In the highlands of Adwa, 128 years ago Ethiopians recorded what was to eventually be remembered as a memorable chapter in the history of the relations between European colonizers and Africans. It was indeed an unprecedented chapter in the history of the world because no other African country had ever defeated a European army before Adwa. Yes there have been resistance battles and fights against invading Europeans but in the end their mightier fire power and better organized armies had prevailed over those resistances in many areas around Africa with huge casualties on the part of Africans forced to confront the invading forces with rudimentary and traditional weapons.
The well trained, well organized and well-armed European forces were overwhelming no matter how much courage and bravery the African fighters might have put to it. The balance of power was always in favor of the European armies. It was the 1890s and so many African countries had already been colonized by the European colonizers and history seemed to be recorded in one direction only. Defeat for Africans and victory for Europeans.
In the meantime Italy felt that it was the only one European country which did not have enough colonies in Africa as it was a late comer to the fray. At the same time Ethiopia happened to be one of the few free lands in Africa not under colonial yoke. Hence, the Italian forces decided to try and put Ethiopia under their domain inventing some pretext in the provisions of a bilateral pact sealed with Ethiopia in which the Italian version said Ethiopia would practically be an Italian colony for all practical purposes while the same provision in the Ethiopian language of Amharic stated that Ethiopia would seek council or consult with Italy on any matter of its interest and wish when it so thought appropriate, and nothing more.
In other words, there was no coercive engagement on Ethiopia’s relations with Italy. The famous Treaty of Wuchale, Article 17 hence became the decisive bone of contention that eventually led to the conflict. The confusion was evidently made deliberately by Italy but when the Ethiopian leaders found out about the provision, they immediately made their stance clear and that their country was not willing or ready to be subjected to the will of an alien power and that the pact should be voided. This position of Ethiopia became a pretext for Italians to declare war. Hence Italy invaded Ethiopia. But the resistance was eventually to culminate in the victory at Adwa.
There were many things the Italians evidently did not know or were badly informed about the history of Ethiopians. They did not know that Ethiopians had had many experiences of battling against invading alien forces ever since many years before and their courage, resolve and prowess was undisputedly proved on the ground. There were also reports that Ethiopians never accepted alien forces in their territory and had always fought bravely in unison and all this was not known by the invading Italian forces who evidently did not bother to do their homework properly. They had calculated that the poorly armed and traditional Ethiopian forces would easily succumb to the might of the professional and well organized army from Italy.
Their overconfidence told them that it was perhaps merely a formality to defeat and record Ethiopia as a colony of Italy. However, Adwa proved that completely wrong and their dream turned into a nightmare. The Victory of Adwa on March 2, 1896 transmitted a huge message to the entire world that there is a country called Ethiopia in the east African region that succeeded to record a victory against a European power.
Suddenly it put Ethiopia on the map of the world as a sovereign and respectable nation. Clearly Westerners were taken by surprise when they heard this bad news that a little known African entity was able to defeat a European army in an open armed confrontation in an undisputed manner. The news was disseminated throughout the world and there was a lot of consternation among European powers. Many wondered how that was possible. Soon almost all European powers gave recognition to Ethiopia’s victory by seeking diplomatic contacts and relations with it. Italy accepted the defeat and the Treaty of Wuchale was discarded. Ethiopia’s sovereignty was well accepted and respected.
Black countries and peoples of the entire world began to see Ethiopia as an emblem of freedom and dignity. It was then that the conception and early beginning of the Panafrican movement was born. Ethiopia was considered as a symbol of resistance to any form of injustice and oppression of the weak by the mighty. Black peoples of the world began to be inspired by this major victory of Ethiopian forces against colonial forces. If Ethiopians could do it why couldn’t we do it as well, other Africans began to wonder. Resistance against oppression, discrimination and injustice began to emerge across the world. It is in this sense that historians say the Victory of Adwa is the inspiration that contributed to change the way the history of the world was directed to.
Many writers described the Victory of Adwa as a masterpiece of Emperor Menelik II the king of Ethiopia of the epoch who managed to mobilize the entire citizens of country to face the formidable enemy and pushed them to victory. They said it was not easy to summon all the able bodied people of the country to one place, furnish them with the necessary moral high ground describing the invaders as people who wanted to eliminate them from the face of the world and that they should all be united against this huge enemy and that the issue was one of ‘to be or not to be’ for them, their culture, their religion, their families and their motherland. He presented to the people clearly the case and convinced them that death was better than eternal slavery and humiliation by alien forces. He advised well with his general and war lords as well as his councilors and his spouse before embarking on this crucial campaign. The campaign was finally launched with fervor and deep commitment for the freedom of the motherland threatened by aliens.
All Ethiopians who were physically fit were aroused by the message of the Emperor and even those who had issues or complaints with the leadership of the king did not resist responding to the call because they wanted to save their country from subjugation and humiliation. The appeal of the king got deep into the psyche of the citizens and every one began to prepare for the long march towards the contact point called Werehilu from where the combatants would be put under several regiments led by the key generals and leaders of the royal court. It needed a lot of organisation because an estimated force of 120,000 troops stationed in one area was not easy to manage with order and discipline, with a clear chain of command among the respective leaders.
There was need of a clear communication among the groups of troops because not all of them spoke the same language and the work of the interpreters was also crucial. The troops came from every corner of a multiethnic and multilingual country without hesitation and without factoring on their differences. The sole objective of the forces was to save the country from defeat and consequent dominion.
Provisions of food and water were also a key issue to take care of. Most of the fighters had only traditional weapons like spears, swords and shields with the availability of modern weapons such as guns and rifles limited. Heavy artillery such as canons was even a rarity. The use of horses, mules and donkeys was critical for various chores not only for transport to travel to the battle ground.
There was a lot of intelligence needed to know about the moves and tactics of the enemy. Hence it was necessary to use informants and be careful that enemy informants would sneak into the Ethiopian forces and leak sensitive secrets to the enemy. But Ethiopians also had the advantage of knowing well the terrain of battle and know which way was the best to move to, and which was the way or direction where to face the enemy. Adwa showed how able Ethiopian fighters were and how brave they were to face a mighty force with their rudimentary weapons and barefooted. Dying for the motherland’s freedom and dignity was considered a blessing and the Ethiopian troops got into the thick of the battle without any hesitation or doubts. That was why the enemy was overpowered by the sheer number of combatants who faced it head on. Reports of the battle have narrated these facts to great detail. Ethiopian combatants were admired by all those who saw them fight and die for the country.
Adwa thus sprinkled light to all peoples under oppressive regimes. It was in many ways the beginning of a new chapter in the history of relations between peoples under injustice and those who inflicted this state on others. People suffering because of their race, religion, or social status needed an inspiration such as the Victory of Adwa to begin to think of rebelling against their oppressive leaders. That is why Adwa is considered as the beginning of a new hope and light among oppressed people. People in the US and the Caribean Islands were inspired by it and there was a lot of literature disseminated on Adwa and resistance to injustice. Africans under colonial yoke were awakened about their status and new leaders emerged to eventually lead their peoples towards independence and freedom. Ethiopia became a key name in the fight for independence. In a way Adwa was an eye opener in this respect.
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 2 MARCH 2024
