Timeline of Asmara

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Asmara, Eritrea. Asmara was under Italian colonial rule from 1889 until 1941.

Prior to 20th century

  • circa 1515 CE - Four villages merge to become "Asmera" (traditional date).[1]
  • 16th century - Asmara sacked by Muslim forces.[1]
  • 1889 - 3 August: Asmara occupied by Italian forces under command of Baldissera.[2]
  • 1895 - Governor's Palace built.[3]
  • 1900 - Capital of colonial Italian Eritrea moved to Asmara from Massawa.[4]

20th century

  • 1905 - Congresso Coloniale Italiano held in Asmara.[5]
  • 1906 - Asmara Synagogue built.
  • 1911 - Ferrovia Massaua-Asmara begins operating; Asmara Station opens.[6]
  • 1920
    • Teatro Asmara (theatre) opens.
    • Population: 14,711.[7]
  • 1922 - Airport begins operating.
  • 1923 - Church of Our Lady of the Rosary built.
  • 1930s - New Governor's Palace built (now City Hall).[8]
  • 1935 - Population: 16,000 (12,000 Africans + 4,000 Italians).[9]
  • 1936 - Apartheid begins; city racially divided into nazionali (white) and indigeni (black) areas.[10]
  • 1937
    • Asmara-Massawa Cableway begins operating.
    • Albergo CIAAO (hotel) built for the Compagnia Immobiliare Alberghi Africa Orientale.[11]
    • Cinema Excelsior and Cinema Teatro Augustus open.[12]
  • 1938
    • Great Mosque of Asmara, Cicero Stadium, and Fiat Tagliero Building[13] constructed.
    • Cinema Impero opens.[12]
  • 1939
    • Asmara Brewery in business.
    • Population: 84,000 (36,000 Africans + 48,000 Italians).[9]
  • 1941
    • March. British occupy city.[1]
    • Asmara Brewery FC (football club) formed.
  • 1945 - Red Sea FC (football club) formed.
  • 1951 - British occupation ends.[10]
  • 1952 - City becomes part of Ethiopia per United Nations decision.[14]
  • 1953 - United States military signals intelligence Kagnew Station in operation.
  • 1957 - Scuola materna italiana di Asmara (school) active.
  • 1958
    • Catholic College of the Santa Famiglia founded.
    • Denden Stadium opens.
  • 1959 - Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Asmara active.[15]
  • 1962 - Population: 120,000.[16]
  • 1964 - Population: 131,800.[17]
  • 1968
    • January: Part of 1968 African Cup of Nations football contest held in Asmara.
    • University of Asmara active.[10]
  • 1969 - Kidane Mehret Cathedral built.
  • 1974
    • Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army (Derg) in power.[10]
    • 28 December: Massacre occurs during the Eritrean War of Independence.
  • 1975
    • February: Fighting, Massacre occurs.[18]
    • July: Fighting occurs.[19]
  • 1985 - Population: 284,748 (estimate).[20]
  • 1990
    • Siege of city begins.[21]
    • Population: 358,100 (estimate).[22]
  • 1991
    • 24 May: Eritrean People's Liberation Front take city; Derg rule ends.[21]
    • Haddas Ertra newspaper begins publication.[23]
  • 1993
    • 24 May: Asmara becomes capital of independent Eritrea.[24]
    • Eri-TV begins broadcasting.[23]
  • 1998 - 5 June: Airport bombed by Ethiopian forces during the Eritrean–Ethiopian War.

21st century

  • 2002 - Semere Russom becomes mayor of Asmara and administrator of the Central Region.
  • 2013 - 21 January: 2013 Eritrean Army mutiny occurs at Eri-TV building.[14]
  • 2017 - Italian city centre designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site.[25]
  • 2018 - Population: 501,203 (estimate).[26]
  • 2020 - Rocket attacks.

See also

  • Asmara history
  • Asmara under Italy, 1889-1941
  • Timeline of the Italian Empire

References

  1. ^ a b c Johnson 2005.
  2. ^ Treccani 1929.
  3. ^ Asmara Heritage Project 2016.
  4. ^ "Eritrea". Political Chronology of Africa. Political Chronologies of the World. Europa Publications. 2001. ISBN 0203409957.
  5. ^ "Il Congresso Coloniale all'Asmara". Rivista geografica italiana e Bollettino della Società di studi geografici e coloniali in Firenze (in Italian). 12. 1905.
  6. ^ "Achèvement du chemin de fer de Massaoua à Asmara". Annales de géographie (in French). 21. 1912 – via Persee.fr.
  7. ^ "Italy: Colony of Eritrea". Statesman's Year-Book. London: Macmillan and Co. 1921. hdl:2027/njp.32101072368440 – via HathiTrust.
  8. ^ Asmara italiana
  9. ^ a b Podestà 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d Bereketeab 2003.
  11. ^ Anderson 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Movie Theaters in Asmara, Eritrea". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  13. ^ "A History of Cities in 50 Buildings", The Guardian, UK, 2015
  14. ^ a b "Eritrea Profile: Timeline". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: Eritrea". Norway: Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  16. ^ "Ethiopia", Statesman's Yearbook, London: Macmillan & Co., 1963. via Google Books
  17. ^ "Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants". Demographic Yearbook 1965. New York: Statistical Office of the United Nations. 1966. pp. 140–161.
  18. ^ "New gun battles rage in Asmara", New York Times, 20 February 1975
  19. ^ "Ethiopia Is Said to Seal Off Eritrea City After Fighting", New York Times, 31 July 1975
  20. ^ United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistical Office (1987). "Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more inhabitants". 1985 Demographic Yearbook. New York. pp. 247–289.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  21. ^ a b "Eritreans, Fresh From Victory, Must Now Govern", New York Times, 16 June 1991
  22. ^ "Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants" (PDF). Demographic Yearbook 2010. United Nations Statistics Division. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-10.
  23. ^ a b "Eritrea: Directory". Africa South of the Sahara 2004. Regional Surveys of the World. Europa Publications. 2004. ISBN 1857431839.
  24. ^ "Eritrea Marks Independence After Years Under Ethiopia", New York Times, 25 May 1993
  25. ^ Africa's 'Little Rome' survives conflict, seeks U.N. accolade, Reuters, 9 March 2016
  26. ^ "Table 8 - Population of capital cities and cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants", Demographic Yearbook – 2018, United Nations
This article incorporates information from the Italian Wikipedia and Spanish Wikipedia.

Bibliography

  • "(Asmara)". Directory of Open Access Journals. UK. (Bibliography of open access Open access icon articles)
  • "(Asmara)". AfricaBib.org. (Bibliography)
  • "Asmara, Eritrea". BlackPast.org. US.
  • "(Asmara)". Connecting-Africa. Leiden, Netherlands: African Studies Centre. (Bibliography)
  • "(Asmara)" – via Digital Public Library of America. (Images, etc.)
  • "(Asmara)" – via Europeana. (Images, etc.)