Pāhonoa te oro

"In 1886, the Kingdom of Italy looked to East Africa. They found a rising empire under Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. In 1889, the two signed the Treaty of Wuchale. But there were two versions. The Italian text claimed Ethiopia as a protectorate — a colony. The Amharic version said no such thing. Empress Tayitu Betul saw the deception first. Her words to the Italian envoys were simple: 'A country cannot be colonized by a piece of paper.'"