Addis Ababa

“ The Ethiopian Government's use of the railway from Djibouti to Addis Ababa was in practice a hazardous regards transport of arms intended for the Ethiopian forces. ”

“ Opening It is a privilege for us Ethiopians to welcome in Our midst such a distinguished gathering of African nationalist leaders and freedom fighters of this region on the occasion of the opening of the Conference of the Pan-African Freedom Movement of East and Central Africa here in our Capital city of Addis Ababa. ”

“ We have to put up a common effort to see that the Continent's interests are protected. As it is well known, the Organization of African Unity was established in Addis Ababa. I believe this organization has made a good beginning in the interest of all of the African people. ”

“ Labor force: 18,000,000; 80% agriculture and animal husbandry, 12% government and services, 8% industry and construction (1985)
Organized labor: All Ethiopian Trade Union formed by the government in January 1977 to represent 273,000 registered trade union members
Government
Long-form name: People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Type: Communist state
Capital: Addis Ababa
Administrative divisions: 14 administrative regions (plural—NA, singular—kifle hāger) ; Ārsī, Balē, Eritrea, Gamo Gofa, Gojam, Gonder, Hārergē, Īlubabor, Kefa, Shewa, Sīdamo, Tigray, Welega, Welo ”

“ Ethiopia, commercial relations. Treaty between the United States and the King of Ethiopia to regulate the commercial relations between the two countries. Signed at Addis-Ababa, December 27, 1903; ratification advised by the Senate, March 12, 1904; ratified by the President, March 17, 1904; King of Ethiopia notified of ratification, August 2, 1904 ”

“ Except Harrar, and perhaps in the north, there are no towns in Abyssinia in our sense of the word—not even Adis Ababa, which consists of villages and suburbs scattered round the Palace. It would be about three miles in diameter. The most important towns, politically and commercially, are: Gondar, capital of Amhara, 3,000; Adua, capital of Tigré, 3,000; Aksum, ancient capital of Ethiopia, and still the seat of an Abuna, 5,000; Antalo, former capital of Tigré, 1,000; Ankober, former capital of Shoa, 2,000; Adis Ababa, present capital of Abyssinia and Shoa, 40,000–50,000 ”

“ He wants to be on good terms with all the world, but he does not want to be devoured. He is anxious to open up Abyssinia, but to commerce, not to conquest.” And again, “he has at last granted permission for the railway from Djibouti, which hitherto went only as far as Harrar, to be carried up to Addis Abiba. ”

“ Ethiopia knows how hard-won is independence and how vital it is that men be jealous of their freedom and be ever prepared to defend it. Ethiopia knows, as her history has taught her, that the world is small, and that co-operation among all nations of the world, East and West alike, is not only possible and desirable, but indispensible for the welfare of mankind. Ethiopia knows that the willingness of the Independent States of Africa to co-operate and work together in solving their common problems and achieving their common goals is essential to the continued progress of the African peoples. ”

“ In the year 1818 was born in Kaura, a child to whom the name Lij Kassi was given—a lad whose uncle was then governor of that part of Abyssinia. The boy grew to be wilful, self-reliant, and very ambitious; it is even said that he set himself out to be the elect of God, who should raise his country to a glory equal to that of Ethiopia of old. There was a prophecy indeed, “And it shall come to pass that a king shall arise in Ethiopia, of Solomon’s lineage, who shall be the greatest on earth, and his powers shall extend over all Ethiopia and Egypt. ”

“ Since no creature created in Your image and to Your pattern gives up hope that everything he begs of You will be done for him until the day You sever his soul from his body, we beseech You that Ethiopia should not remain with her freedom extinct and prostrate under an alien ruler, so that the mouth of her people be silenced for fear of a foreign governor, but rather, that You will save them by Your deeds of kindness lest they remain with their hearts oppressed through being deprived of their own Ethiopian ruler who was leading them towards civilization under a light yoke and with gladness. ”

