What if the true origins of World War I lay not in Sarajevo—but in Ethiopia?
In this revelatory edition of Ethiopia: The Railway, the Powers, and the Start of the First World War, Thomas Lennox Gilmour chronicles how Ethiopia’s railway project, launched by Emperor Menelik II, became a flashpoint for European imperial rivalry. This pivotal work, originally published in 1906, is reintroduced with new scholarship by Elias Wondimu, situating Ethiopia not as a passive observer of history, but as a sovereign power navigating the storm of colonial ambitions.
The Ethiopia–Djibouti railway, far more than a transportation route, was a bold act of sovereignty that threatened the imperial calculus of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. From the 1896 Battle of Adwa—where Ethiopia defeated Italy—to the diplomatic maneuvers surrounding the Entente Cordiale and the 1906 Tripartite Treaty, this book exposes how Ethiopia became the “first arena” of the geopolitical realignments that set the stage for global war.
Through newly annotated treaties, maps, and archival documents, Gilmour’s narrative comes to life in this definitive edition. Elias Wondimu’s detailed introduction explores how Emperor Menelik II, Lij Iyasu, and Ras Teferi (later Haile Selassie) navigated a world of shifting alliances, with Ethiopia serving as both a beacon of resistance and a battleground of foreign agendas.
This edition restores a critical historical perspective—one that places Africa at the heart of twentieth-century history and challenges Eurocentric accounts of the First World War.
Author’s Bio:
Thomas Lennox Gilmour was a British observer and analyst of African-European diplomatic affairs in the early 20th century. His firsthand documentation of Ethiopia’s political landscape amid colonial competition culminated in this rare and insightful account, first published in 1906. Gilmour’s work remains a vital record of the imperial entanglements that shaped modern Africa and the global order.
Editor's Bio:
Elias Wondimu is an Ethiopian-American publisher, historian, and global knowledge advocate. As the Founding Director of TSEHAI Publishers, he has dedicated his life to restoring Africa’s intellectual sovereignty. His introduction and annotations in this edition offer a critical decolonial lens that challenges dominant Eurocentric narratives of World War I.
Contents:
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Acknowledgments
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Preface by Elias Wondimu
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Introductionby Elias Wondimu
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– Ethiopia: The Railway, the Powers, and the Start of the First World War
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Afterword by Gregory Copley
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Original 1906 Edition by Thomas Lennox Gilmour:
Appendices I–X: Including Menelik II's railway concession, key treaties, and diplomatic letters