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Anti-slavery Protocol

Anonymous · betmas

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machine-draft · no human review 3 passages · 376 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Anti-slavery Protocol is an anonymous, undated Geʿez ecclesiastical text of a legalistic and prescriptive genre, surviving in a single manuscript witness (betmas edition). Its language and formulae suggest a late 19th- or early 20th-century origin, possibly as a local Ethiopian church response to British anti-slavery campaigns. The protocol lacks liturgical or canonical adoption, and its authority remains unclear. No translation or commentary accompanies the edition, obscuring legal nuances. The text mirrors European royal protocol, referencing Queen Victoria and Emperor John IV (Yohannes IV, r. 1872–1889), and mentions Rear Admiral Sir William Hewett and a ship name 'Dampsachi', likely a Geʿez transcription of an English or Indian name. The work reflects diplomatic pressure on Ethiopia to suppress the slave trade in the Red Sea region.

The Anti-slavery Protocol is a rare example of an Ethiopian ecclesiastical legal text addressing the slave trade, reflecting late 19th-century diplomatic and moral pressures. It illustrates the intersection of Ethiopian royal theology, European colonial influence, and local church responses. Its survival in a single manuscript highlights the fragility of such documents and the need for careful study of Geʿez legal and prescriptive literature.

Historical context

The protocol likely dates to the late 19th century, during the reign of Emperor John IV (Yohannes IV, 1872–1889), a period of intensified British anti-slavery campaigns in the Red Sea and East Africa. The text's opening formula, listing Victoria's titles before John's, mirrors European royal protocol and suggests a bilateral treaty structure. The Geʿez phrase 'chosen by God' adapts the English 'by the grace of God' for both monarchs, reflecting Ethiopian royal theology. Rear Admiral Sir William Hewett, who commanded the HMS *Dampsachi* (possibly a corruption of *Dampachi* or *Dampachi*), enforced the anti-slavery treaty. The sole witness, the betmas manuscript, has no known other Geʿez copies, and the text's circulation history is unknown. The protocol may represent a local ecclesiastical response to British diplomatic pressure, but its actual authority and adoption are unclear. No liturgical use or canonical recognition is recorded.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

