I | INTRODUCTION |
Ethiopia, republic in northeastern Africa, officially
the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. A rugged country of tall mountains
and arid deserts, Ethiopia has a diverse population, with more than 70 distinct
ethnic and linguistic groups.
Known as Abyssinia until the 20th century,
Ethiopia is the oldest independent nation in Africa. It was home to the powerful
Christian kingdom of Aksum that flourished from around the first century ad. After the 1500s Ethiopia divided
into a number of small kingdoms, which were reunified by Menelik II in the
1880s. Eritrea, which had been part of Ethiopia since the 1950s, broke away to
become an independent nation in 1993.
Ethiopia is bounded on the northeast by
Eritrea and Djibouti, on the east and southeast by Somalia, on the southwest by
Kenya, and on the west and northwest by Sudan. The country is divided into nine
regions, one for each of its main ethnic groups. Addis Ababa is Ethiopia’s
capital and largest city.
II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
Ethiopia covers an area of 1,133,380 sq km
(437,600 sq mi). The heart of the country is a high tableland, known as the
Ethiopian Plateau, that covers more than half the total area of the country. The
plateau is split diagonally in a northeastern to southwestern direction by the
Great Rift Valley. Although the average elevation of the plateau is about 1,680
m (about 5,500 ft), it is cut by many rivers and deep valleys, some of which are
600 m (2,000 ft) below the level of the plateau. The area is capped by
mountains, the highest of which is Ras Dashen (4,620 m/15,157 ft). These heights
and indentations occur in northern Ethiopia, in the region surrounding Lake
T’ana (the lake in which the Blue Nile rises). The northeastern edges of the
plateau are marked by steep escarpments, which drop some 1,200 m (about 4,000
ft) or more to the Denakil Desert. Along the western fringe the plateau descends
less abruptly to the desert of Sudan. Along the southern and southwestern
limits, the plateau lowers toward Lake Turkana (formerly called Lake
Rudolf).
A | Climate |
The climate of Ethiopia varies mainly
according to elevation. The tropical zone below approximately 1,800 m
(approximately 6,000 ft) has an average annual temperature of about 27°C (about
80°F) and receives less than about 500 mm (about 20 in) of rain annually. The
subtropical zone, which includes most of the highland plateau and is between
about 1,800 and 2,400 m (about 6,000 and 8,000 ft) in elevation, has an average
temperature of about 22°C (about 72°F) with an annual rainfall ranging from
about 500 to 1,500 mm (about 20 to 60 in). Above approximately 2,400 m
(approximately 8,000 ft) is a temperate zone with an average temperature of
about 16°C (about 61°F) and an annual rainfall between about 1,300 and 1,800 mm
(about 50 and 70 in). The principal rainy season occurs between mid-June and
September, followed by a dry season that may be interrupted in February or March
by a short rainy season.
B | Natural Resources |
The resources of Ethiopia are primarily
agricultural. The plateau area is fertile and largely undeveloped. The wide
range of soils, climate, and elevations permits the production of a diversified
range of agricultural commodities. A variety of mineral deposits exist; iron,
copper, petroleum, salt, potash, gold, and platinum are the principal ones that
have been commercially exploited.
C | Plants and Animals |
The great variations in elevation are
directly reflected in the kind of vegetation found in Ethiopia. The lower areas
of the tropical zone have sparse vegetation consisting of desert shrubs,
thornbushes, and coarse savanna grasses. In the valleys and ravines almost every
form of African vegetation grows profusely. The temperate zone is largely
covered with grassland. Afro-alpine vegetation is found on the highest
slopes.
The larger species of African wildlife are
native to most parts of the country. These include the giraffe, leopard,
hippopotamus, lion, elephant, antelope, and rhinoceros. The caracal, jackal,
hyena, and various species of monkey are common. Birds of prey include the
eagle, hawk, and vulture. Heron, parrot, and such game birds as the snipe,
partridge, teal, pigeon, and bustard are found in abundance.
D | Soils and Environmental Issues |
The highland of Ethiopia is made up of
folded and fractured crystalline rocks capped by sedimentary limestone and
sandstone and by thick layers of volcanic lava. Soil erosion is a major problem
in Ethiopia. Deforestation, overgrazing, and poor land management accelerated
the rate of erosion. Many farmers in Ethiopia’s highlands cultivate sloped or
hilly land, causing topsoil to wash away during the torrential rains of the
rainy season. The rains also leach the highland soils of much fertility,
particularly those soils overlying crystalline rocks. The volcanic soils of the
highland are less readily leached and therefore are more fertile. The presence
of mosquitoes carrying malaria has kept many farmers from developing parts of
Ethiopia’s potentially productive lowlands. Deforestation and desertification
are worsened by the widespread use of traditional fuels, such as firewood, which
represent 96 percent of total energy consumption (1997).
Ethiopia’s government began organizing
conservation efforts in rural areas during the 1970s, encouraging farmers to
combat erosion by building terraces and planting tree seedlings. The government
also closed some hilly areas to agricultural development. About 17 percent
(2007) of Ethiopia’s land is officially protected, although the country’s system
of national parks and reserves suffers from poaching and illegal logging.
