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Eritrea is a young nation that only recently won its independence from Ethiopia after a long war. However, this youngest country of Africa is an ancient land whose history goes back thousands of years. Eritrea has a diverse ethnic population, with nine major ethnic groups and many subgroups, each with its own distinctive language, customs and religious beliefs.
Occupying the lowlands, the earliest known settlers in Eritrea are said to have come from the Nile valley around 4,000 B.C. Later, migrants from the North African kingdom of Cush (now southern Egypt/northern Sudan) settled in the highlands. About 1,000 B.C, Semitic people from the kingdom of Saba (or She'ba, located in the southwestern Arabian peninsula) crossed the Red Sea and invaded the Cushitic settlers. The Semites established the kingdom of Aksum, which rose to prominence between 400 and 700 A.D. Different groups dominated the area until the 16th century, when the area came under the control of the Ottoman Turks, who ruled for over three centuries. Colonizers were attracted by the area's access to the Red Sea, and by 1875 Egypt had defeated the Turks and taken over control of the region. Beginning in 1882, Italian colonizers gradually usurped Egyptian control of Eritrea, proclaiming it an Italian colony in 1890. Italian rule lasted until World War II, when British forces occupied the territory. The British administration continued until 1952, when the United Nations created a federation of Eritrea and Ethiopia. In 1962, however, Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie ended Eritrean autonomy, imposing the Amharic language of Ethiopia on Eritreans and making Eritrea Ethiopia's 14th province. Eritreans wanted their freedom and their own nation. In 1961, the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) launched an armed struggle for independence. Revolution spread across the central highlands, beginning what was to be a brutal 30-year war (September 1962-May 1991). In the early 1970s, the ELF split apart and some members left to launch another movement that was later named the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF).The EPLF eventually came to lead Eritrea's war. In 1974, Selassie's regime in Ethiopia was overthrown and replaced by a new ruler, Colonel Menigstu Mariam, who secured the Soviet Union as Ethiopia's new and powerful ally against Eritrea. Yet when the Soviet Union stopped its military aid to Ethiopia in the late 1980s, Ethiopia's military power began to falter. In May 1991, the EPLF liberated Asmara and the war ended victoriously for Eritreans.
In a referendum vote held two years after liberation, Eritreans voted for full sovereignty, with President Isaias Afewerki as their leader. On May 24, 1993, the country declared independence. Afterwards, Eritrea enjoyed good relations with Ethiopia, though a border dispute erupted into war in 1998. In December 2000 the two countries signed a formal peace agreement. |
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