Because of its history and location, Eritrea is an ideal example for a study of the sustainability of traditional rural communities and the impact of local and external actors on them. This book provides a lucid account of the pillage of rural sustainability under modern hegemonic conditions. It traces the manner in which the imprints left by European rule were accentuated during Ethiopian control. These legacies continue to haunt rural communities after independence in the shape of resource shortages, the dominance of western civilization, and the modernization-based policies of the ruling Eritrean class which originated under European rule.