This work examines the political legacy of colonialism in Kenya and the knock-on effect this has had on the current crisis of citizenship in Kenya. In colonial times, the British introduced indirect rule through the Provincial Administration, a hierarchical structure that imposed upon the urban and rural populace two distinct forms of political and legal identities: that of citizens and that of natives. In the rural areas, natives were governed according to "customary law" (which the colonisers called "tribal tradition"). This paper concentrates on this sphere of the colonial State because its consequences can still be felt today in rural areas -- in particular in terms of the recurrent violence resulting from a crisis of citizenship. In rural provinces, land represents the main source of income and means of survival. Land was managed by the Provincial Administration according to the logic of colonial power and, of course, to its benefit. During decolonisation and after independence, the same logic was applied by the African elites. An analysis of how Britain and post-colonial governments have ruled Kenya shows the need for a radical change in the approach originally adopted by the Provincial Administration. The European colonial outlook underpinning this approach is outmoded and dangerous as it fans the flames of contemporary social violence, which the media often characterises over-simplistically as ethnic conflict. Adapted from the source document.
This paper means to show how British Colonialism in India was made possible, and then sustained and strengthened, as much by cultural technologies of rule as it was by the more obvious and brutal modes of conquest. In fact colonialism was itself a cultural project of control. Colonial knowledge both enabled conquest and was produced by it. Cultural forms in Indian society were reconstructed and transformed by this knowledge. In the conceptual scheme which the British created to understand and to act in India they reduced vastly complex codes and their associated meanings to a few metonyms. An example of colonial way of organizing and representing Indian social identity is offered by the British construction of Indian Gypsies. This communication is meant to explain first the logic of such an identification and then the new authority and vitality currently attained by this product of Orientalism in Romani political organizations and cultural associations.
Historically the Mediterranean has been crossed by civilizations, peoples and goods which interacted, not always peacefully, respecting pluralism and mutual acknowledgment. The colonial expansion was a rupture which introduced the European hegemony all over the basin denying the "other". France and Italy were the most relevant beneficiaries. Italian colonialism started in the Red Sea and founded the Empire in the Horn but landed in the Northern Africa with Libya's conquest in 1911-12. Not even decolonization, with the access to independence of the colonial possessions after the Second World War, entirely filled the gap between North and South opened by colonialism as such because of the asymmetry at the level of power and the economic and commercial dependence. Italy pursued its international alliances in a perspective focussed on the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the Cold War strains Rome tried to save a good neighbouring with the Arab states. Europe has its border -- as a place where the diverse actors meet -- in the Mediterranean. However, the united Europe failed in all the attempts to bring about a real cooperation with the South shore. The Euro-Mediterranean partnership setup in 1995 did not survive the evaluation Conference ten years later. Is the cooperation season over? Italy too has been involved in the coalition that waged a war to accelerate the collapse of Qadhafi's regime under attack from an internal upsurge covering the will of France to reaffirm a post-colonial influence after the liberty wave (Arab Spring) that is going to change the profile of North Africa. Adapted from the source document.
Italian scholars and Arabists have only recently started to pay attention towards Libya and this country's rich and fascinating literary production. Libyan writers are, in fact, still unknown to most people in Italy, where merely a few Italian translations of Libyan works and critical essays on Libyan literature have been published until now. Yet, Libya's contemporary literary scene features outstanding figures, such as the eclectic writer 'Ali Mustafà al-Misrati, whose novels, short stories and essays deal with significant historical, political and social themes. Starting from the analysis of one of author's tales focused on the Libyan opposition against Italian colonialism, this article provides some insights on the importance of satire as a tool of political opposition against the colonial regime, both in the colonized country and in the colonized one.
