[From] Seyyid Said, and the Harem in 19th C.

For two thousand years, the East African coast was part of the commercial system of trade in the ; accordingly, Zanzibar’s role in the commercial system was that of “intermediate zone of exchange.”1 The prosperity of the West and capitalist industrialization contributed to the growth of trade in Zanzibar during the first half of the nineteenth century. As a result of the British anti-slavery campaign, Zanzibar’s economy experienced another transformation; specifically, a shift from exporting slaves as sources of labour to producing and exporting agricultural goods. The majority of the slaves in Zanzibar, including the domestic and agricultural slave, were under the direction of Seyyid Said bin , ruler of Zanzibar and from 1804 to 1856. Included in the umbrella of domestic slavery is the harem which consists of eunuchs, wives, concubines and children. The traditional Muslim slave culture acquired slaves mainly for domestic purpose; however, Said deviated from this traditional role by creating a mass slave culture of agricultural slaves; he initiated this shift in order to salvage his commercial empire from the adverse effects of the British anti-slavery campaign. Seyyid Said and his harem realized that the new class of agricultural slaves were the backbone of the economy and of the whole sultanate. As a result of the economic realities of 19th century Zanzibar and the far-reaching cultural influences of Said, Zanzibar developed a truly unique slave industry and culture that resulted in the economic exertion of slave labour; thus, as a result of his religious convictions and political and economic savvy, Said influenced how the slave culture would evolve and develop in Zanzibar.

In order to fully understand how and why slavery developed as it did in Zanzibar, some key background information must be explored. The African island of Zanzibar is an exotic island with stunning beaches and lush tropical forests. Zanzibar is located in the Indian Ocean east of , and it is separated from the mainland by a channel approximately twenty miles wide. North East of Zanzibar lies its sister island, Pemba, which is sometimes referred to as the Green Island2 because of its dense vegetation and productive agriculture capacities. Compared to Zanzibar, the island of Pemba is small, approximately 380 square miles, whereas Zanzibar is 640 square miles. The monsoons in the Indian Ocean have a predictable pattern of activity and facilitated the commercial system of trade for at least two thousand years on the East coast of ; consequently, this enabled the East coast of Africa to be a reliable entry port between various suppliers and consumers of goods.3 Zanzibar’s horizontal landscape, temperature and sufficient rainfall constitute the optimal environment that allowed for the growth of clove, mango, orange, coconut lemon, allspice and breadfruit trees; subsequently, Zanzibar’s fertile environment would inevitably have an enormous historical impact.

Some historians argue that the East African slave trade has its roots no further than the first half of the eighteenth century whereas other historians suggest that the East African slave trade is centuries old. For instance, A. E Alpers suggests that the East African slave trade was initiated by the seventeenth century labor demands of the French economy; the

1Sheriff, Abdul. Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar: Integration on an East African Commercial Empire into the world Economy, 1770-1873. Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1987. Chapter one” The Rise of a Compradorial State” 2 Bird, Christiane. The Sultan’s Shadow. New York: The Random House Publishing Group. 2010. pp. 88

3 Sheriff, Abdul. Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar: Integration on an East African Commercial Empire into the world Economy, 1770-1873. Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1987.pp.12 acted as traders and acquired slaves who were subsequently sold for the purpose of manual labor; specifically, to work on the of and Réunion. 4 In contrast, historian John Gray points out that during the Christian era, trade relations between Arabia and were already well-established; in fact, Gray explains that the Portuguese version of the Kilwa chronicle illustrates the earliest large scale slave immigration from Shiraz, Persia to East Africa. In agreement with Gray, scholar Adbul Sheriff confirms that long before the influence of the Omanis, in particular, the Christian era, an Arab mercantile system existed in East Africa which primarily provided society with goods used for consumption or barter.5 The Arab Muslims were not the first people to enslave the blacks in Africa; Abdul Sheriff indicates that “the domestic form of slavery was a recognized institution in Arabia before the coming of .”6 Historical documents, specifically The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea written in approximately the late first or early second century A.D, discusses the export of slaves, but only from the .7 However, there is an increase in the demand of slave labour from the seventh to the ninth century as a result of the efforts to reclaim the marshlands of Southern Iraq. Slaves were reported to have been severely exploited and oppressed; subsequently, slave revolts began to occur in the late seventh century. The culmination of the slave revolts would ultimately lead to the famous “Zanji Rebellion” in the ninth century. The slave revolts led to the failure of agricultural exploitation based on slave labour; in fact, this is one of the few recorded incidences of the exploitation of slave labour in Muslim .8 East Africa would see the increase of the slave trade one more time in the late eighteenth century.

