A Brief Overview of the History of Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the most unique among African countries for maintaining its freedom from colonial rule, with the short exception of an occupation by the Italians from 1936-1941. A socialist state was established in 1974 with the overthrow of Emperor Selassie, who had been in control since 1930. A junta or group of military officers called the Derg was responsible for the coup. Yet, this corrupt administration has lead only to warfare and wide scale public suffering. In 1991, the junta was finally brought down by a combination of revolutionary forces who called themselves the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. In 1994, a constitution was drafted and 1995 marked Ethiopia’s first multiparty elections. Recently, a boarder feud with Eritrea, that lasted over 2 years, was ended in December of 2000; yet recent objections by Ethiopia have delayed a final declaration of border.
The landlocked country of Ethiopia is located in east Africa, just west of Somalia, and is roughly twice the size of Texas . Ethiopia’s natural resources include platinum, copper, and small reserves of gold. Only .65% of the land is suitable and allotted for permanent crops. Ethiopia is currently facing several environmental concerns including deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, and water shortages due to poor management of water-intensive farming. Ethiopia’s population is in excess of 66 million. Ethiopia is home to numerous ethnic groups, the largest being Oromo, which accounts for 40% of the population. About half of the Ethiopian population is Muslim, with the majority of the other half practicing Ethiopian Orthodox. Ethiopia’s government is a federal republic which grants its citizens voting rights at 18 years of age. Currently, Ethiopia faces the problem of attempting to control the illicit drugs that come through the country, as it acts as a hub for the transportation of heroin and cocaine.
A Brief Overview of the History of Mali
Mali became a French colony in 1904 and was renamed French Sudan. In June of 1960, it gained its’ independence and became known as the Sudanese Republic. The Sudanese Republic associated with the Republic of Senegal under one federation. In August of 1960, Senegal broke off connections with the federation, and the Sudanese Republic changed its name to The Republic of Mali....
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... use their homes as collateral for startup capital to create businesses or invest, promoting economic expansion.
It was also interesting to read about the history of each country, and I was surprised when I realized that Ethiopia is one of the oldest independent countries. This report was extremely fascinating and helped me get a better grasp on events outside of the United States. I feel that a worldview is increasingly important in our day and age to help people better understand the problems and solutions in developing nations.
Works Cited
1. The CIA, http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
2. The formal HDI Report, http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2003/indicator/pdf/hdr03_indicators.pdf
3. The European Union, http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm
4. The World Bank, http://poverty.worldbank.org/library/view/8702/
5. http://www.geographia.com/mali
6. http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/mali.htm
7. http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/ethiopia.htm
Also, Ethiopian Culture and North American do not meet in any way and when it comes to language and alphabet, they are like heaven and earth. Ethiopia is located in the Eastern part of Africa. To be exact, it is located in the horn of Africa. It is one of the most known countries for its unique heritage, buildings, and religion. It has mainly two seasons, which is the winter and summer.
These people are low income professionals and they move into an area for cheap house prices. As in London docklands, house renovation was also needed which these people could afford. They tend to be young and although they have no children, want to be near the city centre for improved access to their jobs.
Mali and Egypt are both ancient African civilizations. Besides both being ancient African civilizations they also have many other similarities. There are some differences as well between the two civilizations. Similarities and differences can be found in many aspects of the civilizations such as: geography, history, culture, and science and technology. The time period focused on in this essay of ancient Mali is around 1328 A.D., and the time period focused on of ancient Egypt is around 1300 B.C.
Mali was a place in power because of several crucial factors that all led to it becoming powerful. First, Mali was a perfect geographic location for trade and had a big trading network with other nations in Africa and South of Europe. Mali also had a great abundance of natural resources that were valuable to trade with. Such as items like gold,salt,and copper to offer many nations. Second, Mali taken the Islamic faith as its official religion which strengthened bonds with other Islamic nations in Africa. Third, Mali had a great leader with the name of Mansa Musa, who ensured peace and order, and enhanced the economy, and also promoted academic excellence. Lastly Mali had a strong military that was
Before the war, Somalia had a well-functioning democratic republic government. Under the 1979 Constitution, the president held executive power. The president was the head and leader of the country’s sole legal political party, The Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party. Elected to serve a 7-year term, the president was nominated by the party’s central committee. Ever since the civil war in 1991, when the government collapsed, Somalia has been in a state of civil war and anarchy (“Somalian Government”).
