This is a two-part story about Gerald Portal’s delegation to King Yohannes IV, based on Portal’s own book of 144 pages. It’s from a paperback copy of an Arabic
Translation by Abdul Hamid Al Hassen and published by “Dar Al Kunuz AlAdabia” in Beirut (1978).
Portal’s narration reads like a travelogue and an adventure series. It’s captivating. His detailed observation of the culture, geography, and politics makes the book fascinating. The intricacies and rivalries among the lords, the suspicions, and the palace conspiracies in cinematic—almost a touristic voyage across Abyssinia of the 19th century.
The Treaties
How many treaties on border and peace were signed with the Italians and Abyssinians? Which country has the most treaties that were not honored? Would graduate and postgraduate students and scholars do that?
In this two-part series, I will go through the Hewett Treaty (also known as the Treaty of Adwa) and the delegation of Gerald Portal, an emissary of Queen Victoria to King Yohannes IV to broker peace between Abyssinia and Italy. I will also shed some light on the Wuchale agreement that fell apart due to different translations. I will also talk about the Mahdist Revolution, the siege of Kassala, the battle of Kufit, the battle of Dogali, and the Battle of Adwa. It’s a captivating history; unfortunately, it will not be exhaustive.
Before the Italians colonized Eritrea, there were two significant gestures made by Britain to King Yohannes IV and towards Abyssinia.
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1. The Hewett Treaty (Also known as the Treaty of Adwa), signed on June 3, 1884, between Great Britain, Egypt, and Ethiopia,
2. In 1887 Britain sent Gerald Portal to King Yohannes to reconcile Yohannes and the Italians, unsuccessfully.
Both coincided with the Mahdist Revolution in Sudan (1881 – 1899)
In 1890, Italy colonized Eritrea and, in 1994, occupied Kassala to prevent the Mahdists from advancing towards their Eritrean colony.
On January 26, 1885, the Mahdists captured Khartoum and killed General Charles Gordon, the British ruler of Sudan, and in July 1895, the Kassala Garisson surrendered to the Mahdists.
Hewett Treaty (Treaty of Adwa, 1884)
The British and Italians became weary of Mahdist expansion and sent Rear Admiral William Hewett (UK) and Emperor Yohannes IV (Ethiopia) to broker a treaty; it was signed on June 3, 1884, at Adwa by representatives of Britain, Egypt, Italy, and Abyssinia.
The treaty addressed the issue of a secure, safe passage for the Egyptian troops encircled by the Mahdist troops in the Kassala Garrison to return home through Massawa. The British promised Yohannes the Eritrean Bogos region and to gain free transit for all goods transiting to Abyssinia, including firearms, through the port of Massawa, and to enable the transiting of Egyptian bishops to Abyssinia.
Yohannes didn’t trust the treaty: he believed the British conspired with the Italians and gave them an opportunity to occupy Massawa—that mistrust continued as a foreign relations doctrine in Abyssinia. (It took Haile Selassie finding a refuge in the UK (Bath) for Britain to be a friend; the Abyssinian mistrust of Egypt continues to this day hindering a stable relation between the two countries.
On September 23, 1885, a significant battle took place at Kufit between Ras Alula, Yohannes’ general and governor of Hamasen region, and Osman Digna, a general of the Mahdists. One of Alula’s main deputies, Degiat Gebru, was killed in that battle.
By then, Italy had consolidated its control of Eritrea, and Yohannes’ dream of incorporating the regions of Bogos and Habab in Eritrea and a chunk of Eastern Sudan, up to Sennar, evaporated. The Hewett Treaty became insignificant and collapsed.
On 26 January 1887, Ras Alula’s forces ambushed an Italian force in Degali and decimated it. Alula has just returned after pillaging and ravaging “Bazen” and other regions on his way. In Senhit he massacred so many people whose memories are encapsulated in the name of a village: Dem-Julut (blood-washed). In his absence, the Italians seized the villages of Wi-à, Zula, and Sehaati, a strategic village where caravans stopped for water.
Ras Alula was enraged and told the Italians they had violated the Hewett Treaty (Or Adwa Treaty) between Abyssinia, Egypt, and Britain. Alula gave them a battle at Sahaati and decimated the Italian forces. On the second day, January 6, 1985, Alula’s forces ambushed the Italians at Dogali and killed over 500 Italian soldiers and officers; equal or more numbers of Abyssinians also perished at Dogali.
According to Hagai Erlich, “The incident encouraged the Italians to plot with Yohannes’s rival Menelik, the ruler of Shewa, to encourage his insubordination towards the Emperor.”
The Treaty of Wuchale
On 1 March 1896, the Abyssinian forces faced each other in the Battle of Adwa. The Italian forces were badly defeated by the Abyssinians. The center of the dispute was the interpretation of a treaty signed three years earlier, the Hewett Treaty: the Italian version of the translation stated that Abyssinian foreign policy would be conducted through Italy, while the Abyssinian translation was understood to mean it had the right to choose whether to seek Italy’s help or not. The Battle of Adwa ensued, and Italy was defeated. Thousands were killed and injured. The left or right leg and arm of captured Eritrean soldiers of Italy were amputated according to biblical laws.
The Italians were bitter for the humiliating defeat and vowed to take revenge on Abyssinia for the two defeats: the battles of Dogali and Adwa. But the revenge waited until 1931 after the Fascists came to power in Italy.
The 1887 Gerald Portal Delegation
After the battle of Adwa, the situation between Abyssinia and Italy was tense. Abyssinia was euphoric while Italy was enraged for being defeated by an inferior African force. While Italy sought revenge, Britain wanted to reconcile the two countries.
In 1887 Britain sent Major Gerald Portal to King Yohannes on a mission to broker peace between King Yohannes and the Italians. He was not successful.
In 1889, Yohannes was killed in the battle of Gallabat by the Mahdists, who severed his head and delivered it to the Mahdia himself in Omdurman. Minelik, the king of Shewa, became emperor and asserted his power and expanded his colonial domain to the east and south of Abyssinia. Meanwhile, Italy was planning to expand its colony of “Africa Orientale,” which included Somalia, Eritrea, Abyssinia, and territories that Menelik aspired to conquer.
On September 2, 1898, Britain defeated the Mahdist state in the Battle of Omdurman.
On October 31, 1922, the fascists came to power in Italy, and on November 2, 1930, Haile Selassie was crowned. In October 1935, Italian forces invaded Abyssinia and occupied it for five years.
During WW2, the Italian colonizers in Abyssinia were attacked by joint Abyssinian and British forces, mainly through Sudan. In 1941, British forces led by Brigadier Orde Wingate and Ethiopian forces led by Emperor Haile Selassie captured Addis Ababa victoriously, and the era of King Haile Selassie began.
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