Massawa
Massawa
Məṣṣəwaʿ (ምጽዋዕ) Mitsiwa | |
---|---|
City | |
UTC+3 (EAT) | |
Area code | +291 4 |
Climate | BWh |
Massawa or Mitsiwa (
Massawa was the capital of the Italian Colony of Eritrea until the seat of the colonial government was moved to Asmara in 1897.[3]
Massawa has an average temperature of nearly 30 °C (86.0 °F), which is one of the highest experienced in the world, and is "one of the hottest marine coastal areas in the world."[4]
History
Massawa was originally a small seaside village, lying in lands coextensive with the Kingdom of Aksum and overshadowed by the nearby port of Adulis about 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the south. Massawa was known to Arab geographers from an early period. Ya'qubi referred to the Red Sea port in his Kitab al-Buldan as Badi, a corruption of its local Tigre name Base, while al-Masudi spoke of it in 935 as Nase.[5]
The city reputedly has the
In the early 15th century, the town then fell under the control of the Ethiopian Empire, Massawa was first mentioned in the war songs of Emperor Yeshaq I.[6] In the mid-15th century Emperor Zara Yaqob consolidated his rule in the region and incorporated Massawa into the Christian province of Mereb Melash. During this time the port was frequented by Armenian and Venetian merchants.[7][8]
Portuguese influence
In the struggle for domination of the Red Sea the Portuguese succeeded in establishing a foothold in Massawa (Maçua) and Arkiko
Ottoman rule
Massawa rose to prominence when it was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1557.[13] The Ottomans tried to make it the capital of Habesh Eyalet. Under Özdemir Pasha, Ottoman troops then attempted to conquer the rest of Eritrea. Due to resistance as well as sudden and unexpected demands for more, the Ottomans did not conquer the rest of Eritrea. The Ottoman authorities then tried to place the city and its immediate hinterlands under the control of one of the aristocrats of the Bellou people, whom they wanted to appoint "Naib of Massawa" and almost made answerable to the Ottoman governor at Suakin.[14] The Ottomans nevertheless built parts of the old town of Massawa on Massawa Island into a prominent port on the Red Sea. These buildings and the old town of Massawa remain to this day, having withstood both earthquakes and wars.[15]
In June 1855, Emperor Tewodros II informed the British Consul, Walter Plowden, of his intention to occupy Tigray and make himself master of "the tribes along the coast", he also informed Frederick Bruce that he was determined to seize the port because it was being used by the Turks as "a deposit for kidnapped Christian children" who were being exported as slaves. Both Bruce and Plowden were sympathetic to the Emperor, but the Foreign Office, who considered the Ottomans to be a useful British ally, refused to support the proposed Ethiopian annexation.[16]
In May 1865, Massawa, and later much of the Northeast African coast of the Red Sea, came under the rule of the Khedive of Egypt with Ottoman consent. The Egyptians originally had a poor opinion of Massawa. Many of the buildings were in a poor state of repair and the Egyptian troops were forced to stay in tents. Sanitary conditions were likewise poor and cholera was endemic. Such considerations caused the Egyptians to contemplate abandonment of the port in favour of nearby Zula. However, the Egyptian governor, Werner Munzinger, was determined to improve the conditions of the port and began a programme of reconstruction. Work began in March 1872 when a new government building and customs house was constructed, and by June a school and a hospital was also established by the Egyptians.[17]
Egyptian control of Massawa was threatened following the defeat at the
Italian colonization
The British, feeling that the Egyptians were in no position to hold the port, and being unwilling to occupy it themselves or see it fall into the hands of the French, concurred in its seizure by the Italians on February 1885. In 1885–1897, Massawa (in the Italian spelling: 'Massaua') served as the capital of the region, before Governor
The Italian colony suffered repeated earthquakes. Most of the city was completely destroyed by the 1921 earthquake; it took until 1928 to fully restore the port,[19] hampering initially the Italian colonial ambitions.
Massawa became the largest and safest port on the east coast of Africa, and the largest
In 1928, Massawa had 15,000 inhabitants, of which 2,500 were Italians: the city was improved with an architectural plan similar to the one in Asmara, with a commercial and industrial area. With the rise of Fascism a segregation policy was implemented and with the passing of the "racial laws" soon became a real system of apartheid. Natives were segregated from residential areas, bars and restaurants reserved for the white population. However these laws did not stop relationships between Italian men and Eritrean women in the colonial territories. The result was a growing number of meticci (mulattos). Though the chief port of Italian Eritrea, Emilio De Bono who inspected the harbor in 1932 reported that the port had to be reconditioned as it was "absolutely lacking in wharves and facilities for the rapid landing and discharge of cargoes." As a result, the quays were widened, the breakwater lengthened to enable the simultaneous discharge of five steamers and the harbour was equipped with two large cranes.[20][21]
During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Massawa served as a base for the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, which caused the town to be flooded with Italian soldiers. An American journalist reported at the height of the invasion, "The streets had obviously sprung up over night. Men slept in completely open barracks - just a skeleton frame-work of wood with galvanized iron roof."[22]
During
From 15 April 1942, later master diver and salvage specialist RNR Lieutenant Peter Keeble (then a complete rookie in both disciplines) was assigned to the clearing of the harbour.[23] He succeeded only in the simple task of salvaging an ex-Italian tugboat. The same month, United States Navy Commander Edward Ellsberg and his handful of crew arrived to take over. The wrecks were salvaged in short order and the port was returned to service, as part of what had now become the British protectorate of Eritrea. The port's floating drydocks were of significant importance in maintaining and repairing Royal Navy ships and British civilian transports from the Mediterranean, which would otherwise have to travel to South Africa to reach suitable shipyards and docks.[24]
In 1945, following the end of World War II, the port of Massawa suffered damage as the occupying British either dismantled or destroyed much of the facilities. These actions were protested by Sylvia Pankhurst in her book Eritrea on the Eve.[25]
Ethiopian rule
From 1952 to 1990, when Eritrea had entered into a federation with Ethiopia, previously landlocked Ethiopia briefly enjoyed the use of Massawa as the headquarters of the Ethiopian Navy. Ultimately, Ethiopia terminated the federation and forcibly incorporated Eritrea. This led to the Eritrean War of Independence (1961–1991). Massawa was fought over by both sides during the struggle for Eritrean independence. In February 1990, Massawa was captured by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front in a surprise attack from both land and sea during the Second Battle of Massawa. The battle, also known as Operation Fenkil, utilized both infiltrated commandos and speed boats. The success of this attack cut the major supply line to the Second Ethiopian Army in Asmara, which then had to be supplied by air. In response, the then leader of Ethiopia Mengistu Haile Mariam ordered Massawa bombed from the air, resulting in considerable damage.[26]
Eritrean independence
With Eritrea's de facto independence (complete military liberation) in 1991, Ethiopia reverted to being landlocked and its Navy was dismantled (partially taken over by the nascent national navy of Eritrea).
