Slavery in Ethiopia

Slavery in Ethiopia existed for centuries, going as far back as 1495 BC and ending in 1942. There are also sources indicating the export of slaves from the Aksumite Empire (100–940 AD). The practice formed an integral part of Ethiopian society. Slaves were traditionally drawn from the Nilotic groups inhabiting Ethiopia's southern hinterland and Oromos.[1] War captives were another source of slaves, though the perception, treatment and duties of these prisoners was markedly different.[2] Although religious law banned Christian slave masters from taking part in the slave trade, many Muslim Ethiopian slave traders took part in the Arab slave trade. Slaves usually served as concubines, bodyguards, servants and treasurers.[3][4]

The abolition of slavery became a high priority for the Haile Selassie regime which began in 1930. International pressures forced action, and it was required for membership in the League of Nations. During Italian rule, the occupation government issued two laws in October 1935 and in April 1936 which abolished slavery and freed 420,000 Ethiopian slaves. After the Italians were expelled, Emperor Haile Selassie returned to power and officially abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, by making it a law on 26 August 1942.[5][6][7] Ethiopia later ratified the 1926 Slavery Convention in 1969.[8] Following the abolition of the slavery in the 1940s, freed slaves were typically employed as unskilled labour by their former masters.[9]

  1. ^ Shell, Sandra (2018). Children of Hope: The Odyssey of the Oromo Slaves from Ethiopia to South Africa. 31 S Court St Suite 143, Athens, OH 45701, USA: Ohio University Press. ISBN 9780821423189.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Abir57 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Clarence-Smith, William Gervase (1989). The Economics of the Indian Ocean slave trade in the nineteenth century (1. publ. in Great Britain. ed.). London, England: Frank Cass. ISBN 0714633593.
  4. ^ Tegegne, Habtamu M. "The Edict of King Gälawdéwos Against the Illegal Slave Trade in Christians: Ethiopia, 1548". Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  5. ^ Hanibal Goitom, "Abolition of Slavery in Ethiopia" On Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress February 14, 2012
  6. ^ Christine Whyte, "‘Everyone Knows that Laws Bring the Greatest Benefits to Mankind’: The Global and Local Origins of Anti-Slavery in Abyssinia, 1880–1942." Slavery & Abolition 35.4 (2014): 652-669.
  7. ^ Ethiopia : the land, its people, history and culture. [S.l.]: New Africa Press. April 2013. ISBN 978-9987160242.
  8. ^ "United Nations Treaty Collection". treaties.un.org. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  9. ^ Congrès international des sciences anthropologiques et ethnologiques, Pierre Champion (1963). VIe [i.e. Sixième] Congrès international des sciences anthropologiques et ethnologiques, Paris, 30 juillet-6 août 1960: Ethnologie. 2 v. Musée de l'homme. p. 589.