“ Since 1892 the capital has been Adis Ababa in the kingdom of Shoa.
The other towns of Abyssinia worthy of mention may be grouped according to their geographical position. None of them has a permanent population exceeding 6000, but at several large markets are held periodically. In Tigré there are Adowa or Adua (17 m. E. by N. of Axum) , Adigrat, Macalle and Antalo. The three last-named places are on the high plateau near its eastern escarpment and on the direct road south from Massawa to Shoa. West of Adigrat is the monastery of Debra-Domo, one of the most celebrated sanctuaries in Abyssinia. ”

“ As the years wear by, man's horizon grows wider and wider and the vistas multiply. So it is with Ethiopia. As the nation moves progressively in the accomplishments of the targets set for her political, social and cultural advance, We find Ourselves confronted with yet more tasks, more avenues of effort that demand Our attention. It is within this framework that, thankfully, the wheels of progress have moved and have brought Ethiopia thus far on the path We have chartered for Our country and people since we undertook the responsibility to move Ethiopia forward. ”

“ The lowlands, ancient political dependencies of the kingdom of Ethiopia, extend east of the Abyssinian mountains towards the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden over an area nearly equal to that of Abyssinia properly so-called. The whole of the region comprised between, the Nile, the Takka steppes, the seacoast from Suakin to Zeila, and the irregidar water-parting between the basins of the Awash, the Blue Nile, the Sobat, and the tributaries of the Indian Ocean, has a superficial area exceeding 240,000 square miles. Its population may be approximately estimated at about 9,000,000. ”

“ Separated from the surrounding countries by the relief of its plateaux and mountains, Ethiopia also differs from them in its climate, vegetation, fauna, inhabitants, and history. In this vast continent, where the people elsewhere intermingle like the waters of the sea, it rises like a vast highland citadel, constituting a world apart. The Abyssinians have had an historic evolution different from that of the nations surging round the foot of their highlands, like the waves dashing against the cliffs. ”

“ Thus converted at an early period of the Christian age, Ethiopia spread her new religion deep into the recesses of heathen Africa. Extending her wide empire on every side, the praise of the Redeemer soon arose from the wildest valleys and the most secluded mountains. From the great river Gochob to the frontiers of Nubia, the crutch and the cowl pervaded the land. Churches were erected in every convenient spot; and the blue badge of nominal Christianity encircled the necks of an ignorant multitude. ”

“ Digression respecting the History, Customs, and State of Abyssinia.
Presbyter or Prester John, otherwise called Prete Jani, who is the king or emperor of the Abyssinians, is lord of all the land called anciently Ethiopia sub Egypto [280] , or Lower Ethiopia; which is one of the most extensive dominions we know of in the world. This empire begins at Cape Guardafu, called anciently Aromata, whence running along the Red Sea, with desert and not very crooked coasts, it reaches to the boundaries of the rich city of Swakem. ”

“ But the Nile does not traverse the whole of Ethiopia, nor alone, nor in a straight line, nor a country which is well inhabited. But Egypt it traverses both alone and entirely, and in a straight line, from the lesser cataract above Syene and Elephantina, (which are the boundaries of Egypt and Ethiopia,) to the mouths by which it discharges itself into the sea. The Ethiopians at present lead for the most part a wandering life, and are destitute of the means of subsistence, on account of the barrenness of the soil, the disadvantages of climate, and their great distance from us. ”

“ The wheels were turned by oxen, driven by Dinka slaves, who sang vociferous melodies the while, and the water was conveyed to fields distant from the river in the hollow trunks of the doum-tree.
There, where I expected to sail through a wilderness, I found a garden. Ethiopia might become, in other hands, the richest and most productive part of Africa. The people are industrious and peaceable, and deserve better masters. Their dread of the Turks is extreme, and so is their hatred. ”

“ And as the boundaries had not yet been delimited between Abyssinia and the Sudan on the one hand and Abyssinia and Uganda on the other, we felt that there would be more scope for our activities in that region than elsewhere. The object was elephant hunting.
In order to reach this country we were obliged to cross Abyssinia. We took steamer to Djibuti on the Red Sea, ascending thence by railway to the then railhead, Dirré Doua, and then by horse, camel and mule to Addis Abeba, the capital. ”

