ITALY. 



505 



to Italy of acquiring a foothold on the Red 

 Sea coast. In 1880, when Italy first contem- 

 plated seriously the establishment of a station 

 at Assab Bay, Egypt protested as the heir to 

 the authority of the Sultan in these regions, 

 and her protest was supported by England. 

 In January, 1885, an expedition was sent from 

 Naples to occupy Massowah and other points 

 on the coast near the Abyssinian frontier. Af- 

 ter the fall of Khartoum, Italy offered to co- 

 operate with Great Britain in the proposed 

 campaign against the Mahdi, but the offer was 

 declined. It was supposed, however, that a 

 secret understanding with Great Britain left 

 the Italians free to garrison the forts and estab- 

 lish their rule in the place of that of the Mahdi 

 in this portion of the Soudan. When a sec- 

 ond expedition was preparing, and while the 

 intentions of Italy were still kept secret, the 

 Porte asked the Italian Government for ex- 

 planations regarding the dispatch of vessels of 

 war to the Bed Sea. The Italian Government 

 in its reply acknowledged the sovereign and 

 territorial rights of the Sultan, and said that 

 the retreat of the garrisons necessitated action 

 for insuring the safety of Italian subjects, 

 promising that Italy, following the example of 

 the British at Berbera and Zeilah, would allow 

 the Egyptian flag to remain by the side of her 

 own at every point occupied. 



On Nov. 3, 1884, the Italian ambassador in 

 London inquired whether the British Govern- 

 ment would oppose an extension of Italian juris- 

 diction to the north of Assab so as to include 

 Beilul in the same way as Raheita had already 

 been taken in on the south. Earl Granville 

 replied that his Government would feel no 

 jealousy of the extension of Italian influence, 

 but would welcome it. On Dec. 22 Count 

 Nigra asked if a provisional occupation of 

 Zulla would meet with objection, and was in- 

 formed that the ports of the Red Sea littoral 

 would revert, upon their abandonment by 

 Egypt, to the Sultan, and that it was a matter 

 for the Italian Government to arrange with the 

 Sublime Porte. England had advised Turkey 

 to reoccupy the ports, and when subsequently 

 the Turkish Government complained of the 

 Italian action, the English Cabinet disclaimed 

 any responsibility, since its advice to the Sul- 

 tan had not been acted upon. The protests 

 of the Porte were accompanied by military 

 preparations, but, reassured by Italian declara- 

 tions, the occupation of the ports was acqui- 

 esced in by the Turkish Government. At the 

 end of January the French Government ques- 

 tioned the English Cabinet in regard to the ru- 

 mored understanding with Italy relative to the 

 occupation of Massowah. Earl Granville de- 

 nied the right of the French authorities to make 

 such an inquiry after the French operations on 

 the coast of the Soudan. A correspondence 

 had been carried on between the Turkish, Eng- 

 lish, and other governments since the begin- 

 ning of 1884 in relation to the ports from 

 which the Egyptian garrisons were to be with- 



drawn. These places were threatened with 

 attacks from the Somalis and King of Shoa. 

 Upon Lord Edward Fitzmaurice making a 

 statement in March that the French claimed 

 Obock, M. Waddington wrote that Obock was 

 not claimed by France, since it had long been 

 a French possession. Later in the year the 

 French flag was hoisted at Ras Ali, Angar, 

 and Sagallo ; Tajourra, from which the Egyp- 

 tians were driven by the Dankalis, was also an- 

 nexed by France, and on Jan. 11, 1885, the 

 French consul at Aden announced that the 

 coast between Ras Ali and Ghubbat Kharab 

 was under French protection. The Porte 

 claimed sovereignty over the whole coast. The 

 Turkish claim was recognized by the English 

 Government, except as regards a district in 

 which it had previously been disallowed. The 

 recognition of Turkish sovereignty over the 

 coast formerly occupied by Egypt was made 

 conditional upon the suppression of the slave- 

 trade and the observance of the provisions re- 

 garding British trade in the Anglo-Egyptian 

 convention of 1877. The coast between Ras 

 Hafnu and Zeila was taken possession of by 

 Great Britain in the name of the Indian Gov- 

 ernment. 



On Feb. 6 five war-vessels landed 2,500 men at 

 Massowah. The later expeditions increased the 

 Italian garrison to 5,000 men. Small fortified 

 camps were established not only in Masso- 

 wah and Towlud and in the coast district of 

 Jerrar northward, but also in the villages of 

 Hotumloh, Monculloh, Kikiko, and in the ad- 

 vanced post of Sahdi in the interior. The land 

 troops consisted of engineers, bersaglieri, line 

 infantry, and fortress artillery, with an insignifi- 

 cant cavalry force. There were plenty of mules 

 and camels for transport. The Italian force 

 landed and occupied the town and forts with- 

 out opposition. The Egyptian garrison re- 

 mained in its former quarters. Until the Italian 

 force was augmented and neighboring points 

 taken possession of, the region was kept in a 

 disturbed state by the Mahdi's adherents. Ara- 

 fali, at the upper end of Ansley Bay, was occu- 

 pied in the beginning of April. 



Massowah is a town of 7,000 inhabitants, 

 built on two islets in the bay of Zulla, other- 

 wise called Ansley Bay. The population in- 

 cludes 600 Franks, Arabs, Soudan negroes, 

 and a few Abyssinians and Hindoos. The shore 

 is a sterile, waterless strand. Drinking-water 

 for the townspeople must be brought from a 

 distance. The route from Massowah to Kas- 

 sala and Sennaar can be made an outlet for 

 the products of the Soudan unless the extreme 

 heat of summer hinders the establishment of 

 a European trading colony. The possession 

 of Massowah may lead to the establishment of 

 Italian dominion in Abyssinia, which is an ex- 

 cellent field for colonization, possessing a vast 

 extent of fertile soil in the salubrious uplands 

 capable of producing all the fruits of south- 

 ern Europe, and yielding coffee equal to the 

 Mocha. 



