The Hewett Treaty, also called the Treaty of Adwa, was an agreement between Britain, Egypt [a] and Ethiopia signed at Adwa on 3 June 1884. The treaty ended a long-simmering conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia, but indirectly started a new conflict between Ethiopia and Italy. It had seven articles. [1]
The terms of the treaty were negotiated at Asmara, in the northern reaches of the Ethiopian empire, by Mason Bey for Egypt, Admiral William Hewett for Britain and Ras Alula, also acting as host, for Ethiopia. Once terms had been agreed, the party moved to Adwa, where the treaty was presented to Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia. The emperor demanded a seaport for Ethiopia, but later compromised. The final treaty represented a triumph of Anglo-Egyptian interests. [1]
The first article of the treaty provided that Ethiopia would have free transit for all goods, including arms, through the port of Massawa. Britain undertook to protect this right. In the second article, Egypt promised to return Bogos, occupied since 1868, to Ethiopian control. In the third article, Ethiopia agreed to assist the evacuation of Egyptian troops from Kassala, Amadid and Senhit. In the fourth article, Egypt agreed to permit the passage of newly appointed Abunas [b] to Ethiopia. In the fifth article, Egypt and Ethiopia agreed to the extradition of criminals. In the sixth article, Ethiopia agreed to accept British arbitration in any case of disagreement with Egypt over the terms of the treaty. [1]
Shortly after its ratification, the Italians occupied Massawa, which had been evacuated by Egypt, with tacit British approval. [1]
The First Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the First Italo-Abyssinian War, or simply in Italy as the Abyssinian War, was a war fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from the disputed Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians claimed turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Full-scale war broke out in 1895, with Italian troops from Italian Eritrea achieving initial successes against Tigrayan warlords at Coatit, Senafe and Debra Ailà, until they were reinforced by a large Ethiopian army led by Emperor Menelik II. The Italian defeat came about after the Battle of Adwa, where the Ethiopian army dealt the outnumbered Italian soldiers and Eritrean askaris a decisive blow and forced their retreat back into Eritrea. The war concluded with the Treaty of Addis Ababa. Because this was one of the first decisive victories by African forces over a European colonial power, this war became a preeminent symbol of pan-Africanism and secured Ethiopia's sovereignty until the Second Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935–37.
Menelik II, baptised as Sahle Maryam was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913. At the height of his internal power and external prestige, the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state was largely completed by 1898.
Massawa or Mitsiwa is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for many centuries. Massawa has been ruled or occupied by a succession of polities during its history, including the Kingdom of Aksum, the Ethiopian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy.
Yohannes IV was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1871 to his death in 1889 at the Battle of Gallabat, and king of Tigray from 1869 to 1871. During his reign he successfully defended Ethiopia against a large-scale Egyptian invasion.
Vice-Admiral Sir William Nathan Wrighte Hewett, was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. The Hewett Treaty is named after him.
The Treaty of Wuchale was a treaty signed between the Ethiopian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy. The signing parties were King Menelik II of Shewa, acting as Emperor of Ethiopia, and Count Pietro Antonelli representing Italy, on 2 May 1889, established the treaty after the Italian occupation of Eritrea. It was signed in the small Ethiopian town of Wuchale, from which the treaty got its name. The purpose of the treaty was to promote friendship and trade among the two countries. It was a treaty to maintain a positive long-lasting relationship between the two empires. The treaty has twenty articles written in two languages, Amharic and Italian; however, there were marked differences in the Italian and the Amharic versions of the treaty, which created miscommunications between the two countries. Specifically, Article 17 of the treaty was translated and interpreted differently by Ethiopia and Italy. Italy claimed the article imposed a protectorate over Ethiopia, while Ethiopia claimed the article allowed international diplomacy to be conducted through Italy by choice. When Menelik II denounced the treaty in 1893, Italy attempted to forcefully impose the protectorate over Ethiopia in the First Italo-Ethiopian War, which ended with Italy's defeat at the Battle of Adwa and the resulting Treaty of Addis Ababa.
The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak around 1270 until the 1974 coup d'état by the Derg, which ended the reign of the final Emperor, Haile Selassie. In the late 19th century, under Emperor Menelik II, the empire expanded significantly to the south, and in 1952, Eritrea was federated under Selassie's rule. Despite being surrounded by hostile forces throughout much of its history, the empire maintained a kingdom centered on its ancient Christian heritage.
The Army of the Ethiopian Empire was the principal land warfare force of the Ethiopian Empire and had naval and air force branches in the 20th century. The organization existed in multiple forms throughout the history of the Ethiopian Empire from its foundation in 1270 by Emperor Yekuno Amlak, to the overthrow of the monarchy and Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 by members of the Ethiopian army. Due to the country's position along multiple trade routes and its maintenance of independence against multiple Islamic and colonialist invasions lead to multiple conflicts against numerous major countries including the Ottomans, Egyptians, British, and Italians.
