How Colonialism Hurt Ethiopia.

When someone controls your history, that person controls you, and if determined actions are not taken to correct this, such control can lasts forever. Many years after independence, the true African history is not taught in our schools because we have no control over our own educational system. This is why I consider it important to use the little social media space I have to send messages from my Ancestors to vibrant the energy of my people any time such opportunity comes.

Not long a go, I wrote an analytical piece to explain how deeply the events of Colonialism and enslavement have undermined the continental development of African. I received 100s of comments and opinions on my analysis. Among these comments, one which uniquely got me thinking was a challenge from a gentleman who argued that, Colonialism cannot be said to have hurt Africa's development if not to say it has contributed positively.

His main argument was that, a country like Ethiopia was never colonized but can we say that Ethiopia is better than other African countries in terms of economic development? He went on to answer his question by saying, they are no better of, hence Colonialism cannot be blamed for Africa's underdevelopment.

I felt he has a great point that call for a rethinking and reconsideration, at the same time, I realized that many people may have been convinced when such argument is presented without a deeper evaluation of other related facts.

I, therefore, have decided to use this free morning hour, while enjoying my coronavirus stay at home to write something as far us my brain and my time can permit.

First of all, I have a strong conviction that the gentleman's question and its premise were invalid and highly misleading: "Why couldn't Ethiopia Developed though the country did not go under slavery and colonisation?"

To start with, I want to clearly point out that, Ethiopia is not what we see today, Ethiopia, was a kingdom that shines the world before attempts of colonization and enslavement. Ethiopia was one of the world's most advanced societies, not only in Africa but on the global stage. A valid question should rather be ~why has Ethiopia been destroyed after it refused to be colonized and enslaved?

Like all other African countries, Ethiopia, on several occasions have been under attacks of the external forces in the efforts to get the country colonized and enslaved.

For example, between 1935 and 1937, Italy declared war on Ethiopia which has come to be part of history as Italo-Abyssinian War in an effort to colonise the old African empire.

It was as a result of fighting and defending the kingdom of Ethiopia against these unprovoked attacks that got the advancements and development of Ethiopia destroyed over several hundreds of years.

Additionally, Ethiopia had to suffer the pain of her resistance for more than 400 while the oppressor controlled the rest of African. It must be noted that, prior to colonisation of the African Continent, Ethiopia was a center of trade for Agro products, precious mentals, and education. Food items were traded and supply to nearly all parts of African and that was one of the major sources of revenue for the kingdom.

Upon Ethiopia's resistance and the successful capturing of all other parts of Africa by the colonizers, Ethiopia then, lost the right to trade along all her established trade roots and partners. No country in Africa is permitted to transact or establish any form of diplomacy or relationship with Ethiopia. the country's strong economic development had to come on it knee with time. These are the things we are not looking into, when we want to look at the under development of Ethiopia specifically, and Africa in general.

If one wish to understand how, the global system was designed to isolate Ethiopia just to break down the country and its development, one can read more about the Italo-Abyssinian war which I have indicated earlier.

During this war, Many Black Americans at the time organized themselves and requested passports from the authorities of the United States of America in order to allow them to travel to Africa to support their brothers and sisters at home (by way of devoting their lives to fight to defend the kingdom) unfortunately, they were all refused.

At the same time, other Americans who traced their origins to Italy were granted the permission to go home and fight along with Italian Army against Ethiopia when they placed in their requests (Read American role in Italo-Abyssinia War for more detail). Ethiopia became the enemy of the world, and no one was permitted to associate with the Kingdom.

The negative effects of such organized wars and crippling economic designs employed by our colonizers are what destroyed the development and advancements of Ethiopian.

It is untrue that Ethiopia is not developed though it was not colonized. What is true is that colonisers came with a system designed to destroy the development of both those they enslaved and those they failed to conquer.

Kwadwo Agyei Yeboah.