Reports and Papers from the British Foreign Office Confidential Print

BFO DOCCUMENT No. 11640/188(i)

Inclosure [sic] 3*

*Enclosure 3 referenced in September 22, 1919 dispatch from Mr. Campbell at the British Legation in Addis Ababa to Earl Curzon and received October 27, 1919 in British Foreign Office. (See CHRONICLE I)

Memorandum by Mr. Walker on Slave Traffic in general in Abyssinia.

TILL the end of the nineteenth century enslavement through war was a recognised institution both among Abyssinians and Gallas, [sic] but about 1897, in the reign of Menelik, a more lenient attitude was adopted. In the time of' Theodore all captives taken in war would have been slaughtered indiscriminately as wild beasts, and such an act as that of Philip of Macedon, who enslaved the citizens of Olynthus and Potidma and was therefore accused of being retrograde in policy, would have been held up to ridicule. Menelik saw the tendencies of modern thought and did his best to alleviate the conditions of slavery and tried to impede its spread by a proclamation that property in slaves was not to pass by purchase. Since the thirteenth century it has been recognized that Christians and Muslims may not be enslaved, so that the Danakil have been immune from slavery and only the pagan tribes on the frontiers of Abyssinia are threatened by it.

It is probable then that the Abyssinians would now base their justification of slavery on semi-religious grounds following some natural law, such as the Jus Naturae of Ulpian as opposed to the Jus Naturale, which divides mankind into those capable of mastery and those with servile souls unlighted by religion, specially created for the institution of slavery as animate instruments needed for the households of Abyssinian masters. The modern Abyssinians may base their rights (without at the same time losing sight of the economic advantages) on their own superior moral virtue by which the slave is a gainer by being linked to a controlling force. The Gallas [sic] themselves, when independent of the Abyssinians under their own chiefs, had their slaves, and the reason why the Abyssinians did not enslave the pagan Gallas [sic] must have rested on the grounds or expediency, since the Gallas, [sic] as the labouring class, provided for Abyssinians the necessary commodities of llfe.

"Adversus hostem aeterna auctoritas." There are certain tribes, e.g., in Gimirra, Kaffa, and the Mossongo country, whom the Abyssinians consider specially created for enslavement as the most brutalized of all their subjects. The classification is relative and is hardly based on colour, though a black face gives rise to the suspicion that its owner ought to be a slave, unless he can show good cause for exemption. The inhabitants of these districts, however, have never been instructed by their suzerains [sic]. If the Mossongo creep about the forests and live on the fruits of the trees and chase, is not the pursuit of' agriculture rendered impossible for them, and is it not relentless persecution that has forced them to take to the depths of the forests? The Anuaks round [sic] Gaimbela [sic] are classified somewhat differently. They are not raided without due cause, such as the refusal to pay tribute after repeated warnings. They would then, if still recalcitrant, be attacked and any captives would be enslaved. They are therefore reckoned as slightly superior creatures, and if any Anuak captured in one of the unofficial raids so common in Abyssinia were an articulate.person with some character and presence (not being a female), he could appeal to the law and be sent back to his own country or establish his right to freedom. But it is notorious that the law in the provinces is a fugitive entity and cannot always be found at will. At Adis [sic] Ababa his chance would he more favourable of a hearing.

No one is enslaved, willingly. In many cases poverty or hunger, in the desolated and ravaged slave districts may lead a parent to sell his offspring in despair; or the local headmen may be compelled by violence to supply tribute in slaves, or, again, the petty Abyssinian governor will force the headman to hand over slaves in order to accumulate a valuable form of capital, against the time that he vacates office. Where the Anuak headman would send in tusks of ivory, the headman in Gimirra requisitions his f'ellow tribesmen who are driven into the Abyssinian post. So long as the Central Government expects the tribute of these districts to be paid in slaves these inhuman practices will continue. There is no question of purchase as in the passage "Both thy bondmen and thy bondmaids which thou shalt have shall be of the heathen that are round [sic] about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids."

