The Battle of Adwa was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian invading force on Sunday 1 March 1896, near the town of Adwa. The decisive victory thwarted the campaign of the Kingdom of Italy to expand its colonial empire in the Horn of Africa. By the end of the 19th century, European powers had carved up almost all of Africa after the Berlin Conference; only Ethiopia and Liberia still maintained their independence. Adwa became a pre-eminent symbol of pan-Africanism and secured Ethiopian sovereignty until the Second Italo-Ethiopian War forty years later.
The First Italo-Ethiopian War was 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 the battle of Coatit and the battle of Senafe until they were reinforced by a large Ethiopian army led by Emperor Menelik II.
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 completed by 1898.
Taytu Betul was Empress of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913 and the third wife of Emperor Menelik II. An influential figure in anti-colonial resistance during the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa, she, along with her husband, founded the modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in 1886.
RasMakonnen Wolde Mikael Wolde Melekot, or simply Ras Makonnen, also known as Abba Qagnew, was a Shewan royal from Menz, a military leader, the governor of Harar province in the Ethiopian Empire, and the father of Tafari Makonnen. His father was Dejazmach Wolde Mikael Wolde Melekot of Shewa. Makonnen was a grandson of Negus Sahle Selassie of Shewa through his mother, Woizero Tenagnework Sahle Selassie. As such, he was a first cousin of the Ethiopian Emperor, Menelik II.
Wuchale, also spelled Uccialli, is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located about 40 km north of Dessie in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 11°30′N39°36′E and an elevation of 1711 m. It is the largest settlement in Ambassel woreda and is located along Ethiopian Highway 2.
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.
Alfred Heinrich Ilg was a Swiss engineer and First Minister of State to Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II. He was born in Frauenfeld, Switzerland and died in Zurich.
The Ethiopian Empire, also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia, was an empire that historically spanned the geographical area of present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak approximately in 1270 until the 1974 coup d'etat of Emperor Haile Selassie by the Derg. By 1896, the Empire incorporated other regions such as Hararghe, Gurage and Wolayita, and saw its largest expansion with the federation of Eritrea in 1952. Throughout much of its existence, it was surrounded by hostile forces in the African Horn; however, it managed to develop and preserve a kingdom based on its ancient form of Christianity.
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.
Giuseppe Galliano was an officer of the Royal Italian Army, mostly known for his role during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He perished in the Battle of Adwa and was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour.
DejazmachBalcha Safo Amharic: ባልቻ ሳፎ; 1863 – 6 November 1936), popularly referred to by his horse-name Abba Nefso, was an Ethiopian military commander and lord protector of the crown, who served in both the First and Second Italo-Ethiopian Wars.
Ras Alula Engida was an Tigrayan general and politician who successfully led Tigrayan battles against Egypt, the Mahdist war and Italy. He was one of the most important leaders of the Tigrayan Kingdom forces during the 19th century. Ras Alula 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 Tigrayan".
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 borders with the Ethiopian Empire were defined in the Treaty of Wuchale. In 1890 the Colony of Eritrea was officially founded.
Events from the year 1896 in Italy.
Yisma Nigus is an Ethiopian historical site where the Treaty of Wuchale was signed by Menelik II and Count Pietro Antonelli of Italy on 2 May 1889. Disputes over the treaty would later on lead to the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
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 formed an alliance with the Allied Powers after Italy entered the war in 1915. There was a dynastic battle within Ethiopia after the uncrowned Emperor, Lij Iyasu, allegedly converted to Islam at the behest of the Ottoman Empire in June 1916 and the British and French legates in Addis Ababa concerned a venture. This led to a coup d'état by regent Ras Tafari Mekonnen, later Emperor Haile Selassie, in September, and installed Empress Zewditu, who maintained neutrality throughout the war.
Ethiopia–United Kingdom relations are 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 embassy in London.
The Ethiopia–Eritrea border was created in 1889 Treaty of Wuchale signed between Ethiopia and Italy under Emperor Menelik II, and Eritrea incorporated to Italy colony in 1890. After World War II, Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia under Emperor Haile Selassie in 1952, resulting the Eritrean War of Independence among the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) and Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). After the Derg collapse in 1991, the new government under EPRDF, Eritrea became state following UN-sponsored referendum, 98.81% vote for independence.
