Oreste Baratieri

Oreste Baratieri (né Oreste Baratter, 13 November 1841 – 7 August 1901) was an Italian military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Eritrea from 1892 to 1896. Born in Condino (County of Tyrol, now Trentino), Baratieri began his career as a volunteer for Giuseppe Garibaldi's Redshirts, where he served during the Expedition of the Thousand from 1860 to 1861. Following the unification of Italy, Baratieri pursued a military career joining the regular Italian Army and fighting at the Battle of Custoza on 24 June 1866 and the Battle of Mentana (1867). In 1874 he took part in the Antinori geographical expedition in Tunisia, on behalf of the Italian Geographical Society. He was appointed colonel in Cremona in 1886. He took part, as a colonel of the Bersaglieri, in the military colonial campaigns in Eritrea in 1887-88 and again in 1890 and 1891 as second in command. Elected deputy for the Historical Left in Breno, in the Province of Brescia, Baratieri had his seat confirmed for seven legislatures, from 1876 to 1895. Rising to the rank of general by 1891, Baratieri was appointed commander of Italian forces in colonial Africa and the following year became governor of Eritrea. Baratieri would spend several years fighting with enemy forces along the border from 1893 to 1895, winning several victories over the Mahdists, particularly at the Battle of Kassala on 17 July 1894. Following Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II and Italy's dispute over the Treaty of Wuchale, Italy launched an invasion of the Ethiopian Empire.