The History of Ethiopia

249 Pages·2006·0.76 MB·English

by  Saheed A. Adejumobi

The History of Ethiopia
Saheed A. Adejumobi
Greenwood Press
THE
HISTORY OF
ETHIOPIA
ADVISORY BOARD
John T. Alexander
Professor of History and Russian and European Studies,
University of Kansas
Robert A. Divine
George W. Littlefield Professor in American History Emeritus,
University of Texas at Austin
John V. Lombardi
Professor of History,
University of Florida
THE
HISTORY OF
ETHIOPIA
Saheed A. Adejumobi
TheGreenwoodHistoriesoftheModernNations
FrankW.ThackerayandJohnE.Findling,SeriesEditors
GreenwoodPress
Westport,Connecticut(cid:127)London
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Adejumobi,SaheedA.
ThehistoryofEthiopia/SaheedA.Adejumobi.
p. cm.—(TheGreenwoodhistoriesofthemodernnations,ISSN1096–2905)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0–313–32273–2(alk.paper)
1. Ethiopia—History. 2. Ethiopia—Politicsandgovernment. I. Title.
DT381.A452007
963—dc22 2006027877
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright(cid:1)2007bySaheedA.Adejumobi
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2006027877
ISBN:0–313–32273–2
ISSN:1096–2905
Firstpublishedin2007
GreenwoodPress,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
www.greenwood.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational
InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Centralcoverimage:EthiopianOrthodoxChristianswearceremonialclothing
duringtheTimkatFestival.Behindthemisthe12thcenturyrock-hewnBetaGiorgis
Church.Lalibela,Ethiopia,ca.January2000.(cid:1)Earl&NazimaKowall/CORBIS
Dedicatedinaffectionategreetingtomyfather,
KazeemAdegbenroAdejumobi,
wholatelytranscendedandjoinedtheancestors.
OmoSobaloju,sunreo

Contents
SeriesForeword ix
PrefaceandAcknowledgments xi
TimelineofEthiopianHistory xv
1 Ethiopia:IntellectualandCulturalBackground 1
2 GlobalizationandModernizationtoLateNineteenth
Century 21
3 “Afromodern”Aspirations:PoliticalExpansionand
SocialReforminLocalandGlobalContexts,1884–1935 37
4 WorldWarIIandAftermath:ReconstructionandOther
Contradictions,1935–1960 67
5 ConservativesandLiberalReforms,1960–1974 97
6 “Afro-Marxism”:EngagingLocalandGlobal
OrthodoxiesandthePriceofRevolution,1974–1991 119
viii Contents
7 GlobalizationandOtherPostmodernConfigurations:
EthiopiaatHomeandAbroadSince1991 131
NotablePeopleintheHistoryofEthiopia 163
SelectedBibliography 191
Index 199
Series Foreword
TheGreenwoodHistoriesoftheModernNationsseriesisintendedtoprovidestu-
dentsandinterestedlaypeoplewithup-to-date,concise,andanalyticalhisto-
riesofmanyofthenationsofthecontemporaryworld.Notsincethe1960shas
therebeenasystematicattempttopublishaseriesofnationalhistories,and,
aseditors,webelievethatthisserieswillprovetobeavaluablecontribution
to our understanding of other countries in our increasingly interdependent
world.
Overthirtyyearsago,attheendofthe1960s,theColdWarwasanaccepted
realityofglobalpolitics,theprocessofdecolonizationwasstillinprogress,the
idea of a unified Europe with a single currency was unheard of, the United
States was mired in a war in Vietnam, and the economic boom of Asia was
stillyearsinthefuture.RichardNixonwaspresidentoftheUnitedStates,Mao
Tse-tung(notyetMaoZedong)ruledChina,LeonidBrezhnevguidedtheSo-
viet Union, and Harold Wilson was prime minister of the United Kingdom.
AuthoritariandictatorsstillruledmostofLatinAmerica,theMiddleEastwas
reeling in the wake of the Six-Day War, and Shah Reza Pahlavi was at the
heightofhispowerinIran.Clearly,thepast30yearshavebeenwitnesstoa
great deal of historical change, and it is tothis change thatthisseriesispri-
marilyaddressed.
Withthehelpofadistinguishedadvisoryboard,wehaveselectednations
whose political, economic, and social affairs mark them as among the most