First Italo-Abyssinian War
Encyclopedia
The First Italo-Ethiopian War was fought between Italy and Ethiopia
from 1895 to 1896. Ethiopia's military victory over Italy secured it the distinction of being the only African nation to successfully resist European colonialism
with a decisive show of force.
ruler Menelik II — having conquered Tigray
and Amhara
, declared himself Emperor of Ethiopia (Abyssinia in the European parlance of the time). Barely a month later, on May 2, he signed a treaty of amity with the Italians, which apparently gave them control over Eritrea
, the Red Sea
coast to the northeast of Ethiopia, in return for recognition of Menelik's rule. Menelik II has prolonged policy of the Tewodros II about integration of Ethiopia.
However, the bilingual Treaty of Wuchale
did not say the same thing in Italian
and Amharic
. The former text established an Italian protectorate
over Ethiopia, which Menelik discovered soon afterwards. The Amharic version, however, merely stated that Menelik could contact foreign powers and conduct foreign affairs through Italy if he so chose. Italian diplomats, however, claimed that the original Amharic text included the clause and Menelik knowingly signed a modified copy of the Treaty.
Because of the Ethiopian refusal to abide by the Italian version of the treaty and despite economic handicaps at home, the Italian government decided on a military solution to force Ethiopia to abide by the Italian version of the treaty. In doing so, they believed that they could exploit divisions within Ethiopia and rely on tactical and technological superiority to offset any inferiority in numbers.
into Tigray (on the border with Eritrea) in December 1894. The Italians expected disaffected potentates like Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam
, Ras Mengesha Yohannes
, and the Sultan of Aussa to join them; instead, all of the ethnic Tigrayan or Amharic peoples flocked to the Emperor Menelik's side in a display of both nationalism and anti-Italian feeling, while other peoples of dubious loyalty (e.g. the Sultan of Aussa), were watched by Imperial garrisons. Further, Menelik had spent much of the previous four years building up a supply of modern weapons and ammunition
, acquired from the French, British, and the Italians themselves, as the European colonial powers sought to keep each other's North African aspirations in check. They also used the Ethiopians as a proxy army against the Sudanese Mahdists
.
In December 1894, Bahta Hagos
led a rebellion against the Italians in Akkele Guzay
, claiming support of Mengesha. Units of General Oreste Baratieri
's army under Major Pietro Toselli crushed the rebellion and killed Hagos. The Italian army then occupied the Tigrian capital, Adwa
. Baratieri suspected that Mengesha would invade Eritrea, and met him at the Battle of Coatit in January 1895. The victorious Italians chased a retreating Mengesha, capturing weapons and important documents proving his complicity with Menelik. The victory in this campaign, along with previous victories against the Sudanese Mahdists
, led the Italians to underestimate the difficulties to overcome in a campaign against Menelik. At this point, Emperor Menelik turned to France
, offering a treaty of alliance; the French response was to abandon the Emperor to secure Italian approval of the Treaty of Bardo
which would secure French control of Tunisia
. Virtually alone, on 17 September 1895, Emperor Menelik issued a proclamation calling up the men of Shewa
to join his army at Were Ilu
.
The unique European ally of Ethiopia was Russia. The Ethiopian emperor sent his first diplomatic mission to St. Petersburg in 1895. In June 1895, the newspapers in St. Petersburg wrote, "Along with the expedition, Menelik II sent his diplomatic mission to Russia, including his princes and his bishop". Many citizens of the capital came to meet the train that brought Prince Damto, General Genemier, Prince Belyakio, Bishop of Harer Gabraux Xavier and other members of the delegation to St. Petersburg. On the eve of War, an agreement about rendering the military help for Ethiopia was concluded.
The next clash came at Amba Alagi
on 7 December 1895, when Ethiopian soldiers overran the Italian positions dug in on that natural fortress, and forced the Italians to retreat back to Eritrea. The remaining Italian troops under General Giuseppe Arimondi reached the unfinished Italian fort at Meqele. Arimondi left there a small garrison of approximately 1,150 askaris and 200 Italians, commanded by Major Giuseppe Galliano
, and took the bulk of his troops to Adigrat
, where Oreste Baratieri
, the Italian commander, was concentrating the Italian Army.