Elisée Reclus, géographe hétérodoxe et anticonformiste dans sa biographie et son engagement politique, dans sa gigantesque Nouvelle Géographie Universelle consacre une place de choix à l'Europe, continent à son époque hégémon dans le monde par la puissance de ses empires coloniaux. Est-ce qu'il s'agit d'une géographie qu'on pourrait tâcher de « eurocentrisme », voire de « colonialisme », comme quelques géographes l'on fait ? Ou bien présente-t-elle des éléments anticonformistes qui la rendent cohérente avec la pensée anarchiste de son auteur ? Nous essayons de répondre en analysant d'abord les limites et la représentation générale du continent dans le texte de l'ouvrage. Ensuite nous abordons le problème de l'hégémonie européenne et du colonialisme en comparant ce texte à d'autres sources contemporaines, telles que les articles de Reclus et ses correspondances avec ses collaborateurs scientifiques. Nous découvrons enfin dans cette géographie les germes d'une pensée critique précoce sur le rôle du continent le plus puissant. ; Elisée Reclus, geografo eterodosso e anticonformista nella sua biografia e nel suo impegno politico, dedica però, nella sua poderosa Nouvelle Géographie Universelle, una posizione preponderante all'Europa, continente egemone alla sua epoca sulla quasi totalità del mondo per il potere dei suoi imperi coloniali. Si tratta di una geografia che si potrebbe tacciare di "eurocentrismo" se non di "colonialismo", come hanno fatto alcuni critici? O presenta invece degli elementi di anticonformismo in coerenza con il pensiero anarchico del suo autore? Si cerca di rispondere analizzando in primo luogo la rappresentazione generale del continente e dei suoi confini nel testo dell'opera. Si affronta poi il problema dell'egemonia europea e del colonialismo confrontando questo testo ad altre fonti contemporanee, come articoli e corrispondenze di Reclus con i suoi collaboratori scientifici. Si scoprono, infine, in questa geografia, i germi di un pensiero critico precoce sul ruolo del continente alla sua epoca.
Elisée Reclus, géographe hétérodoxe et anticonformiste dans sa biographie et son engagement politique, dans sa gigantesque Nouvelle Géographie Universelle consacre une place de choix à l'Europe, continent à son époque hégémon dans le monde par la puissance de ses empires coloniaux. Est-ce qu'il s'agit d'une géographie qu'on pourrait tâcher de « eurocentrisme », voire de « colonialisme », comme quelques géographes l'on fait ? Ou bien présente-t-elle des éléments anticonformistes qui la rendent cohérente avec la pensée anarchiste de son auteur ? Nous essayons de répondre en analysant d'abord les limites et la représentation générale du continent dans le texte de l'ouvrage. Ensuite nous abordons le problème de l'hégémonie européenne et du colonialisme en comparant ce texte à d'autres sources contemporaines, telles que les articles de Reclus et ses correspondances avec ses collaborateurs scientifiques. Nous découvrons enfin dans cette géographie les germes d'une pensée critique précoce sur le rôle du continent le plus puissant. ; Elisée Reclus, geografo eterodosso e anticonformista nella sua biografia e nel suo impegno politico, dedica però, nella sua poderosa Nouvelle Géographie Universelle, una posizione preponderante all'Europa, continente egemone alla sua epoca sulla quasi totalità del mondo per il potere dei suoi imperi coloniali. Si tratta di una geografia che si potrebbe tacciare di "eurocentrismo" se non di "colonialismo", come hanno fatto alcuni critici? O presenta invece degli elementi di anticonformismo in coerenza con il pensiero anarchico del suo autore? Si cerca di rispondere analizzando in primo luogo la rappresentazione generale del continente e dei suoi confini nel testo dell'opera. Si affronta poi il problema dell'egemonia europea e del colonialismo confrontando questo testo ad altre fonti contemporanee, come articoli e corrispondenze di Reclus con i suoi collaboratori scientifici. Si scoprono, infine, in questa geografia, i germi di un pensiero critico precoce sul ruolo del continente alla sua ...
Elisée Reclus, géographe hétérodoxe et anticonformiste dans sa biographie et son engagement politique, dans sa gigantesque Nouvelle Géographie Universelle consacre une place de choix à l'Europe, continent à son époque hégémon dans le monde par la puissance de ses empires coloniaux. Est-ce qu'il s'agit d'une géographie qu'on pourrait tâcher de « eurocentrisme », voire de « colonialisme », comme quelques géographes l'on fait ? Ou bien présente-t-elle des éléments anticonformistes qui la rendent cohérente avec la pensée anarchiste de son auteur ? Nous essayons de répondre en analysant d'abord les limites et la représentation générale du continent dans le texte de l'ouvrage. Ensuite nous abordons le problème de l'hégémonie européenne et du colonialisme en comparant ce texte à d'autres sources contemporaines, telles que les articles de Reclus et ses correspondances avec ses collaborateurs scientifiques. Nous découvrons enfin dans cette géographie les germes d'une pensée critique précoce sur le rôle du continent le plus puissant. ; Elisée Reclus, geografo eterodosso e anticonformista nella sua biografia e nel suo impegno politico, dedica però, nella sua poderosa Nouvelle Géographie Universelle, una posizione preponderante all'Europa, continente egemone alla sua epoca sulla quasi totalità del mondo per il potere dei suoi imperi coloniali. Si tratta di una geografia che si potrebbe tacciare di "eurocentrismo" se non di "colonialismo", come hanno fatto alcuni critici? O presenta invece degli elementi di anticonformismo in coerenza con il pensiero anarchico del suo autore? Si cerca di rispondere analizzando in primo luogo la rappresentazione generale del continente e dei suoi confini nel testo dell'opera. Si affronta poi il problema dell'egemonia europea e del colonialismo confrontando questo testo ad altre fonti contemporanee, come articoli e corrispondenze di Reclus con i suoi collaboratori scientifici. Si scoprono, infine, in questa geografia, i germi di un pensiero critico precoce sul ruolo del continente alla sua epoca.
