Chapter 282 The “Progressive” Sultanate of Zanzibar
October 17, 1870.
Palace of Curiosities, Zanzibar Island.
The Palace of Curiosities stands at the western end of the Stone City and is part of the Sultan's Palace. This magnificent building has 40 thick columns, under each of which 60 black slaves are buried alive.
Old Said died last year, and with the support of the East African Kingdom, Young Said became the new monarch of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. Young Said has a clear understanding of his abilities, which is to continue to maintain the political normality of the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
"Minister Lemons, what does your country mean? We Zanzibar people rely on the slave trade to barely survive. If the slave trade is abolished, to be honest, I don't care personally, but the ministers and businessmen below will not agree. If I agree to your country's conditions, I can also step down." Little Sayyid complained to Lemons, the East African Minister to Zanzibar.
"Mr. Said, please don't get me wrong. It's not that our East African Kingdom is forcing Zanzibar to cancel the slave trade. This is essentially for the sake of Zanzibar."
After taking a sip of coffee from an oriental teacup imported from the Far East by the Zanzibar royal family, Lemons continued his analysis slowly, "Europe is now increasingly banning the slave trade, especially Britain and France, who are the executors. We in East Africa don't care much about slaves, but we can't influence public opinion in Europe. Your country should have felt it over the years. The British have recently been increasingly cracking down on the slave trade in the Indian Ocean."
Little Sayid sighed and said, "We know this, but the people below will not give up the huge profits of the slave trade. This is related to the livelihood of tens of thousands of Zanzibar people. Even I, as a monarch, cannot influence the thoughts of my subjects. If I go against the people's thoughts, my role as a monarch will be over!"
"Don't be anxious, Sir Sayyid. Generally speaking, East Africa is very clear about the national conditions of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. We will not make things difficult for your country. We in East Africa have already prepared a contingency plan for you on this matter." Lemons said.
"Oh! I wonder if your country has any good ideas?" Sayyid asked curiously.
"First of all, the slave trade must not continue to exist. Find a time recently to announce the abolition of the legality of the slave trade, and start by announcing the abolition of slavery from the legal level of the Sultanate of Zanzibar."
"This matter can be done, but is it just in name only?"
"Of course not! Since we want to abolish the slave trade, we have to play the whole show. Of course, I'm not saying that we really want to abolish the slave trade, but we want to make the methods of the slave trade more advanced and covert." Lemons explained.
"I don't know how to do it specifically!" Little Sayyid felt relieved when he heard that Lemons did not really want to abolish slavery in Zanzibar.
"The first point has been mentioned just now. Slavery must be abolished at the legal level, so that the Zanzibar regime is no longer a slave state. The next step is to package the original slave trade. The slave trade has been boycotted by various countries, but hiring workers is legal. All slave trade groups under the control of the Sultanate of Zanzibar must replace the slave trade with legal labor export companies, and emphasize that they are "domestic laborers" going abroad to earn foreign exchange in foreign exchanges and business activities."
"If that's all, Mr. Lemons, don't worry, we can still do it," said little Sayid.
Lemons shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. Since it's labor export, there will be no slave ships. You must improve the living conditions of the "labor" transport ships. We don't force you to do a good job, but at least make sure these "laborers" have relatively decent clothes before they go to the Middle East, and have a certain amount of space to move around. They can't be squeezed into small shelves like cargo."
Hearing this, little Sayid was in a dilemma: "Mr. Lemons, let alone other things, the cost of clothes alone is not a small amount of money. Moreover, if we give the slaves more space, the number of slaves on the ship will decrease, and we will earn less money. The slave traders will not agree to this."
Lemons said: "Clothes can also be reused. Just give the slaves a set of clothes from Zanzibar to the destination, and then take them off when they arrive. They can be used again next time. It doesn't cost much. As for the reduction in slave transportation and less money earned, it is better than being caught by other countries and losing business!"
"You are right about this, but the slave trade is a spontaneous act of merchants, and they also have to calculate the costs. I am afraid that many people will not carry it out well, especially the system of our Zanzibar Sultanate, which results in us not having much control over these merchants." Said Jr.
