Every Day Is Special: March 2 - Battle of Adwa Day in Ethiopia

March 2 - Battle of Adwa Day in Ethiopia

Posted on March 2, 2020

Did you know that there was once a war fought between Italy and Ethiopia?

In the late 1800s, European powers had grabbed "ownership" of the lands and peoples of Africa in what we often call "colonization" but sometimes call "the scramble for Africa"!

Only a couple of chunks of Africa were still independent: Liberia, which was a nation made up of formerly enslaved people from the United States, and which was therefore under the protective eye of the U.S.; and Ethiopia, which was then often called Abyssinia.

The Kingdom of Italy was a relatively new nation, and it hadn't snatched up as many swaths of Africa as other European nations. It had obtained Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, two territories that flanked Ethiopia. It is perhaps not too surprising that Italian leaders decided to conquer Ethiopia and unite it with Italy's other territories.

(Italy also controlled Libya, by the way.)

On the night of February 29, 1896, and the morning of March 1, three Italian brigades advanced toward Adwa, each brigade come from a different direction. A fourth Italian brigade stayed encamped, ready to pitch in where needed.

The Ethiopian army, under Emperor Menelik II, engaged with the Italians, and it was a bit of a blood bath: more than 6,000 Italian soldiers were killed, 1,500 were wounded, and 3,000 were taken prisoner; almost 4,000 Ethiopian soldiers were killed and a staggering 8,000 wounded! But since the Ethiopians vastly outnumbered the Italians - and they were fighting for their own homeland, of course! - Ethiopia won the battle. Part of their winnings were all of the Italian army's artillery (cannons, guns), around 11,000 rifles, and transport equipment - all of which had been left behind as Italians fled from Adwa.

Ethiopia was able to remain free for about 40 years before World War II brought a better-equipped Italian army back to - that time - conquer and occupy the nation.

Today's holiday means that schools, public buildings, post offices, and banks are closed; most shops and restaurants are open, but fewer hours than normal.

People dress up, carry about patriotic banners and placards and flags, and enjoy patriotic songs.