“ However, the Ethiopian people have heroically and victoriously repulsed the repeated aggressive attempts of invaders and colonialists to occupy their motherland. Even when capitalism evolved into the monopoly stage and imperialists set out to divide the world among themselves, Ethiopia still remained impregnable. Especially, the great victory scored at Adwa in 1896 over a colonial army that was modern by contemporary standards, has earned Ethiopia a special place of honour and a glorious history in the annals of the world anti-imperialist struggle. ”

“ In 1905 the Bank of Abyssinia, the first banking house in the country, was founded, with its headquarters at Adis Ababa. The bank, which was granted a monopoly of banking business in the empire for fifty years, has a capital of £500,000, has the power to issue notes, to mint the Abyssinian coinage, and to engage in commercial operations. It was founded under Egyptian law by the National Bank of Egypt, which institution had previously obtained a concession from the emperor Menelek. ”

“ The Allied representatives at Addis Abbaba, in particular the Hon. W. G. Thesiger, then the British minister, did much to counteract Turco-German propaganda and, except Ras Michael, all the Abyssinian chiefs were opposed to the Emperor's proceedings. They had the support of the people, the Shoans as well as the men of Tigre and Gondar, and they determined to end an intolerable situation. On Sept. 27 1916 the Feast of the Cross by a public proclamation of the Abuna (the head of the church) Lij Yasu was declared dethroned, on the specific ground of his apostasy. ”

“ The connexion between Egypt and Ethiopia was in early times very intimate, and occasionally the two countries were under the same ruler, so that the arts and civilization of the one naturally found their way into the other. In early times, too, the Hebrews had commercial intercourse with the Ethiopians; and according to Abyssinian tradition the queen of Sheba who visited Solomon was a monarch of their country, and from their son Menelek the kings of Abyssinia claim descent. During the Captivity many of the Jews settled here and brought with them a knowledge of the Jewish religion. ”

“ The Abyssinians have from time immemorial expended an entire tree in the reduction to suitable dimensions of every beam or plank employed in their primitive habitations; and it is not therefore surprising that Sáhela Selássie should have been equally delighted and astonished at the economy of time, labour, and material attending the use of the cross-cut saw. From age to age, and generation to generation, the Ethiopian plods on like his forefathers, without even a desire for improvement. Ignorance and indolence confine him to a narrow circle of observation from which he is afraid to move. ”

“ However, this policy was frustrated and Ethiopia continued to egoist as a sovereign and independent country though the threat had never been removed. During this period the relentless struggle of our people to maintain the independence of their country had won the sympathy and moral support of the entire world and gave meaning and form to the present Pan-African Movement. ”

“ Shall the Nile, which is looked upon by some people as the proper boundary line between Asia and Libya,188 and which extends southward in length more than 10,000 stadia, embracing in its breadth islands which contain populations of above ten thousand men, the largest of these being Meroe, the seat of empire and metropolis of the Ethiopians, be regarded as too insignificant to divide Ethiopia into two parts? ”

“ The slave-holding nations which have pillaged them forages, have not been able to destroy them. Ethiopia may well say, stretching out her hands to God, 'Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves.' It is sublime to think what triumphs of redemption there are yet to be on that African continent. But how little, apparently, from all that they ever say, do some of our abolitionist friends seem to think about Africa as a future jewel in Immanuel's diadem! ”

“ Source of Inspiration It is a historical fact that Ethiopia's struggle against colonialism and imperialism has been a source of inspiration to all the coloured peoples of the world. This struggle of Ethiopia had earned her the active opposition of all the colonial powers who had systematically followed a policy of containing and isolating Ethiopia from the rest of Africa. ”

“ Ethiopia and Ethiopians are labouring today not only for the peace and prosperity of our people, but also, realizing the fundamental common interest which we share with other African people, we have dedicated Ourselves to building a united and a more prosperous Africa. We found that the interest that affects Africa affects also Ethiopia and vice versa, because our destiny with the African Continent is a common one. ”