Slavery has persisted in the Muslim world; it was abolished in Saudi Arabia in 1962 and existed in Mauritania until 1981. 9 Owing to the fact that the justification for slavery was deeply attached to Islamic law, the institution of slavery has cultivated deep roots in Muslim society. Slavery was a widely accepted institution prior to the prophet Muhammad delivering his message to Allah in the seventh century.10 Muhammad viewed slavery as being legitimate; accordingly, his approach regarding the institution was to reform, not abolish, slavery. This is best illustrated when Muhammad addresses his followers: “As to your slaves, male and female, feed them with what you cannot eat yourself and clothe them with what you wear. If you cannot keep them or they commit any fault, discharge them. They are God’s people like unto you and be kind unto them.”11 The prophet encouraged his followers to free their slaves; this was considered a pious act and would secure a heavenly reward for the owner. The Islamic holy law emphasised that in order to be with god, the slave master had to treat the slave as a human being. Seyyid Said was a pious man and he may have not allowed only materialistic elements to overshadow the humanistic components of the agricultural slaves in Zanzibar. French philosopher Gabriel Marcel writes that “the inhuman consequences of a systematically materialist mode of thinking are to-day

4 Alpers, E.A. The East African Slave Trade, Historical Association of Tanzania, Paper. No. 3 : East African Publishing House, 1967. pp.4-6 5 Ibid. pp.12 6 Sheriff, Abdul. The History & Conservation of Zanzibar / edited by Adbul / Sheriff : Dept of Archives, Museums & Antiquities in association with J. Currey: Athens: Ohio University Press, 1995 p. 218. 7 Sheriff, Abdul. Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar: Integration on an East African Commercial Empire into the world Economy, 1770-1873. Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1987.pp.13 8 Sheriff, Abdul. Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar: Integration on an East African Commercial Empire into the world Economy, 1770-1873. Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1987.pp.12 9 Gordon, Murray. Slavery In the Arab World/ By Murray Gordon.: New York; New Amsterdam.1989., 1989.p.45. 10 Gordon pp.18 11 A.J. Wensinck et al. Concordance et indices de la tradition musulmane,Vol 8.(Leiden, 1933-88). obvious to everyone. I am thinking now, of course of the reduction of multitudes of human beings to a condition of slavery, in which their status of human beings is almost refused recognition.”12 In Zanzibar, agricultural slaves were not dehumanised; they had rights which included cultivation rights and social rights. The cultivation rights afforded by the master enabled the survival of the slave whereas the social rights of the slave permitted the slave to gain an education and escalated status at the discretion of his master.13 Though there is no question that all forms of slavery are detrimental to humanity, it is imperative that the historical context and realities of Zanzibar be understood so as to grasp the complexities of its slave culture and economy; specifically, that the Omani sultanate depended on slavery and, in turn, the slaves in Zanzibar depended on the success of Said’s commercial empire; accordingly, these two entities could not exist independent of one another.

Seyyid Said ruled Zanzibar and Oman from 1806 to 1856; his residency was divided between and Zanzibar; consequently, the first thirty years of his reign was in Muscat and the balance was in Zanzibar. Said was a religious man and practiced Ibadhism, a sect of Islam that calls for a return of Islam to its original values; Ibadhism is considered a peaceful and tolerant faction of Islam. Furthermore, it calls for an emphasis on good personal conduct, strong spiritual values, and a tolerance of all creeds and tribes.14 Said’s devotion to his religion is best illustrated by a conversation he had with his personal physician, Vincenzo Maurizi. Maurizi writes that he had suggested to Said the prospect of adopting a Machiavellian policy in order to assist in administering the empire; Said is reported to have said that he “would rather lose both Kingdom and life than break through the commands of God and the dictates of his conscience.”15 Traditionally speaking, the character of the Ibadhi man is described in the literature as a talented man who was expected to be an accomplished military ruler, religious scholar, and spiritual leader; lastly, he was responsible for supervising the collections of state revenues, appointing government officials, the welfare of the public, and the country’s military. Equally important, although he is a powerful man, his power is not absolute; consequently, his duties emerged from Sharia law and if necessary, he was expected to confer with other tribal and spiritual leaders.16 The construction of Said's spirituality is important in understanding how he governed his commercial empire; furthermore, it provides a framework as to how he managed both the domestic and agricultural slaves. Equally important is the fact that during the 1800’s, there was not any recorded mass uprising by slaves of any kind in Zanzibar.17

Said is often described favourably in the literature; historian W. H. Ingrams describes Said as man who was “First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his fellow countrymen, he

12 Marcel, Gabriel. Men against Humanity: London, Harvill Press, 1952. p. 72 13 Descriptions of the rights and responsibilities of slaves can be seen in Lohdi,Adbulaziz Y. “ The Institution of Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba”, Research Report No. 16. Uppsala, Sweden: The Scandinavian Institute on African Studies, 1973. p.10. 14 Bird, Christiane. The Sultan’s Shadow. New York: The Random House Publishing Group. 2010. P 20-. 22. Chapter 2 “Muscat” author Bird provides the details of Said’s early childhood and the incidences that may have contributed to Said embracing the faith of Ibadhiasim. 15 Maurizi, Vincenzo. History of Seyd Said, Sultan of Muscat. New York: The Oleander Press, 1984, reprint. p.x 16 Bird, Christiane. The Sultan’s Shadow. New York: The Random House Publishing Group. 2010. P. 22- 23. For a detailed analysis see chapter 2 Muscat. Author Bird discusses the Ibadhis hadiths, and provides a detailed comparison between the Sunni and Shiite law and Ibadhism. 17 Lodhi p.21 was a ruler that any country might be proud of.”18 Said is credited with laying the foundations for the prosperity of Zanzibar with the establishment of clove production. Said’s personal physician describes his physical attributes as "a tall commanding figure; a mild yet striking countenance; and an address and manner courtly, affable and dignified."19 Scholar Kenneth Ingham asserts that Said’s personality moulded the East African coast; in fact, in the eyes of Ingham, Said is credited with the “transformation of Zanzibar from a small and relatively unimportant village to the most important trading center along the coast.”20 With this in mind, it is easily understood that Said would have intertwined his religious beliefs and his institution of slavery to allow for the commercial success of Zanzibar, and that he used his powers to influence others to initiate a change in the attitude towards slavery, specifically the harem and the agricultural slave.

