1938 Scott 23 25c deep green "Augustus Caesar" Quick History Italian East Africa was formed in 1936 by combining the Ethiopian Empire with Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. Ethiopia was added to the dominion after the Fascist Mussolini Italian Forces defeated Haile Selassie and the Ethiopians in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. Italy's Fascist regime wished to colonize the territory with Italian farmer citizens. But few went to Ethiopia, most went to Eritrea. The Capitals were Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Asmara (Eritrea), and the population was 10,000,000 (1936). In 1940, British Somaliland was occupied, and added to Italian East Africa. This one year occupation was the only victory by Italy against allied forces that did not require assistance of German troops. Map of Italian East Africa, 1936 Italian East Africa was short lived. The British retook British Somaliland in 1941, and the Ethiopian Empire was re-established. The British assumed administration of Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. Italian Somaliland became the Trust Territory of Somalia in 1949, under the guidance of Italy. It became independent in 1960. Eritrea was annexed by Ethiopia in 1952. 1938 Scott 13 1.25l deep blue "Victor Emmanuel III" Into the Deep Blue The 2011 Scott Classic Specialized catalogue has 54 major stamp descriptions for 1938-1940 Italian East Africa. For CV
