Italian East Africa | ||||||
Africa Orientale Italiana | ||||||
Colony of Italy | ||||||
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Motto Foedere et Religione Tenemur "We are bound by Treaty and by Religion" |
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Anthem "Royal March of Ordinance" |
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Italian East Africa in 1936.
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Capital | Addis Ababa | |||||
Languages | Italian, Oromo, Amharic, Somali, Tigre | |||||
Political structure | Colony | |||||
Emperor | ||||||
• | 1936–1941 | Victor Emmanuel III | ||||
Viceroy | ||||||
• | 1936 | Pietro Badoglio | ||||
• | 1936–1937 | Rodolfo Graziani | ||||
• | 1937–1941 | Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta | ||||
• | 1941 | Pietro Gazzera | ||||
• | 1941 | Guglielmo Nasi | ||||
Historical era | Interwar period / WWII | |||||
• | Established | 15 January 1936 | ||||
• | Disestablished | 27 November 1941 | ||||
Area | ||||||
• | 1939 | 1,725,000 km² (666,026 sq mi) | ||||
Population | ||||||
• | 1939 est. | 12,100,000 | ||||
Density | 7 /km² (18.2 /sq mi) | |||||
Currency | Italian East African lira | |||||
Today part of |
Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Somalia |
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^a Full title was "Viceroy and Governor-General of Italian East Africa". |
Italian East Africa (Italian: Africa Orientale Italiana) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somaliland, Italian Eritrea and newly conquered Ethiopia.
During the Second World War, Italian East Africa was occupied by a British-led force including colonial and Ethiopian units. After the war, Italian Somaliland and Eritrea came under British administration, while Ethiopia regained full independence. In 1949, Italian Somaliland was reconstituted as the Trust Territory of Somaliland, which was administered by Italy from 1950 until its independence in 1960.
When established in 1936, Italian East Africa (the other Italian colony in Africa being Italian North Africa) consisted of the old Italian possessions in the Horn of Africa, Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, and the recently annexed Empire of Ethiopia.Victor Emmanuel III of Italy consequently adopted the title of "Emperor of Ethiopia", although having not been recognized by any country other than Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The territory was divided into the six governorates of Italian East Africa: Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, plus four provinces of Ethiopia (Amhara, Galla-Sidamo, Scioa, Harar) each under the authority of an Italian governor, answerable to a viceroy, who in turn represented the Emperor.