Frank Richardson Cana

“ Both Abyssinians and Gallas showed a distinct appreciation of foreign products; it needed only good government and the provision of better means of communication to have brought about a great development of the very rich natural resources of the country. Lij Yasu, however, was a youth of depraved morals, his administration was both weak and tyrannical, and the result was in the south anarchy, [1] and in the north the alienation of the Tigrians, always jealous of Shoa (Menelek's hereditary kingdom) . The maintenance of a large standing army was another cause of poverty and discontent. ”

“ The fighting was desperate and the slaughter great. The Shoans were at first hard pressed but the timely arrival of Ras Kassa’s cavalry decided the issue. The Wollo army was utterly routed, Michael was taken prisoner and all his artillery captured. This ended the campaign, in which in three weeks over 60,000 lives are said to have been lost, the casualties of the Shoans alone exceeding 20,000. The Fitaurai Hapti Giorgis, Minister of War, who had commanded in chief the Shoan forces, made no attempt to occupy Wollo or to pursue Lij Yasu and thus effectively pacify the country. ”

“ His aunt, the Princess Zauditu (Judith) , who had been a prisoner in the palace since Menelek's illness in 1910, was proclaimed empress. Dejaz (general) Taffari Makonnen, a cousin of Zauditu, was appointed heir to the throne and regent with the title of Ras (prince) . The new regime was at once accepted, practically unopposed, by the chiefs and people of Shoa and by the imperial army (a force of 50,000 kept in the neighbourhood of the capital) . ”