Eritrean history
The history of Eritrea is the history of the territory of the current state of Eritrea. Until 1890 the name Eritrea was just the Italian version of the Greek word "Erythraia", taken from the name the ancient Greeks gave to the Red Sea. The lands of the country currently known as Eritrea belonged to (or were allied with) various powers and empires during different eras; Among them, the central area of the Christian kingdom of Axum stands out. After the arrival of Islam in the 7th century century, Islamic sultanates allied to or directly linked to the Umayyad Caliphate and then the Abbasid Caliphate (Islamic empires in Arabia) were replaced by the Ottoman Empire and its Arab vassals in Egypt and Yemen. Other regions were allied with, culturally influenced by, or directly linked to the Abyssinian kingdoms.
Ancient history
The Kingdom of Aksum
Eritrea shared with northern Ethiopia the history of this powerful Christian kingdom, which according to the prophet Mani was one of the most important civilizations of its time, along with China, Rome and Persia.[quote required] The kingdom arose around the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. Their language was the Ge'ez language, very similar to Tigrinya and Tigre, spoken in present-day Eritrea, and close to Amharic in Ethiopia. By the end of the X century the kingdom may have already collapsed, although there is little reliable data on this.
Italian colonization
The colony of Eritrea was founded by Italy in 1890, culminating a colonization process that had begun in 1869, just after the opening of the Suez Canal. The Italian shipping company Rubattino bought Assab Bay from sultans in order to build a service port for their commercial fleet. On March 10, 1882, the Italian government bought that land from him and, shortly after, his army conquered the entire coast until it occupied, on February 5, 1885, the port city of Massawa.
Ignoring diplomatic protests and holding open confrontations with the indigenous peoples and the other powers that had interests in the area (Egyptians, Turks and King John IV of Ethiopia), Italy proclaimed the Italian Colony of Eritrea January 1, 1890.
Italian Eritrea became the first colony of the Kingdom of Italy in Africa and received a large colony of Italians, which gave it enormous development[citation needed]. In the 1939 census there were almost 100,000 Italians in Eritrea out of a total population of one million inhabitants, the capital Asmara being the center of architectural and industrial development of the first order in Africa.
The Italians promoted the Catholic Church in Eritrea, developed agriculture, basic industry and commerce, but above all they created an infrastructure of roads, railways, ports, hospitals, etc. which is still essential in Eritrea[citation needed]. The railway between Asmara and Massaua, built during Fascism, is still one of the main ones in the "Horn of Africa".
The Italians stayed until 1941, when in the course of World War II all Italian colonies were taken over by the Allies, including Eritrea, which was occupied by Great Britain.
The British administration after World War II
Eritrea was under the UN-backed colonial administration of Great Britain until September 15, 1952.
Federation and annexation to Ethiopia
From the departure of the British until 1961, Eritrea was a federated state of the Ethiopian Empire; then it became a mere province.
War of Independence
The independence movement was immediately configured around the Front for the Liberation of Eritrea (FLE), (1961), whose resistance activities were directed against the Ethiopian armed forces. In 1969, some of the FLE members, disillusioned by its Islamist and conservative politics, broke away from it and founded another resistance movement against the Ethiopian occupation: the Popular Front for the Liberation of Eritrea (FPLE). Unlike its predecessor, the FPLE was of a socialist and egalitarian nature, since it promoted equality of gender and creed. After a brief civil war between the FPLE and the FLE, the FPLE dominated the rest of the struggle for independence.
The emergence of a communist-style military regime in Ethiopia in 1974 did not substantially change relations between the independentistas and the Ethiopian state, but it did entail several significant events: the twenty-three Eritrean deputies resigned their seats; there was a new Ethiopian offensive with the help of the USSR, which cornered the resistance in the north of the country; and the capital Asmara came under the rule of the Ethiopian army. In the early 1970s, about 50,000 Eritreans fled the country due to the use of napalm during massive attacks by the Ethiopian army[citation needed].
