Ethiopia: Internal Developments and External Influences from 1941 to 1991 : Detailed Notes & Exam Questions | Grade 12 History Unit 6

Welcome, dear student! In this unit, we study fifty years of Ethiopian history — from the restoration of Emperor Haile Selassie in \(1941\) to the fall of the Derg regime in \(1991\). This was a period of enormous change: restoration, reform, revolution, military rule, and ultimately another revolution. Understanding this period helps us understand the Ethiopia we live in today. Let us go step by step.

6.1 The Restoration of the Imperial Rule and External Influences

6.1.1 Liberation and Restoration (1941)

As we learned in previous units, Italy had occupied Ethiopia in \(1936\). During the five years of occupation, Ethiopians resisted through patriotic resistance — guerrilla warfare conducted by groups known as “arbegnoch” (patriots) in various parts of the country. Leaders like Ras Imru Haile Selassie, Ras Abebe Aregai, and others coordinated resistance from bases in Gojjam, Shewa, and other regions.

In \(1941\), with the outbreak of World War II and British involvement in East Africa, the opportunity came to expel the Italians. A combined force of Ethiopian patriots and British troops (including African colonial soldiers from Sudan, Kenya, and elsewhere) pushed the Italians out. Emperor Haile Selassie returned to Ethiopia and entered Addis Ababa on May 5, 1941, restoring imperial rule after five years of exile.

Think about this: Why was May 5 chosen as a national holiday? It symbolizes not just the return of an emperor, but the restoration of Ethiopian sovereignty after foreign occupation — a powerful national symbol.

6.1.2 British Influence and the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement (1942)

Beyond simply helping to liberate Ethiopia, Britain had its own interests in the region. In \(1942\), Ethiopia and Britain signed the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement, which reflected the significant British influence over Ethiopian affairs during this period.

Key provisions of the agreement:

• Ethiopia was required to follow British advice on foreign affairs and defense matters.
• A British military mission was stationed in Ethiopia to advise and train Ethiopian forces.
• Ethiopia granted Britain certain economic concessions, including control over the railway and telegraph lines.
• The British-administered Ogaden and parts of Somali-inhabited areas were placed under British military administration for the duration of the war.

This agreement was deeply resented by many Ethiopians. Although Ethiopia was formally independent, it was effectively under British influence. Haile Selassie worked patiently to reduce this dependence and regain full sovereignty.

6.1.3 Reducing External Influence

Haile Selassie pursued several strategies to reduce foreign influence:

1. Post-war agreements: After WWII, Ethiopia negotiated new agreements that replaced the \(1942\) Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement. British military missions were gradually withdrawn, and Ethiopia regained control over its foreign policy and defense.
2. Diversifying international relations: Haile Selassie cultivated relationships with multiple countries — the US, Scandinavian countries, and others — to avoid dependence on any single power.
3. Joining international organizations: Ethiopia joined the United Nations in \(1945\) as a founding member, gaining international legitimacy and a platform for defending its interests. Ethiopia also sent troops to fight in the Korean War (\(1950\)–\(53\)) as part of the UN forces, which earned goodwill from the US and the international community.

6.1.4 Growing American Influence

As British influence declined, American influence increased. The US saw Ethiopia as a strategically important ally in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region. The US provided economic aid, military assistance, and technical cooperation. This relationship would deepen during the Cold War, as the US sought to counter Soviet influence in Africa.

6.2 Socio-economic Conditions and Social Organizations

6.2.1 Economic Conditions After Restoration

Ethiopia’s economy after \(1941\) was extremely underdeveloped. The Italian occupation had disrupted traditional economic systems but had also left behind some infrastructure (roads, buildings, small industries). The fundamental economic structure remained agrarian, with the vast majority of the population engaged in subsistence farming.

Key features of the post-restoration economy:

• Agricultural dominance: Over \(90\%\) of the population depended on agriculture, mostly at subsistence level. Agricultural productivity was low due to primitive farming methods, soil erosion, and land fragmentation.
• Land tenure system: Land ownership was highly unequal. The imperial family, the nobility, and the Church owned vast estates, while many peasants were tenants or landless. The rist system (hereditary land rights) and the gult system (land grants from the emperor) created complex and often exploitative tenancy arrangements.
• Limited industrialization: There was very little industrial development. Some small-scale manufacturing existed in Addis Ababa and a few other towns, but Ethiopia lacked a significant industrial base.
• Transport and communications: The Italian occupation had built roads and the Djibouti-Addis Ababa railway, but much of the countryside remained isolated and inaccessible.
• Foreign trade: Ethiopia primarily exported agricultural products (coffee, hides and skins, oilseeds) and imported manufactured goods, creating an unfavorable trade balance.

