ACTA ÆTHIOPICA vol. IV. Colonial Powers and Ethiopian Frontiers 1880–1884.

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Acta Aethiopica

The purpose of the documentary series of Acta Aethiopica is to present, as far as possible, a complete set of all preserved historical documents, i.e. letters, treatises and proclamations, written by Ethiopians in the 19th century. The documents have been collected from dozens of archives in Africa and Europe and are presented in facsimile of the originals, as far as possible, with a fresh English translation, as well as annotation and extensive indices. The aim is to provide scholarship with an easy access to the original sources presenting the voice of the Ethiopians in the colonial period, a voice generally neglected in scholarship relying on more easily accessible reports by European explorers, missionaries, businessmen and consuls. Since African written sources for the 19th century colonial era are rare Acta Aethiopica is a unique series not only for political history but also for how Europe and Europeans were understood, how language and writing was affected and how ideas, religious and profane were transmitted in the colonial period, albeit in one particular country, Ethiopia.

As a distinct project Acta Aethiopica was born at a conference in Addis Abeba in 1970 at the suggestion of Sven Rubenson at the time Professor of Ethiopian history at Addis Abeba University. He realised that all modern scholarship on Ethiopian history was based on European sources and that Ethiopians were only heard as interpreted and very often misunderstood, deliberately or not. Another story needed to be told, a story that could explain why Ethiopia survived as an independent nation in the scramble for Africa.

Fourth volum

Colonial powers and Ethiopian frontiers 1880-1884 is the fourth volume of Acta Aethiopica, a series that presents original Ethiopian documents of nineteenth-century Ethiopian history with English translations and scholarly notes. The documents have been collected from dozens of archives in Africa and Europe to recover and present the Ethiopian voice in the history of Ethiopia in the nineteenth century. The present book, the first Acta Aethiopica volume to appear from Lund University Press, deals with how Ethiopian rulers related to colonial powers in their attempts to open Ethiopia for trade and technological development while preserving the integrity and independence of their country. In addition to the correspondence and treatises with the rulers and representatives of Italy, Egypt and Great Britain, the volume also presents letters dealing with ecclesiastical issues, including the Ethiopian community in Jerusalem.

Source: Lund Universtity, consulté le 02.08.2025

Biblethiophile, 02.08.2025