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