Ethiopia: Then and Now

September 12th is remembered in Ethiopia as the date upon which Emperor Hailie Selassie was deposed after 44 years of rule. Although a controversial figure in Ethiopian history, Selassie is but one of many colorful and controversial figures in the east African nation's long and eclectic past. This paper seeks to explore that past as well as the events of recent decades which have so marred Ethiopia's image and so befuddled its prospects for the future.

And So It Begins

Ethiopia, as a geographic entity, can be traced as far back as the 10^th century BC. Its earliest inhabitants were likely a Cushitic-speaking people, heavily influenced by Egyptian trade. Its foundation is typically ascribed to Etiopik, great-grandson of Moses from the Old Testament.[1]

Ethiopia established a dynasty in Egypt c. 720 BC, and founded its largest kingdom, Aksum, around 500 BC.[2] Aksum was one of the most influential kingdoms in sub-Saharan Africa for more than a millennium. It is perhaps best known for its acceptance of Coptic Christianity around the 4^th century AD during the reign of King Ezana. Aksum likewise saw the infusion of Judaism around the 6^th century and the incursion of Islam during the 7^th century.[3]

It was at this point, however, during the 7^th century, that Aksum began to decline and that Ethiopia began to withdraw from the world stage. This was partly due to religious conflict in the region, but also because diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and the Byzantine Empire had soured substantially over the previous century. Ethiopia likewise lost control of its Red Sea trading routes during his period, resulting in even further geopolitical isolation.[4]

Muslim Expansion

Muslim expansion beyond the Middle East into upper and eastern Africa - particularly along the Red Sea coast - began in earnest during the 12^th century. For a time, Ethiopia managed to garner a measure of control over these newly-Islamic regions. It even managed to force vassalage from the highly trade-lucrative Red Sea kingdoms until the 14^th century.[5] However, this brief would-be "golden age" came to an end in Ethiopia with the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the 15^th century and the arrival of the Mameluke Turks.

As the Mamelukes swept into North Africa in the 1530s, subduing everyone and everything in their wake to the "glory of Islam," the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia came under immense threat; it would have succumbed outright to this Muslim "manifest destiny" if not for the intervention of the Portuguese. Then-Ethiopian Emperor Lebna Dengel - as one Christian monarch to another - "had requested military assistance from the king of Portugal" shortly before his death.[6] Fourteen years of war followed, during which time Ethiopian fortunes reversed again and again.

In the end, although the Ottoman Empire was unable to gain effective control of the region, the Ethiopian army and its Portuguese allies were decimated by such a protracted war. Ethiopia also lost control of Massawa - a major city in what later became the Islamist state of Eritrea - at war's end.[7]

Ethiopia became geopolitically isolated once more after this point. It would not come to the historical fore again until the 19^th century.

Reunification and Italian Interference

The reemergence and reunification of Ethiopia began in the 19^th century with the conquests of Tewodros II, formerly Kasa Hayla. Having conquered Amhara, Gojjam, Tigray, and Shoa by the 1850s, Tewodros' chief goal of governance was to centralize executive authority in Ethiopia, particularly as it related to removing imperial obstacles to his rule, i.e. the British.[8] After several major skirmishes with British military forces, largely over Tewodros' mistreatment and imprisonment of British nationals, he committed suicide.

Tewodros was succeeded in 1872 by a chieftain named Tigray. Tigray, who later changed his name to Yohannes IV upon his coronation, continued his predecessor's efforts to centralize executive power. He, however, had not only the British to contend with - especially after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 - but also the Egyptians and the Mahdi armies of the Sudan.[9] He died in battle against the Mahdists in 1889.

Yohannes was succeeded by a Shoa king - with substantial support and finagling by the Italian government - who would be crowned Menelik II. Menelik's backers in Italy expected and achieved a treaty of friendship with Ethiopia in 1889, much to the chagrin of the British and French who had a strategic interest in the region. The Italians turned out to be fair-weather friends, however, declaring war on Ethiopia only eight years later. They were defeated by Menelik's army in 1896 and forced to recognize the independence of Ethiopia, with Addis Ababa as its capital.[10]

From Menelik to Mussolini

When Menelik died in 1913, his grandson Lij Iyasu nearly brought Ethiopia to the brink of sociopolitical collapse: first by showing legal favoritism to Muslims within his dominion, then by supporting the Central Powers during World War I. He was deposed only three years into his reign and replaced by Zawditu, one of Menlik's daughters, with Ras Tafari Makonnen as her regent.[11]

Zawditu had only reigned for fifteen years when her health began to fade. Then in her fifties, she granted Ras Tafari greater power to rule in her name, and upon her death in 1930 Ras Tafari succeeded her. He became Emperor Hailie Selassie I and would dominate Ethiopian affairs for the next 44 years.[12]

In the fourth year of his reign, however, Selassie was faced with invasion by the Italians under Benito Mussolini. Mussolini sought to annex Ethiopia during the onset of World War II - both for its lucrative diamond trade and as recompense for Italy's defeat at the hands of Menelik in 1897. Mussolini achieved this goal by 1936, despite outcry and meager sanctions imposed by the League of Nations. He successfully combined Ethiopia with Eritrea and the Italian Somaliland to form Italian East Africa. [13]

Selassie fled the region until war's end. He would not sit upon the Ethiopian throne again until 1941, and only then with the aid of British and South African liberation forces.

