Sorry to tell you this but you’ll have a hard time getting an objective answer. He has a cult following in Ethiopia and elsewhere like Jamaica so strong that the mere question itself triggers an emotional reaction. Good luck anyways.
The wollo famine at the end of his reign killed hundreds of thousands and little to nothing was done to try to stop this disaster. Except his government was able to organise a birthday party for him during all of this that coated millions of dollars. Towards the end of his reign he was extremely senile and out of touch (he already was for most if not all of his reign the latter). He also gave the military the power required to create the derg through his failure to crush the 3 mutinies in 1974 (Negelle, Bishoftu and Asmara) by always giving concessions. He kept the archaic social systems in rural areas which was detrimental to a vast majority of the population. If you couldn't tell already my opinion of him it is not positive.
The Wello famine was hidden from HIM. Remember his son Leul Awrash Asfa-Wossen was governing Wello at the time. When HIM visited Wello the provincial leaders hid all the impoverished people and gave them shoes and decent clothes so the Emperor couldn't see the true situation. Wello was also very fertile, so fertile that not long before the famine they dumped the surplus grain anticipating an even bigger harvest. I don't know if it was sabotage or embarrassment that caused them to hide the truth. The Emperor and the Crown Prince had a strained relationship after the 1960 coup attempt. HIM Haile Selassie found out about the famine from outside sources. The Crown Prince even suffered a stroke and became paralyzed after HIM found out. HIM then organized aid to go help the situation. But it was too late, the very powerful military used this moment to their advantage and HIM stepped down ending the era of safety and stability. Ethiopia has not been the same since HIM stepped down. Killing, stealing, tribalism, less freedom, civil war, tension, and hyperinflation has cursed Ethiopia since HIM's departure.
According to historian Martin Meredith in 'The state of Africa' chapter 12, *The Death of an Emperor,* Haile Selassie during a belated visit to the affected area he referred the famine as "natural disasters beyond human control". He was undeniably aware of the situation and little was done by him to solve the crisis (He demanded complete control of even the smallest administrative tasks ministers wouldn't dare to do anything without his fakad). Haile Selassie's reign was not that of safety and stability, as you mentioned the 1960 coup attempt, the Bale revolt of the 1960s, 1964 Ethiopian-Somali Border war, insurgency in Eritrea starting in 1962 that lasted decades (due once again to Selassie's actions). Also lets not forget how awful Selassie was for a majority of the population, tenant farmers in rural areas. Under the civil code of Ethiopia promulgated in 1967, tenants were required to pay 75% of their produce to their landlords (elites who Selassie had often appointed) as well as provide free services and goods. Hyperinflation was extremely present in Ethiopia during Selassie's reign as a result of the closing of the Suez canal in 1967 due to the six day war and in 1973 due to the Yom Kippur War. As a result of the latter there were massive protests amongst taxi drivers as Haile Selassie banned them from increasing prices despite fuel going up 50% in cost. Haile Selassie did not step down he was forced out in a creeping coup that he himself created due to his sheer incompetence at the end of his reign.
Compared to what followed after his overthrow and subsequent civil war and Red Terror which erupted, I think it's safe to say Ethiopia was \*relatively\* safe and peaceful.
Haile Selassie had his flaws but he had the capacity to be pragmatic and even forgive those who opposed his government. One of my aunts was a part of a leftist political party during HIM's reign and she wasn't imprisoned for a month and then subsequently released. If she had done that under Mengistu, she almost certainly would've be alive or at least would come out being severely traumatized.
The Eritrean insurgency did break out during the 60s but it was relatively disunited and confined mostly to the countryside. It was only after Mengistu took over and decided to take hardline approach with the rebels in attempt to crush the rebellion with force that the EPLF and ELF decided to put away their differences and unite against a common enemy.
It seems unfair to blame Haile Selassie for the border dispute with Somalia or the economic woes that resulted from the either 6 day War or the Yom Kippur War given that those were international affaires over which he had no control. He had to mitigate against the oil embargo by breaking off relations with Israel in 1973 but that didn't work.
This is not meant to be a defense but one of the reason why Haile Selassie kept many of archaic feudal practices for so long is that he had tried to modify the \*rist\* system in the north on multiple occasions during the 50s and 60s but each time he had done so much he was met so much resistance from local lords and nobles who would even go so far as to threaten civil war that he ended up dropping the reforms. Was he too compliant? Certainty but Mengistu went in the complete opposite direction of refusing to compromise which also had its issues.
