Babë Dud Karbunara (22 April 1842 – 19 December 1917), born Jorgji Karbunara was an Albanian teacher and politician. He was one of the signatories of the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence ( Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six days later the Ass ...

."History of Albanian People" Albanian Academy of Science.

Early life

His grandfather had moved from Trozhar near Tërpan to

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located i ...

, where his son Theodhor later worked as a gold work embroiderer. Babë Dud Karbunara, son of Theodhor, was born as ''Jorgji Karbunara'' on April 22, 1842 in the ''Kala'' neighborhood of

. He initially studied in Corfu and later continued his studies in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

Career

During the

League of Prizren The League of Prizren ( sq, Besëlidhja e Prizrenit), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation ( sq, Lidhja për mbrojtjen e të drejtave te kombit Shqiptar), was an Albanian political organization which was offi ...

era he started an emigre branch of the organization in Corfu. Karbunara's activism primarily focused on the opening of Albanian-language schools in his native region, Berat. Karbunara's activity as a teacher of Albanian was banned in the 1890s and it led to his house being burnt by Ottoman agents on September 14, 1894. After the establishment of the 1908 constitution, along with other '' Rilindas'' of the city, he opened two Albanian-language schools in Berat. During the Albanian Revolt of 1912 he organized the assembly of Sinjë, where the rebel bands of southern Albania signed the memorandum of Sinjë, a list of demands regarding Albanian rights in the Ottoman state. Berat Babë Dudë Karbunara

In November 1912, he participated as a delegate and signatory of Berat in the Assembly of Vlorë, in which the independence of Albania was declared and a national congress was formed. The deputies of the national congress also elected eighteen delegates of the assembly to form the Albanian Senate, of which Ajdin Draga was a member as a senator of Berat.
On June 30, 1914 he was attacked by pro-Ottoman Islamic rebels led by Essadist Musa Qazimi. He was brutally beaten after being questioned "Are you Albanian or Osman (Ottoman)?", and after answering "Albanian, just like you are".

Death

He died on December 19, 1917 and was buried in the cemetery of St. George's church of the city. The ceremony was held in ''Mangalem'' neighborhood church, with a huge participation of the town's population. Vatra's musical band came from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

to pay respect to him at his grave.

Honours

In 1937, a bust of Karbunara by sculptor Dhimitër Çami was presented in Berat, while during the Communist era he was posthumously awarded the Mësues i Popullit ( English: Teacher of the People) medal. Today, a high school in Berat keeps the name "Babë Dud Karbunara" in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karbunara, Babe Dud 1842 births 1917 deaths Signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence People from Berat 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Albanians from the Ottoman Empire Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania 19th-century Albanian educators 20th-century Albanian educators All-Albanian Congress delegates