Seyyid Said had three legitimate wives; Azze bint Seyf was his most faithful companion and she remained his wife until he died at sea in 1856. Said married his other two wives, both of whom were Persian, probably for political reasons. Fateh Ali Sha was the granddaughter of the Sha of Persia; their marriage failed and after five years she returned home. Seyyid Said and his second Persian wife, Shahrazad, remained married for twelve years. Said’s harem consisted of several concubines of various races and approximately 120 children.21 Said's concubines and children lived with him until his death in 1856. Said’s death was unexpected; Emily Ruete, Said's daughter, indicates that the palace was in a “dreadful state” and recalls that her father was a “most conscientious king, and a true father to his people,” and that he had been loved by all; lastly, in honour of Said, mourning flags were raised and she observed that “black flags hung from every house, and even the smallest hut fastened up a piece of black stuff.”22After the master dies, the slave could be set free; however, according to Koranic law, the master would have had to make pledge of tadbir (liberation) to his slaves; moreover, the death of a master was the fundamental occasion for freeing a slave.23 In Said's will, dated 1850, he declared that upon his death, all of his slaves were to be set free, both male and female; however, he declined to free the plantation slaves.24 By not freeing the plantation slaves, Said did two things; first, he allowed the Omani commercial empire to continue to prosper and second, he saved the lives of his plantation slaves because he knew that freeing the plantation slaves would ultimately lead to the slaves' demise since the slaves depended on the sultanate for their survival.

18 Ingrams, W.H. Zanzibar its History and its People. London: Frank Cass and Company Limited. 1967.p.163. 19 Maurizi, Vincenzo. History of Seyd Said, Sultan of Muscat. New York: The Oleander Press, 1984, reprint.p.ix. This book describes Maurizi’s relationship with the sultan Seyyid Said. Sultan said was only 19 when he first met Maurizi. This book illustrates how Seyyid was viewed by others at the time; specifically, Westerners. The reasons for Maurizi being in Muscat are not clear but it is though that he left because of his pro-French sympathies. He has been accused of espionage and a spy of Napoleon Bonaparte, and although Maurizi is not considered a scholar outside his personal experiences his book has value in the sense that it gives insight into the personal and business life of Seyyid Said. 20 Ingham, K.(1962), A History of East Africa (London: Longmans) pp. 19, 73, 80 21Bird, Christiane. The Sultan’s Shadow. New York: The Random House Publishing Group. 2010.p.92 22 Ruete-Said, Emily. Memoirs of an Arabian Princess. London: East – West Publications. 1890. Reprint. 1981.Ruete 106-107. 23 Gordon, Murray. Slavery In the Arab World/ By Murray Gordon.: New York; New Amsterdam.1989., 1989p.41 24 Rabi, U. “Ian Skeet, Oman: Politics and Development.” And M Reda Bhacker, “Trade and Empire in Muscat and Zanzibar: Roots of British Domination.” Middle Eastern Studies 33. 4. 1997. British Library Document Supply Center Inside Serials & Conference Proceedings. Web 26th February 2014 in appendices 201 Said’s Will.. Said may not have ever questioned the notion of slavery since it was a part of his culture and religion; furthermore, he may have viewed it as an evil but a necessary one.25 Thus, the Omani sultanate was incredibly wealthy; one historian points out that in the 1830’s, the revenue from the coast of Zanzibar yielded annual revenues of $50 000 MTD (Mother Theresa dollar and Spanish crown, which were valued from $4.50 to $4.75 to the English sovereign); however, during the time of Seyyid Said, Zanzibar’s revenue increased to $150 000 MTD annually.26 Nevertheless, Said was considered sincere in his efforts to enforce the abolition of slavery since Zanzibar was now exporting cloves and grains; consequently, Said was making more money from the production of agricultural goods than from the trafficking of slaves. Author Christiane Bird points out that Said is reported to have destroyed a village that was notorious for slaving27; in addition, foreign Muslim rulers were disappointed with Said for signing the Hamerton Treaty, but Said’s response was that he meant “to meet the views of the British Government as long as he lived.”28 It is apparent that Said had strong feelings of guilt by association since he was profiting from the inhumane slave trade, and that economic stability as a result of exporting goods may have encouraged him to assist in eliminating the trade.

