A history of modern Ethiopia, 1855-1991 / Bahru Zewde.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bahru Zewde

Series:

Eastern African studies (London, England)

Eastern African studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethiopia--History--19th century.

Ethiopia.

History.

Ethiopia--History--1889-1974.

Ethiopia--History--1974-1995.

Physical Description:

xix, 300 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm.

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : James Currey ; Athens : Ohio University Press ; Addis Ababa : Addis Ababa University Press, 2001.

Summary:

Bounded by Sudan to the west and north, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the southeast, and Eritrea and Djibouti to the northeast, Ethiopia is a pivotal country in the geopolitics of the region. Yet it is important to understand this ancient and often splintered country in its own right. In A History of Modern Ethiopia, Bahru Zewde, one of Ethiopia's leading historians, provides a compact and comprehensive history of his country, particularly the last two centuries. Of importance to historians, political scientists, journalists, and Africanists alike, Bahru's A History of Modern Ethiopia, now with additional material taking it up to the last decade, will be the preeminent overview of present-day Ethiopia.

Contents:

1 The background

1. The internal scene in the first half of the nineteenth century 11

The northern principalities 11

States and peoples of southern Ethiopia 16

The link: long-distance trade 21

2. The external challenge 23

Renewed European interest 23

Egyptian expansion 25

2 Unification and Independence 1855-1896

1. The first response: Kasa - Tewodros 27

Tewodros as modernizer 31

Tewodros and the foreigners 35

The end of Tewodros 39

2. A new approach to unification 42

3. Intensification of the external challenge 49

Gundat and Gura: victory without peace 52

4. The road to Matamma 55

5. The creation of the modern Ethiopian empire-state 60

The process of expansion 61

The birth of a capital 68

Crisis in the socio-economic order: the 'Great Ethiopian Famine', 1888-1892 71

6. Resolution of the external challenge 72

The campaign of Adwa 76

3 From Adwa to Maychaw 1896-1935

1. The historical significance of Adwa 81

2. The socio-economic order 85

Mode of surplus appropriation 85

Trade 94

Concessions 100

Modern education and the birth of an intelligentsia 103

3. Political developments 111

The decade of consolidation (1896-1906) 111

Power struggle (1908-1930) 114

The problem of succession 114

The Iyyasu interlude 120

Creeping autocracy (1916-1930) 128

The emergence of absolutism (1930-1935) 137

4 The Italian Occupation 1936-1941

1. The Italo-Ethiopian war 150

2. Italian rule 160

3. The Resistance 166

5 From Liberation to Revolution 1941-1974

1. The international setting 179

The British decade 179

The American era 184

2. The socio-economic scene 189

Agriculture and land tenure 191

Trade and industry 196

3. Consolidation of absolutism 201

The emperor 201

The governing elite 203

The Revised Constitution of 1955 206

The apparatus of coercion 207

4. Opposition 209

Plots and conspiracies 209

The attempted coup d'etat of 1960 211

Peasant rebellions 215

Eritrea: federation, union and separatism 219

The Ethiopian Student Movement 220

6 Revolution and its Sequel

1. Typology 228

2. The popular upsurge 229

3. The 'creeping coup' 233

4. Military rule and its opponents 236

5. The ideological schooling of the Darg 243

6. Towards one-man rule 248

7. The end 256

Ethno-nationalist insurgency 257

Economic crisis 262

Global change 263

The final offensives 264.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0821414402

0852557868

OCLC:

48144536