1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,239 Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Dowdy and I'm doubling a chalk re Bardy. 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: And it seems like we're gradually stumbling upon kind of 5 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: a sub theme for the podcast here. It seems like 6 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: situations keep cropping up in history in which someone's remains 7 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:31,319 Speaker 1: are discovered, uncovered, identified, and then buried elsewhere, like a 8 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: variation of our main exhimation theme almost exactly. For example, 9 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,200 Speaker 1: take Ava Perrone. I think that before our time, Stephen 10 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,199 Speaker 1: Umiston History Class did a podcast on Ava Parrone and 11 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: how it took more than twenty years to bury her 12 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: and it was for political reasons. Her body traveled kind 13 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: of all over the place Italy, Spain before finding its 14 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: final resting place in Buenos Aires. And that was a 15 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:56,279 Speaker 1: little different because I think they kind of knew where 16 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: her body was the whole time. Yeah, they were always 17 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: afraid it was gonna get stolen. I think that was 18 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: always a concern, right. And then of course there was 19 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: our recent podcast about Henry the Fourth. We talked about 20 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: him to kick off our Bourbon series that has been ongoing, 21 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: and his head was recently identified and will be reinterred 22 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: this year with full state honors. So kind of along 23 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: the same lines, and with today's episode, we have a 24 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: similar sort of situation, though with a very different set 25 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: of circumstances. The subject of this episode is highly Selassie. 26 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: He was the last Emperor of Ethiopia, sometimes known to 27 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: his subjects as the King of Kings and the Lion 28 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: of Judah, and Time magazine once even made him their 29 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: Man of the Year. Members of the Rastafarian movement UM, 30 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: which is how a lot of people know them. They 31 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: even think of him as their messiah. Yet he didn't 32 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: receive a proper burial when he died in Yeah, it's 33 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: always surprising the people who don't get the proper burial UM. 34 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: So his remains were exhumed from a makeshift tomb in 35 00:01:55,720 --> 00:02:00,919 Speaker 1: nine Um, but his official funeral didn't take place until 36 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: the year two thousand, so a pretty long gap between 37 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 1: those two dates. And even then, when the funeral finally 38 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 1: did happen, it was pretty controversial. It was tough to 39 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: pull off. There was a lot of debate with the 40 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: current government of Ethiopia of how it should happen. Yeah, 41 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: so why did it take nearly thirty years to bury 42 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: a world renowned leader. That's just part of what we're 43 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: going to look at today, as well as the conflict 44 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: between Ethiopia and Italy that put highly Selassie on the 45 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 1: map in the first place, on the international stage out 46 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: there for everyone to know his name and see. Yeah. 47 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: But you know, of course, before we talk about what 48 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: put him on the map, we're going to talk about 49 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: how he got to be Emperor of Ethiopia in the 50 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: first place, because he was not heir to the throne. 51 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: It was not his destiny at least so it seemed. 52 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: He was born to five mcconan on July, and he 53 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: was the son of a Prince Ros. Mcconan Ros means 54 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: Prince Um, and his father was also a noted general 55 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: and the chief advisor to the emperor who was Emperor 56 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: Men of like the second Um in power at the 57 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:12,799 Speaker 1: time that too far I was born Um, and he 58 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: was related to the emperor, but not that closely. He 59 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,080 Speaker 1: was the Emperor's grand nephew, and there were kids and 60 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: grandkids who were in line to take the emperor's place, 61 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: so it didn't seem like this relatively distant Um Kien 62 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: would eventually rise to the throne. But little did they 63 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: know too. Far I was pretty intelligent and he impressed 64 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: the Emperor Menelik very early on, and so the Emperor 65 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: started appointing to Far to these provincial governorships at the 66 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: young age of fourteen, and he became governor first of 67 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: Sadamo and then of the Hare province. So he's governing 68 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: and his policies at the time were considered pretty progressive 69 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: compared to what was out there. He wanted to decrease 70 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: the power of the local nobility by pumping up the 71 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: power of the central government. So, for example, one of 72 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: the things that he did was develop a salaried civil service. Yeah, 73 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: we have our minds so much on Bourbons to this 74 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: kind of reminded us of Richelieu and Louis the fourteenth, 75 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: centralizing the government with the with the king, with the 76 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: emperor um. But meanwhile, while the young Tafari is working 77 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: