Haile Selassie becomes emperor of Ethiopia in 1918?

[Vinization]

The last Eithiopian monarch, Haile Selassie (birth name Tafari Makonnen), was mired in political intrigue and turmoil long before he took the throne, having become regent of the empire in 1916. Despite running most day to day affairs during this time, however, his ability to enact any meaningful reforms was seriously limited by the conservative empress Zewditu, who had the last word in important matters of state.

So what if Zewditu contracted the Spanish flu and died in 1918, allowing Tafari to take the throne 12 years earlier than IOTL? What sort of policies could he embark on to modernize Ethiopia, and how could they affect its performance in the second war with Italy? He'd need to spend at least a few years consolidating his power before embarking on any ambitious initiatives, of course.

 

[Catspoke]

The last Eithiopian monarch, Haile Selassie (birth name Tafari Makonnen), was mired in political intrigue and turmoil long before he took the throne, having become regent of the empire in 1916. Despite running most day to day affairs during this time, however, his ability to enact any meaningful reforms was seriously limited by the conservative empress Zewditu, who had the last word in important matters of state.

So what if Zewditu contracted the Spanish flu and died in 1918, allowing Tafari to take the throne 12 years earlier than IOTL? What sort of policies could he embark on to modernize Ethiopia, and how could they affect its performance in the second war with Italy? He'd need to spend at least a few years consolidating his power before embarking on any ambitious initiatives, of course.

Thanks for the Zewditu link. That's a bit of history I didn't know about. Ethiopia had like 2 modern divisions and almost won so it wouldn't take a whole lot more to beat the Italians. Ultimately military takes money, can accelerated modernization expand the economy enough to support a larger military? Maybe, fast modernization is tough though, there is the Japanese example but they were a special case.

 

[Vinization]

Thanks for the Zewditu link. That's a bit of history I didn't know about. Ethiopia had like 2 modern divisions and almost won so it wouldn't take a whole lot more to beat the Italians. Ultimately military takes money, can accelerated modernization expand the economy enough to support a larger military? Maybe, fast modernization is tough though, there is the Japanese example but they were a special case.

The first thing I can think of is more railways, so as to actually link the coffee growing regions to the port of Djibouti. This should hopefully increase export revenues.

 

[Catspoke]

The first thing I can think of is more railways, so as to actually link the coffee growing regions to the port of Djibouti. This should hopefully increase export revenues.

Yes, good idea on railways, Ethiopia had one British trained division and 1 division of government workers with modern equipment they put together OTL vs the Italians if I remember right, plus a lot of local levies, I wonder if a bit of money is available an AA unit, and some anti tank to supplement might be helpful. Just the railways themselves would help.