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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Modern World Economy, Ethiopian Settler Colonialism and the Oromos, 1880s-1930s
Author:Jalata, AsafaISNI
Year:1990
Periodical:Horn of Africa
Volume:13
Issue:3-4; 14 #1-2
Period:July-December
Pages:59-80
Language:English
Geographic term:Ethiopia
Subjects:Oromo
immigrants
colonial conquest
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
colonialism
History and Exploration
Economics and Trade
Abstract:In the last decades of the 19th century, the Oromos were forcibly incorporated into Ethiopia by the alliance of Ethiopian colonialism and European imperialism. This paper examines the impact of Ethiopian settler colonialism on the Oromos during the final decades of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The penetration of European imperialism in the Horn, the emergence of the Ethiopian central State and the colonization of the Oromos went hand in hand. The process of obtaining modern European weaponry and administrative expertise, and the expansion of territory through colonization were integral parts of the incorporation of Ethiopia into the capitalist world economy. The Ethiopians began to obtain resources to pay for European services mainly from the Oromos. The invasion of Oromia was followed by settler colonialism that was practised through five types of colonial administrative arrangements: the 'katamas' (garrison cities); the 'nafxanya-gabbar' system, which entitled the colonialists to exact labour and agricultural products from the Oromos; slavery; the 'balabat' institution, 'balabat' being a local Oromo intermediate class which acted as liaison with the conquerors; and the landholding system. Haile Selassie continued Menelik's policies aimed at consolidating Ethiopian State power, increasing wealth and capital accumulation and subordinating the Oromos. Notes, ref.
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