{"id":49456,"date":"2026-02-28T09:47:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T06:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/?p=49456"},"modified":"2026-02-28T09:47:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T06:47:07","slug":"the-victory-of-adwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/49456\/","title":{"rendered":"The Victory of Adwa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celebrating a Black Race Victory and Uniting Pan-Africanists<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pan-Africanism represents the complexities of black political and intellectual thought over two hundred years. What constitutes in Pan-Africanism and what one might include in a Pan-African movement often changes according to whether the focus is on politics, ideology, organizations or culture.<\/p>\n

Pan-Africanism actually reflects a range of political views. At a basic level, it is a belief that African peoples, both on the African continent and in the Diaspora, share not merely a common history, but a common destiny.<\/p>\n

Currently, Pan-Africanism, without any doubt, is in crisis. Africa leaders have very little, if any, experience in open democratic discourse and is unfamiliar with the critical values and practices that anchor that culture and tradition. New Pan-Africanism was founded by a group of Africans with a purpose to create a sense of brotherhood and cooperation between all Africans living in and outside of Africa.<\/p>\n

Pan-Africanism represents the complexities of black political and intellectual thought over two hundred years. What constitutes Pan-Africanism, what one might include in a Pan-African movement often changes according to whether the focus is on politics, ideology, organizations, or culture? Pan-Africanism actually reflects a range of political views.<\/p>\n

At a basic level, it is a belief that African peoples, both on the African continent and in the Diaspora, share not merely a common history, but a common destiny. This sense of interconnected pasts and futures has taken many forms, especially in the creation of political institutions. One of the earliest manifestations of Pan-Africanism came in the names that Africans gave to their religious institutions.<\/p>\n

An important political form of a religious Pan-Africanist worldview appeared in the form of Ethiopianism. Ethiopia\u2019s African diasporic religious symbolism grew in the 1800s among blacks in the United States and the Caribbean, through a reading of Psalm 68:31, \u201cEthiopia shall soon stretch forth its hands unto God,\u201d as a prophesy that God would redeem Africa and free the enslaved. The verse served as a bulwark against a racist theology that declared black people were the descendants of Ham, the cursed son of Noah whose children were to be the hewers of wood and drawers of water.<\/p>\n

Ethiopianism thus emerged initially as a psychic resistance to racist theology, soon becoming the basis of a nascent political organizing. N\u00e9gritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politicians in France in the 1930s. Its founders included the future Senegalese President L\u00e9opold S\u00e9dar Senghor, Martinican poet Aim\u00e9 C\u00e9saire, and the GuiananL\u00e9on Damas. The N\u00e9gritude writers found solidarity in a common black identity as a rejection of perceived French colonial racism. They believed that the shared black heritage of members of the African Diaspora was the best tool in fighting against French political and intellectual hegemony and domination. They formed a realistic literary style and formulated their Marxist ideas as part of this movement.<\/p>\n

Ethiopianism took institutional form in South Africa.<\/p>\n

African diasporic activist-intellectuals begun to convene pan-African conferences, the first of these gathering was the Chicago Conference on Africa, convened on Aug 14, 1893.<\/p>\n

Lasting a week, it drew, among others, Henry McNeal Turner and Alexander Crummell, the Egyptian Yakub Pasha, and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church bishop Alexander Walters. Topics of discussion included \u201cThe African in America,\u201d \u201cLiberia as a Factor in the Progress of the Negro Race,\u201d and \u201cWhat Do American Negroes Owe to Their Kin Beyond the Sea.\u201d That impulse toward an African identity was also apparent in the religious practices of enslaved people throughout the Americas, who tended to develop syncretic religions that blended African deities and belief systems with Christianity and Catholicism, giving rise to Santer\u00eda in Cuba, Vodun in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Candombl\u00e9 in Brazil.<\/p>\n

In contrast, enslaved people in the United States tended not to develop elaborate belief systems, but their African-informed religious practices helped foster a sense of collective identity, just as Vodun and Santer\u00eda did, and served as the basis of certain radical political practices. The Haitian revolution, itself facilitated and organized through Vodun, inspired several southern enslaved ministers (Nat Turner, Gabriel Prosser, and Denmark Vesey) to lead or plot slave revolts.<\/p>\n

In southern Africa in the late-1800s, Ethiopianism assumed institutional form following visits from the African Methodist Episcopal Church, especially Bishop Henry McNeal Turner. Two groups, one led by Joseph Mathunye Kanyane Napo in 1888, the other by Mangena Maake Mokone in 1892, broke from the Anglican and Methodist churches, Mokone establishing the Ethiopian Church in 1892, which joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church four years later. This led to several South Africans visiting the United States and attending historically black colleges, including some of the earliest leaders of the African Native National Congress.<\/p>\n

