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 language, 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 da ...

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

Early life

His grandfather had moved from Trozhar near

Tërpan Tërpan is a village and a former municipality in Berat County, central Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ioni ...

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ea ...

, 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 Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

and later continued his studies in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

Career

During the

League of Prizren The League of Prizren (), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation (), was an Albanian political organization that was officially founded on June 10, 1878 in the old town of Prizren in the Kosovo Vilayet of th ...

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. In November 1912, he participated as a delegate and signatory of Berat in the

Assembly of Vlorë The Assembly of Vlorë () was an Albanian assembly constituted during the All-Albanian Congress in Vlorë, on November 28, 1912. Background The All-Albanian Congress or ''Albanian National Congress'' or ''Albanian Independence Congress'' w ...

, 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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to pay respect to him at his grave.

Honours

In 1937, a bust of Karbunara by sculptor Dhimitër Çani 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 Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire Educators from the Ottoman Empire Politicians from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian politicians Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania 19th-century Albanian educators 20th-century Albanian educators All-Albanian Congress delegates