Controstoria. ETIOPIA TRA MITI LEGGENDE E.....FINZIONE.Traduci in italiano >>>During the second half of the 19th century, the Horn of Africa was dividedamong the imperial powers of France, Britain, and Italy. Ethiopia forgedalliances with European imperialists. These alliances made possible theexpansion of the Ethiopian empire and the subjugation of the peoples ofOromia. The Oromo were the chief enemy of the Ethiopians. There are fiveinterrelated issues to be attended to if one is to understand theserelations and events: (1) the nature of European imperialism in theregion; (2) the development of the Ethiopian state and its linkages to thecapitalist world-economy; (3) the nature of the dependent relation betweenEthiopia and imperialism; (4) domination of the Oromo and thetransformation of the productive system into one predicated on export; (5)the development of Ethiopian colonialism.In 1840, the French and the British began supplying Ethiopian warlordswith weaponry. Christianity built a bridge between Europeans andEthiopians. The Oromo were characterized as pagans and savages. At first,the Oromo prevented the Ethiopians from settling on their lands. Between1855 and 1868, the Ethiopians began de-Oromoizating areas within theircontrol.During the last couple of decades of the 19th century, two key figuresemerged: Yohannes IV and Menelik II. These two individuals and theirfollowers allied with the European imperial powers to expand theirterritories and centralize their political rule. These activities laid thefoundation for the development of the Ethiopian state. Yohannes becameemperor of Ethiopia in 1872. Menelik allied with European forces and beganoccupying Oromia. The Ethiopians defeated the Oromo between 1868 and1900. Menelik forged deep linkages with the Europeans and worked to set upa collaborative class in Oromia.The European-Ethiopian alliance, the emergence of the Ethiopian Empire,and the domination of the Oromo were deeply interrelated processes.Obtaining European assistance and the expansion of territory throughcolonization were integral processes of the incorporation of Ethiopia intothe capitalist world economy. These relations were commercial relations.The Ethiopians were buying guns and other commodities and services, andthe thrust into Oromia was driven by a need to accumulate more wealth fortrade with Europeans. These activities demanded centralized state power.There were two patterns of colonization in Oromia: conquest andsettlement. The Ethiopian colonial expansion resulted in mass killings,destruction and expropriation of property, plundering, enslavement, andcultural genocide. The Oromo became manual laborers, slaves, and servants.The Oromo were exploited by multiple levels of ruling groups: (1) Europeanimperialists; (2) Yohannes (until 1889); (3) Menelik; and (4) Oromocollaborators. The expansion and centralization of the Ethiopian statewas financed by expansion into the south. The system of wealthaccumulation was tributary and control of the slave trade. Between 1896and 1910, a system of taxation replaced the tribute system. There was aneed to increase the productivity of labor. The nafxanya-gabbarinstitution was instituted in these areas to extract production fromcolonized farmers. Imperialism in the region did not transform the forcesof production (contrary to some Marxist theories). The commoditiesproduced by the farmers where linked to the international market throughnon-African merchants.Menelik became ruler of the Ethiopian Empire in 1889. In 1895-1896,Ethiopia went to war against Italy, driving them out of the Empire(Italy's claim to Eritrea was consolidated, however). France engagedEthiopia vigorously. Britain, France, and Italy signed an agreementrecognizing the legitimacy of the Ethiopian ruling class, that is,preferring to pursue a course of imperialism rather than directlycolonizing Ethiopia. The European powers feared war and a loss of traderoutes.There were five types of social relations that developed in Oromia. Thefirst type, the katamas, or garrison cities, were the "nerve centers" ofthe colonial system. These garrison cities eventually developed intocommercial towns based on the exploitation of Oromo labor. Second, slavesconstituted the principal labor force of the Ethiopian ruling class.Slaves were obtained by several methods, e.g., during military campaignsor tribute payment. Third, the balabbat system was instituted. Balabbatswere Oromo intermediaries. This class was designed to facilitate Ethiopiancolonial rule. Fourth, the nafxanya-gabbar system involved nafxanya(administrators and soldiers) exploiting colonized workers (gabbars). Thiseventually became the dominant source of revenue in Oromia. Finally, thecolonial landholding system that emerged.Menelik institutionalized the Ethiopian government in the first decade ofthe 20th century. Menelik died in 1913. Iyasu succeeded to the throne, butbecause of loyalties to Turkey and Germany was overthrown by Tafari, whowas supported by Britain, France, Britain, and Italy. Tafari took thename of Selassie. Selassie continued