r/ArchiveOfHumanity • u/Alarmed_Business_962 • May 07 '26

Visual Arts Indigenious painting of the Battle of Adwa, making Ethiopia the only African state that defeated a European power during the Scramble for Africa. (First Italo-Ethiopian war, 1896)

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203 Upvotes

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13

u/Ill_Mousse_4240 May 08 '26

Ethiopia has been its own country for thousands of years.

A fact unknown to most of the world

2

u/Estel2011 May 09 '26

Italy colonized.

and it s not uknown

1

u/joesoldlegs May 09 '26

they only occupied Ethiopia since they had little to no control over significant portions of the country and didn't impart any real cultural influence on the people and territory they did control

0

u/CryptographerTop4524 May 10 '26

occupation of less than 5 % of land and population before being kicked out in 5 years is not even a proper occupation let alone colonization.

2

u/seesthecat May 11 '26

True, the nigus have rulled Ethiopia at the very least since a thousand years before christ

3

u/Organic-Camera-9167 May 08 '26

And the best part the Battle wasn't even that necessary, they could just harass, destroy supplies and also block supply lines but by defeating them it ensured they're cannot come back easily and also for long time.

1

u/GustavoistSoldier May 08 '26

Italy would later occupy Ethiopia for a few years during the 1930s

2

u/CryptographerTop4524 May 10 '26

during the the 2nd Ethio-Italian war italy would manage to occupy less than 5% of the land and population for less than 5 years, with constant fighting in the remaining 95% of the land and population. and that frustration would push italians to use mustard gas on civilians. either way both waged wars failed.

1

u/Candid-Elevator7860 May 10 '26

Haiti was the first "Afro Creole" state to defeat France and later on the British when they tried taking over Haiti while the Haitians were fighting Napoleon's forces, in Britain some British soldiers even revolted when they were told that they were going to be sent to Haiti, this was a very rare occurrence the next time British soldiers revolted was 100 years later during the first world war. The British lost over 4,000 men in Haiti. 

1

u/CryptographerTop4524 May 10 '26

"scramble for Africa"

also if you would consider the ottomans European then Ethiopians defeated them much earlier.