6.2.2 Social Conditions

Education: Education was extremely limited. Before \(1941\), modern education had been introduced by Menelik II but remained accessible only to a tiny elite. After restoration, Haile Selassie expanded the education system — new schools were built, including the University College of Addis Ababa (later Haile Selassie I University, \(1950\)). However, by the \(1960\)s, literacy rates were still very low (estimated at under \(10\%\)), and schools were concentrated in urban areas.

Health: Health services were grossly inadequate. There were very few hospitals and clinics, mostly in Addis Ababa. Common diseases — malaria, tuberculosis, smallpox, and others — took a heavy toll. Life expectancy was very low (around \(35\)–\(40\) years).

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church: The Church remained one of the most powerful institutions in Ethiopian society. It owned vast landholdings (about \(20\%\)–\(30\%\) of all land, according to some estimates), collected tithes from farmers, and exercised significant social and political influence. However, the Church was also criticized for being conservative, resistant to modernization, and part of the exploitative land tenure system.

6.2.3 Social Organizations

Ethiopian society had various forms of social organization:

• The imperial court and nobility: The emperor, his family, and the aristocracy formed the political and social elite, controlling land, wealth, and political power.
• The Church hierarchy: The Orthodox Church hierarchy (bishops, priests, monks) exercised significant social and economic influence, especially in rural areas.
• The neftegna class: Northern settlers in the south (established during Menelik’s expansion) who served as administrators, soldiers, and landlords.
• The balabbat: Free-born southern farmers who had lost land to neftegna and became tenants or laborers.
• Educated elites: A small but growing group of university-educated Ethiopians who began to question the imperial system and advocate for reform or change.
• Labor movements: Urban workers began to form trade unions and associations to demand better wages and working conditions.
• Student movements: University students became increasingly politicized and active, advocating for land reform, democracy, and social justice.

6.3 Consolidation of Autocracy and Oppositions to the Monarchy

6.3.1 Haile Selassie’s Strategy of Consolidation

After restoration, Haile Selassie systematically consolidated his power, transforming Ethiopia from a traditional monarchy into a more centralized autocracy. His methods included:

1. Centralizing power: He reduced the autonomy of regional nobility and governors, bringing them under tighter central control. Regional rulers who were too powerful were transferred, sidelined, or co-opted.
2. Controlling the military: Haile Selassie was careful to keep the military under his personal control. He rotated military commanders, prevented any single officer from building a power base, and maintained separate security forces that reported directly to him.
3. Patronage networks: He distributed offices, land, and privileges to create a network of loyal supporters who depended on him for their positions and wealth.
4. Constitutional changes: The \(1955\) Revised Constitution formally made Ethiopia a constitutional monarchy with a parliament — but in practice, the emperor retained all real power.
5. Suppressing opposition: He used the security apparatus (police, military intelligence) to monitor, intimidate, and arrest political opponents, students, and labor activists.

6.3.2 The 1955 Revised Constitution

In \(1955\), Haile Selassie promulgated a Revised Constitution that was presented as a modernizing reform. It established a bicameral parliament (Chamber of Deputies and Senate) and guaranteed some civil rights.

However, the constitution was largely cosmetic:

• The emperor retained the power to appoint and dismiss ministers, dissolve parliament, and rule by decree.
• Parliament had very limited powers and served mainly as an advisory body.
• The constitution did not create genuine democratic governance — it formalized the emperor’s autocratic power in a modern legal framework.

6.3.3 The Eritrean Question

The status of Eritrea was one of the most important and contentious issues during this period. After WWII, Eritrea was administered by Britain under a UN mandate. In \(1952\), the UN General Assembly passed a resolution federating Eritrea with Ethiopia under the Ethiopian crown.

The federation (\(1952\)–\(1962\)): Eritrea was supposed to have its own government, parliament, and laws on internal matters, while Ethiopia handled foreign affairs, defense, and currency. However, Haile Selassie gradually undermined Eritrean autonomy — imposing Amharic as the official language, dissolving the Eritrean parliament, and replacing Eritrean institutions with imperial ones.

In \(1962\), the federation was unilaterally dissolved, and Eritrea was annexed as a province of Ethiopia. This was a critical mistake that led to the Eritrean liberation struggle, which would consume Ethiopian resources and contribute to the eventual downfall of the imperial regime and later the Derg.