Meneliks policies and strengthenedties with imperial powers, as well as with governorships in Oromia andother colonized areas.Now I trace the development of colonialism in Ethiopia, from (fascist)Italian colonialism, through British and U.S. hegemonism, and finally tothe restoration of the Ethiopian client state. Particular attention mustbe paid to the way in which expansion and consolidation of the EthiopianEmpire was facilitated by the presence of British and U.S. imperialism.First, I present a history of imperialist occupation in the Horn ofAfrica.Fascist Italy colonized Eritrea and Somaliland in the Horn in themid-1930s. Italian elites began dismantling the old Ethiopian socialinstitutions and realigning the social system with their interests.Between 1935 and 1941, the Italians destroyed the slavery andnafxanya-gabbar system, freeing up labor for capital exploitation, andintroduced the wage-labor system, thus laying the foundation for colonialcapitalism. At first, the diminishment of the old Ethiopian Empire, inpart involving the restoration of Oromo lands (confiscated by Ethiopiancolonialists), temporary liberated colonized populations.In 1941, the British forced the Italians out of the horn, establishing amilitary government and occupied the region. They restored the Selassieregime and created a client state. Selassie reconfiscated the Oromo'sland. By restoring the Selassie client government and crushing oppositionforces, Britain enabled the Ethiopian ruling class to implement itseconomic and political policies in accordance with British interests.Britain oversaw the sovereignty of Ethiopia and controlled the governmentuntil 1951. During this period, the Selassie government expanded itsscope and consolidated its power.Beginning in the 1940s, the U.S. began developing connections with theEthiopian ruling class, and in 1952 inherited Britain's position in theempire. The U.S. aggressively sponsored Ethiopian colonialism in theregion. U.S. strategy to gain control of the region was part of a largerneoimperialist strategy. Following WWII, the U.S., now the world hegemon,used the carrot of decolonization and national sovereignty against theother imperialist nations (the strategy pursued was the lines of"democracy promotion" or what is more technically labeled "polyarchy," asI have described in previous posts). The U.S. wanted Eritrea (upon theBritish pullout) incorporated into Ethiopia, thereby aligning theinterests of U.S. and Ethiopian elites (Eritrea was eventually annexed byEthiopia under the aegis of the U.N. in the early 1960s). This was part ofa general pattern of the U.S.: filling the vacuum left by Britain in theHorn of Africa. The U.S. had its eye on much of Africa. Believing thisregion to be of vital strategic importance during the Cold War, the U.S.in 1953 signed a mutual defense assistance agreement with Ethiopia thatremained in force until 1977. As the hegemonic power, the United Stateshad the responsibility to maintain client states such as Ethiopia in thecapitalist world economy.In the 1960s, several events and trends (e.g., anticolonial movements,radical student movement, attempted military coup, etc.) forced a changein policy from the "democratic" approach to domination to the politics oforder. Despite its claim of democratic ideals, the United States helpedthe Ethiopian colonial regime to stay in power by suppressing peoples ofthe Horn of Africa. The U.S. trained and backed Ethiopian military forces.The 1960s also saw the Soviet sphere of influence spread into Africa withtheir alliance with the Somali state, which increased the intensity ofU.S. involvement in the region. The U.S. extended to Ethiopia the PointFour program, a program claiming to be designed and implemented forbuilding up the socioeconomic conditions of the country. The covertfunction was to consolidate the power of the Ethiopian ruling class.I now turn to a history of the development of colonial capitalism in theHorn of Africa. The development took the forms of agriculture and lightindustry. Colonial agriculture in Oromo involved the coffee plantation,increasing the expropriation of Oromo lands and influx of Ethiopiansettlers. The coffee produced in Oromo was mostly exported to the UnitedStates. Sugar and cotton plantations were developed in the Awash Valley.The Ethiopian government heavily invested in these industries. The Britishinvested heavily in the cotton industry, as well. The expansion of thisindustry displaced tens of thousands of pastorialists and destroyed theecosystem, forcing many pastorialists into agricultural labor. In what iscalled the "green revolution," constituted by a series of investmentpackages, government agencies of core nations invested heavily in thedevelopment and intensification of agrarian capitalism in the region.With all this background laid out, we can explore class and nationalcontradictions. The central contradiction was between the Ethiopianruling class and the ruled. You will note that the development of colonialcapitalism did not change the nature of the Ethiopian state and