Bombshell : Who was Emperor Menelik II (1844-1913)? By Andrew DeCort
Posted: 04 Mar 2023, 10:52
1. Menelik conquered and dominated many Ethiopian peoples (1). Marcus writes, “In short, Menelik’s reign represented the triumph of the centralizing idea…” He “devastated” Wollo (36). He came from a royal line of Shoan rulers famous for their violent expansionism: “During [Amha Yasus’s] campaigns the Oromo population between Debra Berhan and Ankober was virtually exterminated and the area resettled with Amharas” (9). Menelik established a centralizing hegemony that weakened regional, traditional power with his tax and court systems (2). He was an absolutist and authoritarian (2). He established a “monarchical non-party state” (4). He was “hasty” in his pursuit of power and caused unnecessary conflict (6).
2. Menelik built his power on ruthlessly dividing and conquering. He himself began as an escaped rebel and army leader who thrived on sowing rebellion. He collaborated with Egypt to try to destroy Emperor Yohannes IV and was willing to lose parts of Tigray in the struggle (40). He expanded his territory to plunder and pay tribute. He would command two looting campaigns per year. For example, his soldiers stole 100,000 cattle from Kambatta already in 1880-1881 (64). In 1886 he completed his “long and bloody conquest of Arussi” (89). Harar was occupied in 1886, which was previously under Egyptian control (93). The area around Jigjiga was occupied by 1892 (138).
3. Menelik himself followed the colonial model of occupying, looting, and imposing identity on local communities. He founded cities governed by soldiers to secure his power (65). The looting was so severe that local populations sometimes had no food to eat (138). Marcus writes, “Moreover, from these towns and through the example of Shoan colonists, Amhara culture, religion, and language were disseminated. The process of acculturation was spurred also by the forced movement of captives of war from their native provinces to other parts of Ethiopia” to divide and conquer (65).
Fano has an old history of land capture and looting: “An ad hoc group of fighters, the fano lived entirely off of the land and by their wits. Armed with lances, swords, and shields, they preceded the main [imperial] force, provided intelligence reports, and kept the enemy off balance with surprise attacks. All these fighters augmented the king’s standing army… Once in enemy territory, the Fano moved one or two days’ march ahead of the main force, devastating the deserted countryside… Those who refused to disclose the enemy’s whereabouts and where the cattle were concealed were shot immediately” (65-66). Marcus calls Menelik’s forces “invaders” (67). “The Shoan establishment” was soldiers who perpetrated war and then governed their subjects (67).
Marcus is direct: “[Soldiers would] return to camp with women and children; captive able-bodied males and the elderly were killed. The severity of the zemecha [campaign] was aimed at the eradication of all resistance… Whenever the army surged forward, there was the utmost devastation; houses were burned, crops destroyed, and people executed. Two or three violent attacks occurred during any one campaign until the camp overflowed with booty and prisoners. Only when the remaining enemy authorities decided to surrender did the commanders-in-chief halt the assaults. After a formal act of submission, looting and burning were forbidden over a pain over a people now Menelik’s subjects. The king, or his surrogate, then assigned a Shoan nobleman with his retinue and some colonists to reorganize and administer the ravaged land, while the main force returned home. Once in safe territory, the booty was divided, and the king received one-half to two-thirds of the total… Despite Menelik’s wish to divert as much of this lucrative trade as possible into Shoa, the violence of his expansion served to frighten traders away” (67).
4. Menelik privileged northern Ethiopians, their culture, and Amharic. Marcus summarizes, “As King of Shoa, Menelik had exploited the south and south-west to purchase weapons; as emperor, he used its wealth to bolster the north’s sagging economy, and to insure the continuation of the Amhara-Tigrean political and cultural hegemony” (140).
He fueled assimilationism and destroyed indigenous cultures: “A thin but necessary veneer of Amhara culture” was required for real citizenship in his empire (1-2). He forced Oromos to convert to Orthodoxy (54). He forced Muslims in Shoa to convert (58). He expelled Catholic missionaries (59). He insisted on people converting to Christianity in order to fully participate (2).
5. Menelik was Ethiopia’s worst slave trader (12). His mother Ijjagayyehu was rumored to be a Gurage slave that his drunken father Haile Malakot had sex with at a party (16-17). Yohannes IV demanded 500 slaves per year from Menelik (53). Slaves and priests traveled with his army (66). In June-July of 1883, he traded over 3,000 slaves to buy weapons. Marcus summarizes, “He was indirectly Ethiopia’s greatest slave entrepreneur and received the bulk of the proceeds, along with a tax for each slave brought into Shoa and one for every slave sold there” (73). In short, Menelik built his empire by killing people, enslaving others, and using the profits to further kill and enslave. Menelik also used child soldiers (88).
