Battle of Adwa
The Ethiopian army led by Emperor Menilek II clashed with Italian forces at Adwa, north-central Ethiopia, on March 1, 1896. Adwa is also known as Adowa or Italian Adua. Traditional fighters, peasants, cattle herders, and even women beat a well-armed Italian force in the northern Ethiopian town of Adwa on March 1, 1896. The victory in this struggle ensured that Ethiopia would remain the only African nation that had never faced colonization. As a result of Adwa, Ethiopia is now in recognition as a beacon of hope for oppressed black people worldwide. It also triggered a leadership shift in Italy.
Location and Economic Viability
Adwa is a town in Northern Tigray, not far from the border with Eritrea on its southern end. Nearby attractions include Aba Garima Monastery, constructed in the sixth century AD, and the ancient city of Yeha, the capital of Ethiopia’s kingdom from 980-400 BC. Ethiopia and Italy fought on the region’s rough terrain.
In the middle Ages, Harar developed as the center of trade, with import and export routed via the Muslim-run Zeila port and goods sent to the people of the highlands through the Aliyu Amba confluence that joins the provinces of Shewa and Arsi. A robust trading culture supported the business inside the feudal system, and the Ethiopian economy prospered. The Ethiopian Empire was in control by the barter system (traditionally constituted of Arab Muslim and Ethiopian Muslim caravans).
Unity is the reason why they avoided European colonization.
Menelik proclaimed a thorough military mobilization against Italy on September 17, 1895. To protect their homes, communities, and faith, he urged all Ethiopians. He demanded that all who could fight to do so and those who could not pray for Ethiopia’s success. Many different kinds of Ethiopians came to heed Menelik’s summons. Regional leaders of many different cultures and ethnicities rallied to raise an army of 100 thousand. They were armed poorly but were fighting for a noble cause.
When Italy began colonizing Ethiopia in the mid-1890s, the Emperor had just completed unifying and extending what is now Ethiopia under his rule. A total of one hundred thousand men and women responded to his appeal and enlisted in his army. Consensus persisted, and although the Italians, like many other European colonialists, sought to apply the tried-and-true strategy of “divide and conquer,” the Ethiopian Kings declined to fight and reaffirmed their loyalty to one another. Multiple times, the Italians had recommended that Menelik II, king of Shoa at the time, go to war with Yohannes IV (King of Kings of Ethiopia based in Tigray). The bond between them lasted.
Moreover, it is due to unity that the Ethiopians never faced colonization.
Bottom Line
Adwa continues to be a testament to the potential of ordinary Africans when they band together as farmers, pastoralists, women and rural people, laborers, and artists. They can win a resounding triumph against the global imperialist powers threatening the world.
