Barren Relationship Britain and Ethiopia 1805 to 1868 (The): A Study of British Policy

About the Book : Ethiopia has played a unique role in the history of Africa. Not only was this one of the earliest Christian civilisations in the world, it was the only indigenous state which escaped European conquest and colonization, at least until the short-lived conquest by Mussolini's Italian fascists. This study examines the relationship between Ethiopia and Britain from 1805 to 1868 in which Britain was the world's predominant industrial and naval power and was interested in penetrating Ethiopia economically, culturally and politically but by informal methods rather than colonial conquest. Ethiopian rulers were anxious to use this contact to "modernize" Ethiopia, put an end to internal strife and disunity, improve its economy and defence capability, and participate in international relations as an equal and not as a victim. Despite the apparent compatibility of aims on both sides, the Anglo-Ethiopian relationship, by 1868, collapsed into sudden violence, hostage-taking, British invasion, war and a severing of relations. In looking at the failure of this relationship, this study throws light on many questions of significance for today's world, including the problem of "Underdevelopment", the nature of "foreign aid", the theory of "neocolonialism" and the nature of relationships between "advanced" and backward" countries.

About the Author : He after obtaining his B.A. (Hons) and M.A. degrees from the University of Mysore, he taught in Ethiopia from 1961 to 1966. A gold medallist in history, he won the Memorial University graduate fellowship and the Izak Killam scholarship respectively in 1966 and 1967. These scholarships enabled him to pursue his research degrees in Canada where he obtained his second M.A. from the Memorial University and Ph.D. from Dalhousie University after extensive archival work in London, Paris and Rome on Ethiopia relations with the European powers. He has held faculty positions in Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, Makerere University of Uganda and the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has published many articles on Ethiopian History in The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, London, The Canadian Journal of African Studies, The Journal of East African History, Nairobi, History in Africa, North Western University, U.S.A. and other academic journals of repute.Also, he has to his credit a book entitled Britain and Ethiopia 1805 to 1868: A Study of British Policy (Concept, 1985).