For citation:
Kochetov D. V. A friend among foes, a foe among friends: Ascari, Amedeo Guillet and the formation of Eritrean identity in the context of Italian colonialism in the late nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries. Izvestiya of Saratov University. History. International Relations, 2021, vol. 21, iss. 1, pp. 67-71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18500/1819-4907-2021-21-1-67-71
A friend among foes, a foe among friends: Ascari, Amedeo Guillet and the formation of Eritrean identity in the context of Italian colonialism in the late nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries
The article draws attention to the extraordinary, by African standards, respect in Eritrea for the soldiers of the Italian colonial troops, the Ascari, and even for some of their Italian officers, such as Amedeo Guillet. The author reveals the reason for this respect, which was not present in another former Italian colony Libya. After studying the materials on the number and combat path of the Ascari, colonial Libya, Eritrea, and Italy’s policy in it, the author came to the conclusion that Italian colonialism from a clean slate formed an anti-Ethiopian identity in Eritrea. It was expressed in the Ascari who played an important role in the war of independence from Ethiopia that began in 1961. Its roots go back to 1896 when Ethiopians mutilated Eritrean prisoners after the battle of Adwa.
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