ETHIOPIA (Western Colonialism)

Ethiopia is a country in eastern Africa, in the region known as the Horn of Africa; it was historically sometimes known as Abyssinia. Almost as large as Texas and California combined, the country consists of a large highland region surrounded by lowland deserts. Historically this geography isolated Ethiopia from its neighbors and from Europe, though external trade did take place. Geography was also a factor in Ethiopia remaining as one of only two African countries (the other was Liberia) that were never formally colonized by European powers.

Ethiopia is one of the likely origin places of humans and their near relatives, and anthropologists have found fossil hominids dating from about four million years ago there. Ethiopia is often thought to be the historical home of the Queen of Sheba and the biblical land of Punt, an important trading partner of ancient Egypt. The sophisticated Axum (Aksum) civilization developed in Ethiopia during the first century c.e., forming an empire that traded with India, Arabia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean world. This civilization was Christianized around 300 c.e. (or even earlier, according to some scholars); the Bible was translated into the local language of Geez, and churches and monasteries were built. Even today Ethiopiais a predominantly Christian country with over half the population belonging to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

The Axum empire declined around 1000 c.e. with the rise of Islam and Arab expansion. Medieval Ethiopia flourished but was isolated from the rest of Christianity. European legends of Prester John, a mythical ruler of a vast Christian empire thought to lie in Africa, stimulated European interest in the 1500s. Portugal established close relations with Ethiopia, even assisting it in its wars against Islamic invaders. After a period of instability, Ethiopia was largely unified after 1855 as a single state under the rule of Emperor Tewodros II (1818-1868). During his reign the country came into conflict with the British, who were beginning colonial expansion into East Africa.

After the power struggle following the death of Tewodros, Johannes IV (1831-1889) became emperor in 1871 and immediately found himself immersed in the colonial rivalry between British, French, Italian, and Turkish interests in the Horn of Africa. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 had made Ethiopia and the Red Sea strategically important, and European powers were keen on acquiring territory in the region.

After the death of Yohannes in 1889, Menelik II (1844-1913) was crowned emperor. His policy of unification, modernization, and expansion increased the territorial size of Ethiopia and brought it technological advancement. Menelik founded a new capital at Addis Ababa and introduced such innovations as electricity, telephones, railroads, and a modern military armed with European weapons. In a dispute with Italy over claims to the Red Sea coast, he granted Italy control of Eritrea in return for Italian recognition of Ethiopia’s sovereignty. The Treaty of Wichale, signed in 1889, was in both the Italian and Amharic languages, and differences in these texts led to conflict between the two signatories: Italy interpreted the treaty as giving it protectorate status over Ethiopia, while Menelik did not. The Italians used their interpretation of the treaty to justify expansion intoEthiopian territory, precipitating the Battle of Adwa, fought between the Italians and Ethiopians in 1896. Italy was resoundingly defeated in the battle, an event significant in the history of African colonialism in that it was a clear victory of Africans over European colonial forces.

Menelik’s grandson succeeded him as ruler but was soon deposed by the Ethiopian nobility, who substituted Menelik’s daughter as empress. During this period the nobleman Ras Tafari Mekonen (1892-1975) became prince regent and the effective ruler of the country, securing its entry as a member of the League of Nations in 1923. When the empress died in 1930 Ras Tafari (whose name is the origin of the Rastafarian movement) became emperor, taking the name Haile Selassie I. Haile Selassie continued Ethiopia’s modernization, attempted to form international alliances, and resisted European colonial expansion, despite British and Italian attempts to increase their neighboring colonial territories.

Italy, under its fascist ruler Benito Mussolini (18831945), again attempted to enlarge its African colonial empire with a second assault against Ethiopia. Mussolini also wanted to avenge Italy’s humiliating loss to Ethiopia in 1896. The Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1935; other European powers failed to intervene, despite their obligations under the League of Nations, which called for sanctions to be applied against aggressor states.

Ethiopian Fighters. A group of Ethiopian fighters assembles during the 1935 Italian invasion of the African kingdom.

The British and French were willing to appease Mussolini and refused to provide any real support for the emperor. Haile Selassie’s departure from Ethiopia and his personal appeal to the League of Nations in 1936 was ineffective, and the Italians occupied Ethiopia, fusing it with their Somali and Eritrean territories to form the colony of Italian East Africa. Ethiopian popular resistance to Italian occupation was brutally suppressed; the Italians bombed hospitals and ambulances, used biological weapons, and massacred civilians.

With the beginning of World War II in 1939, Ethiopia sought help from the British and other allies against the Italians. Italy declared war against Britain in 1940, and together British and Ethiopian forces were able to defeat the Italian military in East Africa, allowing the emperor to return in 1941. After the war Ethiopia retained its independence, though the British remained influential in Ethiopian affairs until 1955, whenEthiopia sought greater contacts with the United States. In the 1960s Haile Selassie’s government became increasingly corrupt and ineffectual, failing to respond effectively to famines and popular discontent. In 1974 a socialist revolution overthrew the emperor and installed a repressive Marxist regime governed by a council called the Derg. The Derg was itself defeated in 1991 by a popular front, and Ethiopia became a democracy. Eritrea was separated from Ethiopia and became an independent country in 1991, but border disputes and occasional warfare continue between the two countries. Agitation by other ethnic groups against central government domination and conflicts with neighboring countries continue to plague modern Ethiopia. Today one of the world’s poorest countries, Ethiopia is important as a symbol of the African anticolonial struggle.

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