itsarchaic ideology. The ruling class legitimated their rule by a type ofdivine right (the Solomonic dynasty) derived from Orthodox Christianideology. The new social forces that emerged from capitalist developmentof the region began to challenge the legitimacy of the ruling class. Wemay identify three major polarization processes: (1) the development of aproletariat and an emerging bourgeoisie (although class consciousnessremained underdeveloped); (2) expropriation of agricultural lands, i.e.,the contradiction of colonial rule; (3) social differentiation (students,teachers, civil servants, armed forces, etc.). Polarization andinequalities divided the populace and united the factions of the colonialruling class.... The ruling class was anchored by the throne and court,themselves cushioned by the institutional arrangements of imperialism,regional and international organizations, and transnational corporations.In analyzing these contradictions, two important issues must be examined:(1) Oromo and Ethiopia proper must be differentiated and compared; (2)emphasis should be placed on the dominant role of the agriculturaleconomy. As settlers in Oromo began to consolidate their power, the localruling class in Oromo grew more powerful. Conditions grew worse inEthiopia proper, and many Ethiopians were forced to emigrate to Oromo.This, and further intensification of Oromo agriculture, helped to diffusetensions in Ethiopia proper. The major contradiction in Oromo was thenation-class.In the 1960s and 1970s opposition to this state of affairs intensifiedwith the rise of several liberation movements. In Eritrea, there was theEritrean Liberation Front (ELF). In Oromo, farmers began to organizerebellion and eventually the Oromo Liberation Front emerged (OLF). Theradical wing of the Ethiopian student movement began to make noise. Labor,at first prevented from organizing officially, gained strength andlegitimacy from the ILO, forming the Confederation of Ethiopian LaborUnions (CELU) in 1963. The response from the Selassie regime was tointensify military domination over Ethiopia and its colonies.Although the Selassie regime would be overthrown in the 1970s, replaced bydictator Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam, this did not free the peoples ofEthiopia.Synopsis of key chapters in Asafa Jalata's Oromia and Ethiopia:State Formation and Ethnonational Conflict, 1868-1992.Prepared byAndrew AustinDepartment of SociologyUniversity of Tennessee, KnoxvilleArticolo completo Vedi Link >>>
Controstoria. Etiopia tra miti, leggende.... e finzione.
Controstoria. ETIOPIA TRA MITI LEGGENDE E.....FINZIONE.Traduci in italiano >>>During the second half of the 19th century, the Horn of Africa was dividedamong the imperial powers of France, Britain, and Italy. Ethiopia forgedalliances with European imperialists. These alliances made possible theexpansion of the Ethiopian empire and the subjugation of the peoples ofOromia. The Oromo were the chief enemy of the Ethiopians. There are fiveinterrelated issues to be attended to if one is to understand theserelations and events: (1) the nature of European imperialism in theregion; (2) the development of the Ethiopian state and its linkages to thecapitalist world-economy; (3) the nature of the dependent relation betweenEthiopia and imperialism; (4) domination of the Oromo and thetransformation of the productive system into one predicated on export; (5)the development of Ethiopian colonialism.In 1840, the French and the British began supplying Ethiopian warlordswith weaponry. Christianity built a bridge between Europeans andEthiopians. The Oromo were characterized as pagans and savages. At first,the Oromo prevented the Ethiopians from settling on their lands. Between1855 and 1868, the Ethiopians began de-Oromoizating areas within theircontrol.During the last couple of decades of the 19th century, two key figuresemerged: Yohannes IV and Menelik II. These two individuals and theirfollowers allied with the European imperial powers to expand theirterritories and centralize their political rule. These activities laid thefoundation for the development of the Ethiopian state. Yohannes becameemperor of Ethiopia in 1872. Menelik allied with European forces and beganoccupying Oromia. The Ethiopians defeated the Oromo between 1868 and1900. Menelik forged deep linkages with the Europeans and worked to set upa collaborative class in Oromia.The European-Ethiopian alliance, the emergence of the Ethiopian Empire,and the domination of the Oromo were deeply interrelated processes.Obtaining European assistance and the expansion of territory throughcolonization were integral processes of the incorporation of Ethiopia intothe capitalist world economy. These relations were commercial relations.The Ethiopians were buying guns and other commodities and services, andthe thrust into Oromia was driven by a need to accumulate more wealth fortrade with Europeans. These activities demanded centralized state power.There were two patterns of colonization in Oromia: conquest andsettlement. The Ethiopian colonial