BY SOLOMON WASSIHUN
We celebrate Adwa not only because it is a spectacular victory of black resistance against colonial aggression, but also because of its indelible legacy in shaping Africa’s course in the 20th century. Although the event occurred more than a quarter of a century ago, the circumstances that led to this battle share considerable similarities with the current situation in Africa’s relations with world powers. There are lessons to be learned from the events of the Adwa days that are highly relevant for dealing with the challenges facing Africa today. For political scientists, Adwa is a treasure trove not yet fully explored.
The Battle of Adwa is one of the most historic battles ever fought in Africa. It is among the bloodiest battles to have taken place in Africa, with tens of thousands of lives lost in just one day. The battle is the culmination of a dispute over the interpretation of the single article of the Wuchale Treaty.
Interestingly enough, the formal title of that diabolic treaty was decorated with pleasant words. It reads, “The Treaty of Friendship and Trade between the Kingdom of Italy and Empire of Ethiopia”. The treacherous treaty concocted by the Italian colonialists was blown into a full scale war, the first Italo-Ethiopian war, in just under 7 years after it was signed. The military historian, Greg Blake, wrote, “In a Machiavellian subterfuge, the Italian government touted the Treaty of Wuchale as legal proof that Menelik had ceded sovereignty to Rome. The trick was eminently simple, the kind that had been played on native rulers by European traders and settlers for centuries.”
Wuchale treaty is arguably a textbook example of deceptive diplomacy that is practiced by world powers to manipulate and mislead African leaders. It is a strategy they employ up to this day. Only a few years ago, an analyst coined a phrase, Wuchale II, to describe the Trump administration deal proposal forwarded in 2020 for settling the ongoing GERD dispute among Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan.
Fortunately, unlike its forebears in the Adwa days, the incumbent Ethiopian government realized the trap lurking inside the deal, and totally rejected and walked away from the proposed ‘Wechale II’ – a treaty embellished with promises and nice words but compromise Ethiopia’s national interest and sovereign rights to use its water resources.
Like in the Adwa days of colonialism, African countries are still suffering from economical and technological backwardness, interference of greedy and treacherous foreign powers, gullible/naive ideologues, traitors that trade their country’s interest for their personal/group comfort, and deep ethnic and religious divisions among their largely uneducated population.
During the Adwa era, the European colonialists tried their best to manipulate the ethnic diversity of Africans and sponsored traitors to advance their divisive colonialist agenda. That parallels the present-day reality in various countries in Africa, where the endless cycle of violence and insurrections are happening among factions backed by various foreign powers. In fact, most of the major conflicts that happened and happening in Africa have their root in the divisive and brutal legacy of colonialism.
Before they themselves came to engage with the Ethiopian government in a series of full-scale battles including Adwa, the Italian colonialists desperately tried to destabilize and weaken the Ethiopian state by pampering some of the provincial governors and nobilities to take up arms against the Ethiopian emperor. The Italian plan failed miserably as almost all the provincial rulers show solidarity with the Ethiopian central government to defend Ethiopia’s freedom and sovereignty.
So, there are so many cautionary tales that can be extracted from the history of Adwa, which was not merely about a phenomenal victory in the battle field, but also arduous political struggle for survival and for controlling the steering wheel that directed 20th-century Africa.
Considering the significance of Adwa’s victory for Africans, one thing that stands out is that it forced the world powers to formally recognize an African nation, Ethiopia, for the first time as a sovereign black nation with the signing of the Treaty of Addis Ababa, a few months after Adwa victory, on 26 October 1896. The other amazing thing about the treaty was it was written only in Amharic and French, not in Italian. That in itself shows how dominating the Ethiopians were over the Italians during the post-war negotiation, which resulted in the release of thousands of Italian POWs.
The Adwa victory was surely a guiding lighthouse for black nations who were languishing under the brunt of colonialism and racial segregation. At the time of Adwa’s victory, the rest of Africa was in the darkness and under the savage rule of European colonizers.
Adwa’s victory did not happen by a stroke of luck. It was an outcome of indigenous leadership genius that tackled arduous tasks for several months with mass mobilization and heavy sacrifice of patriots gathered from all corners of the nation. Had the result of the Adwa battle been the opposite of what happened, colonialism would have been unstoppable.
By now, Africa would have been mainly a nation of predominantly white settlers. In other words, asking for the independence of African states from colonialism would have been senseless like asking for the independence of native American Indian nations from the ‘conquerors’ of the new world’. An anonymous Ethiopian poet who witnessed the miraculous humiliating defeat of Italy in the battle of Adwa expressed his gratitude for the Ethiopian army leaders including the emperor for saving the nation’s identity from being erased by colonizers with a poem which roughly translates: “If Minelik were not born and raised to become a warrior, the food on the state banquet would have been egg Omelette [instead of Injera].”
Adwa also gave a good lesson to the European powers. The Italians got their painful humiliating lesson and paid a heavy price for underestimating the deep foundation and the strong unity of the Ethiopian state. When the Italians returned after 40 years in the second Italo- Ethiopian war, they came up with a potent Machiavellian approach to weaken and control Ethiopia. They tried their best to dismantle the unity of Ethiopians by promoting ethnic division and rivalry, but they did not get enough time to implement their new strategy as the Ethiopian patriots chase them away for a second time.
Adwa’s victory also gave rise to a groundbreaking moment for Ethiopian diplomacy. The magnanimity Ethiopian leaders showed by humanely treating and subsequently releasing a massive number of Italian POWs, enabled them to gain international respect and admiration. That opened doors for Ethiopia to widen its diplomatic link with the world “The crushing defeat of a European army greatly enhanced Menilek’s international prestige and reputation, causing a host of foreign advisers, ambassadors, emissaries, and adventurers to flow into the country.” wrote a historian.
The united action of the Ethiopian peasant army in the battle of Adwa that resulted in the defeat of an advanced well trained and equipped army of a European nation has fuelled the pan-Africanism movement enabling it to spread like wildfire across borders and oceans. It proved colonialism can be beaten with unified effort, and become an inspiration for other peoples of Africa to intensify their struggle against colonialism.
The spirit of Adwa builds unity with diversity and sheer determination to score a victory over domination and injustice. And yet, with its economy largely being under the mercy of world powers, Africa is still under the heavy influence of foreign powers. Africa is still a pushover where powerful nations can meddle and influence political outcomes. Adwa would remain relevant as an inspiration for Africans in their continuing struggle to be masters of their destiny and to have an audible voice in the global arena.
Adwa’s victory is not only an Ethiopian victory it is a victory day for all nations victimized by colonialism. It was because of Adwa that Ethiopia was mentioned in the international “Anthem of the Negro [Black] Race”. It is really a shame that the African Union does not declare Adwa victory as one of its several holidays, AU holidays. Nevertheless, Adwa has already become a day of street celebrations in various cities in South- Africa, London, and the United States. The legacy of Adwa continues to shine around the globe.
The Ethiopian Herald March 7/2023
