African Resistance to European Imperialism
Overview
Statewide Dual Credit Modern World History: Unit 11, Lesson 4
A discussion of African resistance to European imperialism, focusing on the successful defense of Ethiopia led by Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul, and other significant resistance movements like those of Samori Ture and Kinjikitile Ngwale.
In the late 1800s, many European nations rushed to take part in the “scramble for Africa.” Great Britain led the way, controlling Egypt, Sudan, Kenya and South Africa. France established French West Africa, which included Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Dahomey and Nigeria, and French Equatorial Africa, which consisted of Chad, Gabon and parts of the Congo. Germany maintained colonies in Burundi, Tanzania and Rwanda. Even tiny Belgium’s ruler King Leopold held a large part of the Congo river valley as his personal fiefdom. Although European powers brought technology and modernization to Africa, they did so with the intention of extracting wealth from the continent. Millions of Africans faced ritualized degradation and exploitation at the hands of Europeans. Over time, many Africans found a variety of ways to not only carry out meaningful lives under foreign rule but actively resist colonial powers.
The First Italo-Ethiopian War of 1895-1896 represented an important example of successful African resistance to European imperialism. Following the unification of Italy in 1871, Italian leaders sought to gain overseas colonies to provide raw resources for Italy’s growing industrial sector, find new lands for poor Italians to settle, and gain the prestige that came from being a colonial power. In 1889, Italy and Ethiopia signed the Treaty of Wuchale by which the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II (1844-1913) acceded to Italy’s demands to occupy the province of Eritrea in return for Italian and British recognition of his regime. Deliberately writing different versions of the treaty in Italian and Amharic (one of the major languages of wider communication in Ethiopia), Italian diplomats claimed that Ethiopia had agreed to become an Italian protectorate. When Menelik II repudiated the treaty, Italian troops invaded in 1895. Aided by Empress Tatyu Betal (1851-1918), Menelik raised a 100,000-man army that included all the ethnic and religious minorities of Ethiopia. This powerful army won a significant victory over Italian forces at the Battle of Adwa in March 1896. In the Treaty of Addis Ababa (1896), Italy recognized Ethiopia’s independence.
Spotlight On | MENELIK II
The son of the Negus (King) Haile Melekot (1824-1855) and a palace servant named Ejigayehu Lemma Adyamo, Menelik was captured by the Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II (1818-1868) and married to his daughter Altash. Following Tewodros’s suicide in 1868, Menelik slowly built-up allies among Ethiopia’s different ethnic groups and European powers such as the French and Italians. In 1883, he married his third wife, Taytu Betul. A member of the ruling family of Semien Province, Tatyu’s dynastic marriage to Menelik helped him solidify his claim as Ethiopian emperor in 1889. Together they founded the capital of Addis Ababa (New Flower) on the site of her imperial home. During the First Italo-Ethiopian War, Menelik and Tatyu worked tirelessly to rally the people of Ethiopia to resist the invading Italian forces. Following the war, the imperial couple helped to introduce post offices, electricity, motor cars and railroads to Ethiopia. Menelik died in 1913, Tatyu passed away four years later.
In addition to Menelik and Tatyu, Samori Ture (1828- 1900) led a spirited resistance to European imperialism in West Africa. Born into the Mandika of Guinea in the 1830s, Samori created a coalition of Muslim groups that conquered parts of Mali, Senegal and the Ivory Coast to create the Wassoulou Empire in the 1860s. Although a skilled warrior, Samori lacked modern European-style artillery. He accordingly signed a treaty with the French Empire, giving up some land in return for a non-aggression pact. However, constant violations of the treaty by French colonial forces led to the outbreak of war in 1892. Adopting a “scorched earth” policy, Samori fled eastwards with his entire population. Although captured by the French six years later, Samori still remains one of the most revered anti- imperialist leaders in African history.
While Samori fought the French in Guinea, a Matumbi-born Muslim prophet named Kinjikitile “Bokero” Ngwale (d. 1905) led the Maji Maji Rebellion against the German colonial government of Tanganyika. Urging his followers to put aside their ethnic differences, Bokero insisted that the “holy water” or maji he gave them would stop German bullets. Although executed by German officials in 1905, his followers held out against German forces for another two years. Over 100,000 died in the uprising.