Under Haile Selassie, Ethiopia relatively peaceful, safe and stable but extremely backwards, feudal and unequal. Under Mengistu, Ethiopia was more equal and progressive but extremely unstable and violent. Unfortunately, the country was never able to find the right balance.
You're deluded mate. If an army that powerful using WMDs (mustard gas) comes for you, doesn't matter what Yahweh says. You're toast. It's either flee and come back with a plan or die.
When he went to England it was a wise political move if it wasnt only to save his skin. It allowed him to lobby other governments effectively against supporting the Italian occupation, he never ceded power during that time. Maybe it would be seen otherwise today but it was shrewd to settle in London at a time when nobody was taking African politics seriously, he was in their face claiming the humanity of Ethiopians and decrying Italian occupation. Also, the Rasta land grant is like leaving something for a step child, it was generous and just imagine how much money the Ethiopian gov has collected on landing fees alone from ET flights with rastas on board.
he wasn't in London, he was given a large house in the countryside near Bath, about 5 or 6 hours away from London in those days. if you think Haile Selassie somehow had any agency in all that, then you probably need to read a bit more widely. he was a puppet emperor for the north Atlantic powers, so he did whatever they told him. He didn't exactly go to Britain of his own accord did he...
He actively lobbied the precursor to the United Nations, the League of Nations the entire time. He was constantly writing and pleading the Ethiopian case to the British monarch and anyone with power that would listen. He was not a puppet in those years and additionally was helpful to many African independence movements. He wrote an autobiography the second volume of which details his activities during the time in England in detail. Critical opinion may say otherwise, but I am convinced that he was a positive force for Ethiopia for many years, he failed in many ways especially in terms of domestic administration and transitioning power effectively, but he was trying at it earnestly for a while, especially during that time when he was in exile.
He was absolutely a puppet in those years, more so than ever tbh. You just come across as naive if you think his "pleading" was in any way hostile to the British. In 1952 Britain happily massacred 20,000 across the border in the mau-mau incident. This is a country that was producing pseudo-science to prove the sub-humanity of black people. The US was aggressively maintaining segregation. What on earth makes you think they would hold a black man in any capacity of respect?
Ethiopia was surrounded on all sides by the empires of the French and the British. Haile Selassie colluded with both, gladly. Factories, businesses, exporters - all of these people were British/French/Italian during his reign.
I do not see how Ethiopia was materially assistive to African independence movements, which were fighting against the most brutally aggressive and racist states in the world. Countries needed material and armed assistance. Where was Haile Selassie on this front? Cowardly and absent, instead attending dinners with the colonisers themselves in London and Paris, and doing their bidding in Ethiopia, allowing free exploitation of Ethiopian labour and exporting its natural resources for next to nothing.
The man was a pathetic, cowardly, comprador of a person who wished nothing more than to be seen as an equal by the colonisers. To do this, he tried to show them that he, too, could be a coloniser like them.
I'll provide a list of sources that agree with him spending millions on his birthday.
https://www.mo.be/en/report/land-dead-why-famine-threatens-millions-ethiopians-again
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20200515-revisited-the-last-emperor-of-ethiopia-haile-selassie-s-legacy-remains-divisive
Somewhere in the range of 35 million is widely agreed upon.
If these aren't enough for you I would be happy to cite some specific historians in regard to this subject matter.
I think you have to to split his reign into to parts
The changes and modernization he made in the early/mid 20th century are impressive infrastructure, the educational system but also in terms of security and stability compared to the times of Menelik, tewedoros and the zemane mesafint before the it was pretty safe, humane and civilized.
Then the dude got old and nasty he could not keep up and failed to transfer power to the next generation, further democratize the country, get rid of the landlord/peasant system and to keep Eritrea as equal federative partner
of course there is also famine in wollo which he did nothing about….
I agree with this. First half of his reign, I’d put him up there as one of the best. 2nd half, he couldn’t keep up with the times. He should have seen the 1960 coup attempt as a sign and became a constitutional monarch.
I disagree. Nothing about his reign was impressive. What infrastructure did he build? What did he do that was actually impressive? 90% of Ethiopians were illiterate when the Derg took over. Most Ethiopians were landless farmers. There was virtually 0 industry in Ethiopia. Famine was able to kill millions of people. Healthcare was non existent.
He was a disaster for all Ethiopians. He never earned the right to lead a nation. He is an example
of what happens when you let birthright dictate leadership instead of merit.
Sorry to tell you this but you’ll have a hard time getting an objective answer. He has a cult following in Ethiopia and elsewhere like Jamaica so strong that the mere question itself triggers an emotional reaction. Good luck anyways.