Most of the slaves captured for use in Zanzibar were forcibly taken from what is now Tanzania. Arab traders would take the slaves by force or negotiate a deal with a tribal leader; specifically, they would promise the African chiefs guns and subsequently encourage them to attack other villages in order to get more slaves. Due to the international demand for ivory, the slave trade began in earnest in the mid- to late 1700’s. The brutality of the slave trade was committed by the hand of the Arab traders, and once the slaves were captured from their villages, they marched from the interior to the East coast of Africa. The slaves were usually roped, chained, or yoked together by the neck with thick bands of wood and their hands were tied behind their back. They received very little water and food and if they fell ill, they were either killed or left to die. Some reports by historians place the mortality rate among slaves as high as 80%, whereas others say it was as little as 10%.29 If the slaves survived the journey to the East Coast, they were then loaded into dhows and shipped off to Zanzibar. The Omani sultanate ultimately benefited from the slave trade; the slaves that were exported provided the revenue that supported the sultanate.

The first slave treaty that threatened Zanzibar’s economy was the Moresby Treaty of 1822 which prohibited the export of slaves to the south; furthermore, the Hamerton Treaty of 1845 made the exportation of slaves to the north illegal.30 Historian Murray Gordon indicates that plantation slavery was rare in Islamic societies and that Arab and Muslim countries did not only depend on slaves for their labour. According to Gordon, slaves in Muslim societies were obtained for reasons that were entrenched in the societal and sexual mores of the people and the requirements of their leaders in managing the affairs of the state; in addition Gordon emphasises

25Gray, John Milner, Sir. , from the Middle Ages to 1856 .Conn: Greenwood Press, 1975, c1962.p.226. In the chapter “The Attitude of Islam” Gray discusses in great detail the conditions in which a slave could be emancipated and the necessary requirements that must be met by the slave and the master. The tadbir is controversial because experts cannot determine that if the master issues the proclamation to free the slave upon his death he can then later recall the proclamation. p.35-447. 26 Gray, John Milner, Sir. History of Zanzibar, from the Middle Ages to 1856 .Conn: Greenwood Press, 1975, c1962. 27 Bird, Christiane. The Sultan’s Shadow.p.153. 28 Beachy, R. W. The Slave Trade of Eastern Africa. New York: Harper and Row, 1976.p.53 29Bird, Christiane. The Sultan’s Shadow. New York: The Random House Publishing Group. 2010.p.141. 30 Sheriff, Abdul. Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar: Integration on an East African Commercial Empire into the world Economy, 1770-1873. Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1987. p.223 that in Muslim society it is the absence of plantation labour that distinguishes the Muslim slave from the New World slave, though the West has a tendency to link Muslim slavery with the occupation of a plantation slave31.Consequently, the West's orientalist world view of the status of slavery contributes to the overall assumption that slavery only exists in one form; specifically, hard labour. The collapse of the southern and northern slave trade, as a result of the Moresby and Hamerton treaties, resulted in a decline of revenue which, in turn, resulted in great economic hardship for the Omanis. Accordingly, new income for the sultanate had to be established. As a result, the sultanate relied on revenues from the newly established plantation economy in Zanzibar which caused an unprecedented demand for slaves. Ironically, the increase in slavery in Zanzibar was the consequence of the abolition of slavery.

The demand for slaves began to accelerate in East Africa; according to some estimates, the eighteenth century saw a staggering increase from 100,000 slaves to 400,000, while in other areas in Africa, the traffic for slaves remained unchanged.32 The increase of slave traffic was due to the Omanis' consolidation of power along the East Coast, as well as the demand for slaves by the French who were in constant need of slaves to work their sugar plantations in the . The British were insisting that Zanzibar eliminate the trade in slaves; thus, the slave trading economy in Zanzibar changed from that of a slave market where slaves were bought and subsequently shipped to the East to an economy that relied on its own slave labor for the production of goods.

Subsequently, the influx of slaves in the nineteenth century was quite noticeable in Zanzibar. One estimate suggests that the number of slaves arriving at the island in the 1830’s was between 6,000 to 9,000 annually; then, in the 1840’s and 1850’s, the number increased to 13,000- 18,000; finally, in the 1860’s, the slaves in Zanzibar reached its peak at 20,000.33 The slaves that remained in Zanzibar worked in the clove plantations where the supply of cloves was driven by global demand. This era in Zanzibar’s history is referred as “Clove Mania.”34 During this time, only the Arabs of Oman owned clove plantations. Prior to his death, Seyyid Said obtained land from the natives of Zanzibar; the Mwinyi Mkuu of the Waungija granted the sultan forest lands that could be cleared and cultivated using slave labor.

The Omani merchant class were in a position to transform the slave sector in Zanzibar from a commodity of export to that of a home grown labor force. The Omanis recognized this opportunity since they had the experience of observing the French successfully cultivate cloves on their East African of ÎIe de France and Bourbon. The first clove planted in Zanzibar was planted in the future home and birth place of Said's daughter, Princess Salme bint Said (1844-1924), or Emily Said-Ruete, as she was to be known later. Ruete reports that her father owned forty-five plantations that were scattered all over Zanzibar and that each plantation had as many as fifty to sixty slaves, whereas the large plantations had as many as five hundred

31 Gordon, Murray. Slavery In the Arab World/ By Murray Gordon.: New York; New Amsterdam.1989.p.Chapter Three, “Occupation and Status of Slaves in the Islamic World”. 32Gordon, Murray. Slavery In the Arab World/ By Murray Gordon: New York; New Amsterdam.1989.p.148,149