expansion resulted in mass killings,destruction and expropriation of property, plundering, enslavement, andcultural genocide. The Oromo became manual laborers, slaves, and servants.The Oromo were exploited by multiple levels of ruling groups: (1) Europeanimperialists; (2) Yohannes (until 1889); (3) Menelik; and (4) Oromocollaborators. The expansion and centralization of the Ethiopian statewas financed by expansion into the south. The system of wealthaccumulation was tributary and control of the slave trade. Between 1896and 1910, a system of taxation replaced the tribute system. There was aneed to increase the productivity of labor. The nafxanya-gabbarinstitution was instituted in these areas to extract production fromcolonized farmers. Imperialism in the region did not transform the forcesof production (contrary to some Marxist theories). The commoditiesproduced by the farmers where linked to the international market throughnon-African merchants.Menelik became ruler of the Ethiopian Empire in 1889. In 1895-1896,Ethiopia went to war against Italy, driving them out of the Empire(Italy's claim to Eritrea was consolidated, however). France engagedEthiopia vigorously. Britain, France, and Italy signed an agreementrecognizing the legitimacy of the Ethiopian ruling class, that is,preferring to pursue a course of imperialism rather than directlycolonizing Ethiopia. The European powers feared war and a loss of traderoutes.There were five types of social relations that developed in Oromia. Thefirst type, the katamas, or garrison cities, were the "nerve centers" ofthe colonial system. These garrison cities eventually developed intocommercial towns based on the exploitation of Oromo labor. Second, slavesconstituted the principal labor force of the Ethiopian ruling class.Slaves were obtained by several methods, e.g., during military campaignsor tribute payment. Third, the balabbat system was instituted. Balabbatswere Oromo intermediaries. This class was designed to facilitate Ethiopiancolonial rule. Fourth, the nafxanya-gabbar system involved nafxanya(administrators and soldiers) exploiting colonized workers (gabbars). Thiseventually became the dominant source of revenue in Oromia. Finally, thecolonial landholding system that emerged.Menelik institutionalized the Ethiopian government in the first decade ofthe 20th century. Menelik died in 1913. Iyasu succeeded to the throne, butbecause of loyalties to Turkey and Germany was overthrown by Tafari, whowas supported by Britain, France, Britain, and Italy. Tafari took thename of Selassie. Selassie continued Meneliks policies and strengthenedties with imperial powers, as well as with governorships in Oromia andother colonized areas.Now I trace the development of colonialism in Ethiopia, from (fascist)Italian colonialism, through British and U.S. hegemonism, and finally tothe restoration of the Ethiopian client state. Particular attention mustbe paid to the way in which expansion and consolidation of the EthiopianEmpire was facilitated by the presence of British and U.S. imperialism.First, I present a history of imperialist occupation in the Horn ofAfrica.Fascist Italy colonized Eritrea and Somaliland in the Horn in themid-1930s. Italian elites began dismantling the old Ethiopian socialinstitutions and realigning the social system with their interests.Between 1935 and 1941, the Italians destroyed the slavery andnafxanya-gabbar system, freeing up labor for capital exploitation, andintroduced the wage-labor system, thus laying the foundation for colonialcapitalism. At first, the diminishment of the old Ethiopian Empire, inpart involving the restoration of Oromo lands (confiscated by Ethiopiancolonialists), temporary liberated colonized populations.In 1941, the British forced the Italians out of the horn, establishing amilitary government and occupied the region. They restored the Selassieregime and created a client state. Selassie reconfiscated the Oromo'sland. By restoring the Selassie client government and crushing oppositionforces, Britain enabled the Ethiopian ruling class to implement itseconomic and political policies in accordance with British interests.Britain oversaw the sovereignty of Ethiopia and controlled the governmentuntil 1951. During this period, the Selassie government expanded itsscope and consolidated its power.Beginning in the 1940s, the U.S. began developing connections with theEthiopian ruling class, and in 1952 inherited Britain's position in theempire. The U.S. aggressively sponsored Ethiopian colonialism in theregion. U.S. strategy to gain control of the region was part of a largerneoimperialist strategy. Following WWII, the U.S., now the world hegemon,used the carrot of decolonization and national sovereignty against theother imperialist nations (the strategy pursued was the lines of"democracy promotion" or what is more technically labeled "polyarchy," asI have described in previous posts). The U.S. wanted Eritrea (upon theBritish pullout) incorporated into Ethiopia, thereby aligning theinterests of U.S. and Ethiopian elites (Eritrea was eventually