The Italian colonial empire, also known as the Italian Empire between 1936 and 1941, was founded in Africa in the 19th century. It comprised the colonies, protectorates, concessions and dependencies of the Kingdom of Italy. In Africa, the colonial empire included the territories of present-day Libya, Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia ; outside Africa, Italy possessed the Dodecanese Islands, Albania and also had some concessions in China.
Ras Alula Engida was an Ethiopian general and politician who successfully led battles against Ottoman Egypt, the Mahdists and Italy. He was one of the most important leaders of the Abyssinian forces during the 19th century. Described by Haggai Erlich as the "greatest leader whom Ethiopia produced since the death of Emperor Tewodros II in 1868." Ras Alula was referred to by Europeans as "the Garibaldi of Ethiopia".
Italian Eritrea was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in 1869, which came under government control in 1882. Occupation of Massawa in 1885 and the subsequent expansion of territory would gradually engulf the region and in 1889 the Ethiopian Empire recognized the Italian possession in the Treaty of Wuchale. In 1890 the Colony of Eritrea was officially founded.
Medri Bahri or Mereb Melash, also known as Ma'ikele Bahr or Bahr Melash was a semi-autonomous province of the Ethiopian Empire located north of the Mareb River, in the Eritrean highlands (Kebassa) and some surrounding areas. Mereb Melash corresponds to the administrative territory ruled by the Bahr Negus in medieval times. Mereb Melash comprised the historical provinces of Hamasien and Seraye.
The Egyptian–Ethiopian War was a war between the Ethiopian Empire and the Khedivate of Egypt, an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, from 1874 to 1876. The conflict resulted in an unequivocal Ethiopian victory that guaranteed continued independence of Ethiopia in the years immediately preceding the Scramble for Africa. Conversely, for Egypt the war was a costly failure, severely blunting the regional aspirations of Egypt as an African empire, and laying the foundations for the beginning of the British Empire's 'veiled protectorate' over Egypt less than a decade later.
Gura or Gura'e is a settlement in Eritrea's Debub region in northeast Africa. It is located in the eponymous Gura Valley in the southeastern Eritrean highlands. It is about 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) SE of Dekemhare and about 32 kilometres (20 mi) SSE of the capital Asmara.
The Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889 was an undeclared war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ethiopian Empire occurring during the Italian colonization of Eritrea. The conflict ended with a treaty of friendship, which delimited the border between Ethiopia and Italian Eritrea but contained clauses whose different interpretations led to another Italo-Ethiopian war.
During World War I, Ethiopia briefly forged an alliance with the Allied Powers, following Italy's entry into the war in 1915. In June 1916, a dynastic conflict emerged when the uncrowned Emperor, Lij Iyasu, was alleged to have converted to Islam under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, which led him to be charged with apostasy. As a result, then-regent Ras Tafari Mekonnen, later known as Emperor Haile Selassie, orchestrated a coup d'état in September, deposing Lij Iyasu and installing Empress Zewditu on the throne. Throughout the war, Empress Zewditu maintained a stance of neutrality.
Ethiopia–United Kingdom relations are the bilateral relations between Ethiopia and the United Kingdom. Currently, Ethiopia has an embassy in London and United Kingdom has an embassy in Addis Ababa. Historically, their relations traced over centuries covered a range of areas including, but not limited to, trade, culture, education and development cooperation. The UK is the first country to open its embassy in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia is the first African country to open an embassy in London.
This is chronological list about the Ethiopian Empire, an empire dominated the present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea from the beginning of establishment of Solomonic dynasty by Emperor Yekuno Amlak in 1270 to fall of monarchy on 21 March 1975 under Haile Selassie.
The Eritrea–Ethiopia border encompasses a roughly 1,033 km boundary between the two states. The borders are the Afar and Tigray regions of Ethiopia.
The Ethiopia–Somalia border stretches 1,500 kilometers. In the 19th century, both Britain and Italy contributed to shaping the modern border, on behalf of their colonies of British and Italian Somaliland. The Somali people were thus under British, French, Italian and Ethiopian rule. During World War II, Britain gained control of the Ogaden and Haud territories and returned them to Ethiopia in 1954, but not delimited beyond the provisional line. Since 1960 independence, the border has suffered serious skirmishes involving both countries' soldiers. From 1977 to 1978, Ethiopia and Somalia fought in the Ogaden War led by Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam and General Siad Barre respectively. The EPRDF government demarcated the border of Ogaden into Somali Region. Somalia is located at the base of Ethiopia's protrude southeast region; from the South, it is bounded by Wabi Shebelle and Genale Valley.