Elisée Reclus, a heterodous and anti-conformist geographer in his biography and political commitment, but in her poderosa Nouvelle Géographie Universelle, a dominant position in Europe, an egemone continent at its time over almost the whole world for the power of its colonial empires, is it a geography that could be broken by 'Eurocentrism' or 'colonialism', as some critics have done? Or does it have elements of anti-conformism in line with the anarchical thinking of its author? We try to respond by first analysing the general representation of the continent and its borders in the text of the work. The problem of European hegemony and colonialism is then addressed by comparing this text with other contemporary sources, such as Reclus's articles and correspondence with its scientific collaborators. Finally, in this geography, we discover the germs of early critical thinking about the role of the continent at its time. ; Elisée Reclus, geografo eterodosso e anticonformista nella sua biografia e nel suo impegno politico, dedica però, nella sua poderosa Nouvelle Géographie Universelle, una posizione preponderante all'Europa, continente egemone alla sua epoca sulla quasi totalità del mondo per il potere dei suoi imperi coloniali. Si tratta di una geografia che si potrebbe tacciare di "eurocentrismo" se non di "colonialismo", come hanno fatto alcuni critici? O presenta invece degli elementi di anticonformismo in coerenza con il pensiero anarchico del suo autore? Si cerca di rispondere analizzando in primo luogo la rappresentazione generale del continente e dei suoi confini nel testo dell'opera. Si affronta poi il problema dell'egemonia europea e del colonialismo confrontando questo testo ad altre fonti contemporanee, come articoli e corrispondenze di Reclus con i suoi collaboratori scientifici. Si scoprono, infine, in questa geografia, i germi di un pensiero critico precoce sul ruolo del continente alla sua epoca. ; Elisée Reclus, a heterodous and anti-conformist geographer in his biography and political commitment, ...
The South Pacific is a region still unimportant in the world scene, where there are islands which are extremely variable in size and are often gathered in archipelagos. Since it was long neglected by the processes of colonialism, the region has managed to preserve a rich environmental and cultural heritage, abundant and unusual in the European hetero-perception. The region was first considered as a far and wild paradise to tame and exploit in the name of geopolitics and the economy, and is now divided into two linguistic areas, English and French. This situation has not prevented the creation of narratives, representations and stereotypes around this idyllic region and its elements of wilderness, mystery, remoteness, exoticism, isolation.This article focuses on the French islands in the South Pacific: New Caledonia, Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. Beyond their stereotypes and hetero images (tropical paradises, smiling populations), such islands present some extremely varied forms of spatial organization and land management, depending on physical realities, cultural heritage, social, political and economical processes. While traditional tourism promotes the image of tropical paradise, their self-representations are trying to show a different vision, which increases the differences between the three French archipelagos of the South Pacific.
Imperialism, nationalism and colonies in the work of Friedrich Ratzel Ratzel is often associated with 'fin dè siecle' imperialism, but on the basis of a prejudice that condemns him to "be part of his time" before even having done the appropriate considerations; however, Ratzel is part of his time not because of imperialism, but as a participant in an intellectual debate, far more complex than a foreign policy option. Imperialism, nationalism and colonialism in Ratzel may be included starting by the concept of growth of Government. The problem of growth clarifies the dynamic aspect of the political geography of Ratzel, one of the most crushing innovations introduced by the German scholar into the geographical speech. We tried to show how the political action, within the Ratzel system, is used to obtain a greater advantage from the ground, that is a deep radication and not a necessarily-in-horizontal expansion, which is to the detriment of other countries. According to Ratzel, the end of history is the progressive connection between the human being and the ground; therefore the objective of the policy will be set accordingly, leading to the decline of the possible expansion in favour of growth. A better understanding of Ratzel' way of thinking must begin from a more careful analysis of the "political idea" prevailing in those years in Leipzig. Study circles, conferences, books, and their relationships cultivated by Ratzel, shows a picture closer to the neo-German idealism.
