Why wasn't Ethiopia colonized by Europeans?

[BigMan]

Interesting

 

[Torrential]

No, Italy didn't colonize Ethiopia. It was an occupation, the Italians only controlled the urban centered but had no control of the rural/remote parts of the country. The Italians were hemorraging money throughout the years they were in Ethiopia which partly aided in their rapid decline throughout WWII. Eritrea was a part of the country that was disputed by many nations including Ethiopia, but in truth the country was sold off by Menelik to Italy in order to weaken the Yohannes IV's true heir Ras Mengesha whose domain included the region which became Eritrea. So that forfeiture makes your point of being partly-colonized invalid..

Breh you got any books or documentaries that cover the occupation? Cacs try to argue that Ethiopia was colonized but your point about the rural areas not being under control is a dope response. And the bolded is interesting too. I didn't know that.

 

[Poitier]

I agree with most of what you say but I think you're wrong when you say they didn't corroborate with Europeans. I'm pretty sure the British were saved in several battles by Ethiopians during the mahadist battles I think they had some sort of agreement.

You can also add Oromo and all the people of the South into the group with Somali people because they were all conquered using European aid.

He is Ethiopian so you have to give a little leeway for bias.

 

[Slow Moving]

By the time of the invasion they only had Russian backing due to the Orthodox Christian ties. Britain and France both wanted Ethiopia and Menelik used that to his advantage, but at the same time these so called allies didn't allow Ethiopia to join in the industrial age because it was a Black country. But no lies, without the Russians weapons and some of the training they provided my name would probably be Angelo and I'd be way more light skinned.

But terrain and the sheer numbers also made conquering Ethiopia a very difficult task in those days. There were far too many advantages the Ethiopians had that others didn't on the continent.



No, Italy didn't colonize Ethiopia. It was an occupation, the Italians only controlled the urban centered but had no control of the rural/remote parts of the country. The Italians were hemorraging money throughout the years they were in Ethiopia which partly aided in their rapid decline throughout WWII. Eritrea was a part of the country that was disputed by many nations including Ethiopia, but in truth the country was sold off by Menelik to Italy in order to weaken the Yohannes IV's true heir Ras Mengesha whose domain included the region which became Eritrea. So that forfeiture makes your point of being partly-colonized invalid.

Emotionally I agree with you, allowing the land that became Eritrea to be colonized was like Ethiopia was already colonized. But that's emotion, not fact. Aside from that, I'm not sure about the white colonizers being helped by Ethiopians bit. At most, the Brits and Ethis collaborated against the Somali people but that's after the Ethiopians/Somali developed a long and bitter rivalry against one another so for Menelik it was inconsequential. It's easy for us to sit here in 2017 and wag our fingers but at that time the game for Ethiopia's leaders was to keep the Europeans at bay while stocking up on weapons and building alliances with other countries that could ensure their sovereignty. For a Black leader to have done that in the 19th century is impressive in spite the mistakes that's why other Africans and African descended people "put Ethiopia on a pedastal".



Black people throughout the Diaspora were very involved actually. There were race riots in Harlem with Black folks beating down Italians over the invasion. It also inspired some of the brightest minds in the Black world to provide their efforts to the liberation of Ethiopia. A lot of great literature came out of this time, in fact a long lost Claude McKay novel (Harlem Renaissance author, I believe he's of Jamaican descent) was just released a few weeks ago which describes what Harlem was like during the Italio-Ethiopian War.

Aside from that the other poster is right. The Great Depression made the LON countries look more inward to their own people/problems. Italy's successful invasion and occupation was the fire that lit the fuse to WWII because it showed that the LON was completely impotent against any threats and that even if the Brits or French wanted to jump out there they couldn't because they weren't as invested in military as the Italians, Germans, and Japanese had become by that point.



When you think about it, the Axis Powers came pretty close to controlling nearly the whole Nile Valley and Northeast Coast of Africa. If Italy/Germany has the same success in Libya and Egypt that they had against Europe only Sudan and Somaliland would've been left in that region in terms of Allied influence/control. Would've been brutal for the Allied effort in Europe.

Colonization more or less was the white Europeans controlling the urban areas of there colony perfect example is your next door neighbor the British never fully controlled the territories it claimed for atleast 30 years.

Be honest Ethiopia had very little to do with Italy decline the Germans/italy losing in Europe front had more To do with it
Eritrea more or less was always part of the habash empire idk how Eritrea became disputed but looking at the history of the mid centuries it was back then part of Ethiopian empire(I know it wasn't called Ethiopia then) realistically speaking people from Eritrea are closer to the Highlanders then say people who live in present day south Ethiopia and east Ethiopia 2 territories that were conquered in the last 200 years
You more or less agreed with me on Eritrea being colonized I never said anything about how it happened
Let's be honest if not for bunch white men being quick to recognize you as a country in the 1800s history would've looked at what happened in the 30s as the same as what was happening in late 1800s some might not know this but countries were still getting colonized less then a decade before Ethiopia fell to italy in the 30s
Lol my pedestal comment had more to do with people worshipping that one emperor who use to be famous for cutting

 

[The Singularity]

You guys should get familiar with the crucial importance of Askaris (mercenaries) during the colonial conquest of territorial possessions. Especially maintaining and holding on to conquered processions.

