Ethiopia

28.6.2: Ethiopia

Ethiopia achieved international prestige with its uniquely successful military resistance during the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa, becoming the only African country to defeat a European colonial power and retain its sovereignty.

Learning Objective

Explain how Ethiopia managed to maintain its independence

Key Points

  • Ethiopia is one of the few African nations that remained independent during the European colonial period.
  • Ethiopia’s modern history begins with the Emperor Tewodros II, who unified land from a decentralized kingdom ruled by various princes.
  • During the Scramble for Africa, Italy set its sights on Ethiopia (then known as Abyssinia) after colonizing neighboring Eritrea and Somalia.
  • After a dispute over a treaty that the Italians argued gave them rule over Ethiopia, the Italians invaded, facing an army much larger than they anticipated. This began the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
  • Italian defeat came about after the Battle of Adwa, where the Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italians a decisive loss and forced their retreat back into Eritrea, a victory that became a rallying point for later African nationalists during their struggle for decolonization.
  • This was not the first African victory over Western colonizers, but it was the first time such a military put a definitive stop to a colonizing nation’s efforts, with Ethiopia remaining independent until the eve of World War II, when Mussolini successful invaded and occupied Ethiopia.

Key Terms

Battle of Adwa
A battle fought in March 1896 between the Ethiopian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy near the town of Adwa, Ethiopia, in Tigray. This climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War was a decisive defeat for Italy and secured Ethiopian sovereignty.
First Italo-Ethiopian War
A war fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from a disputed treaty that the Italians claimed turned the country into an Italian protectorate. Much to its surprise, the Italian army, invading Ethiopia from Italian Eritrea in 1893, faced a powerful united front. Italian defeat came about after the Battle of Adwa, where the Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italians a decisive loss and forced their retreat back into Eritrea.
Tewodros II
The Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death. His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia, ending the decentralized Zemene Mesafint (Era of the Princes).

Independent Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Formerly known as Abyssinia, it shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. Some of the oldest evidence for anatomically modern humans has been found in Ethiopia, widely considered the region from which modern humans first set out for the Middle East and places beyond. Tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. During the first centuries AD, the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region, followed by the Ethiopian Empire circa 1137.

Ethiopia was reunified in 1855 under Tewodros II, beginning its modern history. The country slowly modernized under the leadership of Yohannes IV and defended itself from an Egyptian invasion in 1874. Emperor Yohannes fought and won wars against Egyptians, Italians, and Mehadists to keep his people free from foreign invaders. He was killed in action in 1889.

Under Menelik II, Ethiopia defeated an Italian invasion in 1896 and came to be recognized as a legitimate state by European powers. More rapid modernization took place under Menelik II and Haile Selassie, but this did not deter another Italian invasion in 1935. The Italian army occupied parts of the country from October 1935-May 1940. A joint force of British and Ethiopian rebels drove the Italians out of the country in 1941, and Haile Selassie was returned to the throne.

Ethiopia derived prestige from its uniquely successful military resistance during the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa, becoming the only African country to defeat a European colonial power and retain its sovereignty. Subsequently, many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopia’s flag following their independence. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations and the United Nations.

First Italo-Ethiopian War

As the 20th century approached, Africa had been carved up among the European powers at the Berlin Conference. The two independent exceptions were the Republic of Liberia on the west coast and Ethiopia in the eastern Horn of Africa region. The newly unified Kingdom of Italy was a relative newcomer to the imperialist scramble for Africa. Italy had two recently obtained African territories: Eritrea and Italian Somalia. Both were near Ethiopia on the Horn of Africa and both were impoverished. Italy sought to improve its position in Africa by conquering Ethiopia. Menelik II was the Ethiopian leader who pitted Italy against its European rivals while stockpiling weapons to defend Ethiopia against the Italians.

The First Italo-Ethiopian War was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from a disputed treaty that the Italians claimed turned the country into an Italian protectorate. Much to their surprise, they found that Ethiopian ruler Menelik II, rather than being opposed by some of his traditional enemies, was supported by them. When the Italian army invaded Ethiopia from Italian Eritrea in 1893, they thus faced a more united front than they expected. In addition, Ethiopia was supported by Russia, an orthodox Christian nation like Ethiopia, with military advisers, army training, and the sale of weapons during the war. They were also supported diplomatically by the United Kingdom and France to prevent Italy from becoming a colonial competitor. Full-scale war broke out in 1895, with Italian troops having initial success until Ethiopian troops counterattacked Italian positions and besieged the Italian fort of Meqele, forcing its surrender. Italian defeat came about after the Battle of Adwa, where the Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italians a decisive loss and forced their retreat back into Eritrea. This climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War was a decisive defeat for Italy and secured Ethiopian sovereignty. As a direct result of the battle, Italy signed the Treaty of Addis Ababa, recognizing Ethiopia as an independent state.

This was not the first African victory over Western colonizers, but it was the first time such a military put a definitive stop to a colonizing nation’s efforts. According to one historian, “In an age of relentless European expansion, Ethiopia alone had successfully defended its independence.”

This defeat of a colonial power and the ensuing recognition of African sovereignty became rallying points for later African nationalists during their struggle for decolonization, as well as activists and leaders of the Pan-African movement. As the Afrocentric scholar Molefe Asante explains,

After the victory over Italy in 1896, Ethiopia acquired a special importance in the eyes of Africans as the only surviving African State. After Adowa, Ethiopia became emblematic of African valor and resistance, the bastion of prestige and hope to thousands of Africans who were experiencing the full shock of European conquest and were beginning to search for an answer to the myth of African inferiority.

Almost 40 years later, in October 1935 after the League of Nations’s weak response to the Abyssinia Crisis, the Italians launched a new military campaign endorsed by Benito Mussolini, the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. This time the Italians employed vastly superior military technology such as tanks and aircraft as well as chemical warfare, and the Ethiopian forces were defeated by May 1936. Following the war, Italy occupied Ethiopia for five years (1936–41), before eventually being driven out during World War II by British and Ethiopian forces.

An Ethiopian painting Ethiopian troops defeating the Italian troops during the Battle of Adwa.

The Battle of Adwa: Ethiopian forces, assisted by St George (top), win the Battle of Adwa. Painted 1965-75.

Attributions