III | POPULATION |
Most Ethiopian people live on rural farm
communities. About 84 percent (2005) of the Ethiopian population is rural and
occupations in agriculture support 78 percent of all Ethiopians. The population
is concentrated heavily in the central plateau region, where agricultural
resources are most developed. The ethnic composition is extremely diverse, as a
result of racial and linguistic integration that began in ancient times.
A | Population Characteristics |
The population of Ethiopia (2008 estimate)
is 78,254,090, yielding an overall density of 70 persons per sq km (181 per sq
mi). The Amhara, who founded the original nation, and the related Tigreans, both
of which are highland peoples of partly Semitic origin, constitute about 32
percent of the total population. They occupy the northwestern Ethiopian
highlands and the area north of Addis Ababa. The Oromo, a pastoral and
agricultural people who live mainly in central and southwestern Ethiopia,
constitute about 40 percent of the population. The Shankella, a people in the
western part of the country from the border of Eritrea to Lake Turkana,
constitute about 6 percent of the population. The Somali, who live in the east
and southeast, notably in the Ogadēn region, are about equal in number to the
Shangalla. The Denakil inhabit the semidesert plains east of the highlands. The
nonindigenous population includes Yemenis, Indians, Armenians, and Greeks.
B | Political Divisions |
Ethiopia is divided into nine regions
composed of specific ethnic groups. The regions, which have a significant degree
of autonomy, are Tigray; Afar; Amhara; Oromia; Somalia; Benshangul-Gumaz;
Gambela; Harar; and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples, which
comprises about 41 ethnic groups.
C | Principal Cities |
Addis Ababa is the largest city in
Ethiopia; other major cities include Dirē Dawa, Gonder, and Nazrēt. In 2005 only
16 percent of the population was classified as urban.
D | Religion |
The Ethiopian Orthodox Union Church
(see Abyssinian Church), an autonomous Christian sect headed by a
patriarch and closely related to the Coptic church of Egypt, was the state
church of Ethiopia until 1974.
About half of the people of Ethiopia are
Christians. Christianity is predominant in the north, while the southern regions
have Muslim majorities. The south also contains considerable numbers of
animists. An Ethiopian Jewish sect known as Beta Israel existed in the country
until the entire community was airlifted to Israel during Ethiopia’s civil war
of the 1980s and early 1990s.
E | Language |
Of the 70 or more languages spoken in
Ethiopia, most belong to the Semitic and Cushitic branches of the Afro-Asiatic
family (see African Languages). The language of the Ethiopian church
liturgy, Ge’ez, gave rise to the Semitic cluster of languages: Amharic,
Tigrinya, and Tigre. Amharic, the country’s official language, is spoken by more
than half of the population. English and Arabic are also spoken by many
people.
F | Education |
A major program to increase literacy in
Ethiopia was started in 1979, but by 2005 only 45 percent of the population
could read and write. Although free education exists from primary school through
the college level, primary school facilities are able to enroll only 66 percent
of the children of school age.
Addis Ababa University (founded in 1950)
has branches in Addis Ababa, Āwasa, and Bahir Dar. Other important universities
include ‘Alemaya University (1952) in Dirē Dawa and Bahir Dar University (2001)
in Bahir Dar. Colleges and universities enrolled 147,954 students in
2002–2003.
G | Culture |
The most significant area of Ethiopian
culture is in the field of literature, represented predominantly by translations
from ancient Greek, Arabic, and other languages into the ancient Ge’ez and
modern Amharic. Most of the works are theological or mythological in nature.
Secular literature is largely confined to history.
Ecclesiastical architecture is relatively
rich because of the early advent of Christianity in the country. Such structures
and their frescoes usually show both Byzantine and Coptic influences. Most
notable are the 11 churches at Lalībela, in north central Ethiopia. The
magnificent edifices were carved from solid rock in the 12th and 13th centuries,
and are connected by a maze of narrow underground passageways. Ethiopia’s
skillful and imaginative silversmithing is also notable.
IV | ECONOMY |
Ethiopia is one of the world’s poorest
nations, with a per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $172.60 a year in
2006. Most Ethiopians do not participate in the monetary economy, and simply
barter in local markets. The health of the Ethiopian economy hangs on the
earnings of the agricultural sector, which rise and fall depending on rainfall.
Ethiopia is therefore heavily dependent on funding from foreign donors.
A | Agriculture |
Agriculture by traditional methods,
including the raising of livestock, is the most characteristic form of Ethiopian
economic activity. Under Ethiopia's land tenure system, the government owns all
land and grants licenses to farmers allowing them to work it. Despite a
government program of diversification, coffee remains Ethiopia’s most important
commodity. Periodic droughts have greatly reduced agricultural output and forced
Ethiopia to import basic foodstuffs.
Commercial estates supply coffee, cotton,
sugar, fruit, and vegetables to the nation’s processing industries and for
export. Legumes and oil seeds are also grown on a commercial scale. The most
important food crops grown primarily for local consumption are cereal grains
such as wheat, corn, and sorghum. Ethiopian herders raise cattle, sheep, goats,
and fowl.