Ethiopia has been ever the icon of sovereignty for Africa and the blacks of the whole world. The process of formation of modern statehood paved the way to a born-again state reinforcing the central authority and absorbing the proto-states of the southern regions. The territorial expansion undertaken by Menelik in the last decades of XIX century encompassed into a multination Empire peoples and nations who didn't share the same values, religions and languages with the dominating stock. Hence, the image of a an alien occupation in order to exploit the work of the groups out of power and often deprived of the lands. Actually the Christian elites dwelling the highlands, the so-called Abyssinians, treated the "indigenous" peoples, especially of the south, with arrogance and paternalism as backward and pagan ones. Besides, tension between Islam and Christianity was a permanent factor in the history of Ethiopia. The oppression has been more visible as far as the eastern frontier, which has been garrisoned employing force instead of flexibility and assimilation. In such a context a special issue of contention has been the role of Amhara, who according to some historical versions and in the grievances of the communities put in a subject or servile condition were responsible to exercise an hegemony in their exclusive advantage. The Amhara themselves deny to be an ethnic group and pretend to be actually the true Ethiopian nationals. Amhara can be seen rather as a metaphor for power whereas Oromo (Galla in the Italian colonial sources) is a metaphor for the relative lack of it. Any way, it should be a mistake to draw analogy with European colonialism even at the level of stereotype. Adapted from the source document.
Historically, the people of Mozambique have faced oppression and social spatial segregation and responded in a way that has reinforced rather than dismantled their traditional values. Since pre-colonial times, the population's strategy for escaping from environmental and foreign political disruption has been to reinvent tradition, based on the principles of resilience, resistance and self-reliance. The development of decentralised human settlements, involving the appropriation of land for domestic space and the self-organisation of neighbourhoods, were strategies to protect communities from adversity and secure collective self-reliance. Following Mozambique's conversion to globalization, the post-colonial 'cement city' is now the core of neo-liberalism, as a node of the global economy, where foreign donors and international market economy control national political economy, exacerbating the premise of the negation of self-sufficiency that continues to evolve resiliently at its margins. The adoption of a neo-liberal model of development during the 1990s, completely bypasses the realities of Mozambican society. This paper argues that the strategy of self-production of space regarding the household/Outdoor Domestic Space unit, which existed previously as a resistance strategy, first of all against colonialism and secondly, against the statist definition of socialism, thirdly, has become a successful strategy for survival, as the building block of the decentralised Agrocity, in the face of a global economy which totally neglects both the people and the land. Outdoor Domestic Space is a multifaceted space that refers to the external space surrounding the built house and which, in the case of Mozambique, is where daily life takes place, involving strong social, ecological and productive functions. Under successive periods of political economy oppression and environmental adversity, the Outdoor Domestic Space has been adapted and refined to ensure collective self-reliance. Shaping a green and ruralised urbanisation at the margins of the Mozambican post-colonial dualistic city, which I call the Agrocity, the Outdoor Domestic Space is resilient because it is able to adjust domestic space as a strategy to secure livelihoods, provide urban food, commerce and services, maintain vital kinship relationships and produce a comfortable and clean microclimate across the spontaneous neighbourhoods. This spatial resilience is the feature underlying the self-organisation of neighbourhoods with a new way of overcoming alienation from nature, which suggest the continuance of an innate relationship between society, the human habitat and nature. ; Historically, the people of Mozambique have faced oppression and social spatial segregation and responded in a way that has reinforced rather than dismantled their traditional values. Since pre-colonial times, the population's strategy for escaping from environmental and foreign political disruption has been to reinvent tradition, based on the principles of resilience, resistance and self-reliance. The development of decentralised human settlements, involving the appropriation of land for domestic space and the self-organisation of neighbourhoods, were strategies to protect communities from adversity and secure collective self-reliance. Following Mozambique's conversion to globalization, the post-colonial 'cement city' is now the core of neo-liberalism, as a node of the global economy, where foreign donors and international market economy control national political economy, exacerbating the premise of the negation of self-sufficiency that continues to evolve resiliently at its margins. The adoption of a neo-liberal model of development during the 1990s, completely bypasses the realities of Mozambican society. This paper argues that the strategy of self-production of space regarding the household/Outdoor Domestic Space unit, which existed previously as a resistance strategy, first of all against colonialism and secondly, against the statist definition of socialism, thirdly, has become a successful strategy for survival, as the building block of the decentralised Agrocity, in the face of a global economy which totally neglects both the people and the land. Outdoor Domestic Space is a multifaceted space that refers to the external space surrounding the built house and which, in the case of Mozambique, is where daily life takes place, involving strong social, ecological and productive functions. Under successive periods of political economy oppression and environmental adversity, the Outdoor Domestic Space has been adapted and refined to ensure collective self-reliance. Shaping a green and ruralised urbanisation at the margins of the Mozambican post-colonial dualistic city, which I call the Agrocity, the Outdoor Domestic Space is resilient because it is able to adjust domestic space as a strategy to secure livelihoods, provide urban food, commerce and services, maintain vital kinship relationships and produce a comfortable and clean microclimate across the spontaneous neighbourhoods. This spatial resilience is the feature underlying the self-organisation of neighbourhoods with a new way of overcoming alienation from nature, which suggest the continuance of an innate relationship between society, the human habitat and nature.
