Cyber Ethiopia

The Ethiopian victory at the Battle of Adwa, on 1 March 1896, had a significant impact on foreign observer of Ethiopia. Some dismissed the battle as of little interest, and no more than a temporary hiccup in the general pattern of European expansion in Africa. Others prophesied, favouarably or unfavourably, that Ethiopia would emerge in Africa, as Japan had done in Asia. Others displayed the appearance of frightened rabbits. One of those worried by Ethiopia's victory at Adwa (which he referred by its alternative name of Abba Garima, then preferred by the Italians) was our subject for today: the American big-game hunter Arthur Donaldson Smith, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, in London, and Honorary Member of the Academy of National Sciences in Philadelphia, USA. Donaldson

Smith, and Animal Rights Donaldson Smith was, above all else, a great hunter. In his classic work, "Through Unknown African Countries", published in London in 1897, he recalls that, travelling in the Ethiopian region three years earlier, he and his companions "had splendid sport killing six lions, beside many elephants, rhinoceroses, and other big game". The Treaty of Wechale I leave that slaughter, Dear Reader, to those among you who may be supporters of Animal Rights, and turn instead to Donaldson Smith's political credo on Ethiopia, Europe and Africa. Donaldson Smith was writing, we must bear in mind, in the immediate aftermath of Adwa, when Menelek, with some marginal support from the French and Russians, had defeated an Italian attempt to establish a Protectorate over the entire country. Their claim, it will be recalled, was based on a highly questionable interpretation of the Treaty of Wechale, of 1889. "Only a Question of Time" Donaldson Smith, looking at the post-Adwa geo-political situation through colonialist eyes, and referring to the General Act of Berlin (which provided ground rules for the "Scramble for Africa"), gave it as his opinion, that: "There can be little doubt that it is only a question of time when all of Africa will be divided among the European powers, and it is therefore a matter of the greatest international importance which country shall be the eventual possessor of Abyssinia and the country adjacent to it to the west. The crushing defeat of the Italians at Abba Garima [i.e. Adwa], and the still more recent surrender of Italy's claims in Abyssinia in consequence thereof to the Emperor Menelek, leave the question of the future occupancy of the country between the Somali coast and the Nile open to all the powers. The Anglo-Italian treaty of 1894, in which Abyssinia and the country to the south of it were divided between England and Italy on paper, can no longer hold good, since, to quote from J. Scott Keltie's 'The Partition of Africa' (London, 1895) 'it should never be lost sight of that, according to the spirit, if not the letter, of the Berlin Act, if there is no occupation, there can be no claim to occupation'". Drawing his conclusion from the confrontation at Adwa, Donaldson Smith continued: "England is... left as free as France or Russia or any other nation to turn her attention to the acquisition of the vast and important territory in question. Although it would not be advisable to take the initiative and attack any portions of the Abyssinian domains which are at present under the direct rule of the Emperor Menelek, the districts immediately adjacent to these, and peopled by independent savage tribes, could at once be occupied without advancing against the indubitable authority of Menelek. The possession of these latter countries is of the utmost importance to the [European] nations contesting for territories in Africa". Elaborating on the above thesis, Donaldson Smith continued: "Brilliant Achievements" "From the opportunities I personally had of studying the warlike qualities of the Abyssinians, and from the subsequent brilliant achievements of the latter in their battles with the soldiers of Italy, I have formed the opinion that the gaining of Abyssinia alone, by a nation conquering Emperor Menelek, would not be commensurate with the difficulties and cost in men and treasure which would be entailed". A Possible Conflict to the South Though dismissing any such attack on the Ethiopian heartlands, where a military operation, at least for the time-being, would be too difficult, Donaldson Smith envisaged, and even proposed, an Anglo-Ethiopian confrontation further south. Drawing attention to Menilek's claims to the south, he declared that should the Ethiopian ruler seek to enforce them: "it would repay England to send an army against him. With an expedition so well equipped and so splendidly conducted as the present one in the Soudan [a reference to Kitchener's operations in that country], there could only be one result, - a quick and decisive victory over Menelek. For, although, as I have stated, the Abyssinians are strong when compared with other semi-civilized races, they must surely fall before the first well-organized European force that opposes them. The Italians suffered defeat because their army which marched to Abba Garima was miserably organized in every department. 