In 1977 the United Nations estimated that up to then the conflict had left half a million displaced, some 20,000 dead and nearly 25,000 people confined to concentration camps. The Ethiopian offensives in 1978, with the help of war material from the USSR, failed to push back the guerrillas, which numbered some 35,000 militiamen.
In 1983 there was a government offensive to put an end to the resistance, but it did not give the expected result. In 1987, Eritrea was again recognized as an autonomous region, although the FPLE already maintained control of almost all of the territory of present-day Eritrea. In 1991, Issaías Afewerki, leader of the FPLE, formed a provisional government outside the Ethiopian regime; that year a conference was also held in London—in which the United States participated—during which the new situation was actually recognized.
Provisional Government and Popular Front for Democracy and Justice
The United States played a facilitating role in peace talks in Washington in the months before the fall of the Mengistu regime in May 1991. In mid-May, Mengistu resigned as head of the Ethiopian government and went into exile in Zimbabwe, leaving an interim government in Addis Ababa. Having defeated the Ethiopian forces in Eritrea, the FPLE troops took control of their homeland. Later that month, the United States chaired talks in London to formalize the end of the war. These talks were attended by the four main fighting groups, including the FPLE.
Following the collapse of the Mengistu government, Eritrean independence began to attract influential interest and support from the United States. Heritage Foundation Africa expert Michael Johns wrote that "there are some modestly encouraging signs that the front intends to abandon Mengistu's autocratic practices."
A high-level US delegation was also present in Addis Ababa for the July 1-5, 1991 conference that established a transitional government in Ethiopia. The FPLE attended the July conference as an observer and held talks with the new transitional government on Eritrea's relationship with Ethiopia. The result of those talks was an agreement in which the Ethiopians recognized the right of the Eritreans to hold a referendum on independence.
Although some FPLE cadres at one point espoused a Marxist ideology, Soviet support for Mengistu had cooled their ardor. The fall of the communist regimes in the former Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc convinced them not to adopt such a system. The FPLE committed to establishing a democratic form of government and a free market economy in Eritrea. The United States agreed to provide assistance to both Ethiopia and Eritrea, conditioned on continued progress toward democracy and human rights.
In May 1991, the EPLF established the Eritrean Provisional Government (PGE) to manage Eritrean affairs until a referendum on independence was held and a permanent government established. FPLE leader Afewerki became the head of the PGE and the FPLE Central Committee served as its legislative body.
Eritreans voted overwhelmingly for independence on April 23-25, 1993, in a UN-supervised referendum. The referendum result was 99.83% in favor of Eritrean independence. The Eritrean authorities declared Eritrea an independent state on April 27, 1993. The government was reorganized and the National Assembly was expanded to include both EPLF and non-EPLF members. The assembly elected Isaias Afewerki as president. The FPLE was reorganized as a political party, calling itself the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice.
Period as independent state
But the problems did not end with independence. In 1994, an agreement was reached with Sudan regarding the delimitation of the borders and the return of some 115,000 war refugees—of the 500,000 estimated by the Sudanese government—who were in its territory. However, accusations between Sudan and Eritrea about the training of rebel groups from the other country in their territories continued until 1994. At the same time, a conflict arose with Yemen over the Hanish islands in the Red Sea, reaching an agreement on their sovereignty in 1996. On the other hand, in 1997 and 1998 the border conflicts with Sudan continued, which were resolved in a meeting held in Qatar.
