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The content of the present pages will be disapprea shortly
THIS SECTION OF THE WEBSITE (besides the rastafarians introduction below) HAS BEEN MOVED TO OUR SISTER WEBSITE:
http://www.rootsreggaeclub.com/culture_reggae_afro/the_rastafarians/the_rastafarians_main.htm
INTRODUCTION TO THE RASTAFARIANS CULTURE AND HISTORY (see RASTAFARIANS FULL VERSION):
THE RASTAFARIANS:
Chapter 7 / Ater Selassie: The Rastafarians Since 1975
This chapter will focus on the historical development of the movement up to
1983. Some of the new developments within the movement since 1975 include: (1)
the dethronement and death of the Rastafarians' God-figure, Haile Selassie I;
(2) the rise to superstardom of Robert Nesta Marley, the Charles Wesley of reggae
music; (3) the role of politics within the Rastafarian movement during the Manley
government from 1972 to 1980; (4) the meteoric rise of the Twelve Tribes of
Israel, an offshoot of the movement; (5) the spread of the movement to the Eastern
Caribbean islands; (6) the Rastafarians in the United States and Canada; and
(7) Rastafarians in the 1980s
There are many other important nuances of the movement which have now appeared
both in Jamaica and outside the island which in dicate that the movement is
not routinized into a mass entity. These analyses will require another volume.
The Dethronement and Death of Haile Selassie I
The early 1970s brought Ethiopia to the attention of the superpowers---the
United States and the Soviet Union. A kingdom that had existed for thousands
of years, ruled by a dynasty said to be the direct descendants of King Solomon
and the Queen of Sheba (Somalia, formerly Southern Ethiopia), suddenly entered
the arena of big-power confrontation. Alarmed at the Soviet's backing of Somalia
and Eritrea, which Ethiopia claimed, the United States proceeded to send military
aid to bolster the Ethiopian army. This sudden infusion of Western technology
had a ripple effect throughout the sleeping empire which was later to cause
its fall. While the old aristocracy remained insulated from Western influence
to a great extent, the young officers of the army, with their progressive ideas
and desire to bring Ethiopia into the modern age, became impatient. Most of
these officers were university-trained and were acquainted with world affaris,
either through political studies or through visits abroad. The intervention
of the Soviet Union and the United States was an unsettling experience for a
sacred monarchy. This was also the period when famine took the lives of thousands
of Africans, including many in Ethiopia. In contrast to the low standard of
living experienced by most Ethiopians, the Emperor and his court and countless
other nobles lived in affluence. The ruling class made little or no effort to
bring about reformes necessary to alleviate the condition of the common people.
Land and wealth were in the hands of a few; Ethiopia was now ripe for a revolution.
While the well-to-do enjoyed the pleasures of wealth and influence, the army
grew more militant. This militancy eventually spread to the universities and
to the street. November 12, 1974, marked the beginning of the end of Ethiopia's
long-lasting monarchy. On that day militant soldiers in the army, along with
other discontents who could not longer endure the hardship, decided to storm
the citadels of power in Ethiopia. Ministers of the state and several cronies
of the Emperor were arrested. The Emperor's family and other close friends who
heeded intelligence reports left the country; Crown Prince Asfa Wossen was convalescring
in a hospital in Switzerland. Those who were arrested met with various fates:
some were imprisoned, some exectued. Soon after the arrest of the ministers
and other friends of Haile Selassie I, a large body of troops entered the palace
and placed the Emperor under arrest. He was temporarily placed in an army barracks
and later returned to his palace under guard.
THIS SECTION OF THE WEBSITE (besides the rastafarians introduction below) HAS
BEEN MOVED TO OUR SISTER WEBSITE:
http://www.rootsreggaeclub.com/culture_reggae_afro/the_rastafarians/the_rastafarians_main.htm
INTRODUCTION TO THE RASTAFARIANS CULTURE AND HISTORY (see RASTAFARIANS FULL VERSION):
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