The Sultanate of Zanzibar was lucky enough to receive some taxes from these slave traders. Moreover, the Sultanate of Zanzibar itself was involved in the slave trade, and the royal family was the beneficiary of the slave trade. In other words, the top leaders of the Sultanate of Zanzibar were the largest slave traders in the Indian Ocean.
Lemons said with a smile: "Sir Sayyid, as long as the Sultanate of Zanzibar can supervise its citizens and enforce the law, the slave trade is a highly profitable industry, and you make a lot of money. It doesn't cost much to buy clothes for slaves. We in East Africa can help you with this. We can provide mechanized production of clothes and only charge the cost price."
"That being said, the nationals of Zanzibar are flexible. They can be citizens of Zanzibar, but they can also be citizens of Oman or even Ottoman Empire. It is difficult for us to define their identities. How can we regulate them?" Said Jr. asked.
"This is an easy matter. We can learn from East Africa and establish a household registration system to confirm the identity of Zanzibar citizens. If you do not agree to become a citizen of Zanzibar, we will not force you. But if something goes wrong, you can shift the blame to other countries, Oman or the Ottoman Empire. But let me be frank with you. We will assist you in implementing the household registration system. Don't try to be clever," said Lemons.
"Household registration system?"
“Yes, issuing identification cards to residents can effectively identify the behavior of you Zanzibar nationals at sea.”
"I don't think the ministers will agree to implement it." Little Sayyid shook his head. He didn't think his men would accept this suggestion.
"We have to carry it out even if we don't want to. This is the will of the East African Kingdom. In order to ensure the smooth implementation of these plans, our East African Kingdom will strengthen the garrison of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. At the same time, because of the British ship seizure incident a few days ago, we believe that the current situation of the Sultanate of Zanzibar is somewhat dangerous. For the strategic security of the East African Kingdom, the national defense of the Sultanate of Zanzibar will also be incorporated into the military defense system of the East African Kingdom."
Having said so much, East Africa’s true intentions have been revealed. Zanzibar Island is related to the strategic security of the East African coast. Naturally, it is impossible to allow Zanzibar Island to be isolated from the East African defense system.
Little Sayyid looked a little unhappy, but he held it back. In fact, there have always been troops stationed in the Sultanate of Zanzibar from East Africa, and they are near the royal palace. There are only a few hundred of them, but Little Sayyid would not joke about his own safety.
"I wonder how your country plans to strengthen its garrison in Zanzibar?"
"Zanzibar Island's important ports and strategic locations are all included in this plan. We will increase the number of troops to 3,000, and the artillery positions will also be taken over by the East African artillery units." Lemons read out East Africa's decision.
"Well... okay! We fully accept the decision of the East African Kingdom." Little Sayyid couldn't be tough in the end.
Lemons patted little Sayyid on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry. East Africa is strengthening Zanzibar's defenses mainly to deal with foreign countries, not to target the Sultanate of Zanzibar itself. Old Sayyid was an old friend of ours in East Africa, and we in East Africa still support the rule of the Zanzibar royal family."
Lemons gave little Sayyid a reassurance, which was also a verbal promise that the Sultanate of Zanzibar would continue to exist.
…
October 21, 1870.
After Lemons made "friendly" persuasion to the ministers in Zanzibar, the Sultanate of Zanzibar agreed to all the demands of the East African Kingdom.
On the same day, the Sultanate of Zanzibar issued a legal document, completely announcing the abolition of slavery. All slaves were freed. At the same time, the Sultanate of Zanzibar would no longer engage in slave trade, and both official and private slave trade activities were prohibited in the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
At the same time, East Africa also began to plan the defense of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, incorporating Zanzibar Island into the East African national defense system, increasing the garrison strength on Zanzibar Island, and rebuilding the port's defense fortifications.
As for the slaves in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, after they were freed, they signed employment agreements with their former masters. At the same time, a large number of registered "labor companies" appeared in the Sultanate of Zanzibar the next day, nominally providing labor services to the Middle East and other regions.
(End of this chapter)
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