Francesco Caroselli

Francesco Saverio Caroseli was born in Roma on March 12, 1887. In 1909 graduated as Attorney and since 1912 started to work in the Ministero delle Colonie (Italian Colonies' Ministery) until his retirement after WW2.

Caroselli started his colonial career in Libia in 1917: he was a moderate manager who tried to help the native populations. He was a harsh critic of the Germany's policy of dictatorial domination in the colonies. For him the colonies natives had rights in a liberal society. But when Caroselli went to the Peace Conference of Paris in 1919 (as an Italian representative), he was shocked by how Italy was "humiliated" by France, Great Britain and USA's president Wilson: as a consequence Caroselli embraced the Mussolini's fascism in the next years.

In 1920 he was back in Somalia, where he showed great honesty & friendship toward the native population. In the next years he was moved to Eritrea and in 1931 Caroselli was back in Somalia, where was in charge of the development of the exportation to Italy with RAMB ships of the bananas (produced in the Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi). He collaborated with governor Maurizio Rava and defended him when was attacked (because Rava was jew) in 1935 & 1936.

In 1937 was named governor of Italian Somalia. Until 1940 he was the best governor of Somalia, according to the Somalian citizens (who honored him in the 1960s with the main Somalian award). Back in Italy he was one of the highest ranking manager in the Colonies Ministery and in 1942 he organized the transfer of thousands of Italian civilians from eastern Africa to Italy with four ships under the Red Cross supervision.

After the end of WW2 he was prosecuted because of his links to fascism and was forced to retire. Caroselli in 1947 was "pardoned" and in 1952 was named main director of a "Comitate to document the Italian works & achievements in Africa". His work in the Comitate created 40 books full of data, that are judged a "masterpiece of colonial history". He died in 1967.

Caroselli was a good writer and published several books. The most famous was created in 1931 about the famous Mad Mullah: Ferro e Fuoco in Somalia.

Other books are:

• L'Africa nella guerra e nella pace d'Europa (Roma, 1918)
• Le vicende monetarie nell' Eritrea e nella Somalia (Roma, 1933)
• Scritti coloniali (Bologna, 1941)

• Tripodi, Paolo. The Colonial Legacy in Somalia. St. Martin's P Inc. New York, 1999.

• Italian Empire
• Italian Somalia
• List of colonial governors of Italian Somaliland