Askari - Askari - Wikipedia

An askari was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa. During the period of the European colonial empires in Africa, locally recruited soldiers were employed by Italian, British, Portuguese, German and Belgian colonial armies. They played a crucial role in the conquest of the various colonial possessions, and subsequently served as garrison and internal security forces. During both World Wars, askari units also served outside their colonies of origin, in various parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

British colonies
The Imperial British East Africa Company raised units of askaris from among the Swahili people, the Sudanese and Somalis.
From 1895 the British askaris were organised into a regular, disciplined and uniformed force called the East African Rifles, later forming part of the multi-battalion King's African Rifles.[2] The designation of "askari" was retained for locally recruited troops in the King's African Rifles, smaller military units and police forces in the colonies until the end of British rule in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda during the period 1961–63

Italian colonies
The Italian army in Italian East Africa recruited Eritrean and subsequently Somali troops to serve with Italian officers and some NCOs. These forces comprised infantry, cavalry, camel-mounted and light artillery units. Somali personnel were later recruited to serve with Royal Italian Navy ships operating in the Indian Ocean. The Italian askaris (ascari) fought in the Mahdist War, Battle of Coatit, First Italo–Ethiopian War, Italian-Turkish War, Second Italo-Abyssinian War and in the World War II East African Campaign.
Uniforms
Eritrean regiments in Italian service wore high red fezzes with coloured tufts and waist sashes that varied according to each unit. As examples, the 17th Eritrean Battalion had black and white tufts and vertically striped sashes; while the 64th Eritrean Battalion wore both of these items in scarlet and purple.

White uniforms were worn for parade (see illustration) with khaki for other duties. The Somali ascari were similarly dressed, though with knee length shorts.
Ranks
The Eritrean and Somali Ascari had the following ranks, from simple soldier to senior non commissioned officer: Ascari - Muntaz (corporal) - Bulukbasci (lance-sergeant) -Sciumbasci (sergeant). The Sciumbasci-capos (staff-sergeants) were the senior Eritrean non-commissioned officers, chosen in part according to their performance in battle. All commissioned officers of the Eritrean Ascari were Italian.[8]
History
Many of the Askaris in Eritrea were drawn from local Nilotic populations, including Hamid Idris Awate, who reputedly had some Nara ancestry.[6] Of these troops, the first Eritrean battalions were raised in 1888 from Muslim and Christian volunteers, replacing an earlier Basci-Buruk corps of irregulars. The four Indigeni battalions in existence by 1891 were incorporated into the Royal Corps of African Troops that year. Expanded to eight battalions, the Eritrean ascaris fought with distinction at Serobeti, Agordat, Kassala, Coatit and Adwa[7] and subsequently served in Libya and Ethiopia.
Out of a total of 256,000 Italian troops serving in Italian East Africa in 1940, about 182,000 were recruited from Eritrea, Somalia and the recently occupied (1935–36) Ethiopia. When in January 1941, British Commonwealth forces invaded Ethiopia in January 1941 most of the locally recruited ascaris deserted. The majority of the Eritrean Ascaris remained loyal until the Italian surrender four months later.
Organisation
Initially the Eritrean Ascaris comprised only infantry battalions, although Eritrean cavalry squadrons (Penne di Falco) and mountain artillery batteries were subsequently raised. By 1922 units of camel cavalry called "meharisti" had been added. Those Eritrean camel units were also deployed in Libya after 1932. During the 1930s Benito Mussolini added some armored cars units to the Ascari.

 

[Enzo]

Too hard to conquer at the time when there were easier targets but they definitely tried.

They tried by using our neighbors, by funding extremist religious groups and antigovernment organizations as well as slowly pushing forward from all fronts.

Meanwhile you had a country of regional kings ruling their own people who were forced to come together under a king of kings in order to stave off this attempt.

Real talk, if I could put the money together; I would love to have Haile put together a game of thrones type miniseries about the end of the age of princes.

 

[ChatGPT-5]

Colonization more or less was the white Europeans controlling the urban areas of there colony perfect example is your next door neighbor the British never fully controlled the territories it claimed for atleast 30 years.

