Overview

This book highlights the positive achievements that Imperial Ethiopia made in its journey towards urbanization into the modern era, and undertakes a critical assessment of the economic, political, and social impediments that prevented the country from transitioning into a truly fully fledged modern urbanization. It provides a comprehensive history of the growth of towns between 1887 and 1974. It is organized chronologically, regionally, and thematically, divided into three distinct time periods during which Ethiopian towns saw progresses and exposures to limited modern urban features. First, during 1887–1936, the country saw the creation and growth of a national capital (1887) that coordinated the country’s economic and political activities and facilitated the growth of other towns in the empire. It introduced new towns, the railway, modern schools, and health centers. Rudimentary factories were established in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, along with motor cars and modern roads, which increased trade between cities. The next era was the Italian occupation from 1936–1941, which shook the pre-existing process of urban growth by introducing a modern European style urbanization system. Ethiopian cities saw a qualitatively different way of urban growth in both form and content. The Italians introduced modern economic and physical planning, administration, and internal organization. People were introduced to modern life in urban areas, exposed to modern wage labor system, and thus moved to towns to take advantage of the opportunity. The Italian occupation left behind many features of modern urbanization, and this influenced population exposed to modern consumptive tastes was determined to retain what the Italians introduced. Finally, the post-Italian period saw a new era of urban growth. Due to economic and organizational problems resulting from destructions caused by the war, the process of urban growth was slowed down in the early 1940s. Although the government did not introduce a clear urban policy in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, towns continued to grow progressively from the early 1950s to 1974.

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9781498521956

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Reviews

Getahun Benti's book is so far one of the major research outputs published on the history of urbanism and urban growth in Ethiopia. . . . The author's methodological sophistication deserves appreciation. Getahun extensively exploited various sources to substantiate his analysis. The lucidity and beauty of its language and neatness to address complex issues is quite attractive and a joy to read. * African Studies Quarterly * Benti (African history, Southern Illinois Univ. at Carbondale) combines chronological/historical, regional, and demographic approaches to Ethiopian urbanization. Such a holistic orientation presents an integrated narrative that allows readers to better comprehend the course and nature of Ethiopian urban growth. The author's Oromo origins, however, reflect a southern Ethiopian rather than an Amhara/Tigray perspective. Benti believes that most scholarly studies on Ethiopia have focused heavily on the north, which has politically and militarily dominated Ethiopia during the period under consideration in this volume. The author strives to correct this imbalance. On a superficial level, he has chosen to use Oromo place names such as Finfinnee, rather than Addis Ababa. At a deeper level, he pays more attention to the southern Oromia towns rather than the northern Amhara/Tigray towns. He argues that this is valid because of the south's size and its demographic and economic importance relative to the other regions. Benti consults the available secondary literature, a number of elderly informants, and, most importantly, the BA and MA theses of Addis Ababa University history students who, in order to compete their degrees, were encouraged to return to their homes and write accounts of their histories. These students used local archives and local informants. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. * CHOICE * Professor Benti's book is useful for educators, politicians, activists, and students who want to understand the role of Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) in particular and other garrison cities in general in the Ethiopian Empire in maintaining colonial domination and the subordination of the Oromo nation, the largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia, and their national struggle to restore the ownership of this capital city in the heart of their country. By providing an alternative explanation to Ethiopian studies that have treated the Oromo as objects of history by denying them agency and the ownership of their towns, the book also demonstrates the contradiction between Oromo history and Ethiopian history by focusing on the agency of the Oromo. Consequently, the book further enriches our knowledge on Oromo and urban studies in Northeast Africa. -- Asafa Jalata, University of Tennessee-Knoxville The best survey yet and a much-needed contribution to an important set of modernization, urbanization, and exploitation in Ethiopian history. Benti produced a comprehensive, analytical, and balanced work that will have a long-lasting shelf life. -- Tsega Etefa, Colgate University The best survey yet and a much-needed contribution to an important set of modernization, urbanization, and exploitation in Ethiopian history. Benti produced a comprehensive, analytical, and balanced work that will have a long-lasting shelf life. -- Tsega Etefa, Colgate University Benti has written a seminal book that is a veritable touchstone for understanding the complex process of urbanization in Ethiopia from the foundation of Finfinnee to the demise of the First Imperial Era, 1887-1974. With remarkable virtuosity, he deploys a broad range of extant historical sources to analyze the nexus between imperial expansion, economic development and the consequential growth of towns and cities. The book provides both a nuanced assessment of the factors that facilitated the emergence of urbanization in Ethiopia and the policies that have hindered the transition to a fully developed modern country. The book is a tour de force that should be a template for examining the process of urbanization in other African countries. -- Ezekiel Walker, University of Central Florida Getahun Benti's Urban Growth in Ethiopia is a valuable contribution to the history of urbanization in Ethiopia. It documents and critically examines the impressive progress and the factors that impeded a transition to fully urbanized modern economy and society in Ethiopia. The book is based on the author's many years of research on urban issues and his intimate knowledge of the landscape and the rich unpublished archival data in Ethiopia. -- Guluma Gemeda, University of Michigan, Flint