B | Mining |
Although many mineral deposits exist in
Ethiopia, thick layers of volcanic lava cover the older ore-bearing rock and
render exploitation difficult. Outcroppings of iron, copper, zinc, and lead have
been mined since ancient times, but deeper reserves of these minerals remain
largely unexploited. Gold, limestone, and marble are mined for export.
C | Manufacturing |
Ethiopian industry is limited and centered
on processing agricultural commodities. Principal manufactured products include
fabrics, leather goods, footwear, cement, and beer. The principal manufacturing
center is Addis Ababa.
D | Energy |
About 96 percent (1997) of the energy used
in Ethiopia comes from traditional fuels such as firewood, charcoal, and dried
animal manure. Ethiopia has great potential for producing hydroelectricity.
About 99 percent (2003) of the small amount of electricity used in the country
comes from hydroelectric facilities.
E | Currency and Banking |
Ethiopia’s unit of currency, the
birr, is issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia (8.70 birr equal U.S.$1;
2006 average). Other banks in the country include the state-owned Commercial
Bank of Ethiopia and Development Bank of Ethiopia, as well as several privately
owned banks.
F | Trade |
Ethiopia is primarily an exporter of
agricultural products and an importer of consumer and capital goods, and
typically experiences a very high trade gap. In 2003 exports amounted to $513
million, and imports cost the country $2,686 million. Coffee is Ethiopia’s most
valuable foreign-exchange earner. Leading purchasers of exports are Djibouti,
Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Germany; chief suppliers of imports are Saudi
Arabia, Italy, China, India, and Germany.
G | Transportation and Communications |
The Ethiopian terrain and an antiquated
road network make land travel difficult. Most of Ethiopia’s roads were
constructed by Italian occupiers in the 1930s, although the government began
improving roads in earnest in the 1990s. About 13 percent (2006) of the
country’s roads are paved. Addis Ababa is connected by rail with the port of
Djibouti, on an inlet of the Gulf of Aden. A government-owned airline company,
Ethiopian Airlines, handles both domestic and international air service.
International airports serve Addis Ababa and Dirē Dawa.
The government publishes several
newspapers and periodicals, and the number of private periodicals increased in
the 1990s. Radio Ethiopia makes radio broadcasts daily in Amharic, Arabic,
Somali, Afar, Oromifa, Tigrinya, English, and French.
V | GOVERNMENT |
Ethiopia is a federal democratic republic
governed by a constitution promulgated in 1995. All Ethiopians age 18 and higher
are permitted to vote.
A | Executive |
The highest executive office in the
Ethiopian government is a prime minister, nominated by the lower house of the
legislature from among its members. The prime minister heads a Council of
Ministers, made up of representatives from a coalition of parties constituting a
majority in the legislature. The lower house of the legislature also elects a
president, who is the nominal head of state. A president may not serve more than
two six-year terms.
B | Legislature |
Ethiopia’s bicameral (two-chambered)
parliament consists of an upper house, the House of Federation, and a lower
house, the House of People’s Representatives. The 108 members of the House of
Federation are nominated by regional councils. The House of People’s
Representatives consists of a maximum of 550 directly elected members; at least
20 of these representatives must be members of minority ethnic groups.
C | Local Government |
Ethiopia is made up of nine regions, most
with a distinct ethnic majority. Each region has a regional council that may
establish lower levels of jurisdiction to allow people to participate in
self-government.
D | Judiciary |
The Ethiopian judicial system consists of
federal and regional branches. The Federal Supreme Court has final jurisdiction
over federal cases. Regional supreme courts have jurisdiction over regional
concerns, with ultimate jurisdiction of regional matters administered by a
Federal High Court. Regional supreme courts may also serve as federal
first-instance courts. Federal judges are nominated by the prime minister and
appointed after approval by the House of People’s Representatives.
E | Defense |
The Ethiopian National Defense Force
consists of an army and an air force. In 2004 about 180,000 soldiers were in the
army, and about 2,500 personnel were in the air force.
VI | HISTORY |
The kingdom known to the ancient Greeks and
Romans as Ethiopia was in fact centered in what is now Sudan. Its capitals were
Napata and, later, Meroë. The tradition that the biblical Queen of Sheba was a
ruler of Ethiopia who visited King Solomon in Jerusalem in ancient Israel is
supported by the 1st century ad
Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who identified Solomon’s visitor as a queen
of Egypt and Ethiopia. The ancient Aksum (Axum) Kingdom, ancestor of modern
Ethiopia, was founded by Semitic-speaking immigrants from southern Arabia who
landed in about 1000 bc on the
northeastern African coast. They established bases on the northern highlands of
the Ethiopian Plateau and from there expanded southward. The chief historical
and archaeological records of the Aksum Kingdom date from 150 bc to ad 600. The conversion of the country to
Christianity took place during the reign of King Ezana in the 4th century ad. According to traditional accounts,
Frumentius, a Syrian who was named bishop of Ethiopia by Saint Athanasius of
Alexandria, Egypt, played a major role in the conversion. The foundation was
then laid for the dependence of the Ethiopian Church upon the Egyptian Coptic
Church, which the Ethiopian Church followed by accepting the Monophysite belief
that Jesus Christ was solely divine, not both human and divine. This was the
basis for the schism in Christianity that took place at the Council of Chalcedon
in ad 451.
