Treaty of Wuchale - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Treaty of Wuchale was a treaty signed by King Menelik II of Shewa

Shewa

Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...

, later the Emperor of Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

with Count Pietro Antonelli of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

in the town of Wuchale

Wuchale

Wuchale is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located about 40 kilometers north of Dessie in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 1711 meters...

, Ethiopia, on 2 May 1889. The treaty ceded territories previously part of Ethiopia, namely the provinces of Bogos, Hamasien

Hamasien

Hamasien was the name of an histoical province including and surrounding Asmara, now part of modern Eritrea. The region has been divided and distributed amongst the modern Maekel, Debub, Northern Red Sea, Gash-Barka and Anseba regions....

, 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...

, Serae

Serae

Seraye is the name of a former Province of Eritrea. It has since been incorporated primarily into the Debub Region, though some western districts have become part of the Gash-Barka Region...

, and parts of 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 The Tigray Region superseded the province with the adoption of the new constitution in 1995.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 is the origin of the Italian colony and modern state of 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...

. In return, Italy promised financial assistance and military supplies.

Disputes over Article 17 led to the First Italo–Ethiopian War. The 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...

version of the passage stated that Ethiopia was obliged to conduct all foreign affairs through the Italian authorities, in effect making Ethiopia 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...

, while the 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...

version merely gave Ethiopia the option of communicating with third powers through the Italians.

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