During the
Transportation
Massawa is home to a
In addition, the city's air transportation needs are served by the Massawa International Airport.
Main sights
Buildings in the city include the shrine of
Climate
Massawa has a
Climate data for Massawa (1961 to 1990) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.1 (84.4) |
29.4 (84.9) |
31.8 (89.2) |
33.9 (93.0) |
36.8 (98.2) |
40.2 (104.4) |
40.8 (105.4) |
40.3 (104.5) |
38.7 (101.7) |
35.6 (96.1) |
33.1 (91.6) |
30.5 (86.9) |
35.0 (95.0) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.3 (75.7) |
24.3 (75.7) |
25.9 (78.6) |
27.9 (82.2) |
30.0 (86.0) |
33.0 (91.4) |
34.3 (93.7) |
33.9 (93.0) |
32.1 (89.8) |
29.5 (85.1) |
27.1 (80.8) |
25.2 (77.4) |
29.0 (84.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19.1 (66.4) |
19.1 (66.4) |
20.1 (68.2) |
21.8 (71.2) |
23.5 (74.3) |
25.7 (78.3) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.5 (81.5) |
25.5 (77.9) |
23.3 (73.9) |
21.0 (69.8) |
19.7 (67.5) |
22.8 (73.0) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 34.7 (1.37) |
22.2 (0.87) |
10.2 (0.40) |
3.9 (0.15) |
7.6 (0.30) |
0.4 (0.02) |
7.8 (0.31) |
7.8 (0.31) |
2.7 (0.11) |
22.4 (0.88) |
24.1 (0.95) |
39.5 (1.56) |
183.3 (7.23) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 3.1 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 15.1 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
76.3 | 75.3 | 73.3 | 70.5 | 65.0 | 53.8 | 53.0 | 55.6 | 60.8 | 66.6 | 69.1 | 74.5 | 66.1 |
Source: NOAA[29] |
See also
Further reading
- Miran, Jonathan (2009). Red Sea Citizens: Cosmopolitan Society and Cultural Change in Massawa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35312-2.
References
- ^ "World Gazetteer – Eritrea". Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- ISBN 1-74104-436-7.
- ^ Bjunior (8 July 2018). "Dadfeatured: ITALIAN MASSAUA" (blog).
- ISSN 0924-7963.
- ISBN 9783515032049.
- ISBN 9780932415196.
- ISBN 978-0-470-65898-7. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ISBN 9783515032049.
- hdl:10400.2/1484.
- ^ OCLC 835029242.
- ^ a b "D. João de Castro (1500-1548)". Ciência em Portugal - Personagens (in Portuguese). Instituto Camões. 2003. Archived from the original on 6 March 2011.
Estes roteiros, tal como toda a obra náutica e oceanográfica de D. João de Castro ficaram inéditos em Portugal até aos séculos XIX e XX, com a excepção do Roteiro do Mar Roxo [1541] que foi divulgado nos séculos XVII e XVIII através de diversas traduções, como acima foi descrito.
- ^ Hespeler-Boultbee, John. A Story in Stones: Portugal's Influence on Culture and Architecture in the Highlands of Ethiopia 1493-1634. CCB Publishing. p. 188.
- ^ Massawa: Pearl of the Red Sea
- ISBN 0-932415-19-9.
- ^ Massawa at the Encyclopædia BritannicaRetrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1982). History of Ethiopian towns from the mid 19th century to 1935. p. 127.
- ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1982). History of Ethiopian towns from the mid 19th century to 1935. p. 135.
- ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1982). History of Ethiopian towns from the mid 19th century to 1935. p. 135.
- ISBN 0-8108-3437-5.
- ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1982). History of Ethiopian towns from the mid 19th century to 1935. p. 339.
- ^ Santoianni, Vittorio. Il Razionalismo nelle colonie italiane 1928-1943: la «nuova architettura» delle Terre d'Oltremare (PDF) (PhD thesis) (in Italian). Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II". p. 65.
- ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1982). History of Ethiopian towns from the mid 19th century to 1935. p. 340.
- OCLC 930491224.
- OCLC 869413049.
- ISBN 0-00-715096-2.
- ^ Ethiopia: "Mengistu has Decided to Burn Us like Wood": Bombing of Civilians and Civilian Targets by the Air Force (PDF). News from Africa Watch (Report). Human Rights Watch. 24 July 1990.
- ^ "Horn of Africa, Monthly Review, covering the months between November and December, 2001" (PDF). UN-OCHA. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
- OCLC 1045996820.
- ^ "Massawa Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 24 June 2015.