6.5.
External Relations
6.5.1. Agreements and Treaties
As of 1804, regional rulers had made independent foreign contacts and signed treaties. The
agents of these relations were mainly travelers who came to the Horn with the motives of
adventure and scientific research. They were also sometimes involved in fostering friendship and
trade relation on behalf of their governments. Some of them, however, came with the covert
mission of colonialism. Meanwhile, various rulers of the region had also dispatched their own
delegations to various countries of the world. One of the earliest private travelers was Henry
Salt, who reached the court of Ras Wolde-Selassie of Tigray on August 28, 1805. He came for
scientific reasons, but he claimed that his mission was to establish friendship between Great
Britain and Ethiopia. He returned in 1809 after concluding an agreement with the ras. Other
travelers, including Christian Kugler, also arrived in the 1830s. Captain W.C. Harris, leading an
official British mission, visited Shewa and signed a treaty with Negus Sahle-Selassie (1813-
1847) in 1841. The French Rochet d’Hericourt also claimed to have signed a treaty with Sahle
Selassie in 1843 but was subsequently found to have been forged. John Bell and Walter Plowden
came in the 1840s and the latter signed treaty with Ras Ali II in 1849. Travelers from Germany
like Eduard Ruppell arrived in 1846. The Italian Geographic Society arrived in 1869.
Furthermore, other regional lords had connections with religious centers in the Middle East. For
instance, when Egyptians threatened the Ethiopian religious community settlement at Deir Al-
Sultan in Jerusalem, lords like Ali II and Wube sent letters to Queen Victoria of England in the
early 1850s to request support against the Egyptians.
Tewodros II seemed more oriented towards obtaining Western military support to avert foreign
aggression. Yohannes IV tried to create strong relations with Europeans so as to regain lost
territories, delimit boundaries, defend the sovereignty of the state, and solve external challenges
more through negotiation than war. Yohannes and the British Rear Admiral William Hewett on
behalf of Egypt signed a treaty at Adwa on 3 June 1884 to safely evacuate the Egyptian troops
trapped by the Mahdists troops along the Ethio-Sudanese border through Ethiopia. In return,
Bogos was to be restored to Ethiopia and the latter was to use Massawa as a free port for the
transit of goods. On the basis of this agreement, Emperor Yohannes facilitated the withdrawal of
the Egyptian troops and Britain restored Bogos to Ethiopia. Yet, Britain secretly transferred
Massawa from Egypt to Italy in February 1885. Yohannes incurred the lasting enmity of the
Mahdists by helping the trapped Egyptians.
While he was king of Shewa, Menilek established commercial relations with Italy that helped
him to acquire arms. Menelik’s relations with Italy reached its climax with the signing of the
Treaty of Wuchale (in Wollo) on May 2, 1889. The treaty was drafted by Count Pietro Antonelli,
the Italian envoy. The treaty had twenty articles and had both Amharic and Italian versions.
Moreover, when Ras Makonnen visited Italy in October 1889, the Italians made him sign an
additional Naples convention, which introduced the phrase “effective occupation” to legitimize
the territories that the Italians had come to occupy after the treaty. Accordingly, the Italian
government formally declared Eritrea as its colony in January 1890.
The most controversial element of the Wuchale Treaty was Article XVII. The Italian text said
that Ethiopia “consents to use” Italian support for conducting foreign affairs, while the Amharic
text said that she “may use” that support. Based on the Italian version, Italy announced that all
foreign powers had to deal with Ethiopia only through Italy. European powers except Russia
gave recognition to this Italian claim. The Italian effort to colonize Ethiopia through a
combination of tricky treaties, persuasion and subversive methods failed. Menilek publicly
abrogated the treaty in February 1893. Tigrian lords including Ras Mangasha Yohannes, Ras
Sebhat Aragawi and Dejjach Hagos Teferi, whom the Italians had hoped to enlist to their side,
joined the Ethiopian camp. Italian determination to occupy Ethiopia and Ethiopian resistance
against colonialism led to the Battle of Adwa (1 March 1896).
After Adwa, different foreign countries opened their legations in Addis Ababa. Furthermore,
Emperor Menilek made boundary agreements with the neighboring colonial territories like
French-Somaliland (Djibouti) on March 20, 1897; British-Somaliland (now Somaliland) on June
4, 1897; the Italian colony of Eritrea on July 10, 1900; Anglo-Egyptian Sudan on May 15, 1902;
British East Africa (Kenya) in 1907 and Italian-Somaliland in 1908. Lij Iyasu showed a tendency
to side with the Central Powers (Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Ottoman Empire) during the
First World War (1914-18) believing that the defeat of the Allied powers (France and Britain)
would allow Ethiopia to push Italy out of Eritrea and Somalia. He also befriended the Somali
nationalist leader, Sayyid Mohammed Abdille Hassan (1864-1920). One of the successes of
Ethiopia’s foreign relations in the early twentieth century was her admission to the League of
Nations in 1923. A year later, Teferi made his grand European tour.
6.5.2. Major Battles Fought Against Foreign Aggressors and Patriotism
Wad Kaltabu (1837): Kasa and Kinfu Hailu defeated the Egyptians in eastern Sudan.
Dabarki (1848): was fought between Kasa Hailu and Egyptian forces. Although they showed
extraordinary courage, Kasa’s forces lost the battle owing to the Egyptians’ superior military
organization, better training and arms. Yet, the deadly effect of the artillery and the discipline of
Egyptian troops gave Kasa a lesson to modernize his military force.