The first Ethiopian troops reached Maqele in the following days. Ras Makonnen surrounded the fort at Meqele on 18 December, but the Italian commander adroitly used promises of a negotiated surrender to prevent the Ras from attacking the fort. By the first days of January, Emperor Menelik, accompanied by his Queen Taytu Betul
, had led large forces into Tigray, and besieged the Italians for 15 days (6–21 January 1896), trying in vain to storm the fort on several occasions, until the Italians surrendered with permission from the Italian Headquarters. Menelik allowed them to leave Meqele with their weapons, and even provided the defeated Italians mules and pack animals to rejoin Baratieri. While some historians read this generous act as a sign that Emperor Menelik still hoped for a peaceful resolution to the war, Harold Marcus points out that this escort allowed him a tactical advantage: "Menelik craftily managed to establish himself in Hawzien
, at Gendepata, near Adwa, where the mountain passes were not guarded by Italian fortifications."
Heavily outnumbered, Baratieri refused to engage, knowing that due to their lack of infrastructure the Ethiopians could not keep large numbers of troops in the field much longer. However, the Italian government of Francesco Crispi
was unable to accept being stymied by non-Europeans. The prime minister specifically ordered Baratieri to bring about a battle.
The result was the Battle of Adwa (or Adowa) on March 1, 1896. Almost half of all the Italian forces in East Africa were concentrated and engaged the Ethiopians who defeated them decisively. The actual battle took place in mountainous country north of the town of Adwa
. The Italian army comprised four brigades totalling approximately 20,000 troops, with fifty-six artillery pieces.
General Baratieri planned to surprise the larger Ethiopian force with an early morning attack, expecting that his enemy would be asleep. However, the Ethiopians had risen early for Church
services, and upon learning of the Italian advance, swept forth to meet it, and crushed the Italians. While Menelik's victory was in a large part due to sheer force of numbers, Menelik's careful preparations had made them well-armed numbers. The Ethiopian army only had a feudal system of organization, but could absolutely execute the strategic plan of Menelik's headquarters, contrary to any objective circumstances. Some Russian councillors of Menelik II and volunteers participated in the battle. But the Ethiopian army had its own problems. The first was the quality of its arms, as the Italian and British colonial authorities could sabotage the transportation of 30,000-60,000 modern Berdan rifles from Russia into landlocked Ethiopia. The Ethiopian army was also based on a feudal system of organization; as a result, nearly the entire army was peasant militia. Russian military experts advising Menelik II suggested to try to get to full contact battle collision with Italians (to neutralize fire superiority of opponent), instead engaging in a campaign of harassment to nullify problems with arms, training, and organization. In the battle that ensued wave upon wave of Menelik's warriors attacked the Italians. Also, the officer the Kuban Cossack army N. Leontjev and team of fifty of the Russian volunteers was the direct participants of battle in composition the Ethiopian army.
Also, the Russian support for Ethiopia led to the advent of a Russian Red Cross mission. The Russian mission was military mission conceived as a medical support for the Ethiopian troops it arrived in Addis Ababa some three months after Menilek's Adwa victory.
Italian dead were estimated to number 9,500 to 12,000. In addition, 2,000 Eritrean askari
s were killed or captured. The Ethiopians had lost about 3,000 dead and 6,000 wounded. Italian prisoners were treated as well as possible under difficult circumstances, but 800 captured askaris, regarded as traitors by the Ethiopians, had their right hands and left feet amputated.
, and waited for the fallout of the victory to hit Italy. The casualty rate suffered by Italian forces at the Battle of Adowa was greater than any other major European battle of the 19th century, beyond even the Napoleonic Era
's infamous Waterloo
and Eylau
. Riots broke out in several Italian cities, and within two weeks, the Crispi government collapsed amidst Italian disenchantment with "foreign adventures".
in October, which strictly delineated the borders of Eritrea and forced Italy to recognize the independence of Ethiopia. Delegations from the United Kingdom and France—European powers whose colonial possessions lay next to Ethiopia—soon arrived in the Ethiopian capital to negotiate their own treaties with this newly proven power.
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...
from 1895 to 1896. Ethiopia's military victory over Italy secured it the distinction of being the only African nation to successfully resist European colonialism
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa or Partition of Africa was a process of invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914...
with a decisive show of force.
Background
On March 25, 1889, the ShewaShewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
ruler Menelik II — having conquered Tigray
Tigray Province
Tigray was a province of Ethiopia. The Tigray Region superseded the province with the adoption of the new constitution in 1995. The province of Tigre merged with its neighboring provinces, including Semien, Tembien, Agame and the prominent Enderta province and towards the end of 19th century it...
and Amhara
Amhara province
Amhara was the name of a medieval province of Ethiopia, located in present day Amhara Region, and the pre-1996 province of Wollo...
, declared himself Emperor of Ethiopia (Abyssinia in the European parlance of the time). Barely a month later, on May 2, he signed a treaty of amity with the Italians, which apparently gave them control over Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
coast to the northeast of Ethiopia, in return for recognition of Menelik's rule. Menelik II has prolonged policy of the Tewodros II about integration of Ethiopia.