In the early 6th century King Kaleb of Aksum
intervened in south Arabia, claiming to avenge the persecution of local
Christians, probably by their Jewish rulers. Nevertheless, Jewish influence
seems to have penetrated Ethiopia at about this time; it left an important mark
on Ethiopia’s religious customs, and some Aksumites were converted to the Jewish
faith. The remnant of these converts, the Beta Israel, also known as Falashas,
of northern Ethiopia, immigrated to Israel in the late 20th century. Although
the Aksumite ruler Armah gave asylum to the first disciples of the Prophet
Muhammad when they were persecuted in Arabia in the 7th century, the rise of
Islam led to the isolation of the Aksumite empire. However, many of the
country’s rulers sought to forge ties with Western Christendom.
Ethiopian tradition holds that the imperial
family is descended from the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. The succession is
said to have been broken for a couple of centuries or so during the Zagwe
usurpation, which ended in the 13th century when a king of Shewa claiming true
descent succeeded in restoring the Solomonian line. There followed a period of
religious and cultural revival in which royal chronicles were written and
considerable ecclesiastical literature was developed, the most notable work
being the Kebra Nagast (The Glory of Kings), which contains an
account of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Jerusalem.
In the latter part of the 15th century a
handful of Portuguese and other Europeans found their way into Ethiopia, seeking
the legendary Christian kingdom in the East whose monarch was known as Prester
John. Portugal hoped to find in this kingdom a possible ally against Islam and
the rising power of the Ottomans. Following the devastating Muslim attacks upon
Ethiopia that had their beginning in 1527 and were led by the great Ahmad Grañ
of Hārer, also known as Harar, the emperor appealed to Portugal for aid.
Christopher da Gama, the son of Vasco da Gama, landed at Massawa in 1541 with
400 men but was killed with most of his soldiers in a battle with the enemy.
Subsequently a new army equipped with firearms—previously a monopoly of Grañ—was
built up with the cooperation of the remaining Portuguese, and in 1543 Grañ’s
forces were routed and their leader killed.
A | Foreign Influence |
Attempts by the Portuguese and later by
the Jesuits to convert the country to Roman Catholicism led to much conflict.
The Jesuits were finally expelled in 1633. For the ensuing 150 years the country
was almost entirely isolated from European contact; during this period the
capital was established at Gonder, where a number of castles were built. In the
middle of the 18th century, the power of the emperors declined and civil war
began. In 1769 the English explorer James Bruce traveled through the country in
search of the source of the Nile River. In 1805 a British mission sought and
obtained a port of entry on the Red Sea. Other Europeans followed in the early
19th century.
Gaining the support of high church
officials, a successful brigand from the northwestern frontier, Kassa Haylu, had
himself crowned Emperor Theodore II in 1855, after having defeated a number of
petty feudal rulers who controlled various sections of the country. He revived
the imperial power and endeavored to unite and reform the country.
As the consequence of a two-year delay by
Queen Victoria of Great Britain in replying to a letter Theodore had sent, the
emperor imprisoned several British officials at Magdala. All diplomatic efforts
failed to secure their release. In July 1867 a military force under Sir Robert
Napier was dispatched to Ethiopia to force the release of the British prisoners.
Landing 3,000 men at Mulkutto on Annesley Bay on January 7, 1868, Napier led his
army on a march of 650 km (400 mi) across the mountains, aided by dissatisfied
elements of the population, especially in Tigray. Theodore, his power waning and
his army dwindling, set out for Magdala to meet the British. The mountain
fortress was captured by Napier’s force on April 13, 1868, and Theodore
committed suicide to avoid capture. The British then withdrew from the
country.
Theodore was succeeded by Emperor
Johannes, a Tigray chief who had helped the British. His troubled reign, which
lasted 20 years, started by suppressing rival claimants to the throne.
Subsequently Johannes had to fight many battles with his foreign enemies:
Egyptian, Sudanese, and Italian. The Italians, who had acquired the port of Āseb
as early as 1869, took over Massawa from the Egyptians with the approval of
Great Britain in 1885. Although Britain and Egypt had promised the emperor free
access through this port in 1884, the Italians soon closed it and advanced
inland. The emperor defeated them at Dogalī in January 1887 and forced their
withdrawal. He then turned his attention to the constantly encroaching Sudanese
but was killed in battle against them in March 1889. Menelik II, king of Shoa in
central Ethiopia, who for some years enjoyed Italian support, now became emperor
of Ethiopia and brought the country under a single authority. He then
reconsolidated the empire by extensive conquests and began to introduce
reforms.