on all this, the emperor dies in nineteen thirteen and 78 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: his grandson Li Jiahsu takes the throne um. But this 79 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: young man is not very popular and not popular right 80 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: from the start. Part of it was that he had 81 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,279 Speaker 1: converted to Islam, and the majority of Ethiopians at this 82 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: time we're Christians, so his subjects weren't particularly happy with 83 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 1: that point. Tafari, on the other hand, who was a 84 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 1: devout Orthodox Christian, he comes to represent the Christian resistance 85 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: at this time, so the country's younger generation they support 86 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: him for this and also because they're becoming enamored by 87 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: his progressive tendencies. So with both of these things working 88 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,919 Speaker 1: for him, he's able to depose le Jasu in nineteen sixteen, 89 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: and that makes mental like the seconds Daughter's AD two empress, 90 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: but there's a problem with that because at the time 91 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,039 Speaker 1: it was considered unseemly for a woman to rule in 92 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: her own rights. So Rastafari is named regent and heir 93 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 1: apparent to the throne. Yeah, and it's interesting too because, um, 94 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,159 Speaker 1: you normally think of a region and a ruler working 95 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: at least somewhat in tandem, especially if they're two adults, 96 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: but this was not the case. The rulers D two 97 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: is a pretty conservative empress compared to Rastafari, but he 98 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: seemed to be the one who was really pulling a 99 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: lot of the strings. He was the one moving his 100 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: more progressive agenda forward and it is pretty it is 101 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 1: pretty progressive. In ninety three, he gets Ethiopia admitted into 102 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,679 Speaker 1: the League of Nations, the relatively new League of Nations 103 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 1: at that point. In nineteen twenty four, he becomes the 104 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: first Ethiopian ruler to ever go abroad. He visits Rome 105 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 1: and Paris and London, and by ninety eight he's sort 106 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 1: of elevated this regent position a little bit, and he 107 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: takes the title King of Ethiopia. A little funny to 108 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: have a king and an empress here um and it 109 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: sort of shows you where the true power all and 110 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,720 Speaker 1: his power is elevated even more in nineteen thirty when 111 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: zud two dies, making Rastafari emperor. It's then that he 112 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: takes the name highly Selassie, which means might of the Trinity. 113 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: So now he's in truly in power. He's the emperor. 114 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,160 Speaker 1: He is the emperor. But something else is happening at 115 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: the same time in a land far away in Jamaica, 116 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: about the last thing you could expect to happen. Yeah. Now, 117 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: of course a lot of us know the story, but 118 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:52,720 Speaker 1: at the time it would have been maybe kind of 119 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: surprising to some people's ears. We think, so when Highly 120 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: Selassie became emperor. It fulfilled a prophecy, a prediction that 121 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: black leader and founder of the Back to Africa movement, 122 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: Marcus Garvey had made years before. What he had said 123 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: at that time was look to Africa for the crowning 124 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: of a black king. He shall be the redeemer. So 125 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: when this comes true, so to speak, in Highly Selassie, 126 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: Rastafarianism is born obvious now where that name comes from Rastafari. 127 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: So a couple of primary Rastafarian beliefs are that the 128 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: only true God is the late Ethiopian emperor Higley Selassie, 129 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: and that Ethiopius the true Zion, which was kind of 130 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: a paradise on Earth. And one of the key doctrines 131 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: is that they'll someday return to Africa from which their 132 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: ancestors were taken a slave. So those of you who 133 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: may be are fans of Bob Marley have heard some 134 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: of this before. Bob Marley is very famous for being Rastafarian. 135 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 1: So yeah, but there's a there's a weird element to 136 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: all of this, and that's the highly Selassie himself, who 137 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: is being revered as the Messiah or is um the 138 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: only true God by Rastafarians doesn't really go along with 139 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: it himself because he's a devout Christian, so he never 140 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: really accepts his status as a messiah, as a deliverer 141 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: um that these people sort of thrust upon him. I 142 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 1: think that's such a what a strange uh, what a 143 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: strange deal to have going on there. Yeah, And I 144 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: think when he was alive, people asked him about it, 145 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: you know, did you did you know about this? Did 146 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: you know that you're considered a messiah? And he was 147 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: just kind of like, yeah, I've heard that, but you know, 148 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: I don't think I'm just a man. Yeah, he just said, 149 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: I'm just a man. Well, and he also I mean 150 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: at the time, at least he had some major problems 