At the same time that Dus\u00e9 Mohamed Ali prepared to launch his journal, a young Jamaican printer by the name of Marcus Garvey was travelling throughout the Caribbean and Central America. Garvey would land in Europe in 1912, and upon arriving in London, he joined the ATOR staff. Ali\u2019s journal and the political ferment in London exposed Garvey to an even wider diasporic world than he had encountered in his travels throughout the Americas. He began to envision a global movement that would unite the race and found an African empire. Returning to Jamaica in 1914, Garvey established the Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities League.<\/p>\n

The Victory\u00a0\u00a0 of Adwa<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

During the last quarter of the 19th century, there had been constant internal and external warfare and famine in Tigray. August Wylde who came to Adwa right after the Italo-Ethiopian war in 1896 pointed out that when he had visited Adwa during his earlier visit in 1884:<\/p>\n

It was a flourishing town of about 15000 inhabitants, the commercial centre of the district. Now it is a ruin, a charnel house. War and pestilence have done their work, leaving their mark in ruined homes and blackened walls. I do not think there were a thousand people left in Adwa.<\/p>\n

Calamity of the late 19th\/ early 20th Century<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The great famine of 1888-1892 began with the spread of rinderpest from Indian cattle unloaded at Massawa by the Italians to feed their troops. The disease spread instantly all-over Northern Ethiopia. It deprived the peasant of working animals to till the soil. Because of lack of grain, cattle, goat, and sheep, one third of the population is reported to have perished.\u00a0 The suffering in Northern Ethiopia was aggravated by the constant external and internal wars, which took place in that province.<\/p>\n

The successive external wars against the Egyptians in 1875 and 1876; against the Mahdists, in 1884 and 1889; against the Italians at Dogali in 1887, Sahati 1888, Koatit, Senafe, Debre Haila, Amba Alage, Mequelle and Adwa in 1894 to 1896. After the death of Emperor Haile Sellasse Yohannes IV, in March 1889, at the Battle of Metemma fighting against the Mahdists, the power centre shifted from Tigray to Shoa. King Menelliqu\u00e9 was proclaimed Emperor Haile Sellasse of Ethiopia. Ras Mengesha Yohannes, who was nominated heir to the throne, retreated from Metemma to Tigray.<\/p>\n

The Wuchalle Treaty <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In May of the same year, Menelik concluded the Treaty of Wuchalle with Count Antonelli, the representative of the Italian government. During 1890, Menelik received the response to his letters to the European powers announcing his coronation and requesting their recognition.<\/p>\n

Notably, Britain and Germany responded that according to Article XVII of the Wuchalle Treaty concluded with Italy, Menelik\u2019s communication ought to have been made through Italy. Angered by this response, Emperor Haile Selassie Menelik at once wrote to King Umberto on September 26,1890, denouncing Article XVII of the Treaty of Wuchalle pointing out that he had only agreed if he so desired, and not that he would be obliged, to employ Italy in his foreign relations.<\/p>\n

Antonelli was then sent to Ethiopia and arrived in Addis Ababa on December 17, 1890, with instructions to give way on the question of the frontiers, provided that he could secure the maintenance of the protectorate. Fruitless negotiation continued, with Menelik remaining adamant that he would not entertain placing himself under obligatory protection of another nation.<\/p>\n

The Empress Taitu, Menelik\u2019s consort who had taken part in the deliberation reprimanded Antonelli when he lost his temper. Finally, Antonelli was obliged to leave with Salimbeni on February 11, 1891 without accomplishing him mission.<\/p>\n

Menelik wrote to Umberto complaining of the rude behaviour of his envoy, Antonelli, and sent a circular to all the European powers on April 21, 1891, describing the boundaries of his Empire,<\/p>\n

I have no intention of being an indifferent spectator while far distant powers make their appearance with the intention of carving out their respective empires in Africa, Ethiopia having been for fourteen centuries an island of Christians amongst a sea of pagans. As the Almighty has protected Ethiopia to this day, I am confident that he will protect her in the future. I have no doubt that he will not let her be divided under the subjection of other governments.<\/p>\n

This circular is very similar to the letter written to the European powers by Menelik\u2019s predecessor Yohannes dated Samera, (Debre Tabor), on\u00a0 February 17, 1881, outlining the extent of Ethiopia\u2019s territorial claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The relation between Ethiopia and Italy rapidly deteriorated. The territorial and the protectorate issues were destined to be settled only by the use of force. Prime Minister Crispi did not take heed of Prince von Bismarck\u2019s sound advice during his visit to Friederichsruh as early as 1887 during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie Yohannes IV. He was told that he [Crispi] should beware of getting involved in conflict with Ethiopia, despite Germany\u2019s basic interest of shifting Italy\u2019s preoccupation elsewhere away from the Adriatic, which had been the cause of conflict with Austria.<\/p>\n