Historically, the people of Mozambique have faced oppression and social spatial segregation and responded in a way that has reinforced rather than dismantled their traditional values. Since pre-colonial times, the population's strategy for escaping from environmental and foreign political disruption has been to reinvent tradition, based on the principles of resilience, resistance and self-reliance. The development of decentralised human settlements, involving the appropriation of land for domestic space and the self-organisation of neighbourhoods, were strategies to protect communities from adversity and secure collective self-reliance. Following Mozambique's conversion to globalization, the post-colonial 'cement city' is now the core of neo-liberalism, as a node of the global economy, where foreign donors and international market economy control national political economy, exacerbating the premise of the negation of self-sufficiency that continues to evolve resiliently at its margins. The adoption of a neo-liberal model of development during the 1990s, completely bypasses the realities of Mozambican society. This paper argues that the strategy of self-production of space regarding the household/Outdoor Domestic Space unit, which existed previously as a resistance strategy, first of all against colonialism and secondly, against the statist definition of socialism, thirdly, has become a successful strategy for survival, as the building block of the decentralised Agrocity, in the face of a global economy which totally neglects both the people and the land. Outdoor Domestic Space is a multifaceted space that refers to the external space surrounding the built house and which, in the case of Mozambique, is where daily life takes place, involving strong social, ecological and productive functions. Under successive periods of political economy oppression and environmental adversity, the Outdoor Domestic Space has been adapted and refined to ensure collective self-reliance. Shaping a green and ruralised urbanisation at the margins of the Mozambican post-colonial dualistic city, which I call the Agrocity, the Outdoor Domestic Space is resilient because it is able to adjust domestic space as a strategy to secure livelihoods, provide urban food, commerce and services, maintain vital kinship relationships and produce a comfortable and clean microclimate across the spontaneous neighbourhoods. This spatial resilience is the feature underlying the self-organisation of neighbourhoods with a new way of overcoming alienation from nature, which suggest the continuance of an innate relationship between society, the human habitat and nature. ; Historically, the people of Mozambique have faced oppression and social spatial segregation and responded in a way that has reinforced rather than dismantled their traditional values. Since pre-colonial times, the population's strategy for escaping from environmental and foreign political disruption has been to reinvent tradition, based on the principles of resilience, resistance and self-reliance. The development of decentralised human settlements, involving the appropriation of land for domestic space and the self-organisation of neighbourhoods, were strategies to protect communities from adversity and secure collective self-reliance. Following Mozambique's conversion to globalization, the post-colonial 'cement city' is now the core of neo-liberalism, as a node of the global economy, where foreign donors and international market economy control national political economy, exacerbating the premise of the negation of self-sufficiency that continues to evolve resiliently at its margins. The adoption of a neo-liberal model of development during the 1990s, completely bypasses the realities of Mozambican society. This paper argues that the strategy of self-production of space regarding the household/Outdoor Domestic Space unit, which existed previously as a resistance strategy, first of all against colonialism and secondly, against the statist definition of socialism, thirdly, has become a successful strategy for survival, as the building block of the decentralised Agrocity, in the face of a global economy which totally neglects both the people and the land. Outdoor Domestic Space is a multifaceted space that refers to the external space surrounding the built house and which, in the case of Mozambique, is where daily life takes place, involving strong social, ecological and productive functions. Under successive periods of political economy oppression and environmental adversity, the Outdoor Domestic Space has been adapted and refined to ensure collective self-reliance. Shaping a green and ruralised urbanisation at the margins of the Mozambican post-colonial dualistic city, which I call the Agrocity, the Outdoor Domestic Space is resilient because it is able to adjust domestic space as a strategy to secure livelihoods, provide urban food, commerce and services, maintain vital kinship relationships and produce a comfortable and clean microclimate across the spontaneous neighbourhoods. This spatial resilience is the feature underlying the self-organisation of neighbourhoods with a new way of overcoming alienation from nature, which suggest the continuance of an innate relationship between society, the human habitat and nature.
