Ethiopianism in Pan-African perspective, 1880-1920

Abstract

This article surveys the origins, development and extent of Ethiopianism (part of the African Initiated Church Movement [AIC]) in Africa which was widespread throughout Africa during the ‘high’ imperial and missionary era (1880-1920) which is the main focus of this article. However, they appear to have a number of common features – response to colonialism, imperialism and the missionary movement, the response of nationalism in the political sphere and Pan-Africanism linked to Ethiopianism in the religious sphere. This article seeks to explore these sometimes indistinguishable features, through selected examples, in a novel way as a Pan-African movement.