Menelik II
Crushed Italy at the Battle of Adwa, preserving Ethiopia's independence.
Life
King of Shewa
Menelik II came from a princely family of Shewa. As a young man he was captured by Emperor of Ethiopia Tewodros II and held in captivity for years. After escaping, he gradually expanded his power with Shewa's troops and wealth, won the struggle for the throne and was crowned in 1889, and that same year made the newly built Addis Ababa his capital.
Reform and Adwa
On one hand he drove the country's modernization by buying European arms and building railways and telegraph lines; on the other he signed a treaty with Italy dividing spheres of influence, but the Amharic and Italian versions of the treaty text differed fundamentally, and Italy used this to claim a protectorate over Ethiopia. In 1896 the two sides fought the Battle of Adwa; the Ethiopian army won a great victory, and Italy was forced to recognize Ethiopia's full independence.
Achievements and controversies
The great victory at Adwa made Ethiopia one of the few African countries to successfully resist the European colonial partition of the continent, and Menelik has since been seen as a symbol of African resistance to colonialism. But the wars of expansion under his rule also swallowed the lands of neighboring peoples, and slavery in his realm was not truly abolished until many years after his death, so assessments of him are not wholly positive.
Legacy
By defeating Italy at the Battle of Adwa, Menelik II kept Ethiopia independent amid the Scramble for Africa. The victory inspired anti-colonial movements in Africa and around the world, and he is therefore regarded as the founder of the modern Ethiopian state. On the other hand, his large-scale expansion to the south and west involved violent conquest and dispossession of land, and the Oromo and other peoples remember this history very differently, a divide that still affects ethnic relations in Ethiopia today.
Major works & achievements
- Founded the new capital Addis Ababa
- Inflicted a crushing defeat on the Italian army at Adwa in 1896
- Launched the railway to Djibouti
- Expanded the realm, setting the borders of the modern state
Did you know? Adwa Victory Day remains a public holiday in Ethiopia to this day.
Key dates
- 1878Succeeds to the throne of Shewa
- 1886Founds Addis Ababa
- 1889Crowned emperor; signs the treaty
- 1895Italy invades Ethiopia
- 1896Crushes Italy at the Battle of Adwa
- 1900Expands rule over surrounding regions
- 1913Died