Somalia is a country that has been fought over since the 1800’s when it was used as an important coal refueling station for ships. England, France, and Italy claimed part of the country for themselves. In 1960 the British and Italian colonies merged creating what is known today as Somalia. In 1977 the French colony became what is known today as Djibouti.2 Mohamed Siad Barre seized power to become the president and soon sided with communist Russia during the Cold War era. Siad was more of a brutal Marxist dictator than a president emphasizing nationalism as opposed to clan loyalty which goes against Somalia’s culture. He is over run by his own people returning the country to a clan-based culture. The aftermath of this results in a civil war between clans in 1988. After Siads withdrawal, he becomes a clan leader of one of many clans in the country.3 Soon after the revolution, the coali...
This time period is mired in mutinies and betrayals on many levels within the Ethiopian government. The elderly Emperor Selassie was taken hostage in 1975 and eventually strangled in his own bed. Shortly after the emperor was “arrested”, sixty senior most members of the emperor’s entourage were murdered. The leader of the Derg group that took him hostage and shot the entourage members, emerges as the one in control, high ranking Lt. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam and was successful in his campaign called “Red terror”.
Africa was divided into a series of seven colonial empires. France and Britain had the...
Nowadays, the Mali Empire is part of Mali, Senegal, Niger, Ghana, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Guinea and many other countries in North-West Africa.
To understand the demise of Somalia in the 1980’s, it is important to conceive that the 1978-1979 war against Ethiopia turned out to be a failure. The Siad Barre regime hadn’t succeeded in its dream to unify all Somali under one flag and as Isabelle Duyvesteyn (2005) writes “large sections of the Somali populations remained armed” (p.40). Consequently, the regime decided to punish as she writes “ all the officials he (Siad Barre) held responsible for the defeat” (p.40), which according to this scholar initiated turmoil.
We are now a decade on from the August 2003 Accra Peace agreement which drew a line under 14 years of civil war and the oppressive dictatorship of Charles Taylor. The peace agreement bought a renewed chance of peace and stability after the atrocities that had been committed across the country. A post-war transitional government was established consisting of 76 members: 12 each from the three warring parties; Government of the Republic of Liberia, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). Other members from the remaining 18 political parties; seven from civil society and s...
John Kerry, an American politician and current Secretary of State, is pushing hard to advance peace and democracy in Ethiopia. He has made a great impact in the country through continued repression. He strongly urges the Ethiopian government to end arbitrary arrests, release all activists and journalists who are unjustly detained or convicted, and to promptly amend the draconian laws on freedom of association and terrorism that have frequently been used to justify arbitrary arrests and political prosecutions. He has met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom for these discussions over trying to transition into a democracy and to grant the Ethiopian people the basic human rights that they deserve. < Secretary Kerry says the threat of violence or all-out war "prevent even the first shoots of prosperity from emerging." But he says Africans today have an opportu...
When comes to Economic aspect, coffee is the second most traded product in the world after petroleum. As the country’s economy is dependent on agriculture, which accounts for about 45 percent of the GDP, 90 percent of exports and 80 percent of total employment, coffee is one of the most important commodities to the Ethiopian economy. It has always been the country’s most important cash crop and largest export commodity. (Zelalem Tesera p
By the late 14th century, and early into the 15th century, disputes over territories and succession began to weaken Mali. In 1460, Gao, one of the great trading cities within the Kingdom of Mali, became the capital of the West African Kingdom of Songhai. For 200 years, the Kingdom of Mali was the center of wealth in North Africa, its governing style allowing for growth, peace and prosperity. Sundiata and Mansa Musa were rulers who were made great strides in society and education, but like all Empires, they rise and fall.