“Even in those distant times, however, it is clear that the land and people of highland Eritrea were distinct from people of Tigray, even though they spoke the same language-just as the Austrians, Swiss Germans and the Germans of today are very different people (1998, Roy Pateman, P.33).”
These difference were made even more clearer when Portuguese missionaries of the 16th centuries started entering the region. In the early 1500s AD, a Portuguese missionary named Francisco Alvarez reported that Tigray’ s border with Medri-Bahri was the Mereb River, which till this day shapes much of Eritrea’s border with Ethiopia.
"Here; this river, the Mareb, separates the country of the Bahar Nagash from that of Tigray" (1970, Francisco Alvarez, P. 91)
Francisco Alvarez continues with his description of differences with,
The men (of Medri-Bahri) wear different costumes; so also the women who are married or living with men. Here (Tigray), they wear wrapped round them dark coloured woolen stuffs, with large fringes of the same stuff, and they do not wear diadems on their heads like those of the Barnagasi (Midri-Bahri people)". -(1970, Francisco Alvarez, P. 91-2)
The Portuguese were so convinced of these clear distinctions between Medri-Bahri and Tigray people, that they published a map in 1660 that showcased Medri Bahri as being separate from not only Tigray, but Abyssinia all together.
A Portuguese map of 1660 shows Medri Bahri as covering most of the three highland provinces of Eritrea and distinct from Ethiopia. (1998, Roy Pateman, p. 36)
In 1680, Medri-Bahri’s political process was described by the German scholar J. Ludolph as being a “Federal Republic“. This democratic “republic” political process was found no where else in the horn of Africa and was distinct to the Biher-Tigrinya people of Medri Bahri.
"J. Ludolph, the Great German scholar whose studies on the East are known all over the world, described the Medri Bahri as a Federal Republic." (1977, Forschung, P. 38)
In 1770, the Scottish researcher James Bruce even gives the boundary of Tigray, which does not include the Biher-Tigrinya (Kebessa) people. According to Bruce, Tigray’s border with Medri Bahri (or BahrNegash) was indeed the Mereb river.
"The greatest length of Tigre (Tigray) is two hundred miles, and the greatest breadth one hundred and twenty. It lies between the territory of the BaharNagash (which reaches to the river Mareb) on the east, and the river Tacazze on the west." (1860, James Bruce, p.83)
James Bruce also reported Medri Bahri and Abyssinia were two “distinctly separate political entities who were constantly at war with each other” . This shows us without a doubt that the Bhier-Tigrinya people of Medri-Bahri had a different political process from Tigray and Abyssinia all together.
"In 1770 the Scottish traveler James Bruce also reported that Medri-Bahri and Abyssinia were two distinctly separate political entities constantly at war with each other." (1991, Okbazghi Yohannes, P. 31)
and all that land will one day come back to Ethiopia kulaha. Her speech was in 4th Februrary just a month ago.