In 1997, with the creation of the national currency, the Nakfa, economic tensions arose with Ethiopia, which led to a border war (War between Ethiopia and Eritrea, started in 1998), which began in the border town of Bad me. In March 1999, thanks to the mediation of the OAU, the United States and Rwanda, Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to end the conflict, although shortly thereafter the war was reactivated due to a massive Ethiopian attack on Eritrea (launched in the same day as the Ethiopian elections, May 17, 2000). Ethiopian forces succeeded in occupying approximately a quarter of Eritrean territory, destroying most of the infrastructure, planting mines in the country's most fertile orchards, and displacing more than a third of the Eritrean population[cite required]. The UN intervened in the conflict by interposing between the parties 4,500 blue helmets as a peacekeeping force. On December 12, 2002, an agreement was reached in Algeria, in which the UN was entrusted with the delimitation of borders. In April 2002, the International Court of Justice in The Hague established the final borders between the two countries, ordering Ethiopia to pay more than $800 million dollars in compensation to Eritrea for the damage caused. The resolution was accepted by Eritrea, but rejected by Ethiopia. Therefore, the UN blue helmets continued to patrol the border given the threat of a possible new war. The border issue remains disputed, with Ethiopia refusing to withdraw its army from positions in the disputed areas, including Badme.
The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was formally abandoned in July 2008, after experiencing serious difficulties maintaining its troops following fuel cuts.
In addition, Eritrea's diplomatic relations with Djibouti were briefly severed during the border war with Ethiopia in 1998 due to a dispute over Djibouti's relationship with the latter, but were restored and normalized in 2000. Relations are once again strained due to a border dispute. Likewise, Eritrea and Yemen had a border conflict between 1996 and 1998 over the Hanish Islands and the maritime border, which was resolved in 2000 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Eritrea has improved health care and is on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in health, particularly child health. Life expectancy at birth increased from 39.1 years in 1960 to 59.5 years in 2008; maternal and infant mortality rates fell dramatically, and health infrastructure expanded.
Childhood immunization and nutrition have been addressed by working closely with schools in a multisectoral approach; the number of children vaccinated against measles nearly doubled in seven years, from 40.7% to 78.5%, and the prevalence of underweight children decreased by 12% between 1995 and 2002 (prevalence of severe underweight in a 28%). The National Malaria Protection Unit of the Ministry of Health recorded reductions in malaria mortality of up to 85% and in the number of cases of 92% between 1998 and 2006. The Eritrean government banned female genital mutilation (FGM) and said the practice was painful and put women at risk of life-threatening health problems. Despite advances, malaria and tuberculosis remain common. HIV prevalence between the ages of 15 and 49 exceeds 2%.
Frustrated by the deadlock in the peace process with Ethiopia, Eritrean President Isaías Afewerki wrote a series of eleven letters to the UN Security Council and Secretary General Kofi Annan. Despite the Algiers Agreement, tense relations with Ethiopia have continued and have led to regional instability. His government has also been convicted of allegedly arming and financing the insurgency in Somalia; The United States is considering labeling Eritrea a "State Sponsor of Terrorism".
As of December 2007, approximately 4,000 Eritrean soldiers remained in the 'demilitarized zone' with another 120,000 along their side of the border. Ethiopia kept 100,000 soldiers at its side.
In September 2012, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an exposé on Eritrea. There are more than 40,000 Eritrean refugees in Israel. The NGO Reporters Without Borders has ranked Eritrea last for freedom of expression since 2007, even below North Korea.
The 2013 Eritrean army mutiny took place on January 21, 2013, when between 100 and 200 Eritrean army soldiers in the capital city, Asmara, briefly seized the headquarters of the state broadcaster, EriTV, and issued a message demanding reforms and the release of political prisoners. On February 10, 2013, President Isaias Afwerki commented on the riot, describing it as nothing to worry about.
In September 2018, President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a historic peace agreement between the two countries.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
On 8 July 2017, the entire capital city of Asmara was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with inscription taking place during the 41st Session of the World Heritage Committee.
The city has thousands of Art Deco, Futurist, Modernist and Rationalist buildings, built during the Italian Eritrean period. The city, nicknamed "La piccola Roma" ("Little Rome"), is located more than 2000 meters above sea level, and was an ideal place for the construction of these buildings.
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