B | The Accession of Menelik II |
On May 2, 1889, about the time of Menelik
II’s accession to full power, he concluded the Treaty of Ucciali with Italy,
permitting the Italians to occupy Asmara. On the surface friendly relations were
established between the two countries. This treaty, however, was the source of
much trouble. The copy in Amharic, the Ethiopian language, stipulated that
Ethiopia might, as its option, employ Italy’s good offices in the conduct of its
diplomacy. The Italian copy, on the other hand, stated that Ethiopia must do so;
this would mean full Italian control over Ethiopia’s foreign affairs. The
Italians used this copy and claimed that it gave them a protectorate over
Ethiopia on the basis of the 1885 General Act of Berlin. Italy’s insistence on
its interpretation of the treaty led Menelik to denounce it on May 11,
1893.
Italy’s claim to a protectorate over
Ethiopia was recognized by most European powers, with the exception of France
and Russia. In 1891 Great Britain signed a protocol with Italy recognizing
Ethiopia as within the Italian sphere of influence, in exchange for an Italian
promise not to interfere with the Nile, which the British controlled.
Italy then pushed its advantage by moving
southward into Ethiopia. Successes against forces led by Ras Mangasha of Tigray
induced great confidence on the part of the Italian commander. But Menelik, who
had been importing large quantities of firearms from France and Russia, moved
with vigor, gathering troops from all over the country. They met the Italians at
Ādwa on March 1, 1896, and inflicted a crushing defeat. On October 26, 1896, a
provisional peace concluded at Addis Ababa annulled the Treaty of Ucciali and
recognized the independence of Ethiopia. Ethiopia gained new prestige, and
European diplomats hurried to the capital that Menelik had built at Addis Ababa
(“New Flower”) in 1887.
The Italian defeat left France and Britain
face to face in the Nile Valley, with Ethiopian opinion favoring France for
having contributed to Italy’s defeat at Ādwa. France now aspired to acquire a
position of economic supremacy in Ethiopia and to establish a link with the
French colonies in West Africa. Menelik at this time seemed the key to the Nile.
In the decade after Ādwa a great expansion of his dominion took place. Trained
and sometimes led by French and Russian officers and armed with modern weapons,
the Ethiopian troops subdued the king of Kaffa and occupied the lands stretching
southward to Lake Rudolf (present-day Lake Turkana) and the Kenya border. On
March 20, 1897, Menelik signed a secret Franco-Ethiopian alliance, which fixed
Ethiopian boundaries on the Nile River and extended certain commercial
concessions and preferences, including railroad construction rights, to France.
Two months later, on May 14, 1897, Menelik signed a treaty with Great Britain
fixing the boundary between Ethiopia and British Somaliland and granting Britain
the right to move arms and ammunition across Ethiopia to use against the
followers of an Islamic brotherhood, known as dervishes, in the Nile
Valley.
At Fashoda, in Sudan, France failed
largely because of the inability of Ethiopian and French troops to join forces
as planned, although the Ethiopian army had reached the Nile just above Fashoda.
Under British pressure, France finally withdrew from Fashoda on November 3,
1898. This was a setback for France. On May 15, 1902, Menelik concluded a treaty
with Britain delimiting Ethiopia’s western boundary and agreeing not to arrest
the flow of the Blue Nile. Over four years later, on December 13, 1906, an
agreement was signed by France, Britain, and Italy assuring Ethiopian
independence but undertaking to respect one another’s special interests if the
country should split up. Ethiopia did not take part in this convention. For 25
years Ethiopia had maintained its independence against European encroachments,
through the skill of Menelik and the military courage of his people, who by this
time were well armed, and through utilization of the mutual jealousies of the
rival European powers. See also Scramble for Africa.
Menelik’s health deteriorated around 1906,
with paralysis occurring in the following year. Finally, in June 1908, Menelik
appointed his grandson, Lij Iyasu, a boy of 12, to be his successor; Ras Tesamma
was later appointed regent. In 1911 Ras Tesamma died, and Lij Iyasu, though
voted old enough to act for himself, had responsibility without power. Menelik
died on December 12, 1913, though his death was long kept a secret. World War I
(1914-1918) saved Ethiopia from being carved up by Italy, Great Britain, and
France.
Lij Iyasu, whose father, Ras Mikael of
Welo, had formerly been a Muslim, let it be known in 1915-1916 that he also was
predisposed toward Islam. He claimed to be descended from Muhammad and wore the
Muslim turban. He also opened friendly relations with the Germans,
Austro-Hungarians, and Ottoman Turks. This concerned the Allied legations in
Addis Ababa, who supported the Christian chieftains of Shewa. While Lij Iyasu
was in the southern part of the country, the Shewan chiefs massed their forces,
marched on Addis Ababa, and on September 27, 1916, crowned Menelik’s daughter,
Zauditu, empress and declared Ras Tafari, son of Menelik’s cousin Ras Makonnen,
regent and heir to the throne. The following year the railroad from the port of
Djibouti to Addis Ababa was completed, giving the capital significant access to
the sea for the first time.
C | The Accession of Haile Selassie |
The regency of Ras Tafari was stormy.
