Abolitionist Decrees in Ethiopia: The Evolution of Antislavery Legal Strategies from Menelik to Haile Selassie, 1889–1955

Slavery and the slave trade were fundamental institutions in Ethiopian history. Their abolition was a protracted process that involved developing, debating, passing, and applying multiple anti-slavery and anti-slave trade edicts and decrees under successive rulers. While slavery existed in all the various societies integrated in the Abyssinian empire since the second half of the nineteenth century, and took different forms in different legal traditions, this presentation focuses specifically on the Christian kingdom and its successor empire. It analyses changes and continuities in judicial and legal approaches through consecutive Ethiopian governments. Starting with a discussion of slavery’s regulation in the ancient Christian law code, the Fətḥa nägäśt, the presentation then considers how successive Christian emperors developed anti-slavery policies that altered the main legal concepts, their religious connotations, and practical applications. This presentation is based on research conducted in collaboration with Dr Takele Merid (Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University).