The quality of a scholarly presentation at least in the humanities and social sciences depends entirely on the availability of documentation. Though Menilek's era is one of the fortunate periods in this respect, some aspects are nonetheless more thinly substantiated than others and, hence, fresh documents can certainly enrich our knowledge. Most of the ministerial papers of Menilek's government were lost in the decades that followed his fatal illness. But some have survived, thank State Councillor Alfred Ilg. During his 28-years' uninterrupted service to the Ethiopian government, Bitwaddad Ilg collected and preserved papers of all kinds - letters, contracts, concession papers, proclamations, certificates of merit and appointments as well as receipts and notes - from which the 312 documents contained in the present volume have been culled. The facsimiles are accompanied by an English translation, introduction, annotation and index.

"Seeks to dispel the myths and clichés surrounding contemporary perceptions of Ethiopia by providing a rare overview of the country's recent history, politics and culture. Explores the unique features of this often misrepresented country as it strives to make itself heard in the modern world"-- Publisher description.

Reframes the story of modern Ethiopia around the contributions of the Oromo people and the culturally fluid union of communities that shaped the nation's politics and society.

Ethiopia 1893-1910 Portraits of the most powerful woman of her time, and the Ethiopian emperor who defeated Italy.

In March 1896 a well-disciplined and massive Ethiopian army did the unthinkable-it routed an invading Italian force and brought Italy's war of conquest in Africa to an end. In an age of relentless European expansion, Ethiopia had successfully defended its independence and cast doubt upon an unshakable certainty of the age-that sooner or later all Africans would fall under the rule of Europeans. This event opened a breach that would lead, in the aftermath of world war fifty years later, to the continent's painful struggle for freedom from colonial rule. Raymond Jonas offers the first comprehensive account of this singular episode in modern world history. The narrative is peopled by the ambitious and vain, the creative and the coarse, across Africa, Europe, and the Americas-personalities like Menelik, a biblically inspired provincial monarch who consolidated Ethiopia's throne; Taytu, his quick-witted and aggressive wife; and the Swiss engineer Alfred Ilg, the emperor's close advisor. The Ethiopians' brilliant gamesmanship and savvy public relations campaign helped roll back the Europeanization of Africa. Figures throughout the African diaspora immediately grasped the significance of Adwa, Menelik, and an independent Ethiopia. Writing deftly from a transnational perspective, Jonas puts Adwa in the context of manifest destiny and Jim Crow, signaling a challenge to the very concept of white dominance. By reopening seemingly settled questions of race and empire, the Battle of Adwa was thus a harbinger of the global, unsettled century about to unfold.

This book shows how Eritrea and East Timor developed sophisticated strategies to liberate their countries from colonialism, and emphasizes that these insurgencies avoided terrorism.