Slavery in Ethiopia

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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] Religious law banned Christian slave masters from taking Christians as slaves, slaves were from Muslim and other non-Christian groups.^[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 occupation, the temporary 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 slavery in the 1940s, freed slaves were typically employed as unskilled labour by their former masters.^[9]