33 Sheriff, Abdul. Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar: Integration on an East African Commercial Empire into the world Economy, 1770-1873. Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1987.p.60 34 Sheriff, Abdul. Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar: Integration on an East African Commercial Empire into the world Economy, 1770-1873. Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1987.Sheriff p. 48-60. Sheriff explains in great detail the genesis of the slave system of production in Zanzibar, 1810-1840s. slaves.35 Scholar Abdul Sheriff points out that each of Said's numerous children, concubines, and eunuchs also had their plantations; for example, Said’s elder son Khalid owned the grand and superb plantation “Marseilles;” another relative of Said’s, Suleiman b. Hamed al Busaid, was one of the wealthiest plantation owners on the island.36 Equally important, Said is reported to have compelled his Omani subjects to establish plantations and those who did not follow the sultan were at the risk of having their land confiscated.37 It is reasonable to assume that Said and his family owned and operated the majority of the plantations in Zanzibar in the 19 century therefore, they had the most slaves. In addition, Said most likely set the tone for the relationship between master and slave; thus, the slave owners would have been expected to maintain a specific code of conduct in how they treated their slaves because, for the first time, the depended on the productive labour of the slaves.

Murray Gordon states that the appeal of clove farming had a profound effect on the economic and social structure of Zanzibar; consequently, Omanis continued to purchase more land and thus, the profession of trader was abandoned and a new sector of farmers suddenly became slave owners.38 In addition to Gray’s observations, author Christiane Bird points out that “Cloves brought Zanzibar enormous wealth–and enormous suffering. Clove production requires a prodigious amount of cheap labor. Clove production brought slavery to Zanzibar on a scale never before seen in East Africa.”39 It is true that the demand for slaves and the trade brought enormous suffering to the African people and Sultan Said could have extended the suffering for the slaves, but it appears he chose not to.

In the future, the excess supply of cloves resulted in a weakening in price; as historian Sheriff observes, cloves solved for $10.00 per frasila in 1830, but then dropped to $5.50 in 1840 and then to $2.00 in 1856.32 In addition to the decline of the price of cloves in 1872, Zanzibar was obliterated by a tropical cyclone, which resulted in the destruction of Zanzibar’s agricultural economy. One historian wrote that “on some plantations less than 2 per cent of the trees survived, and he estimated that on the great majority only 15 per cent withstood the force of the hurricane.”40 This was an economic disaster for Zanzibar since it takes 7-10 years for clove trees to bear fruit. However, Zanzibar’s sister island, Pemba, was not damaged by the hurricane and ultimately filled the gap in clove production. In addition, one third of Zanzibar’s population was wiped out by the cholera epidemic of 1869-70. It was during this time, when the inhabitants of Zanzibar were destitute, that the British would ramp up their anti-slavery campaigns; moreover, this was a time when the slave would have relied on his/her master and the sultanate of Zanzibar for the basic resources to facilitate their survival. At this time, Sultan Barghash bin Said ruler of Oman and Zanzibar (1870-1888) could have decreed a manumission of all the slaves in Zanzibar; however, he did not do this because, as a result of Said’s influence and guiding example, he knew

35 Ruete-Said, Emily. Memoirs of an Arabian Princess. London: East – West Publications. 1890. Reprint. 1981. In Chapter XI Emily Ruete discusses the structure of her father’s plantations , she indicates that out of the 45 plantations only two had palaces, six to eight had villas, and that the balance of the plantations had houses for the officials and farm buildings. 36 Ibid. p.51 37 Sheriff, Abdul. Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar: Integration on an East African Commercial Empire into the world Economy.p.51. 38 Ibid.52 39 Bird, Christiane. The Sultan’s Shadow. New York: The Random House Publishing Group. 2010. pp.95 40Sheriff, Abdul. Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar: Integration on an East African Commercial Empire into the world Economy, 1770-1873. Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1987. p.223-234, Sheriff discusses the implications of the environmental disasters and the British abolition of slavery tactics and how these events affected the Omani sultanate. that freeing the slaves would have only benefitted the British; furthermore, the slaves would be destitute without the support of their masters and the sultanate. In spite of a sharp decline in the price of cloves and environmental disaster, the cultivation of cloves would continue to be Zanzibar’s major source of revenue for over a century.41

Owing to the fact that the plantation industry was in an economic depression, as well as the natural disasters and the cholera epidemic, one would expect that in order to fill the sultanate's coffers, any excess slaves that remained would have been sold and exported to the East. However, the years of 1868-1870 experienced the highest degree of anti-slavery patrolling in the Indian Ocean and at the same time, the lowest level of slave captures.42 Incidentally, the volume of foreign slave trade in Zanzibar was believed to be cut down by 50% during the years 1868- 1870.43 Slaves were no longer being imported to Zanzibar, and thus it was clear that the Morsbey and Hamerton treaties had proven successful; however, the success of the anti-slavery campaign did not stop the British from insisting that all existing slavery in Zanzibar end; specifically, plantation and domestic slavery.

