Summary and Introduction

Written by an Eritrean vicar in 1927, The Conscript details the harrowing journey of Tuquabo as

he is conscripted to help the Italians invade Lydia during the Italo-Turkish War (Italo). The

narrative begins with the protagonist tearfully bidding his parents farewell as he leaves his home

town and endures a treacherous sea voyage past the British controlled Port Sudan and Suez

Canal until finally arriving in Libya. After arriving, the conscripts are forced to march for 7 days

in the Libyan desert and are eventually led into battle against the nomadic Arab Bedouin who

attempt to resist the insurgent Italian occupation. However, the military superiority of the Italian

colonizers allows the conscripts to easily defeat the Arabs and claim control over Tripoli.

Despite the conscript’s success in battle, their Italian colonizers abandon them in the desert but

Tuquabo is fortunate to find water. He ultimately survives and makes it back home to Eritrea but

is devastated when he uncovers the death of his mother. Following the death of his father,

Tuquabo is plagued by the emotional scars of war and is forced to contemplate the sacrifices

imposed on himself and his family in order to advance the interests of a distant colonial power.

Global Context- Italian/European Conflict

In order to truly appreciate the value of this novel, it is important to understand the historical

context of the Italian/European conflict of the early 20th century. This period saw an increased

sense of nationalism and a renewed spirit of competition as European nations like England,

France, Germany and Italy sought to expand their territory by establishing foreign colonies in

Africa

Some historians argue that the European expansion into Africa was initiated by Great Brittan

after claiming control over Egypt and the Suez Canal in 1882 (Tignor). This encroachment
prompted other European nations to begin their own colonization efforts into the Africa

subcontinent. France and Brittan seized control over much of West and East Africa respectively

while Italy claimed Somaliland and Eritrea (Tignor). This southern expansion was motivated by

military purposes and fueled further European colonization as a strategy of colonial conscription

emerged. In essence, the Europeans used colonized people to invade other colonial targets and

the success of this strategy provided a steady supply of military manpower. This supply of

conscripts enabled the sustained empire building competition between the colonial powers

exhibited during the early 20th century. This is relevant because the protagonist is a product of

this colonial conscription strategy and readers are given an opportunity to appreciate the

exploitative nature of such a military policy.

Regional Context -Italian/Eritrean conflict

The idea of European exploitation is a central idea explored throughout the novel and is

demonstrated by the regional conflict between Italians and Eritreans. The Italians use the

Eritreans as front-line soldiers to capture Libya from the local Arab resistance. Despite the

sacrifices made by the Eritrean soldiers, they are subjected to inhumane treatment, perceived by

the Italians as “weak donkeys”, and valued only as a military tool (47). This exploitation is

realized by Tuquabo as he increasingly questions the righteousness of fighting for the colonial

power and is conveyed to the reader through numerous poetic stanzas throughout the novel (15,

23, 56). Finally, the savagery of Italian exploitation is cemented by the eventual abandonment of

the Eritrean soldiers in the desert after risking their lives to serve an ungrateful colonial

master(47). The exploitation inflicted on the Eritrean soldiers mirrors the experience of other

colonized subjects and was enabled by a belief in the inferiority and primitive nature of African

colonial subjects.
The novel also discusses the Italian manufactured conflict between the Eritrean and Arab people.

Tuquabo notes that while the Eritrean and Arab people do have a history of conflict, his people

are forced into a battle with the Arabs simply to fulfil Italy’s desire to expand and compete with

other growing European empires (42). In order to provide the Eritrean conscripts a morally

justifiable reason to kill the Arabs, the Italians spread propaganda highlighting the brutality,

indolence and laziness of Arab soldiers (32-35). Tuquabo notes that the racist Arab stories are

perpetuated only by “white men” and serves as a technique to deaminize the enemy and establish

a basis of conflict.

Author’s Moral and Political stance

Throughout the novel, themes of colonialism and violence are explored, and the reader is

exposed to the author’s view on the subject as he highlights the effects of conscription on society

and the family structure. Colonial conscription diverts a large portion of a community’s young,

able-bodied population into military service. Instead of working to improve their country and

community, they are implemented as tools of violence used to advance the interests of European

nations. This exploitation ultimately destroys the colonized society as the community is

disrupted and starved of a key demographic(15). The societal impact of this is expressed by the

author through the loneliness, poor health, stress and eventual death of Tuquabo’s parents as a

result of his decision to abandon his country and fight for Italy (49). The destruction of Tuquabo

family is a direct consequence of his conscription and the author notes that this colonial fueled

familial destruction occurs throughout Europe’s colonies (49). As such, the author uses the

demise of Tuquabo’s family unit as a way to symbolize the destructive force of colonization and

its far-reaching impact of all levels of society.

In particular, the author condemns unprovoked colonial insurgency because he views this

practice as a means of establishing and promoting a future of war. The protagonist notes that the

colonial insurgency sponsored by the Italians would breed Arab resentment and encourage

centuries of retaliation (29). The author conveys this idea regarding the ‘unrighteousness’ of

colonial-inspired violence by contrasting the valiant Arabic defenders with the shameful Eritrean

conscripts who “bow like dogs’ to their Italian colonialists (29-30). Through this comparison the

author appears to convey his moral objection towards violent colonial expansion; indicating that

this type of warfare is unjustifiable.

Conclusion

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others because it offers a unique

perspective on the effects of colonization which is often overlooked when studying history. We

often focus our study on the large scale marco geo-political effects of colonization while

ignoring the devastating human impact that this period had on the colonized individual. This

short novel allows us to see past the romanticized notions of colonialism and appreciate the

exploitation experienced by thousands of colonized people. Furthermore, I think this book is an

important read because it explores the idea of dehumanization and illustrates what can happened

when one group adopts the notion of superiority. The Italians believed in the inferiority of its

colonized people and failed to recognize the humanity of Eritreans or Arabs. This gave them the

ability to overlook the humanity of their colonial victims and the bloodshed imposed by their

quest for expansion. This type of dehumanization sadly still occurs today and this novel serves to

reminds us how important it is to fight against propaganda and political rhetoric that attempts to

segregate humankind on the basis of ethnicity or nationality

 Bibliography

Hailu, Gebreyesus, et al. The Conscript: a Novel of Libya's Anticolonial War. Ohio University
Press, 2013.

“Italo-Turkish War.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/event/Italo-Turkish-War.

Tignor, Robert L. Worlds Together, Worlds Apart. W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.