Eytan tigray biography of williams

1943 rebellion of Tigrayans against Haile Sellassie administration

The Woyane rebellion (Tigrinya: ቀዳማይ ወያነ, romanized: k’edamay Weyane, lit. 'first Woyane') was an uprising in the Tigray Province, Ethiopia against the centralization process from the government of EmperorHaile Selassie which took place in May–November 1943.^[6][3] The rebels called themselves the Woyane, a name borrowed from a game played locally between competing groups of young men from different villages, which connoted a spirit of resistance and unity.^[7] After nearly succeeding in overrunning the whole province, the rebels were defeated with the support of aircraft from the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force.^[8][9] Out of all the rebellions that engulfed Ethiopia during Haile Selassie's rule, this was the most serious internal threat that he faced.^[10]

Background

In an Imperial determination to weaken