Editing Haile Selassie (section)

=== Travel abroad ===

[[File:Ras Regent Selassie with King George V of the United Kingdom.jpg|left|thumb|With King [[George V]] at [[Buckingham Palace]], 1924]]

In 1924, Ras Tafari toured Europe and the Middle East visiting [[Jerusalem]], [[Alexandria]], Paris, Luxembourg, Brussels, [[Amsterdam]], Stockholm, London, [[Geneva]], Gibraltar and [[Athens]]. With him on his tour was a group that included Ras [[Seyum Mangasha]] of western [[Tigray Province]]; Ras [[Hailu Tekle Haymanot]] of [[Gojjam]] province; Ras [[Mulugeta Yeggazu]] of [[Illubabor Province]]; Ras [[Makonnen Endelkachew]]; and ''[[Blattengeta]]'' [[Heruy Welde Selassie]]. The primary goal of the trip to Europe was for Ethiopia to gain access to the sea. In Paris, Tafari was to find out from the [[French Foreign Ministry]] (''[[Quai d'Orsay]]'') that this goal would not be realised.{{Sfn |Marcus | p = 123}} However, failing this, he and his retinue inspected schools, hospitals, factories, and churches. Although patterning many reforms after European models, Tafari remained wary of European pressure. To guard against [[economic imperialism]], Tafari required that all enterprises have at least partial local ownership.<ref>Gates and Appiah, ''Africana'' (1999), p. 698.</ref> Of his modernisation campaign, he remarked, "We need European progress only because we are surrounded by it. That is at once a benefit and a misfortune."<ref>Rogers, Joel Augustus (1936). ''The Real Facts about Ethiopia'', p. 27.</ref>

Throughout Tafari's travels in Europe, the [[Levant]], and Egypt, he and his entourage were greeted with enthusiasm and fascination. Seyum Mangasha accompanied him and Hailu Tekle Haymanot who, like Tafari, were sons of generals who contributed to the victorious war against Italy a quarter-century earlier at the [[Battle of Adwa]].<ref name=mockler>{{Harvnb |Mockler | pp = 3–4}}.</ref> Another member of his entourage, Mulugeta Yeggazu, actually fought at Adwa as a young man. The "Oriental Dignity" of the Ethiopians<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/05/17/archives/ethiopian-ruler-wins-plaudits-of-parisians-ras-taffaris-oriental.html |url-access=subscription |title=Ethiopian Ruler Wins Plaudits of Parisians; Ras Taffari's Oriental Dignity Impresses Populace -- Government Extends Royal Honors. |work=The New York Times|date=17 May 1924|page=3|access-date=13 December 2018|archive-date=22 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922134948/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/05/17/archives/ethiopian-ruler-wins-plaudits-of-parisians-ras-taffaris-oriental.html?sq=ethiopian&scp=29&st=p|url-status=live}}.</ref> and their "rich, picturesque court dress"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/05/05/archives/ethiopian-royalties-don-shoes-in-cairo-prince-and-eight-field.html |url-access=subscription |title=Ethiopian Royalties Don Shoes in Cairo; Prince and Eight Field Marshals Submit to Tortures in Tribute to Western Civilization. |work=The New York Times|date=5 May 1924|page=3|access-date=13 December 2018|archive-date=23 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923084042/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/05/05/archives/ethiopian-royalties-don-shoes-in-cairo-prince-and-eight-field.html?sq=ethiopian&scp=27&st=p|url-status=live}}</ref> were sensationalised in the media; among his entourage he even included a pride of lions, which he distributed as gifts to President [[Alexandre Millerand]] and Prime Minister [[Raymond Poincaré]] of [[French Third Republic|France]], to King [[George V]] of the United Kingdom, and to the Zoological Garden (''[[Jardin d'Acclimatation|Jardin Zoologique]]'') of Paris, France.<ref name=mockler /> As one historian noted, "Rarely can a tour have inspired so many anecdotes".<ref name=mockler /> In return for two lions, the United Kingdom presented Tafari with the imperial crown of Emperor [[Tewodros II]] for its safe return to Empress Zewditu. The crown had been taken by [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala|Sir Robert Napier]] during the [[1868 Expedition to Abyssinia]].<ref>[[#{{harvid|Mockler}}|Mockler]], p. 4.</ref>

In this period, the Crown Prince visited the Armenian monastery of [[Jerusalem]]. There, he adopted 40 [[Armenians|Armenian]] orphans (አርባ ልጆች ''[[Arba Lijoch]]'', "forty children"), who had lost their parents during the [[Armenian genocide|Armenian Genocide]]. Tafari arranged for the musical education of the youths, and they came to form the imperial brass band.<ref>Nidel, Richard (2005), ''World Music: The Basics''. Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-96800-3}}, p. 56.</ref>