The Ethiopian Overlord (Ethiopia 1902-1910)
When the Great War ended, there were people and nations who thought the Ethiopian Empire and its ruler, Menelik IV, had been too greedy.
Yes, Ethiopia had defeated the Omani Empire on the African continent with Entente support. Yes, from Southern Sudan to Mozambique, the Ethiopians had no opposition anymore. Yes, their anti-slavery stance was widely popular in regions which had suffered for too long of foreign oppression and colonial cruelty.
On the other hand, Ethiopia in 1897 had a population of 15 million people, and its economy, while stronger than it should have been thanks to France, Bengal, and other economic partners, was not on par with the wealth and prosperity a European country took for granted. Worse, this economy had been put under enormous strain during nearly five years.
And now in 1902, Ethiopia had to rule an immense realm where 22.6 million lived. The economic situation was not good in the north, where the core of the Ethiopian territories laid, but they were absolutely disastrous in the south, the former Omani Africa. The Sultan’s warships had been in their great majority sunk, abandoned or were rusting in their harbours. And the companies which had still ships in their possessions were not willing to trade with the Ethiopians.
Empress Charlotte I and most of the Entente thought the Ethiopians had been too ambitious. The Omani, by contrast, thought the Ethiopians were butchers and monsters. The subjects of the Sultanate had never held a lot of hope towards the rapacious conquests of the French, but the Ethiopians, their neighbours, had seemed to be more promising partners. Now it appeared two decades of overture and trade accords had been brutally demolished for more immediate gains, including territory the Omani had administered for generations.
The world conflict had redrawn the maps and the alliances, and the Ethiopians had a harsh wake-up call. To properly administer their new conquests, they needed infrastructure and large sums of money. But the post-war era wasn’t the pre-war one. Two-thirds of the belligerents were ruined, and those who didn’t wanted real reimbursement plans of their previous loans. And Ethiopia had been very lax on this particular issue. Marseille, Anvers, Lorient and several other French cities had many, many bankers who wanted to see Ethiopian money sent back to Europe.
As a result, the relationships between the Great Power and the African Power turned sour extremely quickly. The inter-continental businessmen from the French Empire were not interested in investing Ethiopia anymore, not when they had plenty of lands inside their own nation to deal with and better assurances of profit coming from their allies in the National Assembly.
This new Ethiopian Empire wasn’t inspiring confidence. Order in Omani Africa had collapsed with the Omani Army, and while the Ethiopian Army controlled the coasts, there were provinces deep in the continent which had not yet seen an Ethiopian uniform by 1903. Roads were solely lacking. The less said about bridges and railroads, the better. There were no coal or oil power plants.
Ethiopia officially announced it was bankrupt in Mars 1904, but this announcement did not improve the finances of the Empire. The downfall of Menelik IV’s popularity accelerated, however.
The Emperor had never been complimented for his attachment to accords and traditions, and from his point of view, the refusal of the French to pay for his not-so modest proposals was the last straw. Ethiopia’s participation in the Entente was officially over by summer 1904.
And the new government he chose to enforce order in the South had found solutions to the reign of the outlaws left by the Omani. The Great War had left tens of thousands refugees everywhere, and surely there was no problem if they attracted a few thousands Sikh, Burmese, Chinese or Japanese settlers, right?
Ultimately, the Ethiopian army had to pursue an aggressive campaign in their southern conquests to restore order and even then, too often the bandits fled elsewhere against the onslaught and returned when the soldiers left the field.
Diplomatically, and economically, Ethiopia remained extremely isolated, and between 1905 and 1908, there were internal troubles too. Menelik IV had to fight twice battles against cousins which had the ambition to see the Imperial crown on their heads.
Russia wanted allies, but not at the kind of price the Ethiopians bargained. The Tsarina already had to rebuild Manchuria, Livonia and several large areas, paying for Ethiopia too was not feasible. And the UPNG was rather dubitative at the power and the strength of Ethiopia, not to mention they still wanted to maintain their ties with Oman.
Pacts of non-aggression were signed with Spain in 1908, and a few loans were granted, but the Holy Empress of Madrid had several common points with her cousin of Paris, and one was the suspicion they felt towards Menelik IV.
Ethiopia rebuilt, and a new generation was born, one which had not had to live through the Great War. But the nation was not a Great Power, and to the wrath of its elite, nobody outside its own frontiers treated them like they were one.
In these circumstances, there were few people as hated as Menelik IV. Elections had been convened in the pre-Great War Ethiopian territories, but the high income requirements had made this process a masquerade, and the Emperor named himself the ministers he wanted in the end.
Fortunately for him, Menelik IV had several doubles and excellent protectors. Three times in 1910 he avoided bomb attacks by mere minutes, and in official parade his personal guard killed a gun-carrying assassin before he was able to shoot the monarch.
As the decade progressed in this unsatisfactory direction, Menelik IV believed he had found a solution. After four years of widowhood, he was going to marry a second time.
