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The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire
In March 1896 a well-disciplined and massive Ethiopian army did the unthinkable-it routed an invading Italian force and brought Italy's war of conquest in Africa to an end. In an age of relentless European expansion, Ethiopia had successfully defended its independence and cast doubt upon an unshakable certainty of the age-that sooner or later all Africans would fall under the rule of Europeans. This event opened a breach that would lead, in the aftermath of world war fifty years later, to the continent's painful struggle for freedom from colonial rule.
Raymond Jonas offers the first comprehensive account of this singular episode in modern world history. The narrative is peopled by the ambitious and vain, the creative and the coarse, across Africa, Europe, and the Americas-personalities like Menelik, a biblically inspired provincial monarch who consolidated Ethiopia's throne; Taytu, his quick-witted and aggressive wife; and the Swiss engineer Alfred Ilg, the emperor's close advisor. The Ethiopians' brilliant gamesmanship and savvy public relations campaign helped roll back the Europeanization of Africa.
Figures throughout the African diaspora immediately grasped the significance of Adwa, Menelik, and an independent Ethiopia. Writing deftly from a transnational perspective, Jonas puts Adwa in the context of manifest destiny and Jim Crow, signaling a challenge to the very concept of white dominance. By reopening seemingly settled questions of race and empire, the Battle of Adwa was thus a harbinger of the global, unsettled century about to unfold.
Raymond Jonas offers the first comprehensive account of this singular episode in modern world history. The narrative is peopled by the ambitious and vain, the creative and the coarse, across Africa, Europe, and the Americas-personalities like Menelik, a biblically inspired provincial monarch who consolidated Ethiopia's throne; Taytu, his quick-witted and aggressive wife; and the Swiss engineer Alfred Ilg, the emperor's close advisor. The Ethiopians' brilliant gamesmanship and savvy public relations campaign helped roll back the Europeanization of Africa.
Figures throughout the African diaspora immediately grasped the significance of Adwa, Menelik, and an independent Ethiopia. Writing deftly from a transnational perspective, Jonas puts Adwa in the context of manifest destiny and Jim Crow, signaling a challenge to the very concept of white dominance. By reopening seemingly settled questions of race and empire, the Battle of Adwa was thus a harbinger of the global, unsettled century about to unfold.
432 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 12, 2025
I like reading about historical figures and events that have become overlooked or forgotten. In this case, the historical figure is the Emperor of Ethiopia, Menelik, and the event is the Battle of Adwa in 1896. In Raymond Jonas' book, published in 2011, the author not only wrote a comprehensive study of the battle--and its background and aftermath--but presents the case that it was an important, even pivotal, event in African and world history.
Of course, Adwa is and should be famous in Ethiopia. For the first time, a native army defeated the entire army of a European nation and won not just a battle but the war, saving their country from being colonized. As I learned in elementary school, all of Africa was colonized by the Europeans--except for two independent countries, Liberia and Ethiopia. Liberia had been founded by freed American slaves and Ethiopia was based on an ancient African Christian kingdom hundreds of years old. The rest of the great continent (which was the cradle of humankind) was carved up and divided between the British, the French, the Portuguese, the Belgians, the Germans--and the Italians, who were the latecomers and didn't want to miss out on getting a share of the pie. In the 1890s, the Italians expanded into Eritrea, giving them a foothold on the strategic Red Sea--and the opportunity to expand further, into Ethiopia. Italy did not consider that the emperor, Menelik, could consolidate or mobilize the country sufficiently to withstand the assault of a modern European army (with native auxiliaries, called "askaris"). Menelik and his wife, Empress Taytu, not only unified Ethiopia but they acquired modern arms from European arms dealers, so that while the Ethiopians carried spears into battle, they also had rifles and even artillery. The Italians had their arrogance, believing that European discipline could blow away any force of natives that would come against them, even if they, the whites and their native allies, were outnumbered.
