World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseAfter the Scramble for Africa, Abyssinia remained one of only two African nations that retained independence, largely because of the decisive victory against Italian invaders during the First Italo-Ethiopian War of 1895 to 1896. In 1916, Haile Selassie I came to power as a regent; in 1930, he was made the Emperor. His reign was characterized by a rapid modernization of the country, but it would not be enough to counter the second Italian invasion in Oct 1935. Haile Selassie I went into exile in Bath, England, United Kingdom after the defeat in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. Abyssinia was merged with Italian colonies in the region to form the greater Italian East Africa, and King Vittorio Emanuele III claimed the title of the Emperor of Abyssinia until 1943. In 1941, British troops drove out the Italians and restored Abyssinian independence. Haile Selassie I's reign came to an end in 1974 when he was overthrown by a military junta supported by the Soviet Union. In 1987, the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was proclaimed, which lasted until 1991, replaced by a more democratic constitution in 1994.

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