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EX-ITALIAN SOMALILAND by E. Sylvia Pankhurst

EX-ITALIAN SOMALILAND

By

ISBN: 0806530545
Publisher: Philosophical Library

Better known to the American public as prime mover in England's battle of the sexes, Sylvia Pankhurst- through this excellent study- emerges as meriting greater acclaim for her intimate knowledge and sympathetic presentation of the history and geography of northwest Africa, and the Italian-Ethiopian situation. From 1889, when Italy forced a notorious Treaty on the newly proclaimed Ethiopian Emperor, requiring all diplomatic transactions to channel through Italy, the Italians established themselves as a protectorate over Ethiopia, a protectorate that evidenced itself in oppression, starvation, poverty and cruelty. The League of Nations- in later years- turned the other way. Had the West helped, one contributing factor to the 2nd World War might have been avoided. There's an enormous amount of interesting and challenging material here, with full documentation. Unfortunately, the format is too reminiscent of a textbook, and college libraries will probably prove the chief market. But the text is inspired by Miss Pankhurst's feeling for the people, her sense of the area as a whole, her conviction that there is still a challenge there. It deserves a wider audience than it is likely to get.