Subject
Ethiopia; Emperor Negus Menelik II of Ethiopia; Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade; Scramble for Africa
Description
In 1896, Ethiopia fended off an invading Italian army and secured its independence.
In the late 19th century, the European powers ran roughshod over Africa, brutally colonizing one country after another. Italy, for its part, targeted Ethiopia. But when its troops attacked on March 1, 1896, near the town of Adwa, they were overpowered by a large and well-armed Ethiopian force. In winning this pivotal victory, Ethiopia not only secured its own independence, but also inspired the anti-colonialist movement.
As far back as the 1400s, European nations made incursions into Africa, largely to facilitate the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Yet, for centuries, tropical diseases and navigational challenges restricted most of their activities to coastal areas. In 1870, by which time the slave trade had subsided, Europeans controlled only about 10 percent of the continent.
The ‘Scramble for Africa’
By 1885, however, the so-called Scramble for Africa was fully underway, with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal carving up virtually the entire continent among themselves. At colonialism’s peak, only Liberia, created for the re-settlement of free Black Americans, and Ethiopia remained independent.
A relative newcomer to the game, Italy began its colonial military exploits in 1885, when, with Britain’s encouragement, it occupied the Red Sea port of Massawa. From there, it spread out along the Horn of Africa, establishing the colony of Eritrea—on land formerly controlled by Ethiopia—and occupying much of present-day Somalia as well. Its military presence particularly ramped up following an 1887 battle, when some 500 Italian soldiers were killed in an ambush.
“At that time, to be a big power you need at least two things,” says Haile Larebo, an associate professor at Morehouse College, who specializes in African colonial history. “You need a navy…and you need colonies.” He adds that the Italians were “simply mimicking others,” such as the British and French.
In 1889, Italy signed a treaty with Ethiopia’s emperor, Menelik II, who recognized the Italian claim to Eritrea in exchange for a loan of arms and money. But a major disagreement arose, exacerbated by differences between the Italian and Amharic versions of the text, over whether the treaty had turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate, without control of its external affairs.
Menelik, who claimed to be descended from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and his wife, Taytu Betul, a shrewd opponent of European expansionism, prepared to defend their sovereignty.
Creator
Source
https://www.history.com/news/battle-adwa-ethiopia-africa-colonization
Publisher
history.com
File
