Menelik II: History Focused On Items Mentioned On The Proclamations Of 1909.

Abstract

Menelik was central to the unity of Ethiopia. Menelik unified Ethiopia by removing despotic and corrupt rulers of different southern regions and placed them under central governance from Addis Abeba. He applied the “never again policy†to remove starvation from his subjects during droughts. He entered rational treaties with colonials that surrounded Ethiopia. Ethiopia has a written language, and when he discovered that the colonials had added phrases in the language of a signed Treaty he opposed the offending article, and when a colonial sent an invading army to enforce its will, Menelik II used a united Ethiopian force to defeat it. A case in point would be the 1896 battle of Adwa against an invading European power. The world recognized the freedom of Ethiopia since the 1896 Adwa victory, and the ensuing October 23, 1986 Addis Abeba Treaty. It became a symbol and hope for non-white people across the world. On the other hand, it also served as an affront to white supremacists that wrote strategies and even conquered Ethiopia, and to this day, their strategies continue to destabilize Ethiopia. This paper will focus on the various struggles Ethiopians went through to retain an independent Ethiopia that continues to be an example for Africa.