The Enduring Sadness

Following World War II, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. Despite this and a hefty amount of US foreign aid, Ethiopia remained - and remains - economically underdeveloped in the post-war era. An ill-advised war Selassie orchestrated against Eritrea in 1962 only made matters worse. "Although [he] was seen as a national hero" after the war, "opinion turned against him as nobility and the church filled their pockets while millions of landless peasants went hungry. In 1974, as students, workers, peasants and the army rose against him, Selassie was deposed and a military dictatorship took over."[14]

In the years following the coup a new socialist government in Ethiopia, under the leadership of Colonel Mengitsu Hailie Mariam, systematically targeted labor unions and political dissidents in an effort to cement its power. Americans were expelled from the country and relations with the Soviet Union were strengthened.[15] Mengistu's socialist agenda unraveled quickly, however, as Ethiopia faced escalating conflict with Eritrea and invasion by Somalia.

Terrorism, guerilla violence, and famine became widespread over the next two decades. Mengitsu ultimately fled the country in 1991 to avoid legal action; he would be tried and convicted in absentia of genocide in 2006.

Mengitsu's regime was replaced by Meles Zenawi and his Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Their efforts culminated in the ratification of a new Ethiopian constitution in 1994, and Zenawi has served as the nation's prime minister since 1995.

This is not to suggest that Ethiopia is any better off with Zenawi than it was with Mengitsu. Quite the contrary, Zenawi is considered one of the world's leading dictators. Aside from vote rigging within the Ethiopian parliament and the violent suppression of public demonstrations against him, Zenawi also "subjected his people to an unnecessary border war with Eritrea that caused thousands of deaths. He agreed to international arbitration to settle the border, but when the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission ruled against him, Meles refused to abide by the decision and kept for Ethiopia land that belonged to Eritrea."[16]

A Glimmer of Hope?

"Ethiopia is one of Africa's poorest states. Almost two-thirds of its people are illiterate. The economy revolves around agriculture, which in turn relies on rainfall." [17] Unfortunately Ethiopia has been beset by drought and ever-increasing desertification for some time now. UNICEF predicts a rapidly escalating child mortality rate in spite of international aide and newfound sociopolitical ties with the EU, the UK in particular.[18]

In spite of all this, Ethiopia may have one saving grace: it is the largest producer of coffee in Africa. The Ethiopian government recently brokered a marketing deal with the Starbucks Corporation to sell its myriad coffee varieties worldwide. [19] The hope is to raise the demand for Ethiopia's cash crop, drive up the international trade value of coffee itself, and pass the profits on to Ethiopia's struggling agrarian sector. Thus far, though, the deal has only proven lucrative for Starbucks and its international backers; only 10% of the overall profits are actually making it back to Ethiopia.[20]

Ethiopia's future may be likened unto its past: tumultuous, unpredictable, and ultimately at the mercy of forces largely outside of its control.

[1] "The Land and Its People." Imperial Ethiopia. http://www.imperialethiopia.org/history1.htm 2000.

[2] Ibid

[3] "Ethiopia - History." AfricaNet.com. http://www.tanzaniaodyssey.com/www.africanet.com/africanet/country/ethiopia/history.htm 1998.

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid

[6] "Imam Ahmad Ibn Ibrahim al Ghazi." Ethiopian History. http://www.ethiopianhistory.com/Imam_Ahmad_ibn_Ibrahim_al_Ghazi 2007.

[7] Ibid

[8] "The Modern Era." Imperial Ethiopia. http://www.imperialethiopia.org/history2.htm 2000.

[9] "Ethiopia - History." AfricaNet.com. http://www.tanzaniaodyssey.com/www.africanet.com/africanet/country/ethiopia/history.htm 1998.

[10] "The End of Colonialism." Imperial Ethiopia. http://www.imperialethiopia.org/history3.htm 2000.

[11] "Ethiopia - History." AfricaNet.com. http://www.tanzaniaodyssey.com/www.africanet.com/africanet/country/ethiopia/history.htm 1998.

[12] "Hailie Selassie laid to rest." BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1007736.stm 5 November, 2000.

[13] "Ethiopia in World War II." Country Studies. http://countrystudies.us/ethiopia/20.htm 1991.

[14] "Modern History." Ethiopia - History. Lonely Planet. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/ethiopia/history 2008.

[15] Ibid

[16] "Who is the World's Worst Dictator?" Parade Magazine. http://www.parade.com/articles/web_exclusives/2007/02-11-2007/dictators17.html 11 February, 2007.

[17] "Country Profile: Ethiopia." BBC Country Profiles. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1072164.stm 3 June, 2008.

[18] "Ethiopia: Child survival gains threatened by malnutrition." UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_44004.html 2005.

[19] "Starbucks Agrees to Honor its Commitments to Ethiopian Coffee Farmers." Oxfam America. http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/campaigns/coffee/starbucks/ 2008.

[20] Ibid