151 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: to deal with that without thinking about how he was 152 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: considered a messiah by some Yep. Pretty much as soon 153 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: as he became emperor, he had some issues, primarily the 154 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: rising tensions with Italy. Here's just a little bit of 155 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:01,080 Speaker 1: background on the situation between Italy and Ethiopia. Italy, which 156 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: had colonized most of the Red Sea coast in the 157 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: nineteenth century, had tried to invade Ethiopia before Menelik's army 158 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: had defeated the Italians back in eighteen ninety six the 159 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:13,199 Speaker 1: Battle of Ottawa, and this was considered a big victory 160 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,439 Speaker 1: for Ethiopians and for Africa at the time. I think 161 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: many sources have said that this was the first time 162 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: in African army had actually met and defeated a European 163 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: army in conventional battle. So big deal. Yeah, definitely a 164 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: big deal. So if we fast forward though too highly 165 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: Selassis reign, we have Benito Mussolanian power. He has by 166 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 1: this point become dictator of Italy in nineteen twenty two, 167 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 1: and initially it seems like he's not that interested in Africa. 168 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty eight, he even signed this Treaty of 169 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: Friendship with Ethiopia, which at the time was the last 170 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,360 Speaker 1: African region that was free from some sort of European control. 171 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,679 Speaker 1: So it seemed like Italy was backing off. Maybe Ethiopia 172 00:09:56,679 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: and Italy would be cool with each other. That was 173 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: not the case, though, and it wasn't long before Mussolini 174 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: started changing his his opinion about the country and his intentions. Uh. 175 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: And that may have happened for a few different reasons. Yeah. 176 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 1: For one thing, it's possible that he wanted to avenge 177 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:20,439 Speaker 1: the eighteen ninety six defeat. Some people suggest that um 178 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:25,760 Speaker 1: just conjecture at this point, but also Mussolini, as we 179 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 1: know it, was a fascist and part of the whole 180 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: fascist doctrine is that the state should try to expand 181 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: its sphere of power and influence. So that was one thing. 182 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: Another thing was he kind of just wanted to stick 183 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 1: it to the rest of Europe at that point. He 184 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: thought Italy had gotten a raw deal at the end 185 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,200 Speaker 1: of World War One, Great Britain and France had both 186 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:47,480 Speaker 1: increased their colonial holdings and Italy didn't really get a 187 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: share of the spoils from his point of view. Yeah, 188 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,440 Speaker 1: so he was he was looking to make some gains. Um. 189 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,560 Speaker 1: And the trouble officially started in December nineteen thirty four, 190 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:02,439 Speaker 1: and that's when a Royal Ethiopian force drove out an 191 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: Italian sorry, and that's when a Royal Ethiopian force drove 192 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: out this Italian encampment that was stationed at wall Wall, 193 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: which was an oasis on the Ethiopian territory. Um, it 194 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: seemed maybe from the Ethiopian perspective, like the Italians were 195 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: a little too close. Maybe they shouldn't have been there. Uh, 196 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:27,600 Speaker 1: they were certainly a threatening presence, but the Italians really 197 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,480 Speaker 1: used it as an excuse to go after Ethiopia. Like, look, 198 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 1: they're not they're not treating this treaty in good faith, 199 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:38,560 Speaker 1: they're not following it. This is not a treaty of 200 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 1: friendship if they're driving us away from this oasis. And 201 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 1: so they start to gather up their forces in East 202 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:49,840 Speaker 1: Africa or the East African colonies to eventually mount an 203 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:55,720 Speaker 1: attack on Ethiopia. Right, so highly Selassie SEUs this coming, 204 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,800 Speaker 1: and he's pretty freaked out about it. He appeals to 205 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: the League of Nations at this point, but they really 206 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 1: don't take any serious steps to stop the Italians from 207 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:09,240 Speaker 1: waging attack. They issue kind of slaps on the hands, 208 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:14,079 Speaker 1: threats and promises. At one point they restrict trade with Italy, 209 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 1: but this doesn't really work either because countries involved, especially 210 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 1: Britain and France, won't really commit to it. And there's 211 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,600 Speaker 1: a reason for that. There is it's mostly because members 212 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: of the League, particularly Great Britain and France, as I mentioned, 213 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: don't want to upset Mussolini too much. They wanted to 214 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 1: keep up an alliance against with Italy against Nazi Germany. 