battle of Adowa

Adowa, battle of (1896). This was one of the greatest victories of an African over a European army. The Italians, who had seized Massawa port in 1885, had been steadily penetrating inland, when they signed a Friendship Treaty, at Wechalue in 1889, with Menilek, King of Shewa. By it they recognized him as emperor, while he recognized their presence in the north, where they established their colony of Eritrea in 1890. The treaty had two texts, one in Amharic and the other in Italian. The former stated that Menilek could use Italian good offices in his correspondence with other powers; the latter, that he must. This the Italians used to claim a protectorate. After long negotiations, during which he imported many firearms, largely from France, Menilek denounced the treaty in February 1893.

The Italians then advanced into Tegray, but were defeated by Menilek at the mountain of Amba Alagi in December 1895 and fell back on Adowa. There the two armies confronted each other, reluctant to attack first. On 25 February 1896 the Italian premier, Francesco Crispi, telegraphed the Italian commander, Gen Oreste Baratieri, that Italy was ready for any sacrifice. The Italians had 17, 000 soldiers (1, 650 Italians, the remainder Eritreans). Menilek had about 100, 000 men, mostly with modern weapons. Baratieri attempted a surprise attack, on 1 March, but his plans were disclosed by double agents, and his maps faulty. The Ethiopians, in one day, crushed the three Italian contingents separately. Italy lost 43 per cent of its fighting force. Three out of five commanders were killed, a fourth was captured. Menilek's victory, despite heavy losses, was so complete that Italy recognized Ethiopia's full independence—but Menilek felt unable to expel the Italians from Eritrea.

Bibliography

• Ahmad, Abdussamad H., and Pankhurst, R. (eds.), Adowa: Centenary of the Victory (Addis Ababa, 1998).
• Berkeley, George, The Campaign of Adowa and the Rise of Menelik (London, 1835).
• Del Boca, Angelo (ed.), Adua: Le ragioni di una sconfitta (Rome, 1997).
• Work, Ernest, Ethiopia: A Pawn in European Diplomacy (New York, 1936)

— Richard Pankhurst