When the clash came in 1895, on the northern border of Ethiopia, Menelik had marched a massive army of 100,000 men against the colonialists. Not only did Menelik outnumber the Italians, but his troops were well-disciplined with modern arms to match the Italians. And, as it turned out, the Italians were ineptly led. The author points out that the Italian generals made tactical blunders that helped give the Ethiopians a decisive victory at the Battle of Adwa. When the Italian army was broken and the survivors fled back to the north (Menelik wisely did not want to kill all the invaders), that was the end of the war and the plan to conquer Ethiopia. You can imagine that by the end of the 19th Century, it looked like the entire world was going to be divided up among the Europeans with the Americans and the Japanese getting into the race to get their share (in 1898, the Americans built their empire by taking the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico from Spain and also annexing Hawaii, formerly a native kingdom). Menelik with his outstanding military victory showed that the overpowering tsunami of colonization could be stopped and turned back.
Forty years later, in 1936, Mussolini's Italy, with planes and tanks and poison gas, conquered Ethiopia and the Fascist dictator had a huge bust of himself erected at Adwa. Italy had gained revenge, but, during World War II, Ethiopia was liberated--to be followed by the wave of African colonies gaining their independence in the years after the war...
A very readable history which gives us some valuable insights into the history and culture of the Ethiopian people.
Of course, Adwa is and should be famous in Ethiopia. For the first time, a native army defeated the entire army of a European nation and won not just a battle but the war, saving their country from being colonized. As I learned in elementary school, all of Africa was colonized by the Europeans--except for two independent countries, Liberia and Ethiopia. Liberia had been founded by freed American slaves and Ethiopia was based on an ancient African Christian kingdom hundreds of years old. The rest of the great continent (which was the cradle of humankind) was carved up and divided between the British, the French, the Portuguese, the Belgians, the Germans--and the Italians, who were the latecomers and didn't want to miss out on getting a share of the pie. In the 1890s, the Italians expanded into Eritrea, giving them a foothold on the strategic Red Sea--and the opportunity to expand further, into Ethiopia. Italy did not consider that the emperor, Menelik, could consolidate or mobilize the country sufficiently to withstand the assault of a modern European army (with native auxiliaries, called "askaris"). Menelik and his wife, Empress Taytu, not only unified Ethiopia but they acquired modern arms from European arms dealers, so that while the Ethiopians carried spears into battle, they also had rifles and even artillery. The Italians had their arrogance, believing that European discipline could blow away any force of natives that would come against them, even if they, the whites and their native allies, were outnumbered.
When the clash came in 1895, on the northern border of Ethiopia, Menelik had marched a massive army of 100,000 men against the colonialists. Not only did Menelik outnumber the Italians, but his troops were well-disciplined with modern arms to match the Italians. And, as it turned out, the Italians were ineptly led. The author points out that the Italian generals made tactical blunders that helped give the Ethiopians a decisive victory at the Battle of Adwa. When the Italian army was broken and the survivors fled back to the north (Menelik wisely did not want to kill all the invaders), that was the end of the war and the plan to conquer Ethiopia. You can imagine that by the end of the 19th Century, it looked like the entire world was going to be divided up among the Europeans with the Americans and the Japanese getting into the race to get their share (in 1898, the Americans built their empire by taking the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico from Spain and also annexing Hawaii, formerly a native kingdom). Menelik with his outstanding military victory showed that the overpowering tsunami of colonization could be stopped and turned back.
Forty years later, in 1936, Mussolini's Italy, with planes and tanks and poison gas, conquered Ethiopia and the Fascist dictator had a huge bust of himself erected at Adwa. Italy had gained revenge, but, during World War II, Ethiopia was liberated--to be followed by the wave of African colonies gaining their independence in the years after the war...
A very readable history which gives us some valuable insights into the history and culture of the Ethiopian people.
April 27, 2019
This is a really important book. The Battle of Adwa is a little-known event with much significance and historical impact. This battle, and the wider war, is so consequential it is really unbelievable so few know its history. Thank you to Professor Raymond Jonas for writing this account.
The Battle of Adwa was a showdown between the Ethiopian, then Abyssinian, Imperial Army with auxiliaries, perhaps more than 100,000 in number, and the Italian Colonial Army numbering about 30,000 with Askari, or local soldiers the Italians trained and equipped in Eritrea. The sheer size of the Ethiopian Army along with the distance it moved—more than 500 miles—eclipses common misperceptions of the warfighting ability of African armies. It also countermands racial stereotypes about Africa itself, perhaps best summarized by the succinctly racist and abjectly wrong conclusion by the eminent German Philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: “Africa has no history and did not contribute to anything that mankind enjoyed.” Africa does have history and Africa is significant. In fact, Ethiopia, the oldest country in Africa, has almost three thousand years more of history as a nation than the modern state of Germany, which was not even unified in Hegel’s day. From a European perspective, it is also important that the Battle of Adwa invoked the collapse of the Crispi government in Italy and the definitive end of the political consolidation from the Risorgimento period, which could be best articulated in form by the colossal “Vittoriano” monument in Rome. This Italian government collapse fed the Italia irredenta (unredeemed Italy) movement which was instrumental in the foundation of Fascism by Mussolini and the subsequent reinvasion of Ethiopia before WWII—but that is another story.
