African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 390: Chapter 67: Progress in Italy

While discussing the war against the Boers in East Africa, the Italians took the lead and completed the first stage of their invasion of the Abyssinian Empire. The Italian expeditionary force, led by Samuel, captured the key eastern city of Desse in the Abyssinian Empire.

The Italian Kingdom’s flag fluttered over Desse City, causing a new wave of turmoil in the Abyssinian Empire, with the princes and ministers in the Abyssinian Empire’s capital attacking each other.

Shawa Kingdom: ”It’s because of the Central Government’s foolishness that Europe’s white-skinned people invaded the empire’s territory, and they must be held responsible for this national disgrace.”

Tigray Monarch and Ministers: ”Bastards, it’s clearly your constant opposition and lip service to the Central Government’s decisions that gave the enemy an opportunity to exploit, which cannot be separated from the fall of Desse.”

The main feudal kingdoms in Abyssinia are the northern Tigray and southern Shawa, with important provinces like Gogjam, Wollo, and Ximian also being completely independent.

Theodore II later unified these regions, recentralizing the Abyssinian Empire, but his reign was short-lived as he was eliminated by the British.

The aforementioned areas resumed their secessionist tendencies, with Prince Casa of Tigray first ascending the throne and being crowned as John IV in the ancient city of Aksum.

However, the title of emperor John IV is currently quite superficial as he rose to power by backstabbing Theodore II and currying favor with the British. Despite being a descendant of King Solomon’s dynasty, he cannot win over the people.

Moreover, he has made enemies everywhere, with numerous domestic and foreign forces contending against him, including the southern opposing forces led by the Shawa Kingdom. Concurrently, he often clashed with Egypt.

In reality, John IV is quite capable, especially in military matters. Historically, at this time, he was supposed to have already defeated the Shawa Kingdom and subdued various domestic forces.

However, the stirrer of East Africa caused history to change, as the British, before their departure, had supported John IV with a shipment of guns and ammunition.

But due to the East African Kingdom supplying weapons to various factions within the Abyssinian Empire, his weaponry advantage was offset.

Especially in the southern tribal areas, which now blatantly disobey the Central Government despite outwardly supporting it, but remain unmoved by any decree from the Central Government.

John IV’s main rival, the Shawa Kingdom, also rose again, opposing him at every turn.

When the Italian expeditionary force attacked Desse City, all forces within the Abyssinian Empire called for retaliation against Italy, yet none dispatched troops.

The only ones capable of supporting Desse City nearby were the northeastern warlords and the Shawa Kingdom, but they feared if they sent their troops forward, John IV might attack their strongholds from behind, so everyone chose to watch coldly.

The Italian Kingdom’s victory this time can be described as making full use of the advantageous timing, geographical position, and the Union of People. First, under the connection of the Rubatino Company, East Africa’s cheap rice directly entered Asab Port through the Red Sea.

Although rice does not quite suit the taste of Italian soldiers, its low price instantly provided surplus funds for the originally limited military budget.

Moreover, compared to flour, rice is easier to process and carry; each soldier could carry a bit, and even during rains, it would not turn into paste like flour.

With ample military provisions, Samuel immediately organized an attack on the Abyssinian Empire, which had been planned for a long time.

Based on his analysis of the Abyssinian Empire’s intelligence, Samuel concluded that if the Italian Kingdom wanted to capture the Abyssinian Empire at the lowest cost, it should avoid confronting the empire directly, minimize disturbances in the economic center to the north, and instead focus on southeastern Ethiopia.

Desse was precisely the node in Samuel’s plan marking the north-south dividing line for Italy’s assault on the Abyssinian Empire, and the entire region from Desse southward to Addis Ababa was the most vulnerable point in the entire empire.

Moreover, Desse is situated in the valley east of the Ethiopian Plateau, where the topographical constraints make it a strategic passage from northeastern Ethiopia to the south.

Controlling Desse would allow a small force to block the Ethiopian main forces in the north, which is crucial for Samuel with his limited troops.

Whether they could hold Desse after capturing it, Samuel believed it should be feasible as the Abyssinian Empire was still in the throes of division, and the Egyptians were tying down the attention of northern Abyssinian warlords, so Abyssinia inevitably could not concentrate its power on attacking his forces.

Simultaneously, Samuel’s plan incorporated an important factor, which is the issue of ethnic distribution within the Abyssinian Empire, which can be roughly divided into three parts: the Eastern Orthodox area to the north, the Islamic area to the east, and finally the southern tribal area adjoining East Africa’s Turkana province.

Samuel’s main targeted area was the Islamic area, which has long been at odds with the Eastern Orthodox area, with Abyssinia’s history marked by constant confrontations with the Arabs; during times of strength, they controlled the Red Sea coastline, even reaching into the Arabian Peninsula, while in weaker times, they were pushed back to the plateau by the Arabs. Now, it’s a period of weakness for the Abyssinian Empire.

As for the southern tribal area, it has always been a vassal of the Abyssinian Empire, equivalent to savages. After East Africa cleared out indigenous Black power in the Ethiopian Plateau’s south, the southern tribes, without new blood infusion, were greatly weakened. This area of Blacks has always been a major source of slaves for the Abyssinian Empire.

With the loss of plentiful slaves, the southern tribes lost a crucial economic source, further diminishing their voice within the empire. However, East Africa’s arms dealings supported the southern tribes, making no one dare to underestimate them.

Compared to northern forces, the southern tribes’ biggest disadvantage is their dispersion and lack of a unified core, making them less interested in participating in imperial affairs.

Samuel’s plan to first seize Abyssinia’s southeastern region was relatively conservative, as this area had never been a focus of the Abyssinian Empire, which had always actively expanded toward the north and northeast.

The north faced Egypt and the northeast the Red Sea. Abyssinia’s ties with Egypt dated back to the Nubian Empire. During the Eastern Roman Empire, Abyssinia’s predecessor, the Aksum Empire, connected with Egypt and Nubia, while Eastern Orthodox Christianity flowed into Abyssinia, becoming its mainstream religious faith. In this sense, Ethiopia in its past life could be considered one of the Roman Empire’s successors, if not for its ancient history and culture. Unlike the Slavic people and Western Europe, Turkey lacked confidence and could contend for the title of ”Hei Luo.”

The Red Sea coast has always been the focus of Abyssinian Empire’s ambitions. Every time the Abyssinian Empire gained strength, it attempted to reclaim the Red Sea from the Arabs since only with control over the Red Sea could the Abyssinian Empire become the regional overlord, continuing its never-ending rivalry with the Arabs.

The area Samuel sought to capture hadn’t been a core region of the Abyssinian Empire before Menelik II relocated the capital to Addis Ababa. It was sparsely populated with ample arable land, meeting the kingdom’s needs for settling immigrants.