215 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: So they didn't even really consider taking military action to 216 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: defend Ethiopia at the time. You know, they don't want 217 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: to alienate Italy. Um and their own European concerns seemed 218 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: to trump those of Ethiopia. So on October three, nineteen 219 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,840 Speaker 1: thirty five, Italian troops start making their way to Ethiopia 220 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: into Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian army faced them, but they 221 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 1: were just not prepared for modern European warfare at this point. Um. 222 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: The Italians used air power and this this kind of 223 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 1: sounds like it's right out of World War One combined 224 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: with World War Two almost but the Italians basically cropped 225 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:17,680 Speaker 1: dusted the Ethiopian troops with mustard gas and um the 226 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: Ethiopians suffered three times as many casualties as the Italians. 227 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 1: A lot of the world, though, considers the stand made 228 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: by highly Selassian Ethiopian really brave and noble. Though it's 229 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:33,440 Speaker 1: what makes highly Selassie Time Magazines Man of the Year 230 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:37,240 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty five. People are impressed that, uh, they're 231 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:41,599 Speaker 1: they're mounting a fight against something so overpowering. Yeah, I 232 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: think they almost saw it as like him taking a 233 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: stand against the whole Nazi fascist power out there. Um. 234 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,880 Speaker 1: By May of nineteen thirty six, though, the Italians made 235 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 1: their way into the Ethiopian capital and they proclaimed Ethiopia 236 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:01,320 Speaker 1: part of the Italian Empire. So highly Selassie was forced 237 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:05,200 Speaker 1: into exile. Yeah, and that June he goes back to 238 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: the League, and this time he's a little more ominous. 239 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: He says, quote, it is us today, it will be 240 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 1: you tomorrow, which is extremely prophetic coming in nineteen thirty 241 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 1: six on the eve of World War two. Um. So, 242 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,040 Speaker 1: of course in exile he has to take refuge somewhere 243 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 1: outside of Ethiopia, so he goes to England for about 244 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 1: five years. But it's interesting Mussolini's own ambition to um 245 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: fulfill that fascist doctrine and acquire more territory is eventually 246 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: his undoing in Ethiopia, at least right in he sends 247 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:46,120 Speaker 1: this enormous army to invade neighboring Somali land, which was 248 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 1: a British territory at the time, and the British, though 249 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: they had fewer troops, actually answered with a pretty well 250 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,960 Speaker 1: organized and well played counter offensive. I think the Italians 251 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: lost something like two thousand soldiers through either being killed 252 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 1: captured or wounded, and this managed to drive the Italians 253 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 1: out of East Africa altogether, including Ethiopia. Yeah. So with 254 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: Britain triumphant, highly Selassie got to return home and he 255 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 1: was restored to the throne and proceeded to govern for 256 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: forty years, and he was welcomed home by Winston Churchill himself. 257 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: He sent a welcome home cable in which he said, quote, 258 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,000 Speaker 1: your majesty, it was the first of the lawful sovereigns 259 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: to be driven from his throne in country by the 260 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 1: fascist Nazi criminals, and you're the first to return in triumph. Um. 261 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: So that would make a really nice end for a podcast, 262 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:44,800 Speaker 1: would a nice positive note. Yeah, kind of a fairy 263 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: tale podcast. Um. But unfortunately it's it's gonna keep going 264 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: for better or worse. There are more twists and turns 265 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:58,400 Speaker 1: to this story. Definitely, so highly Selassie as emperor does 266 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: a lot of good things in his time as ruler 267 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: of Ethiopia. He implemented some social, economic, and educational reforms. 268 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 1: For example, established sanitation programs, provincial schools, national universities, and 269 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: even encourage some students to study abroad and continue their 270 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 1: studies there. Intend to that's partly his undoing. Yes, it 271 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,400 Speaker 1: is Um. And he also played a significant role in 272 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: the later years in establishing the organization of African Unity. 273 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: He established a constitutional government as well. But the constitution, 274 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: and this is part of the problem too, is that 275 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: it gave him most of the power. It's kind of 276 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: an outward constitutional government. UM. So you know, we've got 277 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 1: some reforms in there, some good things happening, some things 278 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: to give him credit for. But some people didn't like 279 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: the way he was running things. And part of that 280 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 1: was that the regional rulers, or at least a lot 281 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: of them, felt threatened by his centralization of government. He 282 00:16:55,640 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: felt like or they felt like Selassie was taking power 283 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 1: are away from them and giving it to the lawmakers 284 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,360 Speaker 1: in Ethiopes capital Um and a lot of Ethiopians who 285 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 1: lived in developing areas, you know, lived outside of the cities, 286 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: thought that too many privileges were going to the nobility, which, 287 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: to make matters worse, a lot of these Um landlords, 288 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:25,160 Speaker 1: these the nobility, the people who owned much of Ethiopia 289 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 