The Italians colonised Eritrea in 1890. In 1935, Ethiopia was added to their colonial empire, which they called Italian East Africa. Italian Somaliland was also part of that entity. There was a unified administration. Conquered by Allied troops in 1941, Italian East Africa was sub-divided. Ethiopia regained independence. Italian Somaliland remained under Italian rule until 1960 but as a United Nations protectorate, not a colony, when it united with British Somaliland, also granted independence in 1960, to form the independent state of Somalia. Eritrea was made a British protectorate from the end of World War II until 1951. However, there was debate as to what should happen with Eritrea after the British left. The British proposed that Eritrea be divided along religious lines with the Chris