Bure (Gojjam), Ethiopia

History

An early mention of Bure is Emperor Susenyos's visit in 1608, after he had celebrated Easter at Wancha near the Melka Saytant ford over the Abay River.

Ras Mikael Sehul and his puppet Emperor Tekle Haymanot camped at Bure in 1770 for three days. The Enderase (Regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia, Ras Ali II, was born in Bure while his father Dejazmach Alula was governor of Damot.

Bure is located at a group of hot springs that were popular during the 19th century for their therapeutic properties. When Charles Beke visited Bure in 1842, he reports he found the market "to be very small. It is occasionally visited by a few Gallas from Shinasha and A'muru." Beke continues, "The Baso market is, however, now-a-days so generally frequented by the merchants, that it has drawn away from Burie the trade which I apprehend formerly existed here."

In the late 1930s, during the Italian occupation, Bure was described as a large village with a market located on a ridge between the upper valleys of Fettam/Sarki and Selala. It had two churches, one dedicated to Saint John and the other to Kidane Mihret. It also reportedly had a radio telegraph station, a clinic, and the residence of the local Italian official.

Due to ethnic unrest in the East Welega Zone (located in the Oromia Region) during 2001, over 10,900 Amhara sought refuge in Bure.

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 23,292, of whom 11,535 are men and 11,757 are women. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 13,437 of whom 6,069 were men and 7,368 were women. It is the largest town in Bure woreda.In 2025 the town population is estimated to be about 70,000.

Notes

References

1. [http://www.geology.gov.et/current%20exploration%20and%20mining.html Current Exploration and Mining] {{webarchive. link. (22 April 2007, Geological Survey of Ethiopia Web Page (Retrieved 26 January 2009))
2. [[G.W.B. Huntingford]], ''The historical geography of Ethiopia from the first century AD to 1704'', (Oxford University Press: 1989), p. 160
3. [[H. Weld Blundell]], ''The Royal chronicle of Abyssinia, 1769–1840'' (Cambridge: University Press, 1922), p. 207
4. Charles T. Beke, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1798047 "Abyssinia. Being a Continuation of Routes in That Country", ''Journal of the Royal Geographical Society''], 14 (1844), pp. 1–76
5. Richard Pankhurst, ''An Introduction to the Medical History of Ethiopia'' (Trenton: Red Sea Press, 1990), p. 121
6. link. (27 September 2007 The Nordic Africa Institute website (Retrieved 7 April 2008))
7. Mockler, Anthony. (2003). "Haile Selassie's War". Olive Branch.
8. [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] {{webarchive. link. (23 November 2006, Table B.4)