Be honest Ethiopia had very little to do with Italy decline the Germans/italy losing in Europe front had more To do with it
Eritrea more or less was always part of the habash empire idk how Eritrea became disputed but looking at the history of the mid centuries it was back then part of Ethiopian empire(I know it wasn't called Ethiopia then) realistically speaking people from Eritrea are closer to the Highlanders then say people who live in present day south Ethiopia and east Ethiopia 2 territories that were conquered in the last 200 years
You more or less agreed with me on Eritrea being colonized I never said anything about how it happened
Let's be honest if not for bunch white men being quick to recognize you as a country in the 1800s history would've looked at what happened in the 30s as the same as what was happening in late 1800s some might not know this but countries were still getting colonized less then a decade before Ethiopia fell to italy in the 30s
Lol my pedestal comment had more to do with people worshipping that one emperor who use to be famous for cutting

To Colonise is to be an extension of the invading country, and occupation is self explanatory, its a military hold. Iraq was not an american colony for example.

Italy is the one to claim it lost because of its massive drain in Ethiopia, it wasn't the Ethiopians.

 

[DTR90]

Italy occupied Ethiopia for a few years in the mid-to-late 1930s before WWII caused the liberal democracies to fight Italian forces in East Africa

Yep, this.

Otherwise known as Abyssinia.

 

[Grano-Grano]

Ethiopia will be dismembered. I can't wait for the chaos of the Oromo/Amhara rebellion. You Mfs will pay for the crimes of Menelik and Meles Zenawi. My lands in Nageyle will fly the Blue Star. Can't wait to do salat in the glorious and holy city of Harar

 

[Slow Moving]

To Colonise is to be an extension of the invading country, and occupation is self explanatory, its a military hold. Iraq was not an american colony for example.

Italy is the one to claim it lost because of its massive drain in Ethiopia, it wasn't the Ethiopians.

Again can you show me the difference what Italian did in there colony vs what they did in Ethiopia. like said in my post you just qouted the only difference between them is Ethiopia had the benefits of white Europeans being quick to recognize them nothing else was special about them other Africans defeated Europeans before other Africans resisted colonizers before the only difference is none of those groups were given recognition.
As for Iraq not being colonized thanks for stating the obvious it was a world recognized country for 70 years obviously when your a recognized country you can never be colonized it will always be seen as occupied.
As for italy claiming Ethiopia had drain them looking at what happened most of the Italian soldiers were Africans most of the whites were occupied in Europe second they the white Italians gave the African groups very little to work with most of the soldiers mostly all had outdated weapons so idk how they can sit there claim it drain there resources when they originally gave very little to begin

 

[Slow Moving]

You guys should get familiar with the crucial importance of Askaris (mercenaries) during the colonial conquest of territorial possessions. Especially maintaining and holding on to conquered processions.

Askari - Askari - Wikipedia

Am descendant of one

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

Ethiopia will be dismembered. I can't wait for the chaos of the Oromo/Amhara rebellion. You Mfs will pay for the crimes of Menelik and Meles Zenawi. My lands in Nageyle will fly the Blue Star. Can't wait to do salat in the glorious and holy city of Harar

Spoke to an Amhara about the failed 'rebellion' yesterday. Vast majority of Amharas just want to become developed. The uprising never had mass popular support. The memories of the civil war are still fresh on everyone's mind. The current Ethiopian regime will last another generation or two, I think.

 

[ChatGPT-5]

Again can you show me the difference what Italian did in there colony vs what they did in Ethiopia. like said in my post you just qouted the only difference between them is Ethiopia had the benefits of white Europeans being quick to recognize them nothing else was special about them other Africans defeated Europeans before other Africans resisted colonizers before the only difference is none of those groups were given recognition.
As for Iraq not being colonized thanks for stating the obvious it was a world recognized country for 70 years obviously when your a recognized country you can never be colonized it will always be seen as occupied.
As for italy claiming Ethiopia had drain them looking at what happened most of the Italian soldiers were Africans most of the whites were occupied in Europe second they the white Italians gave the African groups very little to work with most of the soldiers mostly all had outdated weapons so idk how they can sit there claim it drain there resources when they originally gave very little to begin

The point of the matter is, it was occupied not colonised.

As for why italians claimed that, don't know, don't care, look into it.

and if the country is not recongnised by cacs, doesn't mean its not recognised at all. China some parts were colonised and was 1,000 years older than Europe.

 

[Grano-Grano]

Spoke to an Amhara about the failed 'rebellion' yesterday. Vast majority of Amharas just want to become developed. The uprising never had mass popular support. The memories of the civil war are still fresh on everyone's mind. The current Ethiopian regime will last another generation or two, I think.

You might be right brah. The thing is, the Somali population is overwhelmingly young, like majority of our populace is under 24. All they know is the AMISOM, Ethiopian, and Kenyan incursions/occupation into Somalia. The majority of the country has became increasingly nationalistic and anti-foreign interventionism. That spells hell in the next 20 years for Ethiopia if the current national security plan is implemented that Somalis want with a large standing army. That's why Kenya and Ethiopia with UK support wanna reduce Somalia's army not to be a threat to them and why they want to come to a security summit in the UK. It won't work. Pay attention to the London Somalia Conference in May.

 

[The Singularity]

Am descendant of one

Did your granpa fight in any WWII front?