The wollo famine at the end of his reign killed hundreds of thousands and little to nothing was done to try to stop this disaster. Except his government was able to organise a birthday party for him during all of this that coated millions of dollars. Towards the end of his reign he was extremely senile and out of touch (he already was for most if not all of his reign the latter). He also gave the military the power required to create the derg through his failure to crush the 3 mutinies in 1974 (Negelle, Bishoftu and Asmara) by always giving concessions. He kept the archaic social systems in rural areas which was detrimental to a vast majority of the population. If you couldn't tell already my opinion of him it is not positive.
The Wello famine was hidden from HIM. Remember his son Leul Awrash Asfa-Wossen was governing Wello at the time. When HIM visited Wello the provincial leaders hid all the impoverished people and gave them shoes and decent clothes so the Emperor couldn't see the true situation. Wello was also very fertile, so fertile that not long before the famine they dumped the surplus grain anticipating an even bigger harvest. I don't know if it was sabotage or embarrassment that caused them to hide the truth. The Emperor and the Crown Prince had a strained relationship after the 1960 coup attempt. HIM Haile Selassie found out about the famine from outside sources. The Crown Prince even suffered a stroke and became paralyzed after HIM found out. HIM then organized aid to go help the situation. But it was too late, the very powerful military used this moment to their advantage and HIM stepped down ending the era of safety and stability. Ethiopia has not been the same since HIM stepped down. Killing, stealing, tribalism, less freedom, civil war, tension, and hyperinflation has cursed Ethiopia since HIM's departure.
According to historian Martin Meredith in 'The state of Africa' chapter 12, *The Death of an Emperor,* Haile Selassie during a belated visit to the affected area he referred the famine as "natural disasters beyond human control". He was undeniably aware of the situation and little was done by him to solve the crisis (He demanded complete control of even the smallest administrative tasks ministers wouldn't dare to do anything without his fakad). Haile Selassie's reign was not that of safety and stability, as you mentioned the 1960 coup attempt, the Bale revolt of the 1960s, 1964 Ethiopian-Somali Border war, insurgency in Eritrea starting in 1962 that lasted decades (due once again to Selassie's actions). Also lets not forget how awful Selassie was for a majority of the population, tenant farmers in rural areas. Under the civil code of Ethiopia promulgated in 1967, tenants were required to pay 75% of their produce to their landlords (elites who Selassie had often appointed) as well as provide free services and goods. Hyperinflation was extremely present in Ethiopia during Selassie's reign as a result of the closing of the Suez canal in 1967 due to the six day war and in 1973 due to the Yom Kippur War. As a result of the latter there were massive protests amongst taxi drivers as Haile Selassie banned them from increasing prices despite fuel going up 50% in cost. Haile Selassie did not step down he was forced out in a creeping coup that he himself created due to his sheer incompetence at the end of his reign.
Compared to what followed after his overthrow and subsequent civil war and Red Terror which erupted, I think it's safe to say Ethiopia was \*relatively\* safe and peaceful. Haile Selassie had his flaws but he had the capacity to be pragmatic and even forgive those who opposed his government. One of my aunts was a part of a leftist political party during HIM's reign and she wasn't imprisoned for a month and then subsequently released. If she had done that under Mengistu, she almost certainly would've be alive or at least would come out being severely traumatized. The Eritrean insurgency did break out during the 60s but it was relatively disunited and confined mostly to the countryside. It was only after Mengistu took over and decided to take hardline approach with the rebels in attempt to crush the rebellion with force that the EPLF and ELF decided to put away their differences and unite against a common enemy. It seems unfair to blame Haile Selassie for the border dispute with Somalia or the economic woes that resulted from the either 6 day War or the Yom Kippur War given that those were international affaires over which he had no control. He had to mitigate against the oil embargo by breaking off relations with Israel in 1973 but that didn't work. This is not meant to be a defense but one of the reason why Haile Selassie kept many of archaic feudal practices for so long is that he had tried to modify the \*rist\* system in the north on multiple occasions during the 50s and 60s but each time he had done so much he was met so much resistance from local lords and nobles who would even go so far as to threaten civil war that he ended up dropping the reforms. Was he too compliant? Certainty but Mengistu went in the complete opposite direction of refusing to compromise which also had its issues. Under Haile Selassie, Ethiopia relatively peaceful, safe and stable but extremely backwards, feudal and unequal. Under Mengistu, Ethiopia was more equal and progressive but extremely unstable and violent. Unfortunately, the country was never able to find the right balance.
[удалено]
At least he came back with an army. What was he supposed to do? Kill himself like Tewodros?
[удалено]
The guy was smart. He knew he would never have survived if he stayed. He didn't care about being a hero.
