The Battle of Adwa

• The Battle of Adwa: Reflections on Ethiopia's Historic Victory against European Colonialism Edited by Paulos Milkias & Getachew Metaferia Brief Description: Horn of Africa Journal, Rutgers University Africans won a solitary, shocking, glorious victory at Adwa (Ethiopia) in the 19th-century “Scramble for Africa,” when the Europeans were carving up an entire continent for exploitation. The most celebrated military operation involving the Africans and the Europeans since the time of Hannibal, this emblematic victory still resounds in the minds of Africans and the African diaspora as a promise of potential and an illustration of the dictum, “strength in unity.” The limited success of that event, stunning as it was, left seeds for the current conflicts involving Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and their neighbors, conflicts that again are fed, if not forced upon them, by outside, neocolonial powers of today. Reviews 1. Horn of Africa Journal, Rutgers University The Battle of Adwa in 1896 is considered one of the most important events in modern African history. Its significance has been studied by numerous scholars most often in response to Italy’s failed attempt to secure Ethiopia as a protectorate. The Battle of Adwa counters the prevailing interpretation revealing that this limited framework minimizes the true significance of the battle and its role in world history. Editors Paulos Mikias and Getachew Metaferia argue, that a phenomenon such as Adwa is a complex nexus of various historical processes with wide-ranging but as yet not fully explored meanings. Their work , featuring an introduction, prologue, and nine solid chapters, dissects Adwa as a social, political, national, religious, and military event broadening its scope to begin a new evaluation of this African victory. The prologue indicates how this story affects the past, present and future. It places Ethiopia’s origins in ancient history and the Bible. The editors link each of the historical ancient Ethiopia, including the Axumite Empire of Ezana, the Christian state of Zagwe, and the Solomonian Empire that traces its lineage from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, to the emerging modern nation. This approach solidifies both context and contacts within world history. By focusing on the vastness of the territory that will become modern Ethiopia, they establish that these were people of different ethnic and religious affiliations that were still in the process of unification at the time of the victory at Adwa. Emperors Tewodros II and Yohannes IV are central to the rise of Menelik II who will become the nation’s ruler shortly before the war with Italy. Both Tewodros, who ruled from 1855 to 1872, and Yohannes, who ruled from Tewodros’ death to 1889, were frequently engaged in military conflicts with regional rivals and European forces. Each died in battles that were influenced by European powers. Menelik, Yohannes’ successor, was a beneficiary of those conflicts. His ambitions to become emperor encouraged him to challenge the authority of both men by withholding allegiances and entertaining overtures from British and Italian envoys to gain their support. The Italians, who like the British and French, sought a colonial empire in the Horn of Africa approached King Menelik during Yohannes reign. Before the emperor’s death, Count Pietro Antonelli and Menelik agreed in principle to a document that would become the Treaty of Wuchalé. The document had numerous points, with the most important being the debated section authorizing Italy to be Ethiopia’s agent in the European world. Essentially, this made Ethiopia an Italian protectorate. Emperor Menelik signed both an Italian and Amharic version of this treaty in 1889. Theodore Vestal builds the case for the Battle of Adwa by recalling Italy’s involvement in Ethiopia in Chapter One: “Reflections on the Battle of Adwa and Its Significance for Today.” He suggests that the Italians underestimated Ethiopia’s rulers and European support for the treaty. In fact, Vestal sees Italy’s missteps as the cause for the war. While Italy’s colonization of Eritrea was minimally accepted, the expansion of the Italian role within local Ethiopian affairs was not. Military actions “fuelled the anger of the Ethiopian masses and leaders alike, who viewed the invasion as a threat to their nation's sovereignty." (26) The forthcoming war can be seen as the foundation for true nationalism and the advent of the modern Ethiopian state. While the Berlin Conference establishes policies for non-military action between European parties in their quest for colonial empires, Vestal shows that it did not constitute uniform support for each nation's colonial desires. In 1892, he hints that Britain supported Italy in Ethiopia more to keep France out of the region rather than to support Italian imperialism and national development. Additionally, the flaws in the Treaty of Wuchale" were known before the war and it also raised the concerns of European competitors. The Russians, for example, denounced the treaty in 1894, and shortly afterwards Tsar Nicholas sent the Ethiopians rifles and ammunition. Yet the key point in the chapter was, not only did the military victory humiliate the Italians, it countered Italian comments that the Ethiopians were barbarians. Ethiopia went to great lengths to be fair in a difficult situation. Before the war, Menelik repaid the loans provided by the treaty, and afterwards allowed the Italians safe passage out of Ethiopia. Further, Vestal argues that Menelik wanted peace and did not pursue the Italians and allowed them to remain in Eritrea. While installing national pride and unity, Menelik's victory did have a price. His failure to remove the Italians from Eritrea became one of the nation's greatest problems. It set the tone for the hostile relationships between the two regions which most see as part of Ethiopia. Similar themes are echoed in the next chapter, "The Battle of Adwa: The Historic Victory of Ethiopia over European Colonialism." In examining Italy's interests in African colonization, Paulos Milkias notes the similarities in the development of the two countries during the nineteenth century. However, he makes the obvious point that Italy used colonization as part of its unification process. This chapter does an excellent job of analyzing the famed Treaty of Wuchalé and how it led to the Italian-Ethiopian war. Milkias places the conflict within cultural values as well as diplomatic ones. The deception in paragraph XIX of the treaty, which has a different meaning in Italian than it does in Amharic, illustrates the immorality of the Italians. Not only did Count Antonelli betray Menelik’s trust, the entire affair reveals the alleged superiority that the Italians believed they had over their African allies. This racial superiority is compounded as Menelik discovers that many of the European nations, including England and Germany, honored the treaty despite being made aware of its improper wording. Menelik had no choice but to dissolve the treaty in February 1893. In the process he and Empress Taytu forced Count Antonelli to reveal his attempt to deceive the Ethiopian ruler. While the Ethiopians pressed for peace, they also prepared for war. The Italians offered another treaty on January 18, 1896. However, this was a more stringent one with the cession of Tigray and more formal protectorate status. Again, the Ethiopians refused. When the war began, it was solely because the Italians had to save national pride and its place in the European community. Milkias offers pages of details about the battle and the resolve of the Ethiopians to save their homeland. Some 20,000 of the Ethiopian 90,000 troops fought without guns, yet they defeated a superior European army causing a loss of nearly 70% of its troops. Ethiopian women, led by Empress Taytu also played a role in the battle. The women provided water and medical care to