1: and were largely absent, also happened to be related to 290 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:31,960 Speaker 1: the emperor. So so nobody likes to see that no, 291 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: not at all. To add to this, there were some 292 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: people who thought that the strides that the government did 293 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: make were just too slow and unevenly distributed. Students in particular, 294 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 1: especially those students we mentioned who studied abroad. They complained 295 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:50,679 Speaker 1: that ethiopia social political, and economic developments were way too slow. 296 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:53,520 Speaker 1: They had studied marks and had all kinds of ideas 297 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: of their own about land reform and equality, but they 298 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,080 Speaker 1: were the only ones. Workers, teachers, soldiers, They all want 299 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 1: Ethiopia to catch up to modern times too. So it's ironic, 300 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 1: we see sort of from the beginning too of our 301 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 1: podcast too. Now he seems to have come full circle. 302 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:13,919 Speaker 1: At first he was thought of as the progressive leader, 303 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: modernizing the country, and now he's the exact opposite. Yeah, 304 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: everyone advanced beyond him, it seemed to to some people. 305 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 1: I guess that's what happens when you rule for forty 306 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:28,160 Speaker 1: years or or more. Um So, there were a few 307 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:32,160 Speaker 1: revolts and rebellions, of course, if you have these unhappy people. 308 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: But the most serious of these revolts occurred in nineteen 309 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:39,679 Speaker 1: sixty up. The emperor was away visiting Brazil and his 310 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:44,280 Speaker 1: imperial bodyguard staged a coup. A lot of university students 311 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:48,440 Speaker 1: supported it, and they even managed to seize the Imperial Palace. 312 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 1: Fortunately for highly Selassie, the army in the Air force 313 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:57,119 Speaker 1: remained loyal to him and they squashed the rebellion pretty quickly. Um, 314 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 1: but he knew that that things weren't stay able, that 315 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 1: his position was no longer stable to no. Even before this, 316 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:07,800 Speaker 1: he tells an American committee in nineteen sixty and this 317 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,640 Speaker 1: is a quote from him, the tide which is sweeping 318 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 1: Africa today cannot be stayed. No power on earth is 319 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 1: great enough to halt or reverse the trend. Its march 320 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:22,080 Speaker 1: is as relentless and as inexorable as the passage of time. Yeah. So, 321 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: so he knows he's at risk, and Ethiopia is at risk. 322 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 1: And as the nineteen sixties were on, this resentment really 323 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:31,640 Speaker 1: just continued to grow, and there were a few issues 324 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:35,359 Speaker 1: added to that. One was Eritrea, which, even though it 325 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:39,959 Speaker 1: was legally an independent country, it was absorbed by Ethiopia 326 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:44,159 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty two. And for Ethiopia this seemed like 327 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: a pretty good deal because it gave them access to 328 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: the sea, which everybody wants their country to have access to. 329 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: The sea how you can defend yourself better. Yeah, But 330 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: a lot of Eritreans opposed it from the start, and 331 00:19:57,359 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: they formed the Militant Eritrean Liberal Ration Front, which the 332 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 1: acronym for that is elf UM to to protests this 333 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,879 Speaker 1: being absorbed into a country that they didn't want to 334 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,119 Speaker 1: be part of. Right. And there was something else that 335 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:17,360 Speaker 1: happened that kind of added to Highly Selassie's unpopularity at 336 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: that time. Mayorally added to it. There was a famine 337 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: caused by drought, which wasn't that unusual in Ethiopia, but 338 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 1: the famine that occurred between nineteen seventy two and nineteen 339 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,920 Speaker 1: seventy four killed several hundred thousand Ethiopians, and many felt 340 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:33,879 Speaker 1: that Highly Selassie just didn't really do enough to help people. 341 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,639 Speaker 1: He They suggested also that the government had tried to 342 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,680 Speaker 1: cover the whole situation up. Yeah, And so there were 343 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:45,960 Speaker 1: protests and the situation became really desperate, I mean, starving people, 344 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:49,400 Speaker 1: and potentially a government cover up is going to make 345 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:54,359 Speaker 1: the populace really angry. And on September twelfth, nineteen seventy four, 346 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: the emperor was deposed finally successfully deposed in a revolution 347 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:05,520 Speaker 1: and led by a Marxist colonel named Mingustu highly Mariam, 348 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:10,120 Speaker 1: and some accounts say that highly Selassie was driven from 349 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,239 Speaker 1: the Imperial Palace in the back of a Volkswagen with 350 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: people in the streets jeering at him. So really undignified 351 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 1: exit for this emperor of forty years. Yeah, and eleven 352 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 1: months later, Hiley Selassie was dead at the age of 353 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,120 Speaker 1: eighty three. At the time, reports said that he died 354 00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: of natural causes, but many actually suspect that he was 355 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: murdered in his Valets testified in court that when they 356 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:36,600 