6.3.4 Sources of Opposition

By the \(1960\)s, opposition to Haile Selassie’s rule was growing from multiple sources:

• Student movements: University students at Haile Selassie I University became increasingly radicalized, demanding land reform, democratic governance, and social justice. The University Students’ Union of Addis Ababa (USUAA) became a major center of opposition.
• Labor movements: Urban workers formed trade unions and went on strikes demanding better wages and conditions. The government responded with repression.
• Eritrean nationalists: The Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), formed in \(1960\), began an armed struggle for Eritrean independence.
• Peasant discontent: Rural poverty, landlessness, and exploitation fueled simmering resentment in the countryside.
• Ethiopian elites: Even some educated Ethiopians within the system began to criticize the government’s corruption, inefficiency, and resistance to reform.
• Regional rebellions: In addition to Eritrea, other regions (Bale, Ogaden, Gojjam) experienced rebellions against imperial rule.

6.4 The 1974 Revolution: The Downfall of the Emperor and the Rise of the Derg

6.4.1 Causes of the Revolution

The \(1974\) Ethiopian Revolution was one of the most significant events in modern Ethiopian history. It ended the imperial system that had lasted for centuries. The revolution was caused by multiple converging factors:

1. The Wollo Famine (1972–1973): A devastating famine struck the Wollo and Tigray regions, killing an estimated \(100{,}000\) to \(200{,}000\) people. The imperial government initially tried to conceal the famine’s severity and was slow to respond. When news and images of the famine reached Addis Ababa and the international community, the emperor’s reputation was catastrophically damaged. The contrast between the emperor’s wealth and the suffering of his people became a powerful symbol of the regime’s failure.

2. Economic crisis: Ethiopia faced rising unemployment, inflation, and growing inequality. The oil crisis of \(1973\) increased the cost of imports. The economy could not meet the needs of a growing population.

3. Political stagnation: Despite decades of rule, Haile Selassie had not addressed Ethiopia’s fundamental problems — land inequality, poverty, lack of democracy, and the Eritrean war. The regime appeared increasingly out of touch and corrupt.

4. Military discontent: Junior military officers were frustrated by low pay, poor conditions, and the conduct of the Eritrean war. They felt that senior officers and the imperial court were corrupt and incompetent.

5. Student and intellectual opposition: University students and intellectuals had been campaigning for land reform, democracy, and social justice for years. They provided the ideological framework for change.

6.4.2 The Process of the Revolution

The revolution unfolded through several phases in early \(1974\):

The Derg (which means “committee” in Ge’ez) — officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC) — was originally a committee of military officers who coordinated the revolution. It was NOT a popular democratic movement — it was a military takeover that seized power from the emperor but then faced its own internal power struggles.

6.4.3 From Revolution to Military Dictatorship

The revolution’s initial promises of democracy and reform were quickly abandoned. Under Mengistu Haile Mariam, who emerged as the Derg’s leader after defeating internal rivals (sometimes through violent purges), Ethiopia became a Military-Marxist-Leninist dictatorship.

The Derg declared Ethiopia a socialist state, aligned with the Soviet Union, and established a one-party system under the Commission to Organize the Party of the Working People of Ethiopia (COPWE), later replaced by the Workers’ Party of Ethiopia (WPE).

6.5 Socio-economic and Political Reforms of the Military Regime

6.5.1 Land Reform (1975)

The most significant reform of the Derg period was the Land Reform Proclamation of \(1975\). This was a radical transformation of Ethiopia’s land tenure system.

What the reform did:

• All rural land was declared “the collective property of the Ethiopian people.”
• Private land ownership was abolished — no individual could own more than \(10\) hectares.
• Land was redistributed to peasants who had previously been landless or tenants.
• The large estates of the nobility, Church, and imperial family were confiscated.
• Farmers were required to join producers’ cooperatives and later collective farms (similar to the Soviet model).

Positive impacts:

• Millions of previously landless peasants received land for the first time.
• The feudal land tenure system (rist and gult) was abolished.
• The reform was initially very popular among the peasantry.

Negative impacts:

• Forced collectivization was resented by farmers who wanted to farm their own land individually.
• Agricultural productivity declined because farmers lacked incentive under the collective system.
• The reform was implemented hastily and administratively chaotic.
• Experienced farmers lost land due to the \(10\)-hectare limit, reducing productivity.

6.5.2 Literacy Campaign

The Derg launched an ambitious national literacy campaign, mobilizing students and educated youth to teach reading and writing in rural areas. This campaign — called Zemecha (development through cooperation) — significantly increased literacy rates in the short term. However, the campaign was also used for political indoctrination and was disrupted by the ongoing wars.