However, the bilingual Treaty of Wuchale
Treaty of Wuchale
Treaty of Wuchale was a treaty signed by King Menelik II of Shewa, later the Emperor of Ethiopia with Count Pietro Antonelli of Italy in the town of Wuchale, Ethiopia, on 2 May 1889...
did not say the same thing in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
. The former text established an Italian protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
over Ethiopia, which Menelik discovered soon afterwards. The Amharic version, however, merely stated that Menelik could contact foreign powers and conduct foreign affairs through Italy if he so chose. Italian diplomats, however, claimed that the original Amharic text included the clause and Menelik knowingly signed a modified copy of the Treaty.
Because of the Ethiopian refusal to abide by the Italian version of the treaty and despite economic handicaps at home, the Italian government decided on a military solution to force Ethiopia to abide by the Italian version of the treaty. In doing so, they believed that they could exploit divisions within Ethiopia and rely on tactical and technological superiority to offset any inferiority in numbers.
Opening phase
In 1893, judging that his power over Ethiopia was secure, Menelik repudiated the treaty; in response the Italians ramped up the pressure on his domain in a variety of ways, including the annexation of small territories bordering their original claim under the Treaty of Wuchale, and finally culminating with a military campaign across the Mareb RiverMareb River
The Mareb River , is a river flowing out of central Eritrea. Its chief importance is defining part of the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia between the point where the Mai Ambassa enters the river at to the confluence of the Balasa with the Mareb at .According to the Statistical Abstract of...
into Tigray (on the border with Eritrea) in December 1894. The Italians expected disaffected potentates like Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam
Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam
Tekle Haymanot Tessemma, also Adal Tessemma, Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and Tekle Haimanot of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire.- Biography :...
, Ras Mengesha Yohannes
Ras Mengesha Yohannes
Mengesha Yohannes was the "natural" son of Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia, Ras of Tigray, and, as a claimant of the Imperial throne, is often given the title of Leul. Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes was his older half brother.-Biography:Prior to the Battle of Metemma, Mengesha Yohannes was...
, and the Sultan of Aussa to join them; instead, all of the ethnic Tigrayan or Amharic peoples flocked to the Emperor Menelik's side in a display of both nationalism and anti-Italian feeling, while other peoples of dubious loyalty (e.g. the Sultan of Aussa), were watched by Imperial garrisons. Further, Menelik had spent much of the previous four years building up a supply of modern weapons and ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
, acquired from the French, British, and the Italians themselves, as the European colonial powers sought to keep each other's North African aspirations in check. They also used the Ethiopians as a proxy army against the Sudanese Mahdists
Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...
.
In December 1894, Bahta Hagos
Bahta Hagos
Bahta Hagos was Dejazmach of Akkele Guzay, and retrospectively considered an important leader of Eritrean resistance to foreign domination...
led a rebellion against the Italians in Akkele Guzay
Akkele Guzay
Akkele Guzay was a province in the interior of Eritrea until 1996, when the newly independent government of Eritrea consolidated all provinces into six regions. Akkele Guzay's population predominantly consisted of followers of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. Traditionally being part of the...
, claiming support of Mengesha. Units of General Oreste Baratieri
Oreste Baratieri
Oreste Baratieri was an Italian general and governor of Eritrea who led the Italian army and was defeated in the First Italo–Ethiopian War's Battle of Adowa.-Early career:...
's army under Major Pietro Toselli crushed the rebellion and killed Hagos. The Italian army then occupied the Tigrian capital, Adwa
Adwa
Adwa is a market town in northern Ethiopia, and best known as the community closest to the decisive Battle of Adowa fought in 1896 with Italian troops. Notably, Ethiopian soldiers won the battle, thus being the only African nation to thwart European colonialism...
. Baratieri suspected that Mengesha would invade Eritrea, and met him at the Battle of Coatit in January 1895. The victorious Italians chased a retreating Mengesha, capturing weapons and important documents proving his complicity with Menelik. The victory in this campaign, along with previous victories against the Sudanese Mahdists
Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...
, led the Italians to underestimate the difficulties to overcome in a campaign against Menelik. At this point, Emperor Menelik turned to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, offering a treaty of alliance; the French response was to abandon the Emperor to secure Italian approval of the Treaty of Bardo
Treaty of Bardo
The Treaty of Bardo was signed on May 12, 1881 between representatives of the French Republic and Tunisian bey Muhammed as-Sadiq. A raid of Algeria by the Tunisian Kroumer tribe served as a pretext for French armed forces to invade Tunisia...
which would secure French control of Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
. Virtually alone, on 17 September 1895, Emperor Menelik issued a proclamation calling up the men of Shewa
Shewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
to join his army at Were Ilu
Were Ilu
Were Ilu is a town in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of . From the 1870s, Were Ilu had a Thursday market....