Speaker 1: found his body, there was a strong smell of ether 357 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 1: in the room, which suggested to them that he had 358 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: been suffocated or perhaps strangled. Yeah, and Minge Stu does 359 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: give the emperor burial, so it's it's not as though 360 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 1: Hiley Selassie's body is destroyed or lost immediately. Um. But 361 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:54,639 Speaker 1: he's said to have interred the body vertically head down 362 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,040 Speaker 1: next to his office latrine and then covered it with 363 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: two feet of concrete. To quote Deter, a ghost who 364 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:05,359 Speaker 1: has reason to be restless. And this is pretty unrelated, 365 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: but I couldn't help but think of Dante's Inferno. This 366 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,199 Speaker 1: is the punishment for simony, which I guess if you 367 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 1: think about it long enough, with Messiah and Emperor staff 368 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 1: thrown in, you could you could work out some sort 369 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:23,080 Speaker 1: of connection there. But Um clearly a very undignified burial. 370 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:26,919 Speaker 1: No it wasn't, but he did get a more dignified 371 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 1: burial later on. His body was exhumed in after the 372 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: fall of Mangistu's government, and at that time he wasn't 373 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 1: buried right away, his body, his remains, I should say, 374 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,679 Speaker 1: there wasn't a body at that point. His remains were 375 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,920 Speaker 1: put into a small coffin that said do not open. 376 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:44,440 Speaker 1: They put a sign that said do not open, because 377 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,560 Speaker 1: they weren't quite sure what was going to happen. Really weird, 378 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,119 Speaker 1: isn't it, I mean strange Um. And there are a 379 00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:54,000 Speaker 1: few attempts to bury him, you know, get this do 380 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,479 Speaker 1: not open box in the ground somewhere. But things just 381 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,200 Speaker 1: kept on getting in the way. There were argument It's 382 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: about how the funeral should be run, you know, whether 383 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:06,960 Speaker 1: it should be this state funeral for a former emperor 384 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: or some sort of hush hush, private family affair. And 385 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,879 Speaker 1: I think once when they tried to hold it, elections 386 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,800 Speaker 1: got in the way. So things kind of kept putting 387 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:19,440 Speaker 1: it off, but it finally happened in November of two 388 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:22,920 Speaker 1: thousand and it was attended by one of his daughters 389 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:26,920 Speaker 1: and many many grandkids, and Bob Marley's widow is even there. 390 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,119 Speaker 1: There are a few Rostafarians there, although it's interesting to 391 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: note that most Rostafarians don't believe that Hile Selassia is dead. 392 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:39,400 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, how about that, But Bob Marley's widow does. 393 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 1: If she was at the funeral, I would assume, well, 394 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:44,919 Speaker 1: maybe she just came to pay her respects in general, 395 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:47,960 Speaker 1: but in addition to them. I think there were somewhere 396 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: around ten thousand to fifteen thousand people as the total turnout, 397 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,080 Speaker 1: So not nearly as large as you might think it 398 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: would be decent, I guess, but not a tiny family 399 00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 1: funeral either, right. And there was this great uh two 400 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,960 Speaker 1: thousand one story in the Canadian magazine Saturday Night, and 401 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,880 Speaker 1: it follows one of highly Selassie's grandsons, Beta mcconan, who 402 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 1: was living in Canada at the time, through all the 403 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 1: events of the funeral, and he kind of recounts his 404 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 1: time growing up with the Emperor, and I just wanted 405 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: to mention it because I thought it was a really 406 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:22,320 Speaker 1: cool story, and it really I think, shut a lot 407 00:24:22,359 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: of light on who highly Selassie was. I mean, we've 408 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:30,080 Speaker 1: been recounting throughout this episode what he did, but what 409 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 1: kind of man was? What kind of man was he? 410 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,119 Speaker 1: So just to end off the podcast, since it's been 411 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: kind of a sort of depressing end and decline, we 412 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: wanted to just say a few things about who this 413 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,679 Speaker 1: guy was. Yeah, he was a workaholic. That's probably not 414 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:47,800 Speaker 1: too surprising. Um, he was friendly with President Tito of Yugoslavia, 415 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,880 Speaker 1: who would actually convince him to take vacation. So that's 416 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:54,359 Speaker 1: it's pretty bad if you have, like a fellow president 417 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: having to tell you to to kick off at the 418 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,679 Speaker 1: end of the day. Yeah, but he did do it. 419 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 1: He would go on vacation and take all his grandsons 420 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 1: and daughters with him. Are the ones that were around 421 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:07,120 Speaker 1: at the time. And um, so he had a little 422 00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:10,200 Speaker 1: fun now and again I guess. He also was said 423 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: to have a gravitas that made even close members of 424 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 1: his family fall silent, so imposing present. He was also 425 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 1: very concerned about decorum. He didn't want you