Dottorato di ricerca in Società, istituzioni e sistemi politici europei (19.-20. secolo) ; La presente tesi di dottorato analizza il ruolo svolto dalla Società geografica italiana nel promuovere l'espansione coloniale italiana in Etiopia tra la fine degli anni sessanta e l'inizio degli anni ottanta del diciannovesimo secolo. È strutturata in quattro capitoli. Il primo esamina le proposte e il dibattito sull'opportunità che il paese avviasse una politica di espansione coloniale, sorto nell'opinione pubblica italiana, negli ambienti del commercio e in parlamento tra gli anni sessanta e settanta del secolo. Un'ultima parte del capitolo è dedicata alla reazione del governo italiano di fronte a tali proposte. Un secondo capitolo esamina la fase di nascita della Società geografica italiana, la sua composizione e gli equilibri politici interni al consiglio. In particolare è dedicato all'esame delle modalità attraverso le quali all'interno della Società cominciò a prendere piede una tendenza espansionista rivolta all'Africa. Un terzo capitolo è dedicato al progetto elaborato da Cesare Correnti, Orazio Antinori e altri colonialisti relativo all'avvio di contatti diplomatici e commerciali con Menelik, il re dello Scioa, in Ethiopia. Il capitolo finale della tesi affronta il tentativo da parte del governo italiano di avviare un commercio tra la baia di Assab e lo Scioa, e di coinvolgere le forze del commercio e dell'industria nel prendere contatti con i mercanti provenienti dallo Scioa. L'intera tesi è costruita su due differenti ma complementari livelli di analisi: l'azione della Società geografica italiana sulla classe politica italiana e sul governo, e gli effetti sull'opinione pubblica. Il lavoro è basato sulla documentazione conservata presso l'archivio storico della Società geografica italiana, l'ex ministero dell'Africa italiana, il ministero degli Affari Esteri, e la corrispondenza tra alcuni membri del consiglio della società, presso il museo del Risorgimento di Milano. ; This final dissertation is about the role played by the Italian Geographical Society in promoting the Italian colonialism in Ethiopia, between the end of the Sixties and the beginning of the Eighties years of the Nineteen century. It is structured in four chapter. The first one is about the first proposals related to the opportunity of the beginning of an Italian colonial expansion and the discussion which took place about it in the public opinion, inside the commercial sectors and the parliament, between the Sixties and the Seventies years of the century. A last part of this chapter is dedicated to the examination of the reaction of the Italian government in relation to this discussion. A second chapter outlines the born of the Italian Geographical Society, its composition, and the analysis of the political balance inside its council. Its aim is to examine when and how a colonial prospective toward Africa began to take place inside the Society. A third chapter is dedicated to the project elaborated by the president of the Society Cesare Correnti, Orazio Antinori and other colonial promoters, to take diplomatic and commercial contacts with Menelik the king the of Shoa, in Ethiopia. A final part is about the unsuccessful temptation of the Italian government to begin a commerce between the bay of Assab and the Scioa, after having signed a treaty of friendship and commerce with Menelik, and in involving the Italian commercial and industrial forces in taking contact with the local merchants, coming from Shoa. The entire dissertation is constructed on two different but complementary plan of analysis: the action of the Italian Geographical Society on the Italian political class and the government, on one side, and the effect on public opinion, on the other one. The work is based on the documentation of the historical archive of the Italian Geographical Society, in the Archive of ex-Ministero dell'Africa Italiana, of the Ministero degli Affari Esteri, and of the correspondence between some of the members of the council of the Society, in the Museo del Risorgimento di Milano.