The vast majority of slaves are created by seizure and rapine and find a more or less permanent home after a period of brutal treatment and suffering. What has the Christian Abyssinian Church done to mitigate their position? How Would the Abuna defend the institution of slavery against Justinian, who treats of "servitutes quoe sunt ruri naturali contrariae: iure enim naturali ab initio omnes homines liberi nascebantur?" Would the Abuna plead the lack of education among the Abyssinians, which the Church, being itself uneducated, cannot deal with? Or would he plead economic necessity brought about by Abyssinian superciliousness and contempt of honest toil?

It is natural that, as in the Roman law, the effect of boni mores has been felt and that on the grounds of public expediency the rights of ownership haye been limited. The master may originally have had absolute rights over the slave in Abyssinia. "Apudomnes peraeque gentes animadvertere possumus dominis in servos vitae necisque potestatem esse." Anyhow the principle of limitation is now established. "Male enim nostro iure uti non debemus: qua ratione et prodigis interdicitur bonorum suorum administratio." Just as various enactments under the Roman law restrained the passions of brutal masters and established the idea that a slave could be "murdered," though not a persona, so in modern Abyssinia a master would be hanged for the murder of a slave, if the Government were pleased to take up the cause of the victim. So the Anglo-Saxon theow [sic] was protected by the Church from ill-treatment. But there is no trace of involuntary manumission as in the case of sick slaves under Claudius, who on abandonment by their master became free, or practically free. In Abyssinia the slave would revert to the State and become a public slave or in remote districts he would be seized by the first comer [sic]. Neither has the Abyssinian law immitated the generosity of Constantine in conferring freedom on the disclosure of certain crimes. The fact is that in Abyssinia there is little law to develop or to be expounded, and in any case there are no schools or "stationes uns publie respondentum." It is a country with no kindly Canon law and no progressive jurists with modernised responsa or digests.

The "Fatha Nagast" [sic] or Imperial decisions, which are stated to be of Arab origin and date from the 13th century, are by some alleged to be rigorously followed by the judges in forming their verdicts. This is most emphatically untrue and can only be the case with a chosen few of those holding office at Adis [sic] Ababa. In the provinces the "Fatha Nagast" [sic] are obsolete in the civil administration, and it is doubted whether any copies of the compilation could be found with any of those who execute the law. The traces of the influence of Roman law are obvious in the "Fatha Nagast" [sic] and on the subject of slavery they are fairly detailed, but the statement that these Imperial decisions are the modern law of Abyssinia is a gross exaggeration. Some of the clauses of this Civil and Ecclesiastical Code are adhered to, since they are in harmony with the stress of modern life, but the majority have sunk into oblivion. These obsolete portions are given in au Appendix and only the living ordinances are alluded to.

The "Fatha Nagast" [sic] approve of the plan of liberating slaves, and agree with Justinian that all men are born free. But they point out that war and raids compel some men to serve others and quote with approval the Mosaic law that bondmen and bondmaids shall be of the heathen that are round [sic] about. As to slaves in general they lay down many rules, but in the present vague and indeterminate state of Abyssinian law it is difficult to lay down which and how many of these are observed at the present day. The Following are some of' the rules which would probably be adhered to:

1. A slave is not to be liberated if he has no means of' support.
2. If one attempt to steal the slave of another, the thief must return a slave in addition to the one stolen or his price.
3. "Schiava gravida senza il figlio non puo esser soggeetto di contratto."
4. A slave cannot inherit without explicit written instructions from the testator.
5. A slave cannot bear witness on behalf of his master.
6. A slave beaten by his master and losing an eye is liberated.
7. A slave compelled to kill is not responsible, but the master who constrained him.
8. A master who beats a slave to death is himself punishable with death, if the slave die at once. And similarly if the master poison him.
9. If a master abuse [sic] his authority and put his slave to death usurping the power of a magistrate, he is to be killed too.
10. If a slave by carelessness causes the death of a man, he is handed over to the relations of the deceased.

The slave then is not entirely a chattel. It is true that slaves cannot appear themselves as plaintiffs in court, if the object of an iniuria, but they may be allowed by the generosity of their master to acquire a peculium and purchase their freedom for such a small sum as 50 dollars. A master with a large number of slaves would not object to his slave learning a trade or accumulating by labour such a sum with which to purchase his liberty, or even to his finding some friend willing to pay the price. Legally all that he has is his master's, but here again is seen the force of custom and boni mores. The purchase price would be paid in front of the."dagna," or judge, and the transaction recorded on paper.

