Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.
Treaty of Wuchale (also spelled Treaty of Ucciale; Italian: Trattato di Uccialli, Amharic: ) was a treaty signed between the Ethiopian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy. King Menelik II of Shewa, later the Emperor of Ethiopia, and Count Pietro Antonelli of Italy, on 2 May 1889, established the treaty after the Italian occupation of Eritrea. It was signed in the small Ethiopian town of Wuchale, from which the treaty got its name. The purpose of the treaty was to promote friendship and trade among the two countries. It was a treaty to maintain a positive long lasting relationship between the two empires. The treaty has twenty articles written in two languages, Amharic and Italian. There were slight differences between the Italian and the Amharic version of the treaty which created miscommunications between the two countries. Specifically, Article 17 of the treaty was translated differently between the two versions. This difference in translation created disagreement and resulted in the treaty being denounced by Menelik II in 1893. When Menelik II denounced the treaty, Italy attempted to forcefully impose protectorate status over Ethiopia in the First Italo-Ethiopian War, which ended with Italy's defeat at the Battle of Adwa and the Treaty of Addis Ababa.
Menelik II (Ge'ez: ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ dagmawi mənilək; horse name Abba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው abba daññäw); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም sahlä maryam) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913 and King of Shewa from 1866 to 1889. At the height of his internal power and external prestige, the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state was completed by 1898.The Ethiopian Empire was transformed under Emperor Menelik: the major signposts of modernisation were put in place, with the assistance of key ministerial advisors. Externally, Menelik led Ethiopian troops against Italian invaders in the First Italo-Ethiopian War; following a decisive victory at the Battle of Adwa, recognition of Ethiopia's independence by external powers was expressed in terms of diplomatic representation at his court and delineation of Ethiopia's boundaries with the adjacent colonies. Menelik expanded his realm to the south and east, into Oromo, Kaffa, Sidama, Wolayta and other kingdoms or republics,: 2 Later in his reign, Menelik established the first Cabinet of Ministers to help in the administration of the Empire, appointing trusted and widely respected nobles and retainers to the first Ministries. These ministers would remain in place long after his death, serving in their posts through the brief reign of Lij Iyasu (whom they helped depose) and into the reign of Empress Zewditu.
Today, the Battle of Adwa remains a source of national pride for Ethiopians and is celebrated in March annually. It would also inspire Pan-African movements around the globe.