ABSTRACT
By 1897 the partition of Somaliland was virtually complete; and though subsequent adjustments occurred, the frontiers of the new Somali territories had been defined, at least theoretically. Such gaps as remained in the division were later adjusted in subsequent colonial consolidation. The Italians, used conveniently as allies in the face of French opposition, were in a position to extend their claims inland from their colony of Eritrea. The effect of this with the added menace of the Mahdia in the Sudan was, like the earlier Egyptian invasions, to give a further impetus to Abyssinian unity. The Italian defeat at Adowa in 1896 completely destroyed the Italian claim to a protectorate over Abyssinia: the irksome treaty of Ucciali had served Menelik well. The Christian state of Ethiopia to which Menelik's genius had contributed so much, had become a sovereign power whose position and aspirations had to be taken seriously if European imperial interests were to prosper.