During World War I some of the Allied powers (Britain, France, and Italy),
expecting to face a possible German-Turkish invasion of Ethiopia, had agreed in
1916 to allow Italy to assume power in that country if necessary. However, the
regent proved capable of governing, and in 1923 Ethiopia was admitted to the
League of Nations, assuring the nation’s independence. In 1928 Ras Tafari was
crowned as negus (king), and two years later, on November 2, 1930, following the
death of Empress Zauditu on April 2, Ras Tafari was crowned emperor and took the
throne name Haile Selassie. He came to power with the objective of creating a
unified and prosperous state, secure against sedition, dismemberment, or
aggression.
Meanwhile, the quest for imperial glory
and the humiliating memory of Ādwa gave Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and
his Fascist regime an excuse for invading Ethiopia. In that country, feeling
toward Italy, none too good at any time, was made even worse by frontier and
diplomatic incidents that were magnified in Italy out of all proportion to their
real importance.
A clash on December 5, 1934, at Walwal,
100 km (62 mi) on the Ethiopian side of the undemarcated frontier with Italian
Somaliland, was referred to the League for an opinion as to responsibility, but
its decision, in September 1935, held that neither state was responsible. In the
meantime, negotiations with Italy were fruitless and the League of Nations, to
which the quarrel had again been referred, offered no help or solution. Finally,
as the result of a conference between Britain, France, and Italy, proposals were
formulated as a basis for settlement. Ethiopia agreed to open negotiations, but
Italy, which had been assembling large forces of troops and munitions in Italian
Somaliland and Eritrea, refused. On October 3, 1935, without any declaration of
war, the Italians invaded Ethiopia. Although Ethiopia had delayed mobilization
until the Italians moved, its poorly armed and equipped troops were able to slow
their initial advances.
Threats by Mussolini and German dictator
Adolf Hitler prevented other Western European nations from taking strong
measures against Italy; no government wanted to become involved in commitments
elsewhere that might compromise its actions at home. In 1935 the League of
Nations invoked economic and financial sanctions against Italy, but these
omitted such important commodities as coal, oil, and steel. The same year Sir
Samuel Hoare, British foreign minister, and Pierre Laval, French premier and
foreign minister, proposed the dismemberment of Ethiopia to settle Italian
claims, but strong adverse sentiment, particularly in Britain, caused the
abandonment of this plan. In 1936 the League again appealed for peace, but the
sanctions were not expanded.
The Italian troops, commanded by Marshal
Pietro Badoglio, entered Addis Ababa on May 5, 1936, but Emperor Haile Selassie
had already left. Selassie found refuge in England and later attended the League
of Nations at Geneva, Switzerland, where he made a moving speech, declaring,
“God and history will remember your judgment.” Italy formally annexed Ethiopia
on May 9, 1936; on June 1 the king of Italy was declared emperor, and Ethiopia,
combined with Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, was named Italian East
Africa.
D | Ethiopia During World War II |
The Italian occupation of Ethiopia lasted
for only five years, during which time the Ethiopian patriots continued to
resist. A year after the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), on July 12, 1940,
Britain officially recognized Ethiopia as an ally and promised liberation in
case of victory. Haile Selassie was flown to the Anglo-Egyptian-occupied Sudan
to organize Ethiopian resistance. On January 15, 1941, he led his troops into
Ethiopia. The British occupied Addis Ababa on April 6, 1941, and Haile Selassie
made a formal entry on May 5, 1941. The Italian troops surrendered at Amba Alagi
on May 20, 1941. Haile Selassie was reestablished on his throne.
British troops had freed Ethiopia from
Italian control, but German and Italian forces menaced Egypt while the British
still required a protected land route from the Sudan to the Red Sea.
Accordingly, an Anglo-Ethiopian agreement was negotiated in January 1942. It
provided for the two allies to collaborate. British civil and military advisers,
along with financial and other assistance, were sent to Ethiopia to enable the
emperor to reestablish his administration. To maintain internal security, a
British military mission undertook the raising, organizing, and training of a
regular Ethiopian army.
On December 19, 1944, a new
Anglo-Ethiopian agreement was signed as between “two equal and independent
powers,” which, however, accorded a preferential status to the British
government in respect to the appointment of advisers and management of the
currency. The educational system was reorganized and expanded; the railroad to
Djibouti was restored to Ethiopian control. In 1945 Ethiopia granted a 50-year
oil concession to the Sinclair Oil Company.
E | Postwar Ethiopia |
Ethiopia became a charter member of the
United Nations (UN) in 1945 and immediately made strong demands for the former
Italian colonies of Italian Somaliland and Eritrea. The peace treaty of February
10, 1947, which ended the war with Italy, also terminated the Anglo-Ethiopian
agreement of 1944, restoring to Ethiopia its traditional territory except for
the region of Ogadēn, which remained under British administration until 1948.
British administration of Italian Somaliland was terminated by the UN decision
to place the area under Italian trusteeship for ten years, beginning in 1950; in
1960 this area, together with British Somaliland, became independent Somalia. In
1952 the UN assigned Eritrea to Ethiopia, nominally as an autonomous unit in
federation under the Ethiopian crown.
