The Taxation System of Ras Haylu Täklä Haymanot of Gojjam: 1907-1932
Abstract
Taxation is the base for any political power. Early 20th century Gojjam was under the business minded hereditary lord of Gojjam. He was one of the wealthiest persons of Ethiopia during the period. Haylu was also one of the powerful regional rulers. The bases of his power were his huge regional army and the wealth drawn from the people of Gojjam. Ras Haylu`s Gojjam was one of the last autonomous provinces of Ethiopia. This paper examines the ways how Ras Haylu, as an upstart mercantilist ruler of Gojjam, was able to amass huge amount of capital, with particular emphasis on his taxation system. It also discusses some of the actors that led to his final arrest in 1932. A range of sources were used in the paper ncluding secondary materials, archival, oral and published and unpublished primary sources. The data collected from these sources have been carefully selected, cross checked and examined for their authenticity. Then, the information drawn from authentic and credible sources were interpreted and analyzed so as to reconstruct the history of taxation in Gojjam during the period of Ras Haylu.References
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