History of Eritrea - Italian Colonization

Italian Colonization

The boundaries of modern Eritrea and the entire region were established during the European colonial period between Italian, British and French colonialists as well as the lone landlocked African Empire of Abyssinia which found itself surrounded and its boundaries defined by said colonial powers.

During the medieval period and prior to the Ottoman occupation of Debarewa in 1557, Eritrea’s historical name was Bahre-Negash (Kingdom of the Sea). Later with the fall of the Kingdom, the area was calledMedri Bahri ("Land of the Sea") until the Italians came to the area in the late 19th century.

The Kingdom of Italy created Eritrea at the end of the nineteenth century, using the classical name for the Red Sea ("erythra"). The colony of Italian Eritrea was established in 1890 (and lasted officially until 1947).