I came across this and found it interesting.
The report begins: “Eritrea possesses none of the qualities of geographical and cultural unity to support a claim to nationhood.”
Not a position that history endorses, or which I support.
Martin
Africa, Eritrea, Horn of Africa
The London Times Report on Eritrea, 25 March 1950
Martin Plaut 
Eritreaâs Nationhood and History
Youâre right, Martin.
That old statement â that âEritrea possesses none of the qualities of geographical and cultural unity to support a claim to nationhoodâ â was a failed argument, and history did not endorse it.
It was an old-time view shaped by colonial assumptions and a shallow understanding of Eritreaâs reality. Eritreaâs nationhood was not built only on geography or one single culture. It was strengthened through shared historical experience, common struggle, sacrifice, and the collective will of its people.
Previously recorded facts validate this clearly. Eritreans lived through Italian colonial rule, British administration, federation with Ethiopia, forced annexation, and a thirty-year liberation struggle. Across regions, religions, languages, and communities, Eritreans stood together for self-determination. That kind of unity could not have survived for decades if Eritrea had no real foundation for nationhood.
The 1993 referendum further proved the failure of that old argument. Eritreans overwhelmingly voted for independence, confirming to the world that Eritreaâs claim to nationhood was real, legitimate, and historically grounded.
So yes, Martin, you are right: history does not support that old position, and neither should we. Eritreaâs nationhood was not an empty claim; it was lived, defended, and validated by its people.
Girmay Micael
I wonder whether the author would be allowed, nowadays, to write in such a fashion: his references to the various Eritrean constituencies are quite negative, if not racist. I do wonder whether some of the 20K Italian and mixed Italian people still remain in Eritrea and, if so, what their attitudes are towards the current regime? I also wonder why the author seems to think that having a multiplicity of racial, religious and language groups is necessarily a problem?
Thanks for sharing this.
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Sir Martin plaut I am not far from you I mean by ideas futurity how could we shape the world . Geopolitics . Anyway I read 1950 about Eritrea interested thanks a lot.