On Dec 7, 1895. Ethiopia gained her first victory at Amba Alage. The Ethiopian forces successively defeated the Italian army at Mequelle on Jan 21, 1896 and at Adwa on of March 1, 1896.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The 128th commemoration of the Battle of Adwa was observed in Ethiopia on March 2, 2024, amidst lavish festivities coinciding with the inauguration of the Adwa Museum, one of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s grand cosmetic projects.<\/p>\n

The historical narrative of the Battle of Adwa, a cornerstone in Ethiopia\u2019s national identity and pan-African prestige, often sparks debate among its citizens regarding the pivotal figures in the victory. For those who aren\u2019t aware, Ethiopia decisively defeated an invading Italian force in 1896, blunting Rome\u2019s imperial ambitions in Africa. Years later, Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya\u2019s founding president and a prominent participant of the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester in 1945, said: \u201cEthiopia was the sole remaining pride of Africans and Negroes in all parts of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ethiopia\u2019s Pivot on the Founding of the OAU<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Monrovia and Casablanca Group both invited Ethiopia to be a member of their African blocks. It was now time to address the inevitable problem that the Ethiopian government was facing. Since Ethiopia had received invitations from the two blocs, it was now time to choose whether to attend the Monrovia or the Casablanca Conference. Foreign Minister Ketema Yifru had to make a choice and present his decision to the Emperor Haile Sellasse.<\/p>\n

Ketema Yifru informed both the Emperor Haile Selassie and Prime Minister Aklilu Habtewold of the events that had taken place so far and it would be in the best interest of his country and the cause for unity to accept the invitation from the Monrovia Group. The logic behind Ketema\u2019s thinking was that the Monrovia Group had now outnumbered the Casablanca Group twenty-two to six. If Ethiopia had aligned itself with the Casablanca Group, it would only help in widening the ever so growing rift between the two groups.<\/p>\n

In short, Ketema\u2019s decision emerged from a pragmatic approach rather than an ideological stand. Emperor Haile Selassie agreed with Ketema\u2019s solution. Since Emperor Haile Selassie could not leave the country due to his wife\u2019s illness, he instructed him to represent his country at the Monrovia Summit Conference, held in January 1962, in Lagos, Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Monrovia Summit\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

In Lagos, Nigeria, the core members of Monrovia Group stepped up the attack on the Casablanca Group. Speakers like Azikiwe of Nigeria would condemn the rival group on various issues, including its failure to condemn interference in the internal affairs of member states.\u00a0 Azikiwe publicly acknowledged the split between his group and the Casablanca Bloc.<\/p>\n

It was during this historic moment that Ketema began to lobby the conference participants in the hopes of having the next Monrovia meeting in the Ethiopian capital. Ketema, who was on a mission to bring these two groups together, believed that once he had the approval of the Monrovia Powers, he would work on having the Casablanca members attend the proposed Addis Ababa Summit Conference. The relentless effort of Ketema paid off: all the Monrovia Summit participants accepted his proposal of having the next Monrovia meeting in Addis Ababa.<\/p>\n

Now that the leaders had graciously accepted his proposal, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister sent a telegram to the Emperor informing him that it was imperative that he attend at least a day of the of the conference, for the sole purpose of identifying himself with the conference participants. HIM agreed to go to Lagos, Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Upon his arrival, Ketema briefed HIM on the proposal he had made to hold the next Monrovia meeting in Addis Ababa. Again, the Emperor Haile Selassie consented to the Foreign Minister\u2019s proposal. In his speech addressed to the conference, Emperor Haile Selassie launched Ethiopia\u2019s diplomatic effort by stating that the gulf between the Monrovia and the Casablanca Group was not as wide as it seemed. At a time where others had publicly declared their alliance to either the Monrovia or the Casablanca Bloc, Ethiopia was now openly declaring its neutrality. The summit would end with all the participants agreeing with acclamation to have the next Monrovia bloc meeting in Addis.<\/p>\n

Ethiopia and Guinea<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the meantime, the Casablanca Group had scheduled a conference in Egypt for June 1962. Foreign Minister Ketema Yifru, who at this point was trying to bridge the gap between the opposing groups, formulated a plan that could solve this problem. Since he had very good relations with President Seku Toure, who was one of the leaders of the Casablanca Group, he decided that it would be good if Ethiopia and Guinea held talks.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Ketema approached the Emperor Haile Selassie with his plan of extending an invitation to President Seku Toure for a state visit to Ethiopia. Ketema argued that Toure could help the Ethiopian government achieve its goal. The Foreign Minister explained that inviting Toure to Ethiopia could create an opportunity to exchange views on the division that existed between the two blocs. The Emperor agreed, and as result, a special invitation went to Toure, who was attending the Casablanca Group conference in Cairo. He accepted the invitation and joined the Emperor on June 28, 1962, in Asmara, where the Haile Selassie was attending a ceremony for the Naval Academy graduation in Massawa.<\/p>\n

