Italian Colonization: Case of Libya

Muhammad Aminnuddin bin Abdul Rahman 1313769

Factors of Italian occupation on Libya• Commercial and Economical interest• control the commercial route that linking between

Mediterranean with trans-Sahara.• to regulate the path that led the heart of the

Sahara (center of the great exchange market)• also aimed to the fertile areas of Niger and Lake

Chad

• Culture of Colonial Power

• to show their greatness by having more colonies

• Practiced by all European Power

• Weakness of and failure of Osmanli• Failure of Osmanli military in defending Libya and

other territories• Turco-Italian War which took place in 1911• failed to face an assault from Italian army (air force

attack)• twelves from Osmanli islands were captured by

Italian including Rhodes Island

• re-establish the greatness of Roman Empire

• make Italian become superior as the ancient time

• to prove the strength of fascism hold by Mussolini and his regime

Umar Mukhtar : The National Hero of Libya

Muhammad Amirul Naim Bin Rosmi1319863

Agreement of Compensation for Damages by Italian Colonial 2008

“In this historic document, Italy apologizes for its killing, destruction and repression of the Libyan people during the period of colonial rule." and went on to say that this was a "complete and moral acknowledgement of the damage inflicted on Libya by Italy during the colonial era“

Silvio Berlusconi50th Prime Minister of Italy

• Omar Al-Mukhtar Muhammad Ibn Farhat Bredan : بريدان فرحات بن محمد المختار عمر

• 20 August 1858 – 16 September 1931• Leader of Native Resistance in Eastern Libya • Prominent figure in Sanusi movement• Symbol of resistance in Arab& Islamic world

Background

• Come from poor family• Town of Zanzur in the region of Cyrenacia• Adopted by Sharif El Gariani, nephew of Hussein

Ghariani, a political-religious leader in Cyrenaica• Senussi University at Jaghbub ( 8 years)• Popular expert in Quran and Imam• Well informed about the social structure of

society

• 1902, Omar was recalled north after the death of Al-Mahdi, Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi appointed him as Sheikh of the troubled Zawiyat Laqsur in Northern Cyrenaica.

The Italian Invasion

Pacification of Libya

• Also known as the Second Italo-Senussi War• Italy commit war crime such as the use of

chemical weapons , ethnic cleansing ( 100 000 Bedouin Cyrenaicans) , rape of women, throwing prisoners out of the aircraft, bombing tribal villages with mustard gas and many more

Guerilla Warfare

• High skills in strategies and tactics in desert warfare

• Knew local geography as advantages• Mukhtar led small group and ambush the

Italian troops• Cut lines the supply and communication

• Benito Musollini initiated two plans to break Umar Mukhtar team

• 1) 100,000 population of Jebel Akhdar would be relocated to concentration camps on the coast, and the

• 2)Libyan-Egyptian border from the coast at Giarabub would be closed

Capture and Execution

Legacies

10 Dinar Libya

IMPACTS (POLICIES) ON COLONIZATION OF ITALY IN LIBYA

• Muhammad Sabil Bin Daud• 1316717

IMPACTS (POLICIES) ON COLONIZATION OF ITALY IN

LIBYAEarly Policy Impacts

Military Impacts

Economic Benefits

Cultural Impacts

Education Impacts

EARLY POLICY IMPACTS• Rodolfo Graziani was the governor general that first to back control of

Tripoli and famously known by the Bedouin rebels as the “the Butcher of Fezzan”.

• He carried out many ruthless actions towards the Libyans especially the Senussi Muslim rebels under the guerilla leader (Umar al Mukhtar).

• Again, Libya was fully controlled in 1934 by Italy under the new governor general Italo Balbo

• He started new policy of integration between Libyan and Italian that proved to be quite successful.

• His further policy in colonization of Libya giving Italian there lands confiscated from indigenous inhabitants.

• During this process, Muslim allowed to join Fanteria Libyan (Libyan Infantry) to fight along Italians in the battle against British.

• But the Libyan still did not trust and never accepted the Italians due to their ruthless actions.

• Between 1911 and 1932 Libyan in Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica tried to fight Italian colonialism but they failed.

MILITARY IMPACTS• The Libyan did not have formal military forces at that time.• People have forms many rebellion civil military groups to fight

Italians.• The fighters get the fighting training and the required skills to

fight the invaders.• The most prestigious resistant aggregation named Mujahedeen

lead ‘Umar Al-Mukhtar (known among the Colonial Italians as Matari of the Mnifa).• To counter back, Italians dreaded losing Libya to Mujahedeen

and utilized most brutal measures to end Libyan safety.• The invaders set up death camps to the Libyans and open death

hanging and shootings the Libyan who believed to help the Mujahedeen.• Italy murdered and banished 50% of the Libyan population and

butchered most of the domesticated animals.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS• One positive impact of the inhabitance in Libya is the

building of new industries.• Italians brought workers and well educated people who

helped the development of the colony.• Reason behind this because of trade and profits made the

Italians invade Maghreb's countries especially Libya. • Another reason was that in Libya, there was already small

industries that already established in there.• Even though Libya did not have that much natural

resources but they provided domesticated secured resources such as livestock, farming products and some little commercial venture.• This small industries provided secured profits to the

Italians.

CULTURAL IMPACTS• One of the impacts was in Libya there were Berber, Italian

and English spoken in Libya. • The native or the official nation’s dialect was Arabic.• The great amount lost of cultural impact that when

Mussolini wanted to incorporated between Italians and Libyans. • The Libyan lost their culture and identity.• There was not enough evidence that the Italians spread

the Christianity to the Libyans (Muslims).

EDUCATION IMPACTS• One of the disadvantages of Italian colonization was the use of

Italian investments• The Libyans did not benefit much from the schools that were built.• They were mainly for the Italian settlers.• The jobs created by Italian investment and development projects

went to the higher educated Italians, since the Arabs did not receive advanced education.• Mussolini was fond of calling the Libyans "Muslim Italians, but

there was not much done to directly improve the living conditions of the Libyans.• The colonial's objective was to force the local population from the

more fertile lands into the country's baron interior.• The land that was seized was grazing lands of the Bedouin tribes.• It was bought or just taken and given to the settlers (Italians).