For Two Thousand Years, the East African Coast Was Part of the Commercial System of Trade in the Indian Ocean
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[From] Seyyid Said, Slavery and the Harem in 19th C. Zanzibar For two thousand years, the East African coast was part of the commercial system of trade in the Indian Ocean; 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 Sultan, ruler of Zanzibar and Oman 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 Tanzania, 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 Africa; 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 plantation economy; the Arabs 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 plantations of Mauritius and Réunion. 4 In contrast, historian John Gray points out that during the Christian era, trade relations between Arabia and East Africa 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 Islam.”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 Horn of Africa.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 history.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 Nairobi: East African Publishing House, 1967. pp.4-6 5 Ibid. pp.12 6 Sheriff, Abdul. The History & Conservation of Zanzibar Stone Town / edited by Adbul / Sheriff London: 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 Muscat 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.