When the Great War ended, there were people and nations who thought the Ethiopian Empire and its ruler, Menelik IV, had been too greedy.
Yes, Ethiopia had defeated the Omani Empire on the African continent with Entente support. Yes, from Southern Sudan to Mozambique, the Ethiopians had no opposition anymore. Yes, their anti-slavery stance was widely popular in regions which had suffered for too long of foreign oppression and colonial cruelty.
On the other hand, Ethiopia in 1897 had a population of 15 million people, and its economy, while stronger than it should have been thanks to France, Bengal, and other economic partners, was not on par with the wealth and prosperity a European country took for granted. Worse, this economy had been put under enormous strain during nearly five years.
And now in 1902, Ethiopia had to rule an immense realm where 22.6 million lived. The economic situation was not good in the north, where the core of the Ethiopian territories laid, but they were absolutely disastrous in the south, the former Omani Africa. The Sultan’s warships had been in their great majority sunk, abandoned or were rusting in their harbours. And the companies which had still ships in their possessions were not willing to trade with the Ethiopians.
Empress Charlotte I and most of the Entente thought the Ethiopians had been too ambitious. The Omani, by contrast, thought the Ethiopians were butchers and monsters. The subjects of the Sultanate had never held a lot of hope towards the rapacious conquests of the French, but the Ethiopians, their neighbours, had seemed to be more promising partners. Now it appeared two decades of overture and trade accords had been brutally demolished for more immediate gains, including territory the Omani had administered for generations.
The world conflict had redrawn the maps and the alliances, and the Ethiopians had a harsh wake-up call. To properly administer their new conquests, they needed infrastructure and large sums of money. But the post-war era wasn’t the pre-war one. Two-thirds of the belligerents were ruined, and those who didn’t wanted real reimbursement plans of their previous loans. And Ethiopia had been very lax on this particular issue. Marseille, Anvers, Lorient and several other French cities had many, many bankers who wanted to see Ethiopian money sent back to Europe.
As a result, the relationships between the Great Power and the African Power turned sour extremely quickly. The inter-continental businessmen from the French Empire were not interested in investing Ethiopia anymore, not when they had plenty of lands inside their own nation to deal with and better assurances of profit coming from their allies in the National Assembly.
This new Ethiopian Empire wasn’t inspiring confidence. Order in Omani Africa had collapsed with the Omani Army, and while the Ethiopian Army controlled the coasts, there were provinces deep in the continent which had not yet seen an Ethiopian uniform by 1903. Roads were solely lacking. The less said about bridges and railroads, the better. There were no coal or oil power plants.
Ethiopia officially announced it was bankrupt in Mars 1904, but this announcement did not improve the finances of the Empire. The downfall of Menelik IV’s popularity accelerated, however.
The Emperor had never been complimented for his attachment to accords and traditions, and from his point of view, the refusal of the French to pay for his not-so modest proposals was the last straw. Ethiopia’s participation in the Entente was officially over by summer 1904.
And the new government he chose to enforce order in the South had found solutions to the reign of the outlaws left by the Omani. The Great War had left tens of thousands refugees everywhere, and surely there was no problem if they attracted a few thousands Sikh, Burmese, Chinese or Japanese settlers, right?
Ultimately, the Ethiopian army had to pursue an aggressive campaign in their southern conquests to restore order and even then, too often the bandits fled elsewhere against the onslaught and returned when the soldiers left the field.
Diplomatically, and economically, Ethiopia remained extremely isolated, and between 1905 and 1908, there were internal troubles too. Menelik IV had to fight twice battles against cousins which had the ambition to see the Imperial crown on their heads.
Russia wanted allies, but not at the kind of price the Ethiopians bargained. The Tsarina already had to rebuild Manchuria, Livonia and several large areas, paying for Ethiopia too was not feasible. And the UPNG was rather dubitative at the power and the strength of Ethiopia, not to mention they still wanted to maintain their ties with Oman.
Pacts of non-aggression were signed with Spain in 1908, and a few loans were granted, but the Holy Empress of Madrid had several common points with her cousin of Paris, and one was the suspicion they felt towards Menelik IV.
Ethiopia rebuilt, and a new generation was born, one which had not had to live through the Great War. But the nation was not a Great Power, and to the wrath of its elite, nobody outside its own frontiers treated them like they were one.
In these circumstances, there were few people as hated as Menelik IV. Elections had been convened in the pre-Great War Ethiopian territories, but the high income requirements had made this process a masquerade, and the Emperor named himself the ministers he wanted in the end.
Fortunately for him, Menelik IV had several doubles and excellent protectors. Three times in 1910 he avoided bomb attacks by mere minutes, and in official parade his personal guard killed a gun-carrying assassin before he was able to shoot the monarch.
As the decade progressed in this unsatisfactory direction, Menelik IV believed he had found a solution. After four years of widowhood, he was going to marry a second time.
