1896
Ethiopia Prevails over Italy
“I have no intention of being an indifferent onlooker if the distant powers have the idea of dividing up Africa....”
April 10, 1891
On March 2, 1896, the Ethiopian army under Emperor Menelik II overwhelmingly defeated the invading Italians at the Battle of Adwa.
Victory secured Ethiopia’s independence at a time when European powers were overrunning Africa. Ethiopia was one of two African countries that escaped European colonial rule. Its victory reverberated in the West Indies, the United States, and Africa, encouraging resistance to colonialism and racism.
History Matters
Ethiopia’s triumph inspired a later generation of young Pan-Africanists, who united Africans and African descendants in the Americas in their fight for human rights.