6.5.3 Political Reforms

The Derg established a one-party socialist state:

• All political parties except the ruling party were banned.
• The Workers’ Party of Ethiopia (WPE) was created in \(1984\) as the sole legal party.
• All organizations — trade unions, student groups, women’s organizations, youth groups — were brought under state control.
• Mass organizations like the All-Ethiopia Trade Union, Revolutionary Ethiopian Women’s Association, and Ethiopian Youth League were used to mobilize support and monitor the population.

6.5.4 Economic Policies

The Derg followed a Marxist-Leninist economic model:

• Large-scale nationalization of industries, banks, insurance companies, and commercial enterprises.
• State planning replaced market mechanisms — five-year plans were introduced.
• Priority was given to heavy industry and military production rather than consumer goods.
• Agricultural collectivization was progressively extended.

Problems: The socialist economic policies were largely unsuccessful. Nationalized enterprises were inefficient, shortages of consumer goods became chronic, and agricultural production declined. By the \(1980\)s, Ethiopia faced a severe economic crisis.

6.5.5 Political Repression

The Derg regime was one of the most repressive in Ethiopian history:

• The Red Terror (\(1977\)–\(1978\)): A campaign of mass political repression directed against suspected opponents of the Derg, especially supporters of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP). Thousands — possibly tens of thousands — of people were killed, imprisoned, or disappeared. The Red Terror was one of the darkest chapters of Ethiopian history.
• Political prisoners were held without trial for years.
• Torture was systematic in detention centers.
• Any form of political opposition was brutally suppressed.

6.6 The Decline and Downfall of the Derg Regime: Internal and External Threats

6.6.1 Internal Threats

The Derg faced multiple internal challenges:

1. Armed insurgencies: The Derg faced armed rebellions in several regions:

• Eritrea: The EPLF (Eritrean People’s Liberation Front) waged a protracted war for independence that drained Ethiopian military resources.
• Tigray: The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), formed in \(1975\), waged a guerrilla war against the Derg. The TPLF would eventually become the dominant force in the coalition that overthrew the Derg.
• Other regions: Insurgencies also operated in Oromia (OLF — Oromo Liberation Front), Somalia/Ogaden (WSLF), and other areas.

2. The 1984–1985 Famine: A devastating famine — caused by drought, civil war, and failed agricultural policies — struck northern Ethiopia (particularly Eritrea and Tigray). An estimated \(1\) million people died. The famine was one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the 20th century and severely damaged the Derg’s legitimacy.

3. Economic crisis: The socialist economic model failed to deliver. By the late \(1980\)s, Ethiopia faced shortages of basic goods, declining agricultural production, massive foreign debt, and inflation. The economy was collapsing.

4. Political disillusionment: Even those who had initially supported the revolution became disillusioned by the Red Terror, forced collectivization, and the regime’s failure to deliver on its promises of prosperity and justice.

6.6.2 External Threats and Relations

Soviet support: The Derg was closely aligned with the USSR, which provided military equipment, economic aid, and political support. However, by the late \(1980\)s, the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev was pursuing reform (Glasnost and Perestroika) and was no longer willing to support repressive allies unconditionally. Soviet aid to Ethiopia declined significantly.

The Ogaden War (\(1977\)–\(1978\)): In \(1977\), Somalia (under Siad Barre) invaded the Ethiopian Ogaden region, seeking to exploit Ethiopia’s post-revolutionary chaos. The Derg responded with massive military mobilization, and with Soviet and Cuban military support, defeated the Somali forces by early \(1978\). While Ethiopia won the war, it was enormously costly and diverted resources from other pressing needs.

Changing international environment: The end of the Cold War reduced the Derg’s options. Without Soviet support, the regime could not sustain its military campaigns against multiple insurgencies.

6.6.3 The Fall of the Derg (1991)

The final blow came from the EPRDF (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front), a coalition led by the TPLF that also included the EPLF and other groups.

The EPRDF launched a series of military offensives in \(1989\)–\(1991\):

• In \(1989\), the EPRDF captured large parts of Tigray.
• In \(1990\)–\(91\), it advanced southward, winning battle after battle against demoralized and overstretched Derg forces.
• In May \(1991\), EPRDF forces entered Addis Ababa.

Mengistu Haile Mariam fled to Zimbabwe on May \(21\), \(1991\). The Derg regime collapsed without a final battle in the capital.

The Derg’s downfall was followed by:

• The EPLF established the independent state of Eritrea (\(1993\)).
• The EPRDF, led by Meles Zenawi, established a transitional government and later the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (\(1995\)).