.
The unique European ally of Ethiopia was Russia. The Ethiopian emperor sent his first diplomatic mission to St. Petersburg in 1895. In June 1895, the newspapers in St. Petersburg wrote, "Along with the expedition, Menelik II sent his diplomatic mission to Russia, including his princes and his bishop". Many citizens of the capital came to meet the train that brought Prince Damto, General Genemier, Prince Belyakio, Bishop of Harer Gabraux Xavier and other members of the delegation to St. Petersburg. On the eve of War, an agreement about rendering the military help for Ethiopia was concluded.
The next clash came at Amba Alagi
Battle of Amba Alagi (1895)
The Battle of Amba Alagi was the first in a series of battles between General Baratieri and Emperor Menelik during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. Amba Alagi was one of Baratieri's forward positions, left in charge to Major Toselli as well as 2,000 Eritrean Askari...
on 7 December 1895, when Ethiopian soldiers overran the Italian positions dug in on that natural fortress, and forced the Italians to retreat back to Eritrea. The remaining Italian troops under General Giuseppe Arimondi reached the unfinished Italian fort at Meqele. Arimondi left there a small garrison of approximately 1,150 askaris and 200 Italians, commanded by Major Giuseppe Galliano
Giuseppe Galliano
Giuseppe Galliano was an Italian soldier.He was a Lieutenant Colonel of the Regal Italian army, then one signaled for his skill and mastery in the military art during the campaign of Africa in the battles of Agordat and Battle of Coatit, he was famous for the courageous defense of the fort of...
, and took the bulk of his troops to Adigrat
Adigrat
Adigrat is a city in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi Zone at longitude and latitude with an elevation of 2457 meters above sea level, below a high ridge to the west, Adigrat is the last important Ethiopian city south of the border with Eritrea, and is considered to be a...
, where Oreste Baratieri
Oreste Baratieri
Oreste Baratieri was an Italian general and governor of Eritrea who led the Italian army and was defeated in the First Italo–Ethiopian War's Battle of Adowa.-Early career:...
, the Italian commander, was concentrating the Italian Army.
The first Ethiopian troops reached Maqele in the following days. Ras Makonnen surrounded the fort at Meqele on 18 December, but the Italian commander adroitly used promises of a negotiated surrender to prevent the Ras from attacking the fort. By the first days of January, Emperor Menelik, accompanied by his Queen Taytu Betul
Taytu Betul
thumb|Taytu BetulTaytu Betul was an Empress of the Ethiopian Empire and the wife of Emperor Menelek II.-Biography:...
, had led large forces into Tigray, and besieged the Italians for 15 days (6–21 January 1896), trying in vain to storm the fort on several occasions, until the Italians surrendered with permission from the Italian Headquarters. Menelik allowed them to leave Meqele with their weapons, and even provided the defeated Italians mules and pack animals to rejoin Baratieri. While some historians read this generous act as a sign that Emperor Menelik still hoped for a peaceful resolution to the war, Harold Marcus points out that this escort allowed him a tactical advantage: "Menelik craftily managed to establish himself in Hawzien
Hawzen
Hawzen is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi Zone of the Tigray Region , this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2105 meters above sea level. Its market day is Wednesday...
, at Gendepata, near Adwa, where the mountain passes were not guarded by Italian fortifications."
Heavily outnumbered, Baratieri refused to engage, knowing that due to their lack of infrastructure the Ethiopians could not keep large numbers of troops in the field much longer. However, the Italian government of Francesco Crispi
Francesco Crispi
Francesco Crispi was a 19th-century Italian politician of Arbëreshë ancestry. He was instrumental in the unification of Italy and was its 17th and 20th Prime Minister from 1887 until 1891 and again from 1893 until 1896.-Sicily:Crispi’s paternal family came originally from the small agricultural...
was unable to accept being stymied by non-Europeans. The prime minister specifically ordered Baratieri to bring about a battle.
Battle of Adwa
Adwa
Adwa is a market town in northern Ethiopia, and best known as the community closest to the decisive Battle of Adowa fought in 1896 with Italian troops. Notably, Ethiopian soldiers won the battle, thus being the only African nation to thwart European colonialism...
. The Italian army comprised four brigades totalling approximately 20,000 troops, with fifty-six artillery pieces.
