 Italy took part in the scramble for Africa (the European conquest and colonization of Africa that started in the late 19th century).Between 1881 and 1905 Italy colonized parts of the Horn of Africa, forming the colonies of Eritrea and Italian Somalia, but the conquest of Ethiopia was stopped at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.Italian warships and infantry took part in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900).