Getahun Benti’s book is so far one of the major research outputs published on the history of urbanism and urban growth in Ethiopia. . . . The author’s methodological sophistication deserves appreciation. Getahun extensively exploited various sources to substantiate his analysis. The lucidity and beauty of its language and neatness to address complex issues is quite attractive and a joy to read. * African Studies Quarterly * Benti (African history, Southern Illinois Univ. at Carbondale) combines chronological/historical, regional, and demographic approaches to Ethiopian urbanization. Such a holistic orientation presents an integrated narrative that allows readers to better comprehend the course and nature of Ethiopian urban growth. The author's Oromo origins, however, reflect a southern Ethiopian rather than an Amhara/Tigray perspective. Benti believes that most scholarly studies on Ethiopia have focused heavily on the north, which has politically and militarily dominated Ethiopia during the period under consideration in this volume. The author strives to correct this imbalance. On a superficial level, he has chosen to use Oromo place names such as Finfinnee, rather than Addis Ababa. At a deeper level, he pays more attention to the southern Oromia towns rather than the northern Amhara/Tigray towns. He argues that this is valid because of the south's size and its demographic and economic importance relative to the other regions. Benti consults the available secondary literature, a number of elderly informants, and, most importantly, the BA and MA theses of Addis Ababa University history students who, in order to compete their degrees, were encouraged to return to their homes and write accounts of their histories. These students used local archives and local informants. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. * CHOICE * Professor Benti’s book is useful for educators, politicians, activists, and students who want to understand the role of Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) in particular and other garrison cities in general in the Ethiopian Empire in maintaining colonial domination and the subordination of the Oromo nation, the largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia, and their national struggle to restore the ownership of this capital city in the heart of their country. By providing an alternative explanation to Ethiopian studies that have treated the Oromo as objects of history by denying them agency and the ownership of their towns, the book also demonstrates the contradiction between Oromo history and Ethiopian history by focusing on the agency of the Oromo. Consequently, the book further enriches our knowledge on Oromo and urban studies in Northeast Africa. -- Asafa Jalata, University of Tennessee-Knoxville The best survey yet and a much-needed contribution to an important set of modernization, urbanization, and exploitation in Ethiopian history. Benti produced a comprehensive, analytical, and balanced work that will have a long-lasting shelf life. -- Tsega Etefa, Colgate University The best survey yet and a much-needed contribution to an important set of modernization, urbanization, and exploitation in Ethiopian history. Benti produced a comprehensive, analytical, and balanced work that will have a long-lasting shelf life. -- Tsega Etefa, Colgate University Benti has written a seminal book that is a veritable touchstone for understanding the complex process of urbanization in Ethiopia from the foundation of Finfinnee to the demise of the First Imperial Era, 1887-1974. With remarkable virtuosity, he deploys a broad range of extant historical sources to analyze the nexus between imperial expansion, economic development and the consequential growth of towns and cities. The book provides both a nuanced assessment of the factors that facilitated the emergence of urbanization in Ethiopia and the policies that have hindered the transition to a fully developed modern country. The book is a tour de force that should be a template for examining the process of urbanization in other African countries. -- Ezekiel Walker, University of Central Florida Getahun Benti’s Urban Growth in Ethiopia is a valuable contribution to the history of urbanization in Ethiopia. It documents and critically examines the impressive progress and the factors that impeded a transition to fully urbanized modern economy and society in Ethiopia. The book is based on the author’s many years of research on urban issues and his intimate knowledge of the landscape and the rich unpublished archival data in Ethiopia. -- Guluma Gemeda, University of Michigan, Flint

Author Information

Getahun Benti is associate professor of African history at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

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