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Slavery in Zanzibar
Slavery existed in the Sultanate of Zanzibar until 1909. Slavery and slave trade existed in the Zanzibar Archipelago for at least a thousand years. During the 19th century, the rise of large-scale clove and coconut plantations under Omani Arab rule led to a significant expansion of the slave system. By some estimates, enslaved people constituted up to two-thirds of the archipelago's population at its peak. Zanzibar was internationally known as a major player in the Indian Ocean slave trade, where slaves from the Swahili coast of Eastern Africa were trafficked across the Indian Ocean to Oman in the Arabian Peninsula during the Zanzibar slave trade.
During the 19th-century, Britain conducted an international abolitionist campaign against the Sultanate and restricted and eventually abolished the slavery and slave trade in Zanzibar via a number of treaties between 1822 and 1897, resulting in the end of the slave trade and finally the end of slavery itself in 1909.
It is unknown when slave trade from Zanzibar started, and it may have existed also before the Arabs arrived in the area in the 8th century. During the Middle Ages, the Zanzibar Archipelago became a part of the Swahili culture and belonged to the Kilwa Sultanate, which was a center of the Indian Ocean slave trade between East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, and the islands of the Zanzibar Archipelago are known to have traded in ivory and slaves long before it became a part of Oman.
In the 1690s, it finally became united with Oman in the Omani Empire (1696-1856).
The slave trade consisted of a third of the income to the Sultanate alongside ivory and cloves. The slave dhows were often rented of commercial ventures, and their crew a mix of Arab-Swaihili free men and slaves, with the profit divided via an owner-Captain-crew share system.
Zanzibar was united with Oman in the Omani Empire (1696–1856), and the history of its slave trade was therefore intimately linked with the history of Oman. Slaves from the Swahili coast were transported via Zanzibar to Oman, and from Oman to Persia and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East. Together, Zanzibar and Oman dominated the Indian Ocean slave trade during the 18th- and 19th-century. This continued after the union between Zanzibar and Oman was broken in 1856 and the Sultanate was split in the Sultanate of Zanzibar (1856–1964) and the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman (1856–1970).
After the unification of Zanzibar and Oman, slaves became the biggest industry of Zanzibar alongside ivory and clove.
The Arabian slaveships, dhow, were normally rented or were a part of a commercial enterprise, with an Arab and Swaihili crew, partially or fully enslaved, in which the profit was shared between the owner, the captain and the crew (the enslaved crew members having to give half of their salary to their enslaver).
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Slavery in Zanzibar AI simulator
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Slavery in Zanzibar
Slavery existed in the Sultanate of Zanzibar until 1909. Slavery and slave trade existed in the Zanzibar Archipelago for at least a thousand years. During the 19th century, the rise of large-scale clove and coconut plantations under Omani Arab rule led to a significant expansion of the slave system. By some estimates, enslaved people constituted up to two-thirds of the archipelago's population at its peak. Zanzibar was internationally known as a major player in the Indian Ocean slave trade, where slaves from the Swahili coast of Eastern Africa were trafficked across the Indian Ocean to Oman in the Arabian Peninsula during the Zanzibar slave trade.
During the 19th-century, Britain conducted an international abolitionist campaign against the Sultanate and restricted and eventually abolished the slavery and slave trade in Zanzibar via a number of treaties between 1822 and 1897, resulting in the end of the slave trade and finally the end of slavery itself in 1909.
It is unknown when slave trade from Zanzibar started, and it may have existed also before the Arabs arrived in the area in the 8th century. During the Middle Ages, the Zanzibar Archipelago became a part of the Swahili culture and belonged to the Kilwa Sultanate, which was a center of the Indian Ocean slave trade between East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, and the islands of the Zanzibar Archipelago are known to have traded in ivory and slaves long before it became a part of Oman.
In the 1690s, it finally became united with Oman in the Omani Empire (1696-1856).
The slave trade consisted of a third of the income to the Sultanate alongside ivory and cloves. The slave dhows were often rented of commercial ventures, and their crew a mix of Arab-Swaihili free men and slaves, with the profit divided via an owner-Captain-crew share system.
Zanzibar was united with Oman in the Omani Empire (1696–1856), and the history of its slave trade was therefore intimately linked with the history of Oman. Slaves from the Swahili coast were transported via Zanzibar to Oman, and from Oman to Persia and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East. Together, Zanzibar and