General Baratieri planned to surprise the larger Ethiopian force with an early morning attack, expecting that his enemy would be asleep. However, the Ethiopians had risen early for Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
services, and upon learning of the Italian advance, swept forth to meet it, and crushed the Italians. While Menelik's victory was in a large part due to sheer force of numbers, Menelik's careful preparations had made them well-armed numbers. The Ethiopian army only had a feudal system of organization, but could absolutely execute the strategic plan of Menelik's headquarters, contrary to any objective circumstances. Some Russian councillors of Menelik II and volunteers participated in the battle. But the Ethiopian army had its own problems. The first was the quality of its arms, as the Italian and British colonial authorities could sabotage the transportation of 30,000-60,000 modern Berdan rifles from Russia into landlocked Ethiopia. The Ethiopian army was also based on a feudal system of organization; as a result, nearly the entire army was peasant militia. Russian military experts advising Menelik II suggested to try to get to full contact battle collision with Italians (to neutralize fire superiority of opponent), instead engaging in a campaign of harassment to nullify problems with arms, training, and organization. In the battle that ensued wave upon wave of Menelik's warriors attacked the Italians. Also, the officer the Kuban Cossack army N. Leontjev and team of fifty of the Russian volunteers was the direct participants of battle in composition the Ethiopian army.
Also, the Russian support for Ethiopia led to the advent of a Russian Red Cross mission. The Russian mission was military mission conceived as a medical support for the Ethiopian troops it arrived in Addis Ababa some three months after Menilek's Adwa victory.
Italian dead were estimated to number 9,500 to 12,000. In addition, 2,000 Eritrean askari
Askari
Askari is an Arabic, Bosnian, Urdu, Turkish, Somali, Persian, Amharic and Swahili word meaning "soldier" . It was normally used to describe local troops in East Africa, Northeast Africa, and Central Africa serving in the armies of European colonial powers...
s were killed or captured. The Ethiopians had lost about 3,000 dead and 6,000 wounded. Italian prisoners were treated as well as possible under difficult circumstances, but 800 captured askaris, regarded as traitors by the Ethiopians, had their right hands and left feet amputated.
End of the war
Menelik retired in good order to his capital, Addis AbabaAddis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, and waited for the fallout of the victory to hit Italy. The casualty rate suffered by Italian forces at the Battle of Adowa was greater than any other major European battle of the 19th century, beyond even the Napoleonic Era
Napoleonic Era
The Napoleonic Era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory...
's infamous Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
and Eylau
Battle of Eylau
The Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody and inconclusive battle between Napoléon's Grande Armée and a Russian Empire army under Levin August, Count von Bennigsen near the town of Preußisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians...
. Riots broke out in several Italian cities, and within two weeks, the Crispi government collapsed amidst Italian disenchantment with "foreign adventures".
Consequences
Menelik secured the Treaty of Addis AbabaTreaty of Addis Ababa
The Treaty of Addis Ababa, signed 23 October 1896, formally ended the First Italo–Ethiopian War on terms mostly favorable to Ethiopia. This treaty superseded a secret agreement between Ethiopia and Italy negotiated days after the decisive Battle of Adowa in March of the same year, in which...
in October, which strictly delineated the borders of Eritrea and forced Italy to recognize the independence of Ethiopia. Delegations from the United Kingdom and France—European powers whose colonial possessions lay next to Ethiopia—soon arrived in the Ethiopian capital to negotiate their own treaties with this newly proven power.
See also
- 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia1868 Expedition to AbyssiniaThe British 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia was a punitive expedition carried out by armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire...
- Battle of DogaliBattle of DogaliThe Battle of Dogali was fought on 26 January 1887 between Italy and Ethiopia in Dogali near Massawa, in present-day Eritrea.On his own initiative, Ras Alula Engida, then governor of Emperor Yohannes IV, had attacked the Italian-controlled town of Sahati on the day prior...
- 1887 - Second Italo-Abyssinian WarSecond Italo-Abyssinian WarThe Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
- 1935-1936 - Military of EthiopiaMilitary of EthiopiaThe Ethiopian National Defense Force is the military of Ethiopia. Civil direction of the military is carried out through the Ministry of Defense, which oversees the ground forces, air force, as well as the Defense Industry Sector. The current defense minister is Siraj Fergessa. . Size of the ENDF...
- Military history of EthiopiaMilitary history of EthiopiaThe Military history of Ethiopia dates back to the formation of the modern nation in 980 BC. Ethiopia has been involved in most major conflicts in the African region.-First Italo-Abyssinian War:...