Ethiopian Empire · 1889-1896

Adwa 1896: Ethiopia defeats Italy

On 1 March 1896 the army of Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu crushed an Italian invasion at Adwa. Students find out how a mistranslated treaty led to war and why the victory became a symbol for Africans everywhere.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1914
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

On 1 March 1896 the army of Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu crushed an Italian invasion at Adwa. Students find out how a mistranslated treaty led to war and why the victory became a symbol for Africans everywhere.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Addis Ababa, Adwa and the Italian colony of Eritrea.
  • Explain how the Treaty of Wuchale led to war between Ethiopia and Italy.
  • Explain why Adwa became a symbol of African independence.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1914

Surrounded

Open the map in 1914 and find Abyssinia, the old European name for Ethiopia. Which European colonies lie between it and the sea?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1896

The battlefield

Move to 1896 and zoom to the mountains around Adwa in northern Ethiopia, near the old city of Aksum. Why is mountain country hard for an invading army?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1914

Africa in 1914

Move to 1914 and zoom out over all of Africa. Find the countries that are not ruled by a European power. Which are they?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The Treaty of Wuchale said different things in Amharic and in Italian. How can a translation start a war?
  2. Menelik bought modern rifles and artillery in the years before 1896. Why was preparing in advance so important?
  3. Empress Taytu led her own troops and urged Menelik to resist Italy. What part did she play in the victory?
  4. Adwa became a symbol for Africans and people of African descent all over the world. Why?
  5. Italy invaded Ethiopia again in 1935. Does that change the meaning of Adwa? Why or why not?
4

Game round

10 min

No ruler of 1896 is in Rule History. Play one round as Abraham Lincoln, the closest ruler in time, then compare with Menelik II: Menelik gathered a huge army, waited in the mountains and let the invaders come to him. What made his choices work?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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