The enormous importation of black Africans to Zanzibar gave rise to the “ethnic, even racial specialization in the slave population.”44 Traditionally, the Islamic world did not operate on a slave system of production; instead, the slaves were employed in a number of specializations; specifically, in the home, military, and commerce. Slaves were usually apprenticed to their masters, thereby becoming assistants; occasionally, a slave could advance to become an agent or business partner to the master. Bernard Lewis points out that the specialization of the slave population in East Africa was an important “indirect and unintended consequence of one of the most important humanitarian advances brought by the Islamic dispensation.”45 Although Muslims do not engage their slaves in agricultural work, Zanzibar is the exception. For instance, the agricultural or plantation slave in Zanzibar is a highly skilled worker who is not easily replaced. During the height of clove exportation, the specialized slaves who worked in the clove plantations were considered invaluable to the Omani elite and the merchant class. Seyyid Said’s political aspirations and his religious convictions contributed to the structural framework of the agricultural and domestic slave in Zanzibar; specifically, they denied formation of a generic homogenised class of slavery and instead, created a highly stratified and systematized culture of slavery. Agricultural slaves in Zanzibar may have begun with an ascribed status, but they were given opportunities to enhance their situation; specifically, they had some control over their lives and could execute their power when necessary.

Agricultural slaves in Zanzibar were recognized by their master as not only a source of labor but as a long term investment because the clove slaves were the most skilled agricultural worker in Zanzibar and Pemba at the time. Picking cloves is not like picking cotton; accordingly, the worker would have to be highly trained and skilled in the techniques involved in picking cloves. The process of picking cloves has been described as “painstaking” and in comparison to

41 Sheriff, Abdul. Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar: Integration on an East African Commercial Empire into the world Economy, 1770-1873. Ohio: Ohio University Press. 1987. pp. 33-76 Sheriff provides information regarding the transformation of the slave sector. 42 Sheriff pp. 224 graph 6.1 43 Sheriff pp.223 44 Lewis, Bernard. Race and Slavery in the Middle East: an historical enquiry / Bernard Lewis.: New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.p.41. 45 Ibid. pp. 41 unskilled cotton pickers in the West, the slaves in Zanzibar were not easily replaced.46 Zanzibar’s prime picking season for cloves is November through December with a smaller harvest season in July through August; consequently, there is a short window for cultivation, and thus errors in the harvesting and processing of cloves could potentially result in harsh economic consequences. American J. Ross Browne observed that the Zanzibar slaves “do less work, on the average, in a month than a Mississippi slave does in a week.”47 The slavery system in Zanzibar was paternalistic and in some cases, the slave would pay his master small amounts for the rest of his life, even if he was emancipated. Despite the financial commitment and, most importantly, the notoriously brutal treatment the slaves endured on their way to Zanzibar, scholar Joseph Cooper suggests that once the slaves were on the plantations, they were managed in a humane manner.48 For instance, the slaves were given clothes, food, housing, education and with the master’s permission, they could work for other masters and keep the wages they earned.49 With this in mind, it is apparent that Sultan Said had a unique view of the purpose of slavery in Zanzibar.

The slaves in Zanzibar were not blind to the notion that the Omani sultanate depended on the skilled labor of the agricultural slave; as one European who lived in Zanzibar in 1870 observes, “The slave knows very well that there are certain orders that he must obey, and that he must do a certain amount of work for his master, but he knows equally well that the master dare not and would not transgress the understood privileges and acknowledged rights of their slaves.”50 Slaves in Zanzibar were expected to follow a code of conduct in both their working life and private life; in addition, the master was also expected to follow a prescribed conduct.

Finding specific scholarly documents regarding Islamic slavery, specifically regarding the master servant relationship, is problematic because, historically and today, there is an “extreme sensitivity of the subject.”51 There is ample information that describes the religious theory of the Islamic master slave relationship; however, often what is represented in theory is sometimes seldom practiced in reality. Ethnographic and oral provide details of daily life experiences and should be considered relevant for the time and place in history. The backgrounds of the people interviewed and the interviewer are important components for understanding the information presented in ethnographic material. Nevertheless, ethnographic and oral histories require careful examination.

In a research report that focused on the life of slaves in the 1800’s, researcher Adbulaziz Y. Lohdi from the Scandinavian Institute of African Studies (1973) gathered oral information from the elders in Zanzibar. The variety of backgrounds of the people who contributed to the oral histories Lohdi used in his work cannot be discounted. The ethnographic testimonies in Lodhi’s paper include those of the late Sheik Ahmad, born in 1872, who, at the time of the interview, was

46 Christiane Bird. The Sultan’s Shadow. New York: The Random House Publishing Group. 2010. Bird explains the specific mechanisms involved in clove picking. See part two chapter nine. 47 J. Ross Browne.Etchings of a Whaling Cruise (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1968, reprint), p.434-435. 48 Cooper, J 1968, The Lost Continent: Or Slavery And The Slave Trade in Africa 1875, with observations on the Asiatic slave-trade carried on under the name of labour traffic, and some other subjects.: London, Cass 1968. pp. 153- 213. 49 Lohdi,Adbulaziz Y. “ The Institution of Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba”, Research Report No. 16. Uppsala, Sweden: The Scandinavian Institute on African Studies, 1973. 50 Christie, James. Cholera Epidemics in East Africa( London : Macmillan, 1876), pp. 42-43 51 Lewis, Bernard. Race and Slavery in the Middle East: an historical enquiry / Bernard Lewis.: New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. pp. vi the keeper of the Hanifi in Stone Town, and in his younger years, worked as an interpreter; specifically, and Swahili. Another individual interviewed, Sheik Hemed Abdalla, was an ex-slave trader who worked in one of the last trade caravans led by ; finally, Mzee Kairo a retired farmer who was once a slave kidnapped by the Turks in Cairo, was subsequently sold as a slave to a Egyptian during world war one; at the time of his interview, he is described as a freed slave currently employed by a German trade merchant.52 As a result, these interviews provide a variety of personal experiences associated with the slave culture in the 1800’s.

