik II gave Eritrea to the Italiens to get himself rid of that troubles, and made it official in the 1889 treaty with Rome. Because of different versions of this treaty, the Italiens provoked an aggression and were defeated by Menelik at Adwa in 1896.
After WWII Italy had to leave all her colonies and the Allies didn't know what to do with it. In December of 1950 the UN decided that Eritrea should be self-governing in inner-state affaris, but that Ethiopia should manage it's foreign affairs. So more or less, it became independent and from 1952 until 1962 it had it's own Parliament and Administration. Ethiopia's influence on Eritrea brought also HIM's education efforts, he was the Minister of Education until 1960, to the north. And so it was able to create a well educated leading-class, but that couldn't stop the fact, that it became poorer and poorer and after 10 years of self-governing unable to survive on it's own. In 1962 it's Parliament voted to dissolve itself and Eritrea became an Ethiopian Province.
Since that muslim rebel groups forced the Imperial Government to keep them down with military power.
In 1962 they asked Ethiopia to rescue them out of their economical disaster, and because of HIMs mercy he took the expenses which allready Menelik II had to face.
Selah
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