to interrupt 426 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:25,399 Speaker 1: his morning exercises, for example, because he thought that no 427 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 1: one should see the emperor doing something so undignified. So 428 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,439 Speaker 1: his grandson and this article relates like running in in 429 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: the morning to go visit him, and he said sometimes 430 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:34,639 Speaker 1: it would be great and you'd run in there and 431 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 1: everything would be cool. But if you interrupted him during 432 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,399 Speaker 1: his exercises, he would definitely get in trouble for that, 433 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:45,680 Speaker 1: just imagining the barbells dropping or hollering. Um. But he 434 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: he did like his grandchildren. I mean that his priority 435 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 1: come across with these family visits and stuff. Um. He 436 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:54,720 Speaker 1: spent a lot of time with the kids. And his 437 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,760 Speaker 1: grandson said, quote, you could ask him about the most 438 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,200 Speaker 1: serious aspect of politics when you were seven. He would 439 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:03,720 Speaker 1: answer you as if you were his equal, and he'd 440 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,280 Speaker 1: question you and challenge you so you could see the 441 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:09,720 Speaker 1: other side. So um, I guess he does seem to 442 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:13,240 Speaker 1: have an interest in youth and education. That's pretty consistent 443 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:17,439 Speaker 1: throughout his reign. And um, that goes along with treating 444 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,040 Speaker 1: a kid like somebody who can converse as an equal 445 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:24,240 Speaker 1: with you, and a really caring side too. I think 446 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:27,000 Speaker 1: I was telling Sarah earlier about the story and how 447 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: he mentions the emperor himself would pour the grandkids milk 448 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:34,800 Speaker 1: in the evenings, so they would all kind of gather 449 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 1: and he would give them their evening milk himself and 450 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 1: the milk ceremony. Right, But the grandson mentioned that most 451 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,600 Speaker 1: people had left by the time the revolt came around, 452 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,000 Speaker 1: so you know, he he had thought he would leave too, 453 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:49,920 Speaker 1: But then when he came down to get the milk 454 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,639 Speaker 1: one night, there were only two of them, and Highly 455 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,680 Speaker 1: Selassie said, two grandkids left, right, And Highly Selassie said, 456 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,119 Speaker 1: is it just you two tonight? And he said the 457 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,359 Speaker 1: grandson and the story Vieta. He he realized at that 458 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: point that he had to stay because there wasn't anyone else. 459 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:11,119 Speaker 1: So very loyal grandson. And so just that's just to 460 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: kind of give you, I guess, show that there are 461 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 1: two sides to the story. Some people still disagree with 462 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,239 Speaker 1: his policies during his reign, but there may have been 463 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 1: another side to him too. Yeah, so you can have 464 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:25,960 Speaker 1: the family man, the popular ruler, the unpopular ruler, and 465 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 1: the messiah. A lot going on, Yeah, a lot going on. 466 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: A very complex man, but really interesting went to research. 467 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:36,160 Speaker 1: But I think that's all for Holly Selassie today. Yeah, 468 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,199 Speaker 1: and that's of course kicking off several episodes will be 469 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:42,679 Speaker 1: doing throughout February and of course beyond on black history. 470 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,920 Speaker 1: We thought it would be neat to start it with 471 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,520 Speaker 1: Higla Selassie. He's he's well known, but maybe people don't 472 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: really actually know that much about him, right, Okay, So 473 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 1: this brings us to listener mail, and we wanted to 474 00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:02,680 Speaker 1: start out of addressing a kind of a concern from 475 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:06,280 Speaker 1: a recent podcast. It's from our Heck, a podcast having 476 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,240 Speaker 1: to do with New Zealand history, and we it was 477 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 1: brought to our attention many times by listeners that we 478 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,920 Speaker 1: mispronounced the word Maori um. It's the name for the 479 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 1: people who are native to the area of New Zealand, 480 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:21,480 Speaker 1: kind of the indigenous race there, and we pronounced it 481 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:24,639 Speaker 1: Mayori throughout the podcast. So we have to apologize for 482 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:27,600 Speaker 1: that and corrected its pronounced Maori, or at least that's 483 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:30,879 Speaker 1: an acceptable pronunciation, I think for Yanks like us. But 484 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:32,879 Speaker 1: I wanted to read just one letter. We got a 485 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:36,760 Speaker 1: bunch of letters from New Zealand listeners in particular. It 486 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,080 Speaker 1: was like a good test of our of our Facebook 487 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:45,280 Speaker 1: and email address and Twitter message delivery system. We definitely 488 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:50,440 Speaker 1: heard back from y'all. So here's just one from Sarah 489 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 1: and she says, Hi, Sarah and Dublina. I am a 490 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,760 Speaker 1: Kansas native, but currently in New Zealand, permanent resident living 491 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,160 Speaker 1: in the city of Dunedin on the South is end 492 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: of New Zealand. I just finished listening to your podcast 493 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:05,400 Speaker 1: on Hanna heck A and was