Ita|iaπ™ troops surrendered to Ethi0pian 🇪🇹 army after they were defeated and humi|!ated in a fai|ed attempt to invaded Ethiopia in 1896.

Ita|iaπ™ troops surrendered to Ethi0pian 🇪🇹 army after they were defeated and humi|!ated in a fai|ed attempt to invaded Ethiopia in 1896.

Ethi0pia defeated !ta|y at the Battle of Adowa. They resisted Eur0peaπ imperia|ism and remains the 0nly African country that was never COLON!ZED.

Battle of Adwa, Adwa also spelled Adowa or Italian Adua, (March 1, 1896), military clash at Adwa, in north-central Ethiopia, between the Ethiopian army of Emperor Menilek II and Italian forces. The Ethiopian army’s victory checked Italy’s attempt to build an empire in Africa. The victory had further significance for being the first crushing defeat of a European power by African forces during the colonial era.

Prelude

From the mid-19th century, Ethiopia was an aggregate of semi-independent kingdoms, which were presided over by the Ethiopian emperor. The 1889 death of Emperor Yohannes IV was followed by great disorder as his potential successors fought for ascendancy. The Italians had supported Sahle Miriam of Shewa (Shoa) in the years prior to this, supplying him with modern weaponry, ammunition, and funds that helped him acquire military strength. He used that strength to incorporate smaller Ethiopian kingdoms under his rule and, after Yohannes IV’s death, to secure his claim to the title of emperor, taking the name Menilek II.

Additional ties of cooperation between Italy and Menilek were evident in the Treaty of Wichale (Ucciali), signed on May 2, 1889, which included Italy’s promise to provide a much-needed loan to Ethiopia. The treaty also included Ethiopia’s recognition of Italy’s claim over the neighbouring coastal colony of Eritrea. One aspect of the treaty that would later lead to conflict was Article XVII, reportedly interpreted by Menilek as meaning that Ethiopia could choose to utilize the Italian government in dealing with other foreign powers. Italian premier Francesco Crispi interpreted it as meaning that Ethiopia must utilize the Italian government, thereby implying the declaration of an Italian protectorate over Ethiopia.

The discrepancy eventually came to light. Menilek first repudiated in September 1890 the treaty’s ambiguous Article XVII and then, in September 1893, repudiated the treaty altogether. Menilek, conscious of the Italian troops in the neighbouring colony of Eritrea, began preparing to combat any attempt by the Italians to impose dominion militarily, which they initiated by early 1895.

Initial fighting and Ethiopian victory

Italian successes at the beginning of the campaign were brilliant but fruitless, and large Ethiopian armies were threatening the Italian outposts at the end of 1895. Menilek’s forces, which numbered more than 100,000, were well armed with modern weaponry. Menilek, however, shrewdly downplayed this military strength by leaking false reports indicating a much smaller number of troops under his command and by spreading rumours that there was widespread discord among his forces.

The Italian governor and military leader of Eritrea, Gen. Oreste Baratieri, sighted Menilek’s forces on February 7, 1896, but was cognizant of the many challenges facing the Italian army at the time—inadequate supplies of food, water, clothing, and weapons that were in working order and a lack of reliable maps—and did not rush into battle, instead choosing to remain in position for as long as the supplies allowed. Menilek was in a similar situation, in danger of running out of food for his troops and hesitant to initiate a confrontation. The two armies bided their time, waiting for the other to strike first.

On February 28 Crispi sent Baratieri a furious telegram to try to goad him into action. The next day, after discussing options with his generals—including retreat, which he initially seemed to favour—Baratieri was convinced to enter into battle. Despite some misgivings, he later gave the order to advance to Adwa with 14,500 men against an Ethiopian army of some 100,000. The Italian columns, in addition to having to deal with the lack of adequate supplies, were disorganized and unable to successfully navigate the terrain. Routed on March 1 by Menilek’s forces, the Italians retreated through difficult terrain.

The number of those in the Italian army who were killed is estimated to have been more than 6,000, of whom slightly more than half were Italian; the remainder were askari forces (African troops hired and trained by the Europeans). Additionally, between 3,000 and 4,000 of those fighting under Italian command were taken prisoner by the Ethiopians. Perhaps as many as 70 percent of Italy’s soldiers were thus killed or captured. More than 5,000 Ethiopian troops were killed and 8,000 wounded in the battle—a number greater than Italy’s losses, but a small percentage of all Ethiopian forces.

The Treaty of Addis Ababa, signed in October 1896, abrogated the Treaty of Wichale and reestablished peace. The Italian claim to a protectorate over all of Ethiopia was thereafter abandoned, and the Italian colony of Eritrea, finally delimited by a treaty of peace (September 1900), was reduced to a territory of about 200,000 square km (80,000 square miles).

Menilek’s victory over the Italians gave him significant credibility with the European powers, bolstered his mandate at home, and provided the Ethiopian kingdom with a period of peace in which it was able expand and flourish, in contrast to most of the rest of the African continent at that time, which was embroiled in colonial conflicts. Various treaties concluded with Italy, France, and Great Britain in the years up to 1908 fixed the borders of Ethiopia with the neighbouring territories ruled by the European powers.

Menilek II, also spelled Menelik, original name Sahle Miriam, also spelled Sahlé Mariam, (born Aug. 17, 1844, Ankober, Shewa [Shoa], Ethiopia—died Dec. 12, 1913, Addis Ababa), king of Shewa (or Shoa; 1865–89), and emperor of Ethiopia (1889–1913). One of Ethiopia’s greatest rulers, he expanded the empire almost to its present-day borders, repelled an Italian invasion in 1896, and carried out a wide-ranging program of modernization.

