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THE ROAD TO ADWA: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE ROLE OF THE ZEMENE MESAFINT WARS IN A SUCCESSFUL MILITARY SHOWDOWN [Abstract ID: 0516-04]
This paper does not claim to be treating an original issue. It is rather a reappraisal and a reinterpretation of the Adwa victory, placing it in the historical context of the nineteenth century military and warfare history of Ethiopia. It primarily emphasises the significant roles of the pre-Adwa wars, which had brought the country to a crossroads with foreign forces who had played a role in making Ethiopia get structurally prepared for this fateful victory. It totally rejects, following on the heels of the argument very much enunciated by Shiferaw Bekele, the geographic-thesis for Ethiopia’s victory over the Italian invading army. While the rest of Africa throughout the nineteenth century was co-opting and sometimes seemed uninterested in the varied levels of European encroachment, Ethiopia had its perusing eyes set on every development in and around its neighbors. Such attentiveness had made it aware of the rising tide of European colonialism. The Adwa showdown thus, this paper argues, can be related to such military and state behaviours of the country.