Misrata Governorate (orMisurata Province beforeWW2) was one of thegovernorates (muhafazah) of Libya from 1963 to 1983. Its capital was the town ofMisrata.[1] Initially in the 1930s was called "Provincia di Misurata" ofItalian Libya. It was created out of the eastern part ofTripolitania province.
The governorate's population was 145,894 in 1964 and had risen to 156,980 by 1972.[2]
BeforeWW2 it was calledProvincia di Misurata and had the same extension and capital. it was one of the four provinces ofItalian Libya, that were created in 1937 as a "Metropolitan region" of theKingdom of Italy.[3]
It was divided in 3 sections (called "Circondari" in Italian):
Some villages for Italian colonists were created in this 'province', greatly improving the farm production of the area: the most important wasVillaggio Crispi.[4]
The population in the 1939 Census was of nearly 225,000 inhabitants, most of which were Arabs and Berbers. TheItalians were nearly 10,000 and were concentrated in Misurata, Homs and some newly created villages[5] for Italian colonists (Gioda, Crispi, Littoriano, Corradini, etc.[6])
Most of the population wasMuslim, but there was a growing community ofCatholics due to the Italian colonists immigration.[7] Additionally there were nearly one thousandJews in Misurata.[8]
The province from 1939 was considered officially part of theKingdom of Italy, with the same laws. It was one of the 4 new Italian provinces of the so-calledQuarta Sponda (4th shore) of Mussolini'sGreater Italia. Indeed, on January 9, 1939, the colony of Italian Libya was incorporated into "metropolitan Italy" and thereafter considered an integral part of the Italian state (the French, in 1848, had incorporatedFrench Algeria in the same manner).
According to the 1939 Italian Census of Libya,[9] these were the main population data:
| CITY' | INHABITANTS | ITALIANS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Littoriano | 150 pop. | 150 | Italian colonists village, now abandoned |
| Corradini | 420 pop. | 420 | Italian colonist village, built in 1939 |
| Homs | 35,316 pop. | 1,156 | Italians nearly 3% |
| Misurata | 46,321 pop. | 1,472 | Italians 3% |
| Gioda | 1,550 pop. | 1,550 | Italian colonists village, built in 1939 |
| Taworgha | 5,174 pop. | - | village populated mostly by Blacks and a few Berbers |
| Sirte | 15,014 pop. | 303 | Italians 2% |
| Nofaliya | 3,459 pop. | 35 | Italians nearly 1% |
| Zliten | 1,300 popo. | 30 | Italians nearly 3% |
