I'm currently reading
The First Rasta: Leonard Howell and the Rise of Rastafarianism (highly recommended BTW). The author mentions something I've heard of before, that the coronation of Ras Tafari Makonnen as Haile Selassie I in 1930 led to much excitement in Pan-African circles worldwide, a Black emperor and ruler of an independent African nation.
But wasn't this the case for previous Ethiopian emperors and empresses?
What was it that made His Imperial Majesty's coronation so notable - was it the fact that various royals and other world leaders attended the ceremony (King George V's son the Duke of Gloucester apparently kneeled before H.I.M.), and that due the growth of mass communication, the coronation was made known to millions of Black people worldwide in a way that previous Ethiopian coronations wouldn't have been?
I realise he adopted the title 'King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah', as in Revelation 5:5, and that his coronation being attended by representatives of the world's nations echoed certain Biblical prophecies, but am I missing something else that made his attaining the throne of Ethiopia such a significant event?
