LIBYA. – Originally (5th century BCE) the classical name given to the entire African continent (though only a small part was known), and after 1917 officially used to denote the territories placed under Italian sovereignty following the victorious war against Turkey in 1911–12.
I. GEOGRAPHY
L., which faces the Mediterranean for about 1,800 km, from Ras Agadir to the Gulf of Sollum, consists of several distinct natural regions: Tripolitania, a coastal plain dominated by the Gebel, i.e., the edge of the inland plateau; Sirtica, a flat, arid coastal strip curving around the Gulf of Sidra; Cyrenaica, a stubby peninsula formed by a limestone plateau fringed by a narrow coastal strip; and Marmarica, a low, arid, steppe-like plateau that continues into Egypt. The interior is occupied by a vast rocky desert (hammada) or dune desert (edjein), interrupted by oases, most of which are grouped in Fezzan, though some are entirely isolated (Kufra, Gadames). The climate is mild along the coastal strips, with long dry summers and winter rains (less scarce on the Gebel and the Cyrenaican plateau), and suitable everywhere for Europeans. With no rivers, water is drawn from underground aquifers and (in Cyrenaica) from springs; wherever possible, the soil is cultivated, though only in extremely rare and limited areas: the Gefara (olive, vine, almond), the Gebel (fruit, cereals, and tobacco), the Benghazi plateau (olive and cereals), and a few others. In Cyrenaica there are also forests (434,000 ha.). Among the spontaneous plants, noteworthy are alfa and esparto, widely used (including for cellulose). The most important cultivated products are barley, wheat, dates, wine, oil, and citrus fruits. Pastoralism is transhumant; sheep and goats are mainly raised. Along the coasts, tuna and sponge fishing are active; a good resource is sea salt, extracted from coastal salt pans. Industry is modest and geared primarily to domestic products (rugs, soap, bricks, milling, oil mills).The population (817,000 in 1936, the last census) consists of about two-thirds Arab-speaking Berbers, with the rest made up of Arabs (250,000), Cologhli (mixed indigenous and Turkish descent, 42,000), Jews (20,000), and Blacks (10,000). Italians, who numbered over 120,000 on the eve of World War II, are now greatly reduced in number. Allied occupation (French in Fezzan, British elsewhere), leading to the abandonment of the numerous and flourishing Italian-run farms (almost entirely vanished in Cyrenaica), dealt a mortal blow to the country’s economic development. L. was to achieve independence in 1952; in the meantime it is governed by a UN advisory commission, in which Italy is also represented. Below is the pre-war administrative division:
LIBYA – 1) State boundaries; 2) provincial boundaries; 3) ecclesiastical district boundaries; 4) railways.
| Province and territories | Area in sq. km. | Population |
|----------------------------|-----------------|------------|
| Tripolitania | 191,200 | 392,564 |
| Bengasi Derna | 152,030 | 113,744 |
| Libyan Sahara Territory | 1,205,600 | 48,403 |
| L. | 1,759,470 | 817,376 |
**
**LIBYA – 2) Provincial boundaries; 3) ecclesiastical district boundaries; 4) railways.**
**LIBYA – 3) Provincial boundaries; 4) railways.**
**LIBYA – 4) Provincial boundaries; 5) ecclesiastical district boundaries; 6) railways.**
**LIBYA – 5) Provincial boundaries; 6) railways.**
**LIBYA – 359) Provincial boundaries.**
Marist Brothers (1881). In 1859 a first hospital open to all was established in Tripoli, which then had about 2,500 faithful; conversions of Muslims also occurred there. After Italy’s occupation of L. (1911–12), the Apostolic Vicariate of L. was erected in 1913. The Franciscans’ apostolate is devoted to the spiritual care of Italian colonists; thus they provide pastoral care as in Christian countries, but under the gaze of Muslims, with charitable (hospitals, clinics, shelters) and educational institutions open also to them and their children. Conversions of Muslims followed. The missionary teaching and hospital staff was composed of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, who succeeded the Marist Brothers in 1912; the Sisters of St. Joseph (1854); the Franciscan Missionaries of Egypt (1903); the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent (1912); the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (1912); the Sisters of the Holy Family (1920); and the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (1925). In 1927 the Apostolic Vicariate of L. was divided into two vicariates: Tripolitania (now Tripoli) and Cyrenaica (now Bengasi), entrusted to the Franciscans. In 1939 the Apostolic Vicariate of Derna was detached and entrusted to the Salesian Society of Don Bosco, and the Apostolic Prefecture of Misurata was detached and entrusted first to the secular clergy and then to the Franciscans.