Emperor Menelik (March, 1893)
.
(Emperor Menelik was not amused upon discovering from the
proceedings of the Berlin Conference, which concluded on this date February 26, 1885; that Italy had given notice that it was the official protectorate over Ethiopia.
The infamous Conference was where European powers attempted to come to a formal agreement on the colonial ownership of African states. It is often dubbed as the “Scramble for Africa”.
Italy had presented its 1889 Treaty of Wichale, signed by Emperor Menelik, as proof of the arrangement. However, the terms written Amharic and Italian significantly differed.
Menelik would terminate the Treaty in 1893.
(Source: Towards an understanding of the African experience from historical and contemporary perspectives)
