Italian East Africa

Italian East Africa is an Italian colonial territory ruling over the former lands of Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea.

History
Italian East Africa is the product of the second Italo Ethiopian War, which in 1936 resulted in the annexation of Ethiopia into the Italian Empire. Italian East Africa was created by uniting the colonies of Eritrea and Somalia with the Ethiopian Empire. The new colony became the jewel of the Italian colonial possessions and it seemed to confirm Mussolini's ambition for the creation of an Italian Empire. In 1940 after the armistice with the Allies, British and French Somaliland were integrated into East Africa, adding further to it's territory.

The 1940s were turbulent for the first few years with an elaborate guerilla war being conducted by the followers of the deposed emperor, Haile Selassie. It was only through scorched earth tactics that the Italian forces were able to lure the Ethiopian forces into a fight and defeat them. The second battle of Amba Alagi in March 1944 marked the end of the large scale guerilla war and the emperor was exiled in Kenya.

From the on, apart from a few bombing attacks against Italian officials, the colony would remain largely peaceful, becoming a pole of attraction for thousands of Europeans searching for a better future. From 1944 to 1952 over half a million Europeans arrived, settling down in major cities and their surroudings.

Economy
With the 'Coffee Business' of Viceroy Amadeo the colony prospers and it's revenue helps the mainland's struggling economy. And with the same revenue thousands of kilometers of roads and railroad tracks have been built to develop the countryside and increase profits.

But despite all this, the Ethiopians are not enjoying any of these benefits and instead are very often forced to work for large multinational coffee companies for meagre pay, most of them live at a subsistence level whilst the Europeans enjoy living standards exceeding many parts of Europe.