Manumission under seal in the lifetime of the master may take place in the presence of a judge or before witnesses of prudent age, or again in the church before a recording priest and witnesses. In the first two cases the master would swear by Menelik (though the latter is long dead) that he had "sent" or "released" his slave to freedom. Before the priest he would make the same oath by the "Tabot" or Holy of Holies. These procedures bear a resemblance to the manumissiones minus solemnes inter amicos or in ecclesiis and to the proclamatotio in libertatum of the Praetor's court. But in Abyssinia all these procedures are formal and the slave becomes wholly free, since there is no survival of the theory that he is still legally a slave, nor is he said in libertate esse. There is no intermediate stage through which he must pass before attaining perfect freedom. The "Fatha Nagast" [sic] allude to manumission before a high prelate and three witnesses, and a slave is recommended for liberation on various grounds, such as for long service rendered, desire to become a priest or monk, military service, preservation of the life of the master, and death of the patronus without heir.

On the death of their master it is natural that slaves should attain to freedom, whether he has set forth his wishes formally by will or oral confession to a priest or witnesses before death. In many cases, too, the heirs will follow the recommendation of the "Fatha Nagast" [sic] and liberate the slave who has earned his freedom by long service, even if the master himself is silent on the subject. It is fortunate for slaves in Abyssinia that there is no legal impediment to limit rash and indiscriminate manumission such as that dealt with by the Lex Aaelia Sentia or the Lex Fufia Caninia. On the other hand, no Emperor has yet risen to grant universal freedom. In a country where no Concilium Plebis and no Comitia exist, manumission could have no political effect, but will only confer on the deceased the blessing of the church and a claim to the praise of posterity. So it is that libertini oricini abound in Abyssinia, though indistinguishable from the rest of the population, and may have reached, high places in the State. On the death of Ras Tessema, the late Regent, a typical case occurred. On the fortieth day after his death proclamation was made in his private "Gebi," or Palace (and not in the market, since it was a private act), freeing all his slaves without distinction. It would be regarded as sufficient legal proof to which they can appeal in support of their freedom, if questioned subsequently. Such is the ordinary procedure in the case of a high chief or master of standing and his heirs would be censured by public opinion if they failed to carry out an act redounding to the memory of the deceased.

There is no reason why a slave should not inherit from his master. Cases are frequent in which the slave is freed at his death and continues his household by marrying his widow. But the children of a slave woman, or "ancilla," [sic] are slaves too by law, whether the father is free or not. Morals are lax in Abyssinia, and in spite of the "Fatha Nagast" [sic] there is no punishment for a free Abyssinian woman if she cohabits with a slave - the servus alienus - and she need have no fear that her offspring will be considered as slaves. Ideas are more liberal, and there is no survival of the Roman law which, after three denunciations had proved in vain, condemned her, too, to slavery. Slavery is looked upon as one of the accidents of litb, and there is no privilege in citizenship.

The case is common in which a slave runs away or ceases to possess a legal master. If a slave in one province runs away and is captured by a third party in another province far from his former owner, he is certainly not treated like a son, as the "Fatha Nagast" [sic] enjoin, but merely changes masters. But if the slave could find adsetror libertatis, since the third party would, be unable to produce proof that the slave was his. Since Menelik's.time a slave, is only supposed, to pass by gift as attested by a sealed paper, though this regulation is almost, invariably, evaded. In the above case the slave would pass to the Crown and be kept in the Imperial Gebi, or Palace, where he might in course of time become ipso facto free. From time to time the Gebi is cleared of slaves who find homes of their own and. may settle near, leading their own lives, until usu longi temporis they are styled free without the need of an Imperial grant of inqenuitas. It resembles the statu liber state of a slave "qui statutam et destinatam in ternpus vel condicionem libertatem habet. But the former owner would have difficulty in reclaiming him. In cases where the slave who ran away could not obtain the protection of the law, he would be looked upon as treassure [sic] trove and merely pass into the ownership of another. Equity is also a roguish thing in Abyssinia.