In 1962 Eritrean autonomy was ended, in a
move by the government to establish full control over the ports of Massawa and
Āseb. The Muslim-organized Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) began a guerrilla
war, at first for autonomy and later for independence, which was to last for
nearly 30 years. By the late 1960s about half of the Ethiopian army was
stationed in Eritrea. Other separatists, particularly ethnic Somalis in the
Ogadēn region, also fought the government.
Demonstrations by leftist student groups,
demanding land and education reforms as well as Eritrean independence, led to
violent clashes with the police in the late 1960s and early 1970s. From 1972 to
1974, a famine in Tigray and Welo provinces resulted in some 200,000 deaths.
News of the famine was suppressed by the government. The general public was
unaware of the deaths until late 1973, and further demonstrations against the
government broke out on their revelation.
In the early 1970s Haile Selassie
continued to play a major role in international affairs, helping to mediate
disputes between Senegal and Guinea, Tanzania and Uganda, and northern and
southern Sudan. Nevertheless, he largely ignored urgent domestic problems: the
great inequality in the distribution of wealth, rural underdevelopment,
corruption in government, rampant inflation, unemployment, and a severe drought
in the north from 1972 to 1975.
F | The Mengistu Regime |
In February 1974 students, workers, and
soldiers began a series of strikes and demonstrations that culminated on
September 12, 1974, with the deposition of Haile Selassie by members of the
armed forces. Chief among the coup leaders was Major Mengistu Haile Mariam. A
group called the Provisional Military Administrative Council, known as the Derg,
was established to run the country, with Mengistu serving as chairman. In late
1974 the Derg issued a program for the establishment of a state-controlled
socialist economy. In early 1975 all agricultural land in Ethiopia was
nationalized, with much of it then parceled out in small plots to individuals.
In March 1975 the monarchy was abolished, and Ethiopia became a republic.
The overthrow of the monarchy and the
creation of the republic ushered in a new era of political openness. Ethnic
groups that were brought into Ethiopia in the 19th and 20th centuries, such as
the Oromo, Afars, Somali, and Eritreans, stepped up their demands for
self-determination. Several of these groups even questioned the legitimacy of
the Ethiopian state and created guerrilla forces to fight for independence. With
the liberalization of politics, various ideologically based political
organizations formed, each with its own view as to the preferred character of a
new Ethiopia. Rather than allow democratic elections, the military regime
attempted to co-opt potential opponents, giving the most significant political
organizations representation in a deliberative body, the Politbureau.
By 1975 it was clear that Mengistu
intended to consolidate his hold on power. This led to criticism from the
civilian left, particularly after several top leaders of the Derg were killed in
early 1977, reportedly on Mengistu’s orders. Chief among opponents was the
Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP), which by the beginning of 1977
had launched a systematic campaign to undermine the military regime. The EPRP
conducted urban guerrilla warfare against the regime, referred to as the “White
Terror.” The government responded with its own “Red Terror” campaign. The
government provided peasants, workers, public officials, and students considered
loyal to the government with arms to help government security forces root out
so-called enemies of the revolution. Between 1977 and 1978 an estimated 100,000
people suspected of being enemies of the government were killed or disappeared
in the name of the Red Terror.
Increasing human rights violations led to
tensions between Ethiopia and the United States (Ethiopia’s superpower ally of
more than 20 years), culminating in a complete break in relations in 1977. The
regime was weakened by the withdrawal of military aid, and opponents of the
regime gained control of vast amounts of rural territory and destabilized life
in the cities. By the summer of 1977 the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front
(EPLF) controlled all but the major cities in the province of Eritrea; the
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), supported by the EPLF, had successfully
captured significant territory in the Tigray region; and Somali separatists,
aided by the national army of Somalia, had completely routed the Ethiopian army
in the Ogadēn region. However, by early 1978 the Mengistu regime had managed to
secure military assistance from the USSR and Cuba, enabling it to regain control
of lost territories and drive its opponents underground.
Following this success, Mengistu attempted
to win popular support for his regime. He created the Worker’s Party of Ethiopia
(WPE) in 1984 as Ethiopia’s official Marxist-Leninist party and prepared a new
constitution to make Ethiopia a Marxist-Leninist people’s republic. In 1987 the
new constitution was proclaimed and the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
declared, modeled after the Soviet system of government. Nominally a system of
civilian rule, the new constitution abolished the Derg and established a new,
popularly elected national assembly. Former Derg members remained in control,
however, and the new assembly elected Mengistu as president of Ethiopia.
G | Resistance and Revolution |
Despite its reorganization, the Mengistu
government continued to be viewed by many as illegitimate, and by 1987
opposition groups such as the EPLF and the TPLF, which had been driven
underground a decade earlier, emerged as revitalized and better organized
military organizations. Over the next two years, the Ethiopian army suffered an
increasing number of defeats, and its forces became demoralized. The EPLF
regained control of most of Eritrea, and the TPLF captured the entire Tigray
region and began operations in surrounding regions.