It was agreed by both governments that the May 1963 Addis Ababa Summit Conference, which was initially set for the Monrovia Group, will now be a Summit Conference of all the independent African States. Following the agreement, they issued a communiqu\u00e9 that both heads of states had agreed to hold an all-out African Summit in Addis Ababa. The reason they gave for this sudden move was that both governments believed the gap between the two blocs was dramatically increasing.<\/p>\n

Therefore, in order to protect the continent from falling into harm\u2019s way, the governments of Ethiopia and Guinea had decided to call an all-out African Summit Conference in Addis Ababa, in hopes of resolving the difference that existed between the Casablanca and the Monrovia Groups.<\/p>\n

Celebrating Adwa and Uniting Pan-Africanists in the Americas<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The celebration of the Victory of Adwa (annually on March 2) has evolved from a national Ethiopian holiday into a global emblem of Pan-Africanism. For the African Diaspora in the Americas, Adwa is not just an Ethiopian military triumph; it is a \u201cfoundational light\u201d that proved European invincibility was a myth. As we look toward the 2026 commemorations, the Americas Diaspora\u2019s intellectual and financial resources can be channeled into several high-impact areas:<\/p>\n

Intellectual contributions: \u201creclaiming the narrative\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Americas Diaspora holds a massive repository of academic and creative talent that can expand the meaning of Adwa beyond the battlefield. First, diaspora scholars can integrate Adwa into Ethnic Studies and Black History programs in the U.S., Brazil, and the Caribbean. This positions Adwa alongside the Haitian Revolution as a twin pillar of global Black liberation, secondly, digital storytelling: utilizing the expertise of Americas Diaspora filmmakers and tech professionals to create virtual reality (VR) experiences or high-fidelity documentaries about the strategic genius of Emperor Haile Selassie Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul. Third, global legal heritage: intellectuals can lead the campaign to have Adwa recognized as a World Heritage Struggle, formalizing its status as a shared human legacy of resistance against oppression.<\/p>\n

Financial and Developmental Resources<\/em><\/p>\n

The financial power of the Americas Diaspora\u2014often funneled through remittances\u2014can be shifted toward \u201clegacy-building\u201d projects: the Adwa Pan-African University (APAU): there is a growing call for the Americas Diaspora to fund the completion and staffing of the Pan-African University in Adwa. This would move the celebration from a \u201cone-day parade\u201d to a \u201cyear-round engine\u201d for African research and innovation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Adwa Victory Memorial Hub: financial contributions can support the recently inaugurated Adwa Victory Memorial in Addis Ababa, turning it into a global research hub where Americas Diaspora youth can study their roots.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAdwa-Bond\u201d for infrastructure: in the current economic climate, the Americas Diaspora could advocate for \u201cAdwa Victory Bonds\u201d\u2014investment vehicles where funds are used specifically for sustainable development in Tigray and the surrounding regions, honoring the site of the victory with modern prosperity.<\/p>\n

Diplomatic and Cultural Soft Power<\/em><\/p>\n

The Americas Diaspora in the Americas serves as the \u201cinformal ambassadors\u201d of the Adwa spirit. The #RaceToAdwa & global festivals<\/em>: promoting cultural festivals and sporting events (like the #RaceToAdwa) in cities with large Diaspora populations like Toronto, Washington D.C., etc.<\/p>\n

Policy Influence:<\/em> Intellectuals in think tanks can use the \u201cSpirit of Adwa\u201d (unity in diversity) to advocate for policies that support African sovereignty in modern geopolitics, such as the current debate over the Nile (GERD).<\/p>\n

The Diaspora in the Americas is the \u201cbridge\u201d that turns Adwa from a localized memory into a global strategy. By shifting from commemoration (looking back) to investment (looking forward), the Americas Diaspora ensures that the \u201cVictory of the Black People\u201d continues to fund the \u201cRenaissance of the Black People.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos (PhD) is former AU Anti-Corruption Board, public policy advisor and political-economy commentator.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Contributed by Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos (PhD)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celebrating a Black Race Victory and Uniting Pan-Africanists Pan-Africanism represents the complexities of black political and intellectual thought over two hundred years. What constitutes in Pan-Africanism and what one might include in a Pan-African movement often changes according to whether the focus is on politics, ideology, organizations or culture. Pan-Africanism actually reflects a range of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":49457,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"editor_plus_copied_stylings":"{}","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1928],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-49456","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bits-pieces"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}