2. - AN OUTLINE OF THE ITALIAN EMIGRATION
TO AFRICA.
Italian emigration to the African continent has always been very limited. Even during the colonial period the flow was a trickle in comparison with the trend of other western Countries.
Between 1876 and 1976 some 460,000 Italians emigrated to Africa, a figure which is approximately only 2% of the total of emigrants (Favero-Tassello, 1978, page 12.)
Table 2.1 - Italians emigrated in Africa (1876 - 1976)
Period Emigrants %
1876 - 1900 91,046 1.7
1901 - 1915 146,920 1.6
1916 - 1942 133,324 3.0
1946 - 1961 52,375 1.1
1962 - 1976 36,477 1.2
Source: Favero-Tassello, 1978
As one may note the two periods of main emigration to Africa coincided with the conquest of the colonial territories. In the first fifteen years of this century the highest flows are recorded. Nevertheless it is significant to note that between the two wars the percentage of the arrivals reached 3% of the total emigration. It is a known fact that during the fascist period, emigration suffered a strong decline, but the flows towards the colonial territories in Africa were encouraged. After the Second World War emigration to Africa suffered a drastic reduction and in recent years reached the values reported in Table 2.2. It is evident that the main migratory destinations continued to be other European countries and the American Continent. The flows towards Oceania were also notable, while the movements towards Africa and Asia were only marginal.
Table 2.2 - Consistency of the Italian communities abroad - 1975-1985
Area 1975 1980 1985 % (1985) Europe 2,352,148 2,243,708 2,169,811 43.68 Asia 18,537 22,701 19,479 0.39 Africa 106,061 110,559 95,333 1.92 America 2,445,870 2,340,959 2,139,266 43.06 Oceania 303,803 450,582 544,124 10.95 Total 5,226,419 5,168,509 4,968,013 100
Source: Elaboration on data Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The size of the Italian communities in the different continents confirms the preference for Europe, America and Oceania of our emigrants. Only 2% of the Italians abroad favour the African continent and this percentage has remained substantially unchanged.
In fact it was 3.03% in 1911 (out of a total of 5,805,126 Italians abroad) and 2.06% in 1927 (9,168,867.) The phenomenon is even more limited if we take into account only the geographical area of south east Africa where Tanzania is located, as clearly shown in Figure 2.1.
In fact Italian communities in African countries seldom exceed one thousand persons. The main Italian communities in Africa are situated in some of the North African countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia) or in those countries of the sub Saharan area with a developed economic structure (Nigeria and South Africa). For the countries of south east Africa the estimates of consistency are shown in Figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1 - Consistency of the Italian communities in Africa (1986/87)
Source: Elaboration on data Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Apart from South Africa, the Italian presence is limited to a few thousand people. The first possible observation is that in all the countries the presence of our fellow-countrymen presents a negative trend. It has to be underlined that looking at Table 2.3 in three countries out of the seven , the total size of the Italian community is about one thousand. Such a coincidence may cause us to have reservations about the validity of the data provided by our consulates and embassies (2) that consists in the expatriation of "workers, technical employees and also managers and entrepreneurs, for a limited period of time, directed in new areas with regard to the classical migration flows of the past" (Bacchetta-Cagiano 1990, page 16).
In actual fact while the "permanent" Italian community,
meaning those resident fellow-countrymen who have established
their main intererests in the country, has decreased, the "technological"
emigration has become progressively the main component of our
community in Tanzania. Such a change in the composition has always
made it more difficult to calculate its precise consistency. In
fact the "technological" emigration, because of its
nature, is not always easy to verify.