Article 17 of the Treaty of Uccialli

By Article 17 of the Treaty of Uccialli, the Italian Government did not intend to establish a protectorate over Ethiopia, but only to preponderate among all the other Nations by obliging Menelik to use the Italian channel as portalettere (postman); even so, Antonelli was authorized to modify or even to suppress this article. When Antonelli discussed the matter with Menelik, the latter refused to accept an obligation; both negotiators agreed that the text of the Article should reflect only an option. This agreement was correctly transcribed in the Amharic text, but not in the Italian one. Antonelli, giving more weight to oral than to written understandings, left unchanged the original wording of the draft he had brought from Rome, i.e. consente (Menelik binds himself to use Italy as postman). Against the opinion of Antonelli, Crispi decided to take advantage of Article 17, using the opportunity created by the General Act of Berlin, 1885. In October 1889 he notified the Article to the signatories of the said Act, in spite of the fact that Ethiopia was not on the African coast and that Article 17 was not a formula on which a protectorate could be based. The acknowledgement of such a notification gave birth to the Italian protectorate. It was at this moment that the imbroglio was created, by Crispi and not by Antonelli.