6. Menelik was not against European colonization of Africa. In fact, he helped France and Italy gain footholds on the Red Sea coast, and he made various treaties with the Italians in 1887-1890 in exchange for weapons with the goal of overthrowing Emperor Yohannes IV and weakening Tigray. He was only against foreign powers trying to colonize his territory; he was not against colonization itself (76, 102).
7. Menelik idolized the past and failed to prioritize economic and social development (5). Ethiopian soldiers remained illiterate and unable to defeat the Italians a second time (5)
2. Menelik built his power on ruthlessly dividing and conquering. He himself began as an escaped rebel and army leader who thrived on sowing rebellion. He collaborated with Egypt to try to destroy Emperor Yohannes IV and was willing to lose parts of Tigray in the struggle (40). He expanded his territory to plunder and pay tribute. He would command two looting campaigns per year. For example, his soldiers stole 100,000 cattle from Kambatta already in 1880-1881 (64). In 1886 he completed his “long and bloody conquest of Arussi” (89). Harar was occupied in 1886, which was previously under Egyptian control (93). The area around Jigjiga was occupied by 1892 (138).
3. Menelik himself followed the colonial model of occupying, looting, and imposing identity on local communities. He founded cities governed by soldiers to secure his power (65). The looting was so severe that local populations sometimes had no food to eat (138). Marcus writes, “Moreover, from these towns and through the example of Shoan colonists, Amhara culture, religion, and language were disseminated. The process of acculturation was spurred also by the forced movement of captives of war from their native provinces to other parts of Ethiopia” to divide and conquer (65).
Fano has an old history of land capture and looting: “An ad hoc group of fighters, the fano lived entirely off of the land and by their wits. Armed with lances, swords, and shields, they preceded the main [imperial] force, provided intelligence reports, and kept the enemy off balance with surprise attacks. All these fighters augmented the king’s standing army… Once in enemy territory, the Fano moved one or two days’ march ahead of the main force, devastating the deserted countryside… Those who refused to disclose the enemy’s whereabouts and where the cattle were concealed were shot immediately” (65-66). Marcus calls Menelik’s forces “invaders” (67). “The Shoan establishment” was soldiers who perpetrated war and then governed their subjects (67).
Marcus is direct: “[Soldiers would] return to camp with women and children; captive able-bodied males and the elderly were killed. The severity of the zemecha [campaign] was aimed at the eradication of all resistance… Whenever the army surged forward, there was the utmost devastation; houses were burned, crops destroyed, and people executed. Two or three violent attacks occurred during any one campaign until the camp overflowed with booty and prisoners. Only when the remaining enemy authorities decided to surrender did the commanders-in-chief halt the assaults. After a formal act of submission, looting and burning were forbidden over a pain over a people now Menelik’s subjects. The king, or his surrogate, then assigned a Shoan nobleman with his retinue and some colonists to reorganize and administer the ravaged land, while the main force returned home. Once in safe territory, the booty was divided, and the king received one-half to two-thirds of the total… Despite Menelik’s wish to divert as much of this lucrative trade as possible into Shoa, the violence of his expansion served to frighten traders away” (67).
4. Menelik privileged northern Ethiopians, their culture, and Amharic. Marcus summarizes, “As King of Shoa, Menelik had exploited the south and south-west to purchase weapons; as emperor, he used its wealth to bolster the north’s sagging economy, and to insure the continuation of the Amhara-Tigrean political and cultural hegemony” (140).
He fueled assimilationism and destroyed indigenous cultures: “A thin but necessary veneer of Amhara culture” was required for real citizenship in his empire (1-2). He forced Oromos to convert to Orthodoxy (54). He forced Muslims in Shoa to convert (58). He expelled Catholic missionaries (59). He insisted on people converting to Christianity in order to fully participate (2).
5. Menelik was Ethiopia’s worst slave trader (12). His mother Ijjagayyehu was rumored to be a Gurage slave that his drunken father Haile Malakot had sex with at a party (16-17). Yohannes IV demanded 500 slaves per year from Menelik (53). Slaves and priests traveled with his army (66). In June-July of 1883, he traded over 3,000 slaves to buy weapons. Marcus summarizes, “He was indirectly Ethiopia’s greatest slave entrepreneur and received the bulk of the proceeds, along with a tax for each slave brought into Shoa and one for every slave sold there” (73). In short, Menelik built his empire by killing people, enslaving others, and using the profits to further kill and enslave. Menelik also used child soldiers (88).
6. Menelik was not against European colonization of Africa. In fact, he helped France and Italy gain footholds on the Red Sea coast, and he made various treaties with the Italians in 1887-1890 in exchange for weapons with the goal of overthrowing Emperor Yohannes IV and weakening Tigray. He was only against foreign powers trying to colonize his territory; he was not against colonization itself (76, 102).
7. Menelik idolized the past and failed to prioritize economic and social development (5). Ethiopian soldiers remained illiterate and unable to defeat the Italians a second time (5)