Ian Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190674724
- eISBN:
- 9780190943172
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190674724.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, African History
This chapter points out similarities between Ethiopian and Roman empires in terms of their history, in particular the adoption by both empires of Christianity as state religion in the 4th century, ...
More
This chapter points out similarities between Ethiopian and Roman empires in terms of their history, in particular the adoption by both empires of Christianity as state religion in the 4th century, their fragmentation into warring states, and their subsequent re-unification as sovereign states in the second half of the 19th century. Italy’s unsuccessful attempt at Adwa to occupy Ethiopia in 1896 is summarized. This event was followed by the rise of Fascism and Italy’s second invasion of Ethiopia, the geo-political aims of which are discussed. The chapter outlines the failure of the League of Nations to protect Ethiopia, one of its earliest members, and explains the role of the 6th Blackshirt Division in the suppression of Ethiopian civilians. The author dismisses the idea that the invasion of Ethiopia was a colonial expedition, pointing out that as a sovereign state, Ethiopia was not a candidate for colonialism. It was a victim of Fascist expansionist policy, along with other victims such as Greece, Albania and Yugoslavia.Less
This chapter points out similarities between Ethiopian and Roman empires in terms of their history, in particular the adoption by both empires of Christianity as state religion in the 4th century, their fragmentation into warring states, and their subsequent re-unification as sovereign states in the second half of the 19th century. Italy’s unsuccessful attempt at Adwa to occupy Ethiopia in 1896 is summarized. This event was followed by the rise of Fascism and Italy’s second invasion of Ethiopia, the geo-political aims of which are discussed. The chapter outlines the failure of the League of Nations to protect Ethiopia, one of its earliest members, and explains the role of the 6th Blackshirt Division in the suppression of Ethiopian civilians. The author dismisses the idea that the invasion of Ethiopia was a colonial expedition, pointing out that as a sovereign state, Ethiopia was not a candidate for colonialism. It was a victim of Fascist expansionist policy, along with other victims such as Greece, Albania and Yugoslavia.
Ian Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190674724
- eISBN:
- 9780190943172
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190674724.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, African History
The Epilogue summarizes the demise of Mussolini, the fate of the Blackshirts, and the subsequent careers of the key Fascists including Rodolfo Graziani and Guido Cortese. The lives of the major ...
More
The Epilogue summarizes the demise of Mussolini, the fate of the Blackshirts, and the subsequent careers of the key Fascists including Rodolfo Graziani and Guido Cortese. The lives of the major Ethiopian eye-witnesses are recounted, and the recent upsurge of Fascist sympathy in Italy is noted, particularly in terms of a resurgence of interest in Graziani as an Italian war hero, which has been countered in Ethiopia by protests by former resistance fighters and their families.Less
The Epilogue summarizes the demise of Mussolini, the fate of the Blackshirts, and the subsequent careers of the key Fascists including Rodolfo Graziani and Guido Cortese. The lives of the major Ethiopian eye-witnesses are recounted, and the recent upsurge of Fascist sympathy in Italy is noted, particularly in terms of a resurgence of interest in Graziani as an Italian war hero, which has been countered in Ethiopia by protests by former resistance fighters and their families.
Ian Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190674724
- eISBN:
- 9780190943172
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190674724.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, African History
Using Italian and Ethiopian sources, the author describes the attempt by members of the urban resistance on the life of Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani at the Gennete Liul Palace on Friday 19th February ...
More
Using Italian and Ethiopian sources, the author describes the attempt by members of the urban resistance on the life of Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani at the Gennete Liul Palace on Friday 19th February 1937. Grenades thrown at Graziani and his entourage injured him and resulted in his evacuation to hospital. Meanwhile Italian military and civilians attacked and eventually slaughtered the crowd of 3,000 Ethiopians in the palace courtyard.Less
Using Italian and Ethiopian sources, the author describes the attempt by members of the urban resistance on the life of Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani at the Gennete Liul Palace on Friday 19th February 1937. Grenades thrown at Graziani and his entourage injured him and resulted in his evacuation to hospital. Meanwhile Italian military and civilians attacked and eventually slaughtered the crowd of 3,000 Ethiopians in the palace courtyard.
Ian Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190674724
- eISBN:
- 9780190943172
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190674724.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, African History
On Friday 19th February 1937, following an abortive attack by a handful of insurgents on Mussolini's High Command in the Italian-occupied nation state of Ethiopia, 'repression squads' of armed ...
More
On Friday 19th February 1937, following an abortive attack by a handful of insurgents on Mussolini's High Command in the Italian-occupied nation state of Ethiopia, 'repression squads' of armed Blackshirts and Fascist civilians were unleashed on the defenseless residents of the capital city Addis Ababa. In three terror-filled days and nights of arson, murder and looting, thousands of innocent and unsuspecting men, women and children were roasted alive, shot, bludgeoned, stabbed to death, or blown to pieces with hand-grenades. The incident is popularly known as Yekatit 12, the date concerned in the Ethiopian calendar. Meanwhile the notorious Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani, infamous for his atrocities in Libya, took the opportunity to add to the carnage by eliminating the intelligentsia and nobility of the ancient Ethiopian empire in a pogrom that swept across the land. In a richly illustrated and ground-breaking work backed up by meticulous and scholarly research, the author reconstructs and analyses one of Fascist Italy's least known atrocities, which he estimates eliminated 19-20 per cent of the capital's population. He exposes the hitherto little known cover-up conducted at the highest levels of the British government, which enabled the facts of one of the most hideous civilian massacres of all time to be concealed, and the perpetrators to walk free.Less
On Friday 19th February 1937, following an abortive attack by a handful of insurgents on Mussolini's High Command in the Italian-occupied nation state of Ethiopia, 'repression squads' of armed Blackshirts and Fascist civilians were unleashed on the defenseless residents of the capital city Addis Ababa. In three terror-filled days and nights of arson, murder and looting, thousands of innocent and unsuspecting men, women and children were roasted alive, shot, bludgeoned, stabbed to death, or blown to pieces with hand-grenades. The incident is popularly known as Yekatit 12, the date concerned in the Ethiopian calendar. Meanwhile the notorious Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani, infamous for his atrocities in Libya, took the opportunity to add to the carnage by eliminating the intelligentsia and nobility of the ancient Ethiopian empire in a pogrom that swept across the land. In a richly illustrated and ground-breaking work backed up by meticulous and scholarly research, the author reconstructs and analyses one of Fascist Italy's least known atrocities, which he estimates eliminated 19-20 per cent of the capital's population. He exposes the hitherto little known cover-up conducted at the highest levels of the British government, which enabled the facts of one of the most hideous civilian massacres of all time to be concealed, and the perpetrators to walk free.
