Country: Ethiopia
Group: Berta/Jebelawi
Date Finalized: 11/21/2020
Team: Arisha Khan (leader), Tommy Chia, Alexandra Hager
Content Warning: slavery, violence, forced labor
Approximate Time Period: 1850-1942
Even though there isn’t a lot of information about the Berta group in Ethiopia, there is sufficient information to indicate that they have faced forced labor in Ethiopia. Because of lack of a lot of information, I would give the data quality a 2.
Mostly residing on the border of Sudan and Ethiopia, the Berta migrated into the Ethiopian highlands around the late 17th century due to territorial conflict between the different Shangul communities (Ahmad, 1999). When the Ethiopian empire expanded in the 19th century, the emperor demanded tribute from local warlords in the form of slaves, ivory, and gold. The warlords trying to deal with the demands from the emperor raided local villages for slaves (Ahmad, 1999). With slavery being revived by the emperor’s demands, the warlords forced Berta cultivators to mine gold (Ahmad, 1999). Even though slavery was abolished in 1935 in Ethiopia, it is unclear if Berta people still suffered from forced labor after the abolishment (Ahmad, 1999).
Sources
- Ahmad, A. H. (1999). Trading in Slaves in Bela-Shangul and Gumuz, Ethiopia: Border Enclaves in History, 1897-1938. The Journal of African History, 40(3), 433–446.