Lodhi is a native of Zanzibar who has a great knowledge of Swahili customs. His late mother worked as a midwife and his father was a circumcist; subsequently, both of his parents worked in Zanzibar and southern Tanzania for forty five years. Lohdi suggests that domestic slavery in Zanzibar thrived under the paternalistic umbrella of the sultanate; thus, slaves were not regarded as one homogenized unit but as one that was highly stratified. Ultimately, this stratified slave system would evolve into a “slave culture” which would inevitably become the fabric of a feudal system. 53

The slaves in Zanzibar had rights afforded to them by their masters and these rights have their roots in Islam. Assuming that Said set the tone in which the slaves were regarded; it appears that he acknowledged the rights of the slaves in keeping with the traditions of Islam. Muslims could not enslave other Muslims and upon enslavement, the master would expect the slave to embrace Islam. The laws of the Koran dictated guide lines that were to be followed by the master and the slave; accordingly, the Koranic laws were intent on striking a balance between the rights of both master and slave and each individual had to live up to these laws. The main tenant of slavery in the eyes of the Koran is that the slave is to be recognized as an individual with certain skills and a chattel; in contrast, the West viewed the slave simply as a chattel. The inhumane Western attitude toward slavery differed greatly from the Islamic attitude toward slavery as according to the Koran, on a spiritual level, both the master and the servant were considered to be equal in the eyes of God; therefore, if the slave acted in accordance with the Koran, he, too, would go to heaven. 54”

According to Lodhi’s ethnographic research, the oral histories from the elders confirm that the slaves did have rights. Slaves had claims to the land they were cultivating and owners gave the slave seeds to grow his own food; if the slave did not have any food, the master gave the slave food in the period between planting and harvesting. In addition, slaves could only use specific portions of land; in particular, the base of a clove or coconut tree. Thus, both the slave and master benefited because weeds would not grow and affect the productivity of the crop. The slave could do what he wanted with his own crop of food; however, the master expected a portion of the crop as a gift and this gift was not a onetime event; the master expected a gift after every harvest.55 The descriptions of the rights of the slaves are distinct and the responsibility of the master to the slave is also apparent. Agricultural slaves in Zanzibar worked for their master 2-5

52Lohdi,Adbulaziz Y. “ The Institution of Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba”, Research Report No. 16. Uppsala, Sweden: The Scandinavian Institute on African Studies, 1973.For a complete description of the histories of the individuals used in Lohdi’s research see page 2. 53 Lohdi,Adbulaziz Y. “ The Institution of Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba” p. 4. 54 Gray, John Milner, Sir. History of Zanzibar, from the Middle Ages to 1856 .Conn: Greenwood Press, 1975, c1962. P.18-48 55Lohdi,Adbulaziz Y. “ The Institution of Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba” p.4-8 days per week; on the days that they were not working, they could cultivate their land or find work elsewhere. Slaves were allowed to seek paid employment on their own; the master had no right to the wages unless the slaves master assisted in finding work for the slave in which case the slave would pay a small fee to their master.56 Non-agricultural slaves received wages since they did not grow their own food; furthermore, in contrast to the agricultural slave, the non- agricultural slave did not have free housing.

Although the rights and responsibilities of master and servant are explained, the information about the working conditions of plantation slaves is inconsistent. For example, an ex- slave who worked for Captain Craster in 1912 recalls his experiences on a Arab plantation in Zanzibar; the ex-slave reports that he worked from “morning to evening and had no time to grow our own crops for our own food; and when we were tired they beat us.”57 In spite of this, Lodhi’s research indicates that sick slaves were not allowed to work and the master was responsible for the slave’s medical treatment.58 It is possible that some slaves may not have spoken out about the conditions they worked in because they may have been resigned to their fate and, in the eyes of an Arab, this fate may have been viewed as an unshakeable and irrefutable belief in destiny.59

This stratification of slaves and their work is further evidence of how Said used the guiding principles of his faith to structure Zanzibar's slave culture. The slaves saw themselves as specialized forms of labour; in fact, they did not refer to themselves generically as “slave.” They had specific titles of slavery that distinguished not only their specific types of work but their status within the culture of slavery. For example, a “watumwa wa nyumbani” is a house slave or domestic slave whereas a “watumwa wa shamba” is known as a plantation slave or agricultural slave.60 The slave could also be distinguished by their current status in the slave culture; for instance, a runaway slave is known as an “mtoro” whereas a slave that is a prisoner of war is considered a “mateka.”61 Almost every position a slave could occupy had its own specific title which was associated with the type of work they did. Equally important, slaves could be afforded rights based on their place of birth. There is a specific distinction between slaves in Zanzibar, specifically ones that are home grown. Home grown slaves are those who were born in the East coast of Africa and who have relatives living along the coast. The distinction between home grown versus foreign slaves is also seen in the status of children. For instance, if a man married a concubine or a freed slave, their children were considered free-born but with a lower social status since they did not have a female line of relations as slaves were usually bought from “foreign” lands.” A “mazalia” is born into the house hold and the slave’s parents were also born in a coastal town or tribal area. Lodhi’s research indicates that the mazalia were viewed as free-born and they could not always be sold; furthermore, although they were regarded by society as free, they had an attachment to their grandparent’s master.62 The children of the slaves did not have an