Professor Jonas, a European historian who teaches at the University of Washington, has written this definitive account of the battle, events leading up to the battle, as well as subsequent impacts, based upon years of research in the United States, Europe, and Africa: a global project for a battle with global reach. The hubris, racism, and betrayal internal to the Italian Army which led to the fateful tactical decisions and decisive Italian defeat on 1 March 1896 are laid bare through a detailed analysis of available sources ranging from official accounts on both sides, soldier memoires and written accounts, Italian court-martial testimony, and even Professor Jonas’s walking and exploration of the terrain and battlefield. This is one of the very few military histories of Africa, particularly a narrative of African combat performance in war, thus a rare gem—ironically written by neither a military historian nor an Africanist! I applaud Professor Jonas and hope that many others can build upon important work like his in this book. A small book about a big day with great consequence!
The Battle of Adwa was a showdown between the Ethiopian, then Abyssinian, Imperial Army with auxiliaries, perhaps more than 100,000 in number, and the Italian Colonial Army numbering about 30,000 with Askari, or local soldiers the Italians trained and equipped in Eritrea. The sheer size of the Ethiopian Army along with the distance it moved—more than 500 miles—eclipses common misperceptions of the warfighting ability of African armies. It also countermands racial stereotypes about Africa itself, perhaps best summarized by the succinctly racist and abjectly wrong conclusion by the eminent German Philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: “Africa has no history and did not contribute to anything that mankind enjoyed.” Africa does have history and Africa is significant. In fact, Ethiopia, the oldest country in Africa, has almost three thousand years more of history as a nation than the modern state of Germany, which was not even unified in Hegel’s day. From a European perspective, it is also important that the Battle of Adwa invoked the collapse of the Crispi government in Italy and the definitive end of the political consolidation from the Risorgimento period, which could be best articulated in form by the colossal “Vittoriano” monument in Rome. This Italian government collapse fed the Italia irredenta (unredeemed Italy) movement which was instrumental in the foundation of Fascism by Mussolini and the subsequent reinvasion of Ethiopia before WWII—but that is another story.
Professor Jonas, a European historian who teaches at the University of Washington, has written this definitive account of the battle, events leading up to the battle, as well as subsequent impacts, based upon years of research in the United States, Europe, and Africa: a global project for a battle with global reach. The hubris, racism, and betrayal internal to the Italian Army which led to the fateful tactical decisions and decisive Italian defeat on 1 March 1896 are laid bare through a detailed analysis of available sources ranging from official accounts on both sides, soldier memoires and written accounts, Italian court-martial testimony, and even Professor Jonas’s walking and exploration of the terrain and battlefield. This is one of the very few military histories of Africa, particularly a narrative of African combat performance in war, thus a rare gem—ironically written by neither a military historian nor an Africanist! I applaud Professor Jonas and hope that many others can build upon important work like his in this book. A small book about a big day with great consequence!
November 13, 2011
An excellent account of the Ethiopian victory by native forces under the command of Emperor Menelik over the Italian forces at Adwa in 1896. The author provides lots of interesting details on how the Italians came to be in Ethiopia and how natives forces managed to defeat a modern European army on the field of combat. For the first time in Africa's history a native force had won a war against an occupying European country.
At times the author diverges from his narrative with little forays into interesting bits of history, as in the local practice of the castration of defeated foes or the social history of the union between European men and native women known as Madama’s. Regardless where these little titbits of history take us, all of which are all interesting accounts and have relevance to the story, the author always brings back onto the track of Adwa.
The author follows the events after the battle, what happened to the captured Italian officers and men and the fate of the loyal native Askari’s captured by the Ethiopians. These men were treated as traitors and not as captured combatants and suffered a horrific fate.
