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TH$ BATTLE OJ lt;?I)OWA.|t We 3, In More Than One Sonas. an Italian Waterloo.Xndire« ;Iy It May Affect Every Corner of Eur:*|»«* _ Precarious Condition of hiiiK Humbert —Had IchU lMpcfor a K*-volution.[Written for This Paper 1 The recent reverses of the Italian erm.v in Abyssinia have completely chang'd the tone of European politics.At the beginning of the year the Monroe doctrine was discussed in every capital; a week or two later the South African episode engaged the attention of the diplomatic world, und low Italy forms t he center of attraction.The colonial craze, which seems to have every power in its grasp—with the single exception of Austria-}Inn- f;, gory—is responsible for this latest slaughter of thousands of Italian sol-planned a rnn'paign against the Ital-inns, which terminated in the utter destruction of 540 Italian troops near Dogali, in January, lsST. Thereupon Italy declared war against Abyssinia, in spite of the protests of the governments of France, Greece and Turkey against the occupation of Massowah. which, by the way. is the only available; seaport in A'j\ssiaia. In August, Italy annexed /.alia, and in June, lSbf, took possession of Keren. In the meantime, however. King John, who had been lighting the Dervishes, had been mortally wounded, and M*nv!ek cf Shoa had been crowned negus. On.*ii''in»eri2'J.1SS9. the Italian jpiTCcrz-inent made a treaty with Menclek by which Abyssinia was placed under the “protection** of Italy.Hut notu ithstanding this treaty, and a still more binding one signed in 1S0O, the Abyssinians kept up a guerilla war-re on the Italian army of .occupation, which then consisted of fully 30/lut) men. No one will ever know how many lives Italy sacrificed between 1S90 and 1SM to maintain its precarious hold on the coveted African colony, but since the beginning of last Year's hostilitiesKI.NO tSoMBCUT OF ITALY.^\-*r€!^ses£rfliers and the loss of vast stores of ammunition and provisions; and should the government at Home conclude t» proscci to its warfare against the African kingdom it is more than probabl.; that it will lend to the downfall of tlia house of Savoy und the bankruptcy of united Italy.The Abyssinians, like most mixed races,are fierce fighters. Their history, which goes back to the beginningof the Christian era, is a succession of struggles for mastery and independence. The Copts, who are the ruling race oi* the coi ntry, ore descendants of thebetween Men* lek's forces and the Italian troops and the present time almost 10.000 of the latter have been killed iubattles and skirmishes.The Abyssinian army consists of 200,-000 lighting men, one-fourth of whom arc equipped with modern rilles. Its cLvalrv service is weak, but its artillery is said to be superior to that of many European powers. As the country is hilly and sandy, and the temjicraturo extremely hot. Uie. invadersare at udisadvantage from every point of view. Add to this that the Mohammedan warriors of Abyssinia, who have never before fought for t ie crown, have been exhorted by the kaldifa of Khartoum towage a holy warngainst the Christ ian iuvauers, aiul it will be seen that Italy's chances for a successful campaign are very small.(ion. l’aratieri, who commanded the Italian troops in Africa, and whose terrible defeat at Adowa has caused consternation throughout the civilized world, was considered one of the ablest commanders in tic United Kingdom. Early in the Abyssinian way he won a decided victory near Antola, but later lost 900 native troops and many Italian officers. His reverses were due not soncient Egyptians, tlicir blood being much to a lack of generalship as to inn-mingled with that of Greeks, Arabs and Nubians. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Homans thousands oi Jews—now known as Falashas—emi-•Jity of the home government to supply the army of occupation with new men, money and mules. In February the Italian wuroffice concluded to recallgrated to Abyssinia and amassed grea:; Gen. Baratieri and appointed Gen. Bal-wealth and power, retaining throng 1 the centuries the warlike spirit which made Palestine a dreaded power in the clays of the Hebrew kings. During the fiftV'tnd sixth centuries the Abyssinian* conquered many tribes and established colonies in Arabia, but the great advance of Mohammedanism cut the Copts off from connection with other Christian nations, and their influence became nil. Bu:, in spite of nttiicks from within and without, the Abyssin-ians remained faithful to Christianity, which had been made the nutional religion about 350.Originally Abyssinia was divided into the three kingdoms of Tigre, Amliara and bhoa, but modern geographers have never re ;©gaizcd the division. In the lGth century the Mohammedans attempted to