The Regulation of ‘Mixed’ Marriages in Colonial Libya: At the Crossroads of Nationalism, Religion, and Race

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyzes how civil and religious authorities regulated ‘mixed’ marriages between Italian settlers and Libyans during the Italian colonization of Libya (1911-1942). As an institution situated at the core of discursive and regulatory frameworks regarding property, heritage, and religion, marriage had been a contentious jurisdictional issue between Italian governments and the Vatican since the birth of the nation-state in 1861. This article traces the conflicts and convergences that characterized the institution's history in colonial Libya, detailing how it intersected with political projects regarding the racial and religious characterization of the Italian national identity. The study of the institutional clashes between the Italian state and the Vatican, Italian nationalism and Catholicism, frame this article's qualitative analysis of ‘mixed’ couples’ experiences regarding marriage in the colony. Through this multi-layered analysis, this article shows the crucial importance of the regulation of mixture in the Italian empire, where even small numbers of ‘mixed’ marriages could impact the development of racial categories and national and religious belonging.