Maqdala (1868): in 1862, Tewodros II sent a letter to Queen Victoria through Consul Cameron
requesting assistance. Yet Capitain Cameron came back to Ethiopia via Egypt without bringing
any response. Suspecting him of plotting with Egypt, Tewodros imprisoned him along with other
Europeans. Consequently, Queen Victoria sent a letter through Hormuzd Rassam, which did not
satisfy Tewodros II. After some unsuccessful negotiations, the British parliament decided to take
military action. Subsequently, 32,000 troops led by Sir Robert Napier were sent through
Massawa and reached Maqdala. Up to 8,000 of Tewodros’ soldiers, led by his general Gebriye,
were defeated by the British at the battle of Aroge on April 10, 1868. Tewodros committed
suicide at Maqdela on April 13, 1868. The British troops followed it up by burning his fortress
and looting hundreds of manuscripts, religious and secular artifacts, including his crown.
Gundet and Gura: Egyptians showed a strong interest to occupy Northeast Africa with the
ambition of controlling the source of the Nile in the nineteenth century. Following their
occupation of the Sudan in 1821, they moved to occupy Ethiopia on several occasions. For
instance, Khedive Ismail Pasha sent his troops to invade Ethiopia in three directions in 1875.
Mohammed Rauf Pasha led the Zeila front and the result was the occupation of the Harar
Emirate between 1875 and 1885. Werner Munzinger, the architect of Ismail’s scheme, led about
500 Egyptian troops through Tajura, but he and his troops were all killed by the Afar at Odduma.
Colonel Arendrup and Arakel Bey led 2,000 well-armed troops through Massawa. Emperor
Yohannes IV and his famous general and right-hand man, Ras Alula Engida, mobilized about
20,000 troops, and severely defeated the Egyptian troops at Gundet on November 16, 1875.
Notwithstanding this setback, Egyptians reorganized their forces and sent their army led by
Muhammed Ratib Pasha, Hassan Isma’il, and the American Confederate generals General
William Loring, General Charles Stone and Colonel William Dye. However, the Ethiopian
forces again defeated them at Gura (March 7-9, 1876). It is important to stress that some
Europeans and Americans were in the service of the Egyptians. For instance, Munzinger was a
Swiss born adventurer and former French Consul at Massawa. Arendrup was a Danish Citizen
while Loring, Dye and Charles Stone were Americans.
Dogali: With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the Red Sea region acquired great strategic
significance. Italy’s interest in the Horn began when an Italian private shipping company
(Rubatino) bought the port of Assab from the local chiefs in 1869. Assab was transferred to the
Italian government in 1882. Massawa was also transferred by Britain from Egypt to Italy in
1885. Subsequently, the Italian forces occupied Sa’ati, Aylet and Wia in what was then known as
Mereb Milash. However, Ras Alula decisively defeated them at Dogali on 26 January 1887.
Then, Italy signed a Treaty of Neutrality with Menilek in October 1887 to isolate Yohannes IV.
Metemma: in reaction to the Hewett/Adwa Treaty, the Mahdists opened attacks on Ethiopia.
The first clash was at Kufit between Ras Alula and Uthman Digna in September 1885. Yohannes
ordered Nigus Tekle-Haymanot to repulse the Mahdists in January 1887, but the Mahdists led by
Abu Anja defeated Tekle-Haimanot’s troops at Sar-Wuha in Dembia a year later. Meanwhile, the
Mahdists were defeated at Gute Dilli (in Najjo-Wallagga) by Menilek’s commander Ras Gobena
on October 14, 1888. Yet, Menilek and Tekle-Haimanot conspired against the emperor, who first
devastated Gojjam and, postponing his campaign to Shewa, marched to Metemma where he died
fighting the Mahdists on March 9, 1889.
The Battle of Adwa and Its Aftermath
The disagreement on the Wuchale Treaty led to war between Ethiopia and Italy. Not content with
the occupation of Eritrea, the Italians crossed the Mereb River to conquer Ethiopia. Following
Menilek's proclamation for general mobilization, about 100,000 troops gathered at Wara-Illu in
South Wollo. The force led by Fitawrari Gebeyehu routed the Italians at Amba Alage and forced
them to retreat to Mekelle. The Italians were besieged there and denied access to a water well,
which they had used from 7-21 January 1896, by a stratagem developed by Empress Taytu. After
some negotiations, the besieged Italian troops were set free and joined their compatriots.
Ethiopian forces decisively defeated the Italian columns led by Generals Oreste Baratieri,
Vittorio Dabormida, Guiseppe Arimond, Matteo Albertone and Elena at Adwa on 1st March
1896. About 8,000 Italians were killed, 1,500 wounded and 3,000 were captured; 4,000-6,000
Ethiopians are said to have been killed. Italy was forced to recognize the independence of
Ethiopia by the treaty of Addis Ababa signed on October 26, 1896. A number of powers also
recognized the independence of Ethiopia. The Battle of Adwa has become a source of pride not
only for Ethiopians but also for Africans and the black race in general. The victory of black
people over white colonizers inspired Africans to fight against colonialism. The well-known
Pan-Africanist, Marcus Garvey, inspired his followers in his “Back to Africa” movement. He
used phrases like “Ethiopia thou land of our fathers.”