18 commentary units 4 term3 structure3 background3 dating3 caution2 reception 2 derived notes 6 open questions 3 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: other in Geʿez; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 3 narrative.
  • caution2 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note.
  • sourceSource edition: betmas — CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
LIT5065Antislaveryprotocol:1 · narrativemedium
Source
ቢክቶርያ፡ በጸጋ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ የታላቋ፡ ብርታንያና፡ የአይርለንድ፡ ንግሥት፡ የ ህንደኬ፡ ቂሳርይት፡ ሥዩመ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዮሐንስ፡ ንጉሠ፡ ጽዮን፡ ንጉሠ፡ ነገሥት፡ ዘ ኢትዮጵያ፡ ወኵሉ፡ አድያሚሃ፡ በ እንግሊዝ፡ ቤተ፡ መንግሥትና፡ በ ኢትዮጵያ፡ ቤተ፡ መንግሥት፡ የባሪያ፡ ንግድ፡ እንዲቀር፡ ባሪያ፡ እንዳይሼጥ፡ በፈቃዳችን፡ ተዋደን፡ ውል፡ አድርገናል፡ ለዘለዓለም፡ በ ኢትዮጵያ ና፡ በ እንግሊዝ፡ መንግሥት፡ ለነገሠ፡ ይህን፡ ነገር፡ ሊጨርስ፡ የመጣ፡ ምስለኔአችን፡ ሪየር፡ አድሚራል፡ ሰር፡ ውሌም፡ ሕወት፡ የ ህንደኬ፡ ጦር፡ መርከብ፡ ደምሳሺ፡ ነው፡ ከታላቋ፡ ብርታንያና፡ ከ የአይርለንድ፡ ንግሥት፡ የ ህንደኬ፡ ቂሳርይት፡ የተላከ፡ መቅድም፡ [፩] ጃንሆይ፡ በግዛትዎ፡ ባሪያ፡ እንዳይሼጥ፡ እንዳይለወጥ፡ ሊከለክሉ፡ [፪] ጃንሆይ፡ ንጉሠ፡ ነገሥት፡ ዘ ኢትዮጵያ፡ ባሪያ፡ ከሌላ፡ አገርም፡ መጥቶ፡ ካገ[ር]ዎ፡ ከግዛ[ት]ዎም፡ እንዳይሼጥ፡ እንዳይለወጥ፡ ወደ፡ ሌላ፡ አገርም፡ ወጥቶም፡ እንዳይሼጥ፡ ይህን፡ ወደው፡ ውል፡ አድርገናል [፫] ጃንሆይ፡ ንጉሠ፡ ነገሥት፡
English
Victoria, by the grace of God, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, and John, chosen by God, King of Zion, King of Kings of Ethiopia and of all his dominions. In the English Parliament and the Ethiopian Parliament, we have agreed and made a treaty that the slave trade shall cease and that slaves shall not be sold, by our will, forever. In Ethiopia and in the English government, for the king who came to accomplish this matter, our representative, Rear Admiral Sir William Hewett, of the Indian military ship *Dampsachi*, is sent from the great Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India. Preamble. [1] Your Majesty, to prohibit the sale and exchange of slaves within your dominion. [2] Your Majesty, King of Kings of Ethiopia, we have agreed and made this treaty that a slave coming from another country shall not be sold or exchanged within your country or dominion, nor shall a slave going out to another country be sold or exchanged. [3] Your Majesty, King of Kings.
LIT5065Antislaveryprotocol:2 · narrativehigh
Source
ዘ ኢትዮጵያ፡ ነጣ፡ የወጣ፡ ባሪያ፡ ወደ፡ ባርነት፡ እመልሰዋለሁ፡ ብሎ ፡ የያዘው፡ እንደሆን፡ በብርቱ፡ ቅጣት፡ ሊቀጣ፡ ፈቅደዋል፡ [፬] የ ብርታንያና፡ ንግሥት፡ ከሌሎች፡ ነገሥታት፡ ጋራ፡ ሁሉ፡ ባርያ፡ እንዳይሼጥ፡ ቀድሞ፡ ውል፡ አድርጋለች፡ ስለዚህ፡ በባሕር፡ ያሉ፡ ሹማምቶችዋን፡ ጠብቁ፡ ብላ፡ አዛለች፡ በመርከብ፡ ሲሄድ፡ ባርያ፡ ቢያገኙ፡ እንዲይዙ፡ ደግሞ፡ በመርከብ፡ ላይ፡ የሀበሻ፡ ሰው፡ ባርያ፡ ተብሎ፡ ቢያዝ፡ ወደ፡ ንጉሠ፡ ነገሥት፡ ወደ፡ አገሩ፡ ይመለስ፡ ብላ፡ ንግሥት፡ አዛለች [፭] ይህ፡ የእርቅ፡ ውል፡ ቶሎ፡ ብሎ፡ ታትሞ፡ አድዋ፡ ድረስ፡ ይመጣል፡ ደግሞ፡ ስለ፡ ምስክርነት፡ ሪየር፡ አድሚራል፡ ሰር፡ ውሌም፡ ሕወት፡ የ ብርታንያና፡ የአይርለንድ፡ ንግሥት፡ የ ህንደኬ፡ ቂሳርይት፡ ምስለኔና፡ ሥዩመ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ዮሐንስ፡ ንጉሠ፡ ጽዮን፡ ንጉሠ፡ ነገሥት፡ ዘ ኢትዮጵያ፡ ለዚህ፡ ውል፡ ሁለቱም፡ በገዛ፡ እጃቼው፡ ማኅተማቼውን፡ አትመዋል፡
English
Parliament, and the Ethiopian, have decreed that if anyone captures a slave who has escaped from Ethiopia and says, "I will return him to slavery," he shall be severely punished. [4] The Queen of Britain, together with other kings, has previously made a treaty that no slave shall be sold. For this reason, she has commanded her officials at sea to be vigilant and, when traveling by ship, if they find slaves, to seize them. Moreover, she has ordered that if a Habesha person is taken as a slave on a ship, he shall be returned to the King of Kings and to his country. [5] This treaty will be printed quickly and will come as far as Adwa. Furthermore, concerning the testimony, Rear Admiral Sir William Hewett, the Queen of Britain and Ireland, the Empress of India, with me, John, chosen by God, King of Zion, King of Kings of Ethiopia, both will affix their seals to this treaty with their own hands.
LIT5065Antislaveryprotocol:3 · narrativehigh
Source
ተጽሕፈ፡ በ አድዋ፡ ከተማ፡ አመ፡ ካልኡ፡ ለጁን፡ በ፲ወ፰፻፹ወ፬ ዓመተ፡ ምሕረት፡ በ እንግሊዝ፡ ቊጥር፡ በ፲ወ፰፻፸ወ፮፡ ዓመተ፡ ምሕረት፡ አመ፡ ፩ለሰኔ፡ በ ኢትዮጵያ፡ ቊጥር፡
English
Written in the city of Adwa, in the year of mercy 1894 [A.D. 1881/1882], according to the English count, in the year of mercy 1876 [A.D. 1883/1884], on the 1st of Senē, according to the Ethiopian count.
Citation. Tergwame, “Anti-slavery Protocol”, LIT5065Antislaveryprotocol:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/LIT5065Antislaveryprotocol#s1
Colophon. Source: betmas · licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0021 · generated 2026-11-15.