destroy the kingdom, but the Portuguese, then a great power, defeated the invaders and converted the royal family to Catholicism. The Jesuits did not succeed, however, in converting the populace, and in 1G33 the nation on such, severed all connection with Rome. At the beginning of the present century' the power of the royal family hrd declined to such an extent that the country was divided into innumerable little principalities.governed by chiefs who paid little attention to the edicts of the crown. In 1S50 Lij ^governor of the province of revolted and dethroned Has Ali, •th#- temporary ruler, and in 1855 himself “negus negussie,’' king of kings, under the title of Theodore 1. His successes turned his head. He became a cruel tyrant, recognized no law but hh will, and went so far as to insult the British government by imprisoning her majesty's consuls and citizen!; jTo demand satisfaction. Great Britain, in 1867, sent an armed expedi-lissera in his place. The latter sailed for Abyssinia late in February, but did not arrive at Massowah in time to preventGEX. BAKATIKKI.IS ECUSABYSSIXIA.tpatfcUK iitfon with about 12,000 troops to Abys-tinbL After a short campaign the invaders captured every fortress in Theodore's dominions, and iu April, 3868, the cowardly usurper killed himself. After the withdrawal of the British army anarchy prevailed, but after a auccendon of re volition a Prince Kassa Ttfre managed to have himself etOWned as Emperor John 1. of Ethiopia, January 12, 1872. A war with tras the first event of importance i»Kin, John’s rule. On October 16,18! the khedi ve’s troops were defeatedA by sain ians, and in June, 1877, king of Shoo, was subdued. After a few years of quiet, during ’’■hfcl many reforms were introduced •* fiii administration of domestic af-Ita^ians appeared before Mas-ad on February 6, 1S85, hoist-Humbert’s flag over its fort-assumed control over the od-Itory- This occurred while were fighting the Mah-otber Mohammedan enemies, mcee against the invasion me avail, the Abyssiniansthe slaughter at Adowa, in the course of which 5,006 Italian soldiers and an unknown number of friendly natives were killed and most of the Italian artillery, ammunition and transport wagons captured by the victorious Abyssinians. It is supposed that Bara-tieri was anxious to make a grand stand play before retiring from Africa, but his plans were so deficient that the enemy had no difficulty in destroying the Italian forces, which were divided in three parts in such a way that they were easily attacked from the rear as well as the front. Gen. Ilaratieri himself left the field while the troops under his command were fighting, and for this violation of the mi.itary code will, no doubt, be court-martialed.The impression prevailing in diplomatic circles tliati the Adowa disagter will lead to a readjustment of European treaties is probably well founded. Italy is virtually bankrupt, and should the government carry oat its present intention of prosecuting the war in Abyssinia the country could not maintain its connection with the triple alliance without subsidies from Germany and Aus-trin. Neither of these countries is financially strong enough to lend such support to the tottering Italian power, and consequently the famous “Dreibund” must dissolve itself.The Italian people, taxed for everything beyond the comprehension of American citizens, seem both unable und unwilling to assume new burdens. The democrats and radicals have always opposed the occupation of Abyssinia; and now that Crispi, the autocratic premier of the kingdom, has or* rived at the end of his rope, these elements will coalesce and attempt to prevent further expenditure and bloodshed. King Humbert, however, is compelled, by the force of circumstances, to continue the campaign against Men* elek, and thousands of fresh troopg have already been dispatched to Massowah. Should the god of war be favorable to Gen. Baldissera, the new commander in chief, the mercurial Italians will forgive and forget the defeat of Adowa. If not, Italy will establish a republican form of government and abandon Abyssinia.One lesson which the American people can learn from the present crisis isthat the colonizing and annexation fever is not only a source of danger, but a menace to the stability of home government. With the one exception of Great Britain no nation has ever profited by the conquest of foreign territory, and even the purchase of colonics baa frequently proved a serious loss.G. W. Weipplert. “Marion Harland”f.is the assumed of M. Virginia Terhune.PItiua:tlub.isu*TtlstP*K.]titc
Newspaper Details
Lafayette Advertiser
Lafayette, Louisiana, US
Sat, May 02, 1896
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Mikael B.
GB 04 Mar 2021
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