Beginning in the late 1970s Ethiopia
suffered from a series of droughts, which progressively lowered agricultural
production. A prolonged drought between 1984 and 1986 plunged the country into
famine. The embattled northern regions of Ethiopia were hardest hit by the
drought. Under an ill-planned resettlement program, the government forcibly
relocated about 600,000 northerners to the south. The protracted civil war and
the government’s mistrust of Westerners hampered worldwide efforts to provide
food and medical aid to the inhabitants of Ethiopia. During the 1980s an
estimated 1 million Ethiopians died from starvation as a result of famine.
In the late 1980s Ethiopia lost the
support of the Soviet Union, which had become dissatisfied with Ethiopia’s
political and economic development under Mengistu. Faced with economic and
military shortages, the government was forced to devise a political solution to
its problems. The Ethiopian national assembly called for unconditional peace
talks with the EPLF in June 1989, and later agreed to similar talks with the
Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), an umbrella
organization headed by the TPLF. Even as these talks proceeded, the opposition
forces acquired more and more territory. In February 1990 the EPLF mounted a
major drive aimed at capturing the Eritrean port city of Massawa, the entry
point for much of the food and military supplies coming into Ethiopia. By the
middle of the month it had overrun the city, dealing a decisive blow to the
Ethiopian army. A year later the EPRDF had encircled Addis Ababa in the
country’s heartland. The Ethiopian army lost its will to fight, and the
country’s political leaders conceded defeat. In May 1991 the EPLF took complete
control of Eritrea, Mengistu fled the country, and the EPRDF took control of
Addis Ababa.
H | Post-Mengistu Ethiopia |
The EPRDF, led by Meles Zenawi, set up a
national transitional government in Addis Ababa, and the EPLF established a
provisional government in Eritrea. After a referendum in 1993, Eritrea declared
its independence, and Ethiopia recognized the new Eritrean government. In June
1994 Ethiopian voters elected representatives to a Constituent Assembly, charged
with writing a new democratic constitution. The EPRDF won 484 out of 547 seats
in the assembly. A new constitution granting special rights to different ethnic
groups in Ethiopia was ratified in December, and became effective in August
1995. In May 1995 a new legislative body, the House of People’s Representatives,
was elected, with the majority of seats going to the EPRDF. In August the
Constituent Assembly officially transferred power to the new legislature, and
the country was renamed the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. In the same
month the legislature elected Meles as the country’s prime minister.
Some ethnic groups, including segments of
the Oromo and Amhara people, remain displeased with the Ethiopian government and
consider it as illegitimate as the one that preceded it. The most vigorous
opposition has come from the Ogadēn region of southeastern Ethiopia, where
Islamic fundamentalist Somali rebels, supported by Somali kinsmen, have battled
for the region’s independence since before the overthrow of Mengistu.
Nevertheless, the EPRDF maintained firm control of the federal government, and
Meles was reelected prime minister in 2000 and 2005.
H1 | Red Terror Trials |
Beginning in 1994, Ethiopian courts
tried members and supporters of Mengistu’s regime for offenses committed during
and after the years of the Red Terror. More than 5,000 suspects were charged
with war crimes such as torture, murder, and genocide. A number of senior Derg
members, including Mengistu, were tried in absentia. The Ethiopian government
failed to extradite Mengistu from Zimbabwe, where he fled in 1991. In December
2006 Mengistu was found guilty of genocide, as were all but one of the other 72
officials on trial. In January 2007 Mengistu was sentenced to life imprisonment.
However, he remained in exile in Zimbabwe.
H2 | War Against Eritrea |
In mid-1998 clashes broke out between
Ethiopia and Eritrea along the countries’ border, with each side accusing the
other of seizing territory. The border had not been precisely delineated when
Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993. By early 1999 hundreds of
thousands of troops had been sent to the border, and the dispute had become a
bitter war. Tens of thousands of soldiers died in the fighting before a
cease-fire was declared in June 2000. In December Eritrea and Ethiopia, under
the auspices of the UN, signed a peace agreement that formally ended the war and
established a UN commission to demarcate the border between the countries. The
boundary commission completed its work in 2004, but physical demarcation of the
border was delayed by Ethiopia’s continued military presence in territory
awarded to Eritrea.
H3 | Military Intervention in Somalia |
In late 2006 Ethiopia sent troops into
Somalia in an effort to topple the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which had
established control over most of Somalia after its militias seized the capital
of Mogadishu in June 2006. Ethiopian officials claimed the ICU was a terrorist
group backed by Eritrea. Ethiopia supported the Somali transitional government
that had been elected in 2004 but had failed to establish control over Somalia.
The Islamist forces in Somalia announced a holy war against Ethiopia in October
2006. In December, Ethiopian prime minister Meles announced he was waging war
against them to protect his country’s sovereignty.
An estimated 20,000 Ethiopian troops
crossed the border into Somalia, and fighting broke out in mid-December. The
Ethiopian air force was also deployed to support the ground campaign. In a
two-week offensive, the combined forces of Ethiopia and the Somali transitional
government reclaimed Mogadishu and forced the Islamist forces to retreat to the
southernmost part of Somalia. Subsequently, the African Union announced plans to
deploy peacekeeping forces to Somalia to support the transitional government in
its efforts to establish control over the country.
The portion of this article dealing with
the history of Ethiopia since 1974 was contributed by Edmond J. Keller.
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