very excited to hear 494 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:07,840 Speaker 1: a defining period in New Zealand's history explained to a 495 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,640 Speaker 1: wider audience. However, I must admit that every time either 496 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,520 Speaker 1: of you said the word maori, I cringed a bit. 497 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:17,720 Speaker 1: It's a somewhat common mistake for non New Zealanders to 498 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:21,320 Speaker 1: pronounce the word maori mayori. In fact, the most accurate 499 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 1: way to pronounce the word is a bit difficult, but 500 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:25,720 Speaker 1: here goes and she goes on to explain it. She says, 501 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,160 Speaker 1: the A is actually pronounced as in far and the 502 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 1: o is pronounced as an um, and you kind of 503 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,160 Speaker 1: blend them together to make a smooth transition. But that 504 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,120 Speaker 1: is rather difficult, So we went for the easier pronunciation 505 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 1: on that one, Sarah, but we appreciate you writing in um. 506 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:42,440 Speaker 1: And she does say, if this is too difficult or 507 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:44,560 Speaker 1: one is incapable of ruling one's rs, which is also 508 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: part of it. A lot of us get away by 509 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:50,440 Speaker 1: saying maori, so I did, like all the different comparison 510 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 1: words people sent us to rhyme and matchup to try 511 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:56,400 Speaker 1: to get it right, just so we wouldn't have to 512 00:29:56,400 --> 00:30:00,720 Speaker 1: go through the shame of mispronouncing it on our correction exactly. 513 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 1: So thank you very much everyone for writing in and 514 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,200 Speaker 1: we will try not to do that again. Although I 515 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,640 Speaker 1: can't promise that we won't mispronounce something else in the future. 516 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:10,560 Speaker 1: I'm still in Sarah that if one good thing has 517 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:12,200 Speaker 1: come out of this, it's that we have a lot 518 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:16,080 Speaker 1: of cool New Zealand listeners and now we know them 519 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:20,760 Speaker 1: passionate listeners. And our second message is from Kyle and 520 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:24,960 Speaker 1: we're just including this one because it's about the last 521 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 1: African ruler who we talked about, Mantha Muza. He wrote 522 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:30,640 Speaker 1: to say that my wife and I spent a week 523 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:33,840 Speaker 1: camping in Tennessee in two thousand eight centered around going 524 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: to the National Storytelling Festival. If you've never been, I 525 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:41,520 Speaker 1: way recommend it. In all came one of the storytellers 526 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:45,000 Speaker 1: we saw told three tales of African legend in folklore, 527 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:48,680 Speaker 1: including one about a giant child. This child grew and 528 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 1: grew to become the largest man in the village, but 529 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: never walked. He only crawled, and he never spoke. His 530 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:58,120 Speaker 1: mother became distraught as other mothers in the village gosped 531 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,280 Speaker 1: about her, and finally she's apt, yelling at the child, 532 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 1: now fully grown to walk and talk. At this point, 533 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,360 Speaker 1: he stood up, walked over to the fruit tree, and 534 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,600 Speaker 1: with a single shot, brought down the highest piece, which 535 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 1: he promptly swallowed. There was more to the story, and 536 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 1: what I've related I haven't done justice too, but the 537 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:18,720 Speaker 1: end of the story was that the child became the 538 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:22,760 Speaker 1: king of the largest and grandest empire Africa had ever known. 539 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:26,400 Speaker 1: No locations or names were used, though, so imagine my 540 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:30,200 Speaker 1: surprise when I heard the story retold just now very cool. 541 00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:33,840 Speaker 1: So I'm I'm glad Kyle that we helped you and 542 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,080 Speaker 1: your wife source this uh Bookjale you had heard. I 543 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,520 Speaker 1: enjoyed that story myself, and I kind of liked recounting 544 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 1: it as semi fact in the life of Mons and Lisa. Hey, 545 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:49,000 Speaker 1: I like mythical origin me to keep sending them, keep 546 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:53,840 Speaker 1: sending us um more emails comments, about podcasts, or just 547 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:56,520 Speaker 1: cool stories that relate to the stuff that we've talked about, 548 00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:58,880 Speaker 1: or unrelated things that you want us to talk about. 549 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,640 Speaker 1: You can get in too with us by email at 550 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:05,080 Speaker 1: History podcast at how stuff works dot com, or you 551 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,920 Speaker 1: can look us up on Twitter at myston history or 552 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 1: on Facebook. Or if you want to find out a 553 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: little bit more about some of the ideas we talked 554 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,400 Speaker 1: about in today's episode, such as fascism, for instance, you 555 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:19,000 Speaker 1: can find out more by visiting our homepage and typing 556 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 1: in fascism at www dot how stuff works dot com. 557 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:28,920 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics, visit 558 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:31,760 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. To learn more about the podcast, 559 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,480 Speaker 1: click on the podcast icon in the upper right corner 560 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:37,560 Speaker 1: of our homepage. The how Stuff Works iPhone app has 561 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,080 Speaker 1: a ride. Download it today on iTunes.