56 Lohdi,Adbulaziz Y. “ The Institution of Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba” p.6 57 Akinola, G. A.“Slavery and slave revolts in Sultanate of Zanzibar in the Nineteenth Century”. Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria.Vol. 6. No 2. June 1972 p. 219. 58Lohdi,Adbulaziz Y. “ The Institution of Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba” p. 9 59Ruete, Emilie, and E. J. van Donzel. An Arabian Princess Between Two Worlds: Memoirs, Letters Home, Sequels To The Memoirs: Syrian Customs and Usages / By Sayyida Salme/Emily Ruete: Edited With An Introduction By E. Van Donzel.n.p.:Leiden ; New York: E.J. Brill, 1993.p.181. Ruete, discusses illness and death and asserts that there is nothing to be done about your situation in life and that the Arab believes that this is this persons destiny. 60 Lohdi,Adbulaziz Y. “ The Institution of Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba” p.5 61 Lohdi,Adbulaziz Y. “ The Institution of Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba” p.5-6 62 Ibid. p.7 inherited or ascribed occupation. However, since their parents were born in Zanzibar or other coastal towns in East Africa, these children seem to be regarded more free than those who were brought from foreign lands. The oral histories collected by Lodhi suggest that a slave that was brought in from foreign lands had a lower social status.

Lodhi’s research confirms that in Zanzibar, concubines and their children were included in the domestic slavery and house slave category; they are referred to as “masuria” (concubines) and their children were referred to as “besar” or “wazalia wa mara nyingi.” In accordance with Muslim tradition, the children that the sultan fathered were considered born free. Lodhi points out that slaves who held certain positions of trust were also included in this category.63 A man is allowed to buy a woman slave who has no specific skill “mjakazi” and keep her at home as a concubine or “suria;” men sometimes purchased young slave girls, “kijajazi,” and integrated them into his household where they would learn the necessary house work; ultimately, when the young girl reached puberty, she would be given her own private space, and it was expected that the other slaves would grant her the same respect that the wife and master received. According to Lodhi, concubines are categorised as a branch of domestic slavery in Zanzibar and in contrast to the plantation slave, this type of slavery is “benign;” as a result, domestic slaves, house slaves and concubines did not usually run away. If the concubine died before her master, he was personally involved in her funeral arrangements and as a consequence of the 1897 emancipation of slaves in Pemba and Zanzibar; concubines were to become legal wives of the master.64

Female slaves, and in particular concubines, often lived in harems, which consisted of groups of female slaves, their children and eunuchs who were always available to the master. Another aspect of Zanzibar's slave culture that was influenced by Said's attitudes and perhaps his Ibhadi faith is the harem. A frequent misunderstanding that surrounds the women of the harem is that they were incapable of exerting any influence beyond the harem walls; thus, they only influenced their immediate family.65 In 1871, an anthropologist asserted that the construct of the harem is similar to “a huge machine in a world by its self,” thereby insinuating that the women of the harem were excluded from society.66 This notion persists today; for instance, modern accounts of the harem in Zanzibar incorrectly suggest that between 1832 and 1894, the women were largely confined to harems.67 The Zanzibar harem of Seyyid Said was not secluded; on the contrary, it was an extension of his influence and the women were protected by his authority. In addition, the sultan enjoyed their company and was deeply attached to the women. Emily Ruete’s memoir is the key to understanding the experiences of the harem and domestic slavery because her memoir is a first-person representation of herself and her experiences. Edward Said writes that the suspiciousness of an Arab writing about Islam and its traditions, culture and religion is due to the orientalist view that “the Orientals cannot represent themselves; they must therefore be represented by others who know more about Islam than Islam knows about its self.”68 For this reason, readers must consider that Emily Ruete writes her truth of the time and readers must

63 Ibid. p. 5-8 64Lohdi, Adbulaziz Y. “ The Institution of Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba” p. 13- 21 65 Peirce, Leslie. “Beyond Harem Walls: Ottoman Royal Women and the Exercise of Power.” Gendered Domains Re Thinking Public and Private in Women’s History, edited by Dorothy O. Helly and Susan M. Reverby. 1992 Cornell University. P. 84 66 Millingen, Fredrick. “The Circassian Slaves and the Sultan’s Harem.” Journal of the Anthropological Society of London. Vol. 8, 1870-1871, pp cix-cxx. 67 Boswell, Rosabelle. “Sexual practices and Sensual Selves In Zanzibar.” Anthropology Southern Africa31.1-2. 2008: 70-83. Anthropology Plus.Web.26 Feb.2014.p.71 68 Said,Edward. “Orientalism Reconsidered” Cultural Critique, No. 1 (Autumn, 1985), pp. 89-107.p.97 respond by trying to understand her world view in accordance with her culture, and the traditions of nineteenth century Zanzibar.