Treaty of Wuchale
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The Treaty of Wuchale (also spelled Treaty of Ucciale;
Background
Around the time the treaty was signed, European colonization was greatly expanding in Africa. Vast territories of Eritrea and Somalia, Ethiopian-bordering countries, were under the occupation of Italy. Italy desired to expand its territories by colonizing Ethiopia. Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia was highly resistant to this and agreed to establish a treaty instead. He yielded some territories of Ethiopia to Italy in return for assurance of Ethiopia's independence as well as financial and military assistance from Italy.[6]
Articles
Article 1 focuses on establishing a peaceful relationship between the two countries. It states that there shall be a peace between the Emperor of Ethiopia and the King of Italy as well as their successors and their peoples. Article 2 deals with forming a diplomatic relationship between the two countries. It mentions that Ethiopia and Italy shall appoint agents in the other country's consular office. Article 3 created permanent boundary lines between regions of Eritrea that were under Italy's control and regions of Ethiopia. It stated which regions were under the control of which empire and marked the territory limit of each empire.
Articles 4, 5, and 6 focused on specific regions located in the Italian regional zone; the monastery of Debra Bizen and Massawa, Eritrea. Article 4 stated that the monastery of Debra Bizen shall remain under the control of the Ethiopian government but could not be used for military purposes. Article 5 stated that Ethiopia had to pay an eight percent port duty to import or export goods through Massawa. Article 6 stated that the Emperor of Ethiopia could transport the army from and through Massawa free of charge. Article 7 declared that travel and trade exchanges between the two countries were allowed.
Articles 8 and 9 focused on the rights people from Ethiopia's territories had while they were in Italy's territories and vice versa. Article 8 said that the people in the Ethiopian and Italian territories exercised the same rights while present in each other's territories and article 9 stated that these people had the freedom to exercise their religion in the territories where they were. Article 10 dealt with disputes between residents of Ethiopian and Italian territories and stated that these disputes were to be resolved by delegates from both territories. Article 11 said that if an Ethiopian resident died in an Italian territory or vice versa, his/her properties would be given to the territory he/she belongs to.
Articles 12 and 13 dealt with crimes. Article 12 stated that people who committed crimes would be judged in their own territory regardless of where they committed the crime, whereas article 13 mentions that the kings of both empires are obliged to extradite people with criminal records. According to article 14, the Emperor of Ethiopia had the right to take any measures to fight slavery and slave trading in his territory. Menelik II opposed slavery and this article was an assurance that slavery would not be practiced in Ethiopian regions. Article 15 validated the treaty in all territories of Ethiopia. Article 16 set rules and restrictions regarding future changes to the treaty. It stated that it could be amended after five years with a year notice before any change and articles regarding boundaries might not be amended. Article 17 was written differently in the Ethiopian and Italian versions of the treaty as addressed in details below. Article 18 stated that the Emperor of Ethiopia would give preference to Italian nationals if he had to choose whether to offer a privilege to a third state or to Italy. Article 19 said that the treaty would be written in both languages and both versions would present the same information. Article 20 stated that this treaty shall be approved.[7]
Disputes
The misunderstanding, according to the Italians, was due to the mistranslation of a
Notes
- ^ "Text of Wuchale Treaty | 1889 Ethio-Italian Treaty". Horn Affairs. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ProQuest 198708282.
- ^ "Treaty of Wichale | Italy-Ethiopia [1889]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- )
- S2CID 147220726.
- ISBN 978-0-674-06279-5
- ^ a b "Text of Wuchale Treaty | 1889 Ethio-Italian Treaty". Horn Affairs. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Languages of Diplomacy: Towards a Fairer Distribution". The Economist. 2 April 2013.
- ^ "Q9. What is the Wichale Sememenet? Did Menelik sell or lose Eritrea, as they say? or did Menelik save Ethiopia because [sic] of it?". www.ethiopians.com. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ Discussions include Chris Prouty, Empress Taytu and Menilek II (Trenton, NJ: The Red Sea Press, 1986), pp. 70–99; Marcus G. Harold, The Life and Times of Menelik II: Ethiopia 1844–1913 (Trenton: The Red Sea Press, 1995), pp. 111–134; and Hatem Elliesie, Amharisch als diplomatische Sprache im Völkervertragsrecht, Aethiopica (International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies), 11, (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2008), pp. 235–244.
- ^ JSTOR 179872.
- ISSN 1469-5138.
- ^ "Gale-Institution Finder". galeapps.gale.com. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
Further reading
- Sven Rubenson, "Chapter V: Trials of Strength with Egypt and Italy" in The Survival of Ethiopian Independence (Hollywood: Tsehai, 2003).
- Carlo Giglio, "Article 17 of the Treaty of Uccialli" in Journal of African History VI, 2 (1965) pp. 221–235.
- Paulos Milkias, Getachew Metaferia: The Battle of Adwa: Reflections on Ethiopia's Historic Victory Against European Colonialism, Algora 2005, ISBN 0-87586-415-5.