The ranks of slaves which may dwindle yearly throughout Abyssinia are recruited yearly, by those fortunate, governors whose provinces contain peoples adapted., by.nature for slavery, and especially those of the south, south-west, and west, comprising Sidamo, Kaffa, Mossongo, Gimirra, Mau, Anuak, Nuer, and Beni Shangul. Some are sent to Adis [sic] Ababa as tribute, but most are destined for private use. At the moment of writing, a draft of 120 from Gimirra lie at Gore awaiting despatch [sic] to the capital.

The demand being universal and greater than the supply, there is a constant market, and all regulations are easily evaded where the whole population is party to the trade, including the State itself. Slaves pass currently from hand to hand at prices varying from 20 to 80 dollars. A certain secrecy is observed and transactions are conducted by night, but it is a matter of common knowledge. It is frequently the case that the slave passes without any written record on either side, especially when one of the provincial chiefs is leaving his district with a gang of slaves. The Abyssinian inhabitants who llve along his route besiege him with offers at night, and he allows his servants to sell on his behalf, their commission being regarded as wages. In fact a governor proceeding to one of the slave districts can always rely on securing servants and soldiers for practically nothing, as they can usually obtain slaves for themselves or act as his agents for a consideration.

Merchants from distant parts of Abyssinia which have no natural supply of slave producing tribes - such as the north - flock to Gore and buy slaves for their clients on order or take them back with them to sell later at a profit. Certain receivers of slaves near Gore, among whom the Muslim Gallas [sic] are prominent, stock slaves or board them out for a chief until a buyer is found. The arrival of a chief from his slave district is eagerly awaited, as it is rare that he does not profit by his authority to accumulate slaves during his brief tenure of office in a province where money and commerce hardly exist, and no inconvenient questions are asked by the Government. When Dejaz Ganami [sic] was dismissed from Gore, his officers called up from the south passed through with hundreds of slaves, which had all been disposed of by the time they reached the comparative civilisation [sic] of Adis [sic] Ababa. The same sad scenes are to be seen now that his successor, Dejaz Kabada, has been dismissed also. They are not so harrowing as those witnessed in the time of the late Regent, Ras Tesemma, who after his triumphant conquest of the districts south of Gore returned with slaves in thousands. His route could be traced by a trail of dead and dying of those unable to keep up with the column. Ras Tesemma would have prided himself on the completeness of his victories against an unarmed population, but in these days the pax Abyssinica is supposed to reign in the south, which enjoys the enlightened rule of a race superior in moral virtue. And yet these same chiefs who make their fortunes by the slave traffic are pleasant enough to talk and deal with, and regard themselves as a class apart and as possessing all human knowledge. In spite of this "ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant."

A small minority of Abyssinian opinion is disgusted at the circumstances in which slaves have their being till they find a home. One, at the sight of such processions, expressed his sorrow by saying that there was now no need for him to await the funeral feast for deceased parents or relatives before giving vent to sorrow. He had a subject for lamentation, ready before him. But even those sympathetic souls would not condemn the institution of slavery, and in fact the person referred to was the owner of several slaves. There is no general sentiment of right and the Abysisinian represents man in his earliest stages in which he is a material creature and, as we are told that law concerns his material interests, this may recount for its impotence. As in Europe little knowledge of the slave traffic exists, the discovery of differences is needed to stimulate Abyssinian thought, and only the contact of races can confer progress. Tilll Abyssinia is opened to the world the institution will continue. It is not a subject about which much information can easily be gleaned, and it is to be regretted that more details cannot be secured for the purpose of this memorandum.

APPENDIX

The following are some of the ordinances laid down by the Fatha Nagast" [sic] which however, are obsolete:

1. "Marriage between Christian and pagan .is forbidden; also concubinage both for the married man with a slave and for the unmarried with a pagan. If there is transgression the slave shall be sold out of the province by the governor, while, if children have been begotten from the pagan, she must be baptised [sic] and married." Nothing could be more casual that the marital relations of Abyssinians and the order is quite disregarded, save that it, is usual to christen slaves and give them an adopted father. The "Fatha Nagast" [sic] defend the action of David and Solomon on the ground that in those days men were scattered upon the earth and imposed the above commands, since the earth was now sufficiently populated.
2. "The sons of a slave woman are always slaves of the master of the father, and if the father is free they, too, are free." But in modern Abyssinia the children are often separated from their slave parents, and the freeing of the father would not affect the status of the children who served another master.
3. "The judge ought to refuse to liberate a slave, though freed by the patronus,if he has information that the conduct of the slave towards his master or master's sons has been insolent or brutal or that the slave has wasted his master's substance." This is now entirely the affair of the master, and no judge would exert himself to interfere.
4. "If a free woman marry a slave, she shall become the slave of his master." It is common for a woman to marry a slave, but she invariably retains her freedom. No master could enforce this law.
5. "A slave woman must not be separated from her grown-up son nor a male slave from his brother, his wife, or his son." If this were observed, the slave trade would receive a fatal blow. But in actual life Abyssinians pay not the slightest regard to the feelings of slaves, especially at the time or their original capture or seizure. They sell apart [sic] man and wife, children and parents, according to the demand of the market.
6. "A slave let with a farm as a slave of the glebe [sic] or soil, if he be freed by the owner of the farm, must be handed back to him by the lessee. But there are now no slaves of the soil, and their place has been taken by the colonus [sic] or gebar, who occupies a more independent position and cannot be termed a slave.
7. "If a slave be lost and found, the finder, in the absence of his owner, shall rear him as his son." This represents a standard of thought and philanthropy too high for modern Abyssinians. In these days the slave would merely change masters. In the provinces he would not be allowed to approach a judge to claim his protection, and would be cowed into submission.
8. "The slave being himself the property of the master cannot inherit from him." This is not the law now, as slaves commonly inherit if their master happens to have no natural heir.
9. "The slave cannot be a witness in a court of law." In modern days their testimony may be most important, especially in cases of murder, and they would certainly be called to give evidence.
10. "If a bull kill a slave with his horns, the bull shall be stoned to death and the price of' the slave paid to his master." The life of the bull would be spared at the present time, and in most cases no compensation would he given, since to be killed by a bull would be held presumptive of great carelessness.
11. "The thief who steals a man from the midst of his family to enslave or sell him shall be put to death by the judge." In modern Abyssinia, if the man escaped being shot by the household, it is not likely that he would be executed if he could pay a money fine.
12. "The slaves who slay their master or do not give him succour [sic] when he is in danger of being slain by others shall be cast into the fire." But there is now no punishment such as the furnace, and no particular blame would be attached to the cowardice of slaves. A slave would be hanged for homicide.
13. "A slave who plots against the life of his master shall be slain, unless the plot be to the gain of the King." It is unlikely that the extreme penalty would be exacted today. Scourging or maybe, branding, would be the punishment.
14. "The wife of' the master, if she commit fornication with a slave, shall be beaten, her locks shall be shaven, and her nose struck off, and she shall be proclaimed and declared infame, while the slave shall be put to death." She would now be simply divorced. The slave would probably run away. If caught fiagrante delicto he would be shot. The law would be unlikely to condemn him to death, as such scandals are hushed up. The case is also dealt with similarlv where the mistress is a widow and childless. "Both shall be beaten and have their locks shaved, while the slave shall be sold by the magistrate. If she have children, all her goods and the price of the slave pass to them under the administration of the local authority, and she shall live alone and earn her bread." In this case the mistress would go unpunished, and the law would take no action. Public opinion would be indifferent, and regard it as her own business. "A married master, if he commit fornication with a slave, shall be beaten, and she shall be sold for the profit of the public treasuy. If she belong to another, the offender shall pay 36 dinars of gold if he be rich, and a lesser sum tf he be poor, and he shall be beaten." Here again the offence [sic] committed is trifling in modern times, and the accusation would not be seriously pressed. A petty fine at the most, or a committee of old men would arrange the affair privately.
15. "He who steals a man and sells him, and he who is privy to the rapine, shall be condemned to death." Cases must be very rare of the rapine of a free man where there are so many slaves to steal. This resembles No. 11. The "Fatha Nagast" [sic] condemn to exile those who indulge in raids unauthorised by the King, but, if this regulation were observed seriously, Abyssinia would be deprived of a large portion of its regular forces, and other countries would have their presence inflicted on them.

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