We also learn of the Italian mission to return to the battlefield to bury their dead and to map the locations of the bodies so as to try and work out did their soldiers die valorously facing the enemy or were they cut down in a panicked rout. We also read of the machinations between politicians and the military in Rome to blame anyone but themselves for this disaster.
Overall a very engaging read and well worth the effort for anyone interested in military history or the history of this part of the world.
At times the author diverges from his narrative with little forays into interesting bits of history, as in the local practice of the castration of defeated foes or the social history of the union between European men and native women known as Madama’s. Regardless where these little titbits of history take us, all of which are all interesting accounts and have relevance to the story, the author always brings back onto the track of Adwa.
The author follows the events after the battle, what happened to the captured Italian officers and men and the fate of the loyal native Askari’s captured by the Ethiopians. These men were treated as traitors and not as captured combatants and suffered a horrific fate.
We also learn of the Italian mission to return to the battlefield to bury their dead and to map the locations of the bodies so as to try and work out did their soldiers die valorously facing the enemy or were they cut down in a panicked rout. We also read of the machinations between politicians and the military in Rome to blame anyone but themselves for this disaster.
Overall a very engaging read and well worth the effort for anyone interested in military history or the history of this part of the world.
November 29, 2012
Concise, readable account of Imperial Europe's greatest African defeat: Italy's disastrous invasion of Ethiopia in 1896. Jonas paints the battle as presaging the end of the Scramble for Africa (perhaps too long-term) and provided a sense of pride and nationalism to Africans everywhere (easier to establish). It's a well-written, relatively impartial account, which does a great job of showing the battle's effects on both the participants and the international stage. Beyond its military reprecussions, Jonas shows political turmoil generated in Italy, with Ethiopia's heretofore precarious independence strengthened. The Italians would however get belated revenge.
May 25, 2015
Thorough account of a significant military battle in 1896.
When the Italians were sent packing, a few of them returned castrated. That part of the book is explained on Disruptive Dissertation.
When the Italians were sent packing, a few of them returned castrated. That part of the book is explained on Disruptive Dissertation.
March 28, 2022
Definitely thorough with a lot of good information. The book is basically split into three parts. Before, during, and after the battle. I wish more was dedicated to the actual battle instead of the lead up and ramifications.
June 6, 2016
As Ethiopian I thought this book told the Battle of Adwa in a very objective, insightful matter. I love it!
March 8, 2017
Supreme Book!
August 13, 2020
An epic tail captured brilliantly by Raymond Jonas.
December 31, 2020
i am ethiopian
October 1, 2025
Outstanding
Fair and accurate writing. The author left no stone unturned in his pursuit of historical truth. Amazing job, and entertaining.
Fair and accurate writing. The author left no stone unturned in his pursuit of historical truth. Amazing job, and entertaining.
September 1, 2013
The 1896 battle of Adwa; the author persuasively argues, marked a turning point as significant as the Battle of Tsushima a decade later. The decisive defeat of the Italian invasion force by the Abyssinian Emperor Menelik's army was a result of Italian arrogance and incompetence and superior Ethiophian strategy and political aptitude.
Professor Janus provides an unusual - but very refreshing - approach, where the strictly military aspects are put in their proper place ( small) compared to an understanding of the socio-economic, political, historical and geographical factors that shaped the Italian defeat - and laid the foundation for the Facist Italian avednture of the 1930'es.
Professor Janus provides an unusual - but very refreshing - approach, where the strictly military aspects are put in their proper place ( small) compared to an understanding of the socio-economic, political, historical and geographical factors that shaped the Italian defeat - and laid the foundation for the Facist Italian avednture of the 1930'es.
June 9, 2014
This was a very thorough and well-written account of the events leading up to and following the battle at Adwa. The book takes narrative form, and was at its most interesting and novel when discussing the efforts of the Ethiopian monarchy to control the narrative surrounding its interactions with Italy, and to present itself effectively to Europeans. The most interesting-sounding element of the argument--Jonas' claim that the battle was not aberrant, but rather somehow indicative of some trend--was also the least explored, with the result that the book provides an enjoyable narrative without making any particularly strong or novel claims.
November 26, 2012
Pages 200-300 are the very best of narrative history. The battle itself comes to life on the pages. The rest of the book is nearly as good and the contextualisation of the battle with other events of the time is helpful. The end of the book ties up some of the mythologies surrounding Adwa within the battle and aftermath.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews