During the 19th century the continent of Africa
was thoroughly colonized by the European powers – Great Britain, France,
Germany, Belgium, Spain and Portugal; to the extent that eventually only two
nations remained “free”, these being Liberia – settled by former slaves from
the United States – and Ethiopia.
That meant that when the Italians decided that they also
wanted a piece of the action, their choice was severely limited. Ethiopia was
by far the more attractive option, so that became their target.
Their efforts at conquering Ethiopia met with only partial
success at first, with defeat at the hands of King Johannes IV at Bogali in
1887, but they did manage to control much of the country, at least nominally,
for the next nine years.
However, in 1995 King Menelek II decided that the Italians
should go. The Prime Minister of Italy, Francesco Crispi, was determined to
resist and sent an army to Ethiopia under General Baratieri.
The Italians were convinced that they would have no trouble
in defeating the Ethiopians, whom they regarded as primitives when compared
with their own army with its superior training and technology.
The Italian force of 17,000 men and 50 artillery pieces was
supplemented by a brigade of local troops from Eritrea who were known as askari.
The Ethiopians could muster an army of 100,000 riflemen with significant
cavalry support.
The forces joined battle at Adwa, in northern Ethiopia, on 1st
March 1896. The result was not long in doubt, with the Italians being caught in
crossfire and overwhelmed by vastly superior numbers.
Some Italians were able to escape the slaughter, but more
than 10,000 were killed, wounded, or captured and held for ransom. 3,000
captives were eventually released, but the Ethiopians did not treat the askari
as well as they did the Italians. 800 of them suffered the loss of their right
hands and left feet.
The defeat put paid, for the time being, to Italy’s ambition
of becoming a colonial power in Africa. In 1935 Benito Mussolini had another go
at conquering Ethiopia and was successful, with the “Empire of Ethiopia”
lasting from 1936 to 1941.
However, the Battle of Adwa stands as the only example of a
would-be colonial power being thwarted by an African nation.
© John Welford
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