Wuchale (
Amharic
Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...
: ውጫሌ), also spelled Uccialli, is a town in northern
Ethiopia. Located about 40 km north of
Dessie in the
Debub Wollo Zone
South Wollo (Amharic: ደቡብ ወሎ) is a zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It acquired its name from the former province of Wollo. South Wollo is bordered on the south by North Shewa and the Oromia Region, on the west by East Gojjam, ...
of the
Amhara Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 1711 m. It is the largest settlement in
Ambassel woreda and is located along
Ethiopian Highway 2.
History
In 1889, when it was a fief of Queen
Taytu
Taytu Betul ( am, ጣይቱ ብጡል; baptised as Wälättä Mikael; 1851 – 11 February 1918) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913 and the third wife of Emperor Menelik II. An influential figure in anti-colonial resistance during the l ...
,
Italian ambassador Count
Pietro Antonelli
Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
People
* Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice
* Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death
* Pietro II Can ...
met with Emperor
Menelik II at Wuchale shortly after the death in battle of Emperor
Yohannes IV. The two countries came to an agreement known as the
Treaty of Wuchale, which was signed on 2 May. In this treaty, emperor Menelik recognized Italy's occupation of Eritrea and agreed (at least in the Italian version) Italian trusteeship over the Abyssinian empire under Menelik.
Writing a few years later,
Augustus B. Wylde
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
described the Wuchale market, held on Mondays, as a small one.
The
Tigrayan People's Liberation Front and
Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement reported that they had killed 703 government troops and captured 168 in fighting at Wuchale on 29–30 January 1990. However, the
Derg
The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...
announced on 2 February that their troops had retaken the town.
Demographics
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency
The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth ...
in 2005, Wuchale has an estimated total population of 6,811 of whom 3,326 are men and 3,485 are women.
CSA 2005 National Statistics
Table B.4 The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 3,934 of whom 1,750 were men and 2,184 were women.
Notes
{{reflist
Populated places in the Amhara Region