Early life

Menilek’s father was Haile Malakot, later negus (king) of Shewa. His mother was a court servant who married Haile Malakot shortly after Sahle Miriam was born. His forefathers had been rulers of Menz, the heartland of Shewa, since the 17th century, and it has been claimed that further back they were related to the Solomonid line of emperors who ruled Ethiopia between 1268 and 1854 (alternate dates 1270–1855). The crown name Menilek II was significant: Menilek I was the legendary son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (Makeda).

In 1855 the vigorous emperor of Ethiopia, Tewodros II, invaded the then semi-independent kingdom of Shewa. Early in the subsequent campaigns, Haile Malakot died, and Sahle Miriam was captured and taken to the emperor’s mountain stronghold, Amba Magdela. In nearly 10 years of captivity, he had opportunity to observe Tewodros’ dedication to the unification and modernization of the empire and also the heavy-handed and often violent methods that ultimately led to the emperor’s failure and suicide.

Sahle Miriam contrived to escape from Magdela in 1865 and returned to Shewa, which had remained in a state of sporadic unrest and revolt against Tewodros. Although only 21 years of age, he was able to displace Bezebeh, who had been appointed ruler by the emperor in 1859, and subsequently declared himself negus of the province. Sahle Miriam stood six feet tall and had a dark complexion and fine white teeth, but smallpox had left its marks on his face. As a diplomat he made a great impression on the foreign emissaries who visited his court. With their help he imported firearms, the better to equip his armies and the garrisons and settlers that came in their wake.

On the death of Tewodros in 1868, Sahle Miriam, as negus of Shewa, aspired to the position of emperor. But he was not the only claimant and had to submit first to Tekle Giorgis (1868–72) and Yohannes IV (1872–89). Before Yohannes died fighting the Sudanese in 1889, he obliged Sahle Miriam to direct his ambitions mainly to the south and east. Sahle Miriam subsequently incorporated Arusi, Harer (Harar), Jima, Kefa (Kaffa), and the several kingdoms and states of southern Ethiopia within his domains. By the time of Yohannes’ death, Sahle Miriam had emerged as the strongest man in Ethiopia and was able to assume the imperial crown for which he had waited so long.

During the period of his rivalry with Emperor Yohannes IV and the latter’s son, Mengesha, Menilek appeared to befriend the Italians, but a quarrel later developed. The Italians interpreted Article XVII of the Treaty of Wichale (Uccialli), concluded in 1889 by the Italians and Menilek, as giving Italy a protectorate over Ethiopia. It is quite inconceivable that Menilek would have agreed to his historic country becoming a protectorate. When he learned of the Italian interpretation, which was gaining some acceptance in Europe, he at once denied it and, in 1893, renounced the whole treaty.

Defeat of Italy at Adwa

The Italians had established themselves along the Red Sea coast, and the governor of the Italian colony of Eritrea, after much intrigue and several minor military skirmishes, risked a major confrontation. The Italian army was defeated by the Ethiopians in one of the greatest battles in the history of Africa—the Battle of Adwa, on March 1, 1896. A settlement after the battle canceled the Treaty of Wichale and acknowledged the full sovereignty and independence of Ethiopia, but the Italians were allowed to retain Eritrea.

After Adwa, Menilek’s Ethiopia was at once accepted by the European powers as a real political force. The crushing defeat of a European army greatly enhanced Menilek’s international reputation, causing a host of foreign advisers, ambassadors, emissaries, and adventurers to flow into the country.

Menilek’s later activities as emperor included the creation of ministries, the initiation of modern education, and the construction of telephone and telegraph systems and of a railway from Djibouti, on the Gulf of Aden, to Addis Ababa, the emperor’s new capital in the highlands of Shewa. Beginning in 1906 or 1907, Menilek suffered a series of paralytic strokes, and power passed to his wife, Empress Taitu, to Ras Tesemma, who became regent, and to Lij Iyasu, the grandson who was to succeed him. The stricken emperor finally died in 1913.

Oreste Baratieri, (born November 13, 1841, Condino, Tyrol, Austrian Empire [now in Italy]—died August 7, 1901, Sterzing, Tyrol, Austria-Hungary [now Vipiteno, Italy]), general and colonial governor who was responsible for both the development of the Italian colony of Eritrea and the loss of Italian influence over Ethiopia.

Baratieri had been a volunteer for Giuseppe Garibaldi, the popular hero of Italian unification, serving under him in the Sicilian and south Italian campaigns of 1860. He commanded a regiment in Eritrea in 1887–91 and was named commander in chief of Italian troops in Africa in 1891. Although he came in conflict with the civilian authorities in Eritrea for his encouragement of private investment in the colony, his views prevailed when he was named governor in 1893.

After opening Eritrea to private capital and extensive land settlement, Baratieri attempted, in 1895, to extend its borders into Ethiopia but was gravely defeated by the forces of the Ethiopian emperor, Menilek II, in the Battle of Adwa in 1896. This defeat led to the Italian recognition of full Ethiopian sovereignty and independence. Baratieri’s court-martial for his rout at Adwa resulted in his acquittal. He was a deputy of the Italian legislature (1876–95) and author of Memorie d’Africa (1897; “Memoirs of Africa”).