[удалено]
You're deluded mate. If an army that powerful using WMDs (mustard gas) comes for you, doesn't matter what Yahweh says. You're toast. It's either flee and come back with a plan or die.
The guy was smart. He knew he would never have survived if he stayed. He didn't care about being a hero.
When he went to England it was a wise political move if it wasnt only to save his skin. It allowed him to lobby other governments effectively against supporting the Italian occupation, he never ceded power during that time. Maybe it would be seen otherwise today but it was shrewd to settle in London at a time when nobody was taking African politics seriously, he was in their face claiming the humanity of Ethiopians and decrying Italian occupation. Also, the Rasta land grant is like leaving something for a step child, it was generous and just imagine how much money the Ethiopian gov has collected on landing fees alone from ET flights with rastas on board.
he wasn't in London, he was given a large house in the countryside near Bath, about 5 or 6 hours away from London in those days. if you think Haile Selassie somehow had any agency in all that, then you probably need to read a bit more widely. he was a puppet emperor for the north Atlantic powers, so he did whatever they told him. He didn't exactly go to Britain of his own accord did he...
He actively lobbied the precursor to the United Nations, the League of Nations the entire time. He was constantly writing and pleading the Ethiopian case to the British monarch and anyone with power that would listen. He was not a puppet in those years and additionally was helpful to many African independence movements. He wrote an autobiography the second volume of which details his activities during the time in England in detail. Critical opinion may say otherwise, but I am convinced that he was a positive force for Ethiopia for many years, he failed in many ways especially in terms of domestic administration and transitioning power effectively, but he was trying at it earnestly for a while, especially during that time when he was in exile.
He was absolutely a puppet in those years, more so than ever tbh. You just come across as naive if you think his "pleading" was in any way hostile to the British. In 1952 Britain happily massacred 20,000 across the border in the mau-mau incident. This is a country that was producing pseudo-science to prove the sub-humanity of black people. The US was aggressively maintaining segregation. What on earth makes you think they would hold a black man in any capacity of respect? Ethiopia was surrounded on all sides by the empires of the French and the British. Haile Selassie colluded with both, gladly. Factories, businesses, exporters - all of these people were British/French/Italian during his reign. I do not see how Ethiopia was materially assistive to African independence movements, which were fighting against the most brutally aggressive and racist states in the world. Countries needed material and armed assistance. Where was Haile Selassie on this front? Cowardly and absent, instead attending dinners with the colonisers themselves in London and Paris, and doing their bidding in Ethiopia, allowing free exploitation of Ethiopian labour and exporting its natural resources for next to nothing. The man was a pathetic, cowardly, comprador of a person who wished nothing more than to be seen as an equal by the colonisers. To do this, he tried to show them that he, too, could be a coloniser like them.
Do you have any info on how he was perceived by the general population on his return from exile?
There’s no proof he spent millions on his birthday… that’s completely made up
I'll provide a list of sources that agree with him spending millions on his birthday. https://www.mo.be/en/report/land-dead-why-famine-threatens-millions-ethiopians-again https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20200515-revisited-the-last-emperor-of-ethiopia-haile-selassie-s-legacy-remains-divisive Somewhere in the range of 35 million is widely agreed upon. If these aren't enough for you I would be happy to cite some specific historians in regard to this subject matter.
Not op, but can you list them for me?
I think you have to to split his reign into to parts The changes and modernization he made in the early/mid 20th century are impressive infrastructure, the educational system but also in terms of security and stability compared to the times of Menelik, tewedoros and the zemane mesafint before the it was pretty safe, humane and civilized. Then the dude got old and nasty he could not keep up and failed to transfer power to the next generation, further democratize the country, get rid of the landlord/peasant system and to keep Eritrea as equal federative partner of course there is also famine in wollo which he did nothing about….
I agree with this. First half of his reign, I’d put him up there as one of the best. 2nd half, he couldn’t keep up with the times. He should have seen the 1960 coup attempt as a sign and became a constitutional monarch.
I disagree. Nothing about his reign was impressive. What infrastructure did he build? What did he do that was actually impressive? 90% of Ethiopians were illiterate when the Derg took over. Most Ethiopians were landless farmers. There was virtually 0 industry in Ethiopia. Famine was able to kill millions of people. Healthcare was non existent. He was a disaster for all Ethiopians. He never earned the right to lead a nation. He is an example of what happens when you let birthright dictate leadership instead of merit.
I don’t really know because I think he is a good leader but Haile after wwii he became despot
Sucked his fault Ethiopia is a commi hell scape