'Italy sent a boy to do a man's work'". That said, Donaldson Smith declared that Menelek's claims should be restricted, in the south, by a line from Ime, on the Shebeli River, to a point immediately south of Bonga, in Kaffa; and, in the west, by a north-south line west of Kaffa. "Would Never Submit" Discussing the question of boundaries Donaldson Smith drew attention to an interesting article by the British traveller Theodore Bent, which had appeared in the influential British journal the "Fortnightly Review" for September 1896. In this article Bent had stated that if Shoa, Harar and "the Juba districts" were "permanently colonized" by Italy, the Italians "would have to maintain perpetual warfare in the Shoan mountains; for the inhabitants of this district, being a warlike race, would never submit". Donaldson Smith rejected the above view, which he declared "erroneous", and added: "There would be no fighting at all unless there arose a war against Menelek's united forces. If Menelek were defeated, his highly organized army and all the tribes at present under his sway would submit to the dictates of the conquering nation; and if that nation were England, or if the wise colonial policies of the British were carried out, there would be no subsequent uprisings. Colonialists would be amply able to pay for their own protection, the only provision for the protection of their property would be required being a very small police force to prevent petty attempts at theft". Drawing his geo-political conclusions from the above, Donaldson Smith continued: "It is absolutely imperative that the British prevent the Abyssinians from advancing to any great extent beyond the lines above mentioned. Aided by the French and Russians, the Emperor Menelek will see his domains extending rapidly south and west, unless he be prevented from further conquest by the previous occupation of the neighboring countries by England. He will soon be threatening the English interests along the Nile, in land over which England's forces are now struggling. And he will be in dangerous proximity to the French possessions on the west, to the Germans on the south, and to the Congo Free State... The French and Russians "A natural sequence to the extension of Menelek's conquests", Donald Smith went on, "would be the occupation of a vast amount of the newly acquired territory by the French or Russians. The Abyssinians, French, and Russians will not long delay in pressing to the south". "It behooves England", Donaldson Smith went on, "to act at once. If she does not immediately check Abyssinian advance, it will only be a necessity deferred, and then, when finally she is obliged to possess herself of the country to the east of Lake Rudolf, and perhaps far to the south of the northern end of the lake, she will have lost all of that magnificent, fertile, and mountainous country of great commercial value, extending a hundred miles north of Lake Rudolf, embracing Lake Abaya and the sources of the river Jub, and the greater half of the Boran country. This is a district I have every reason to believe to be rich in mineral wealth... " Elaborating on the value of the area he wished Britain to take over, he went on to explain that the climate (like that in British East Africa, later Kenya) was such that "a European farmer can work here without being oppressed by the heat. Maize and cereals of all kinds, vegetables and fruits can be planted with good and quick results in almost any season. The markets would be amply sufficient to supply the artisans and merchants required by the colonists. "Except in the valleys through which a river runs, or near the lakes, the country is most healthy. In fact, no better sanitarium for consumptives could be found. The finest cattle, sheep, and goats I saw in Africa were raised on the plateau lands lying between the Webi Shebeli on the east and the river Nianam on the west, and between latitudes 5º and 7º north. The number of elephants in this country is legion, and as the supply of tusks from Central Africa diminishes, it will be from here that the world's supply of ivory will come". As for European commerce he added: "there will be an ever-increasing demand for cloth and articles of European manufacture, and a very lucrative trade will be established as the facilities for transportation increase". Turning to specifics Donaldson Smith concluded: "I believe the best means Great Britain has at her immediate disposal of raising the English flag here, is that of sending an expedition across the country between the Nile and the River Nianam".