annexed byEthiopia under the aegis of the U.N. in the early 1960s). This was part ofa general pattern of the U.S.: filling the vacuum left by Britain in theHorn of Africa. The U.S. had its eye on much of Africa. Believing thisregion to be of vital strategic importance during the Cold War, the U.S.in 1953 signed a mutual defense assistance agreement with Ethiopia thatremained in force until 1977. As the hegemonic power, the United Stateshad the responsibility to maintain client states such as Ethiopia in thecapitalist world economy.In the 1960s, several events and trends (e.g., anticolonial movements,radical student movement, attempted military coup, etc.) forced a changein policy from the "democratic" approach to domination to the politics oforder. Despite its claim of democratic ideals, the United States helpedthe Ethiopian colonial regime to stay in power by suppressing peoples ofthe Horn of Africa. The U.S. trained and backed Ethiopian military forces.The 1960s also saw the Soviet sphere of influence spread into Africa withtheir alliance with the Somali state, which increased the intensity ofU.S. involvement in the region. The U.S. extended to Ethiopia the PointFour program, a program claiming to be designed and implemented forbuilding up the socioeconomic conditions of the country. The covertfunction was to consolidate the power of the Ethiopian ruling class.I now turn to a history of the development of colonial capitalism in theHorn of Africa. The development took the forms of agriculture and lightindustry. Colonial agriculture in Oromo involved the coffee plantation,increasing the expropriation of Oromo lands and influx of Ethiopiansettlers. The coffee produced in Oromo was mostly exported to the UnitedStates. Sugar and cotton plantations were developed in the Awash Valley.The Ethiopian government heavily invested in these industries. The Britishinvested heavily in the cotton industry, as well. The expansion of thisindustry displaced tens of thousands of pastorialists and destroyed theecosystem, forcing many pastorialists into agricultural labor. In what iscalled the "green revolution," constituted by a series of investmentpackages, government agencies of core nations invested heavily in thedevelopment and intensification of agrarian capitalism in the region.With all this background laid out, we can explore class and nationalcontradictions. The central contradiction was between the Ethiopianruling class and the ruled. You will note that the development of colonialcapitalism did not change the nature of the Ethiopian state and itsarchaic ideology. The ruling class legitimated their rule by a type ofdivine right (the Solomonic dynasty) derived from Orthodox Christianideology. The new social forces that emerged from capitalist developmentof the region began to challenge the legitimacy of the ruling class. Wemay identify three major polarization processes: (1) the development of aproletariat and an emerging bourgeoisie (although class consciousnessremained underdeveloped); (2) expropriation of agricultural lands, i.e.,the contradiction of colonial rule; (3) social differentiation (students,teachers, civil servants, armed forces, etc.). Polarization andinequalities divided the populace and united the factions of the colonialruling class.... The ruling class was anchored by the throne and court,themselves cushioned by the institutional arrangements of imperialism,regional and international organizations, and transnational corporations.In analyzing these contradictions, two important issues must be examined:(1) Oromo and Ethiopia proper must be differentiated and compared; (2)emphasis should be placed on the dominant role of the agriculturaleconomy. As settlers in Oromo began to consolidate their power, the localruling class in Oromo grew more powerful. Conditions grew worse inEthiopia proper, and many Ethiopians were forced to emigrate to Oromo.This, and further intensification of Oromo agriculture, helped to diffusetensions in Ethiopia proper. The major contradiction in Oromo was thenation-class.In the 1960s and 1970s opposition to this state of affairs intensifiedwith the rise of several liberation movements. In Eritrea, there was theEritrean Liberation Front (ELF). In Oromo, farmers began to organizerebellion and eventually the Oromo Liberation Front emerged (OLF). Theradical wing of the Ethiopian student movement began to make noise. Labor,at first prevented from organizing officially, gained strength andlegitimacy from the ILO, forming the Confederation of Ethiopian LaborUnions (CELU) in 1963. The response from the Selassie regime was tointensify military domination over Ethiopia and its colonies.Although the Selassie regime would be overthrown in the 1970s, replaced bydictator Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam, this did not free the peoples ofEthiopia.Synopsis of key chapters in Asafa Jalata's Oromia and Ethiopia:State Formation and Ethnonational Conflict, 1868-1992.Prepared byAndrew AustinDepartment of SociologyUniversity of Tennessee, KnoxvilleArticolo completo Vedi Link >>>