Why did Italy try to colonize Ethiopia?

Italians of Ethiopia are the immigrants from Italy who moved to live in Ethiopia as far back as the 19th century, and their descendants. King Menelik II did not allow the sale of lands belonging to Ethiopia to Italians (Eritrea) and probably allowed France (Djibouti) to solidify his centralized power and have external trading partners. read more

Italy did colonise Ethiopia for a short period of time (1936–41). Italy started to try to colonize Ethiopia in the end of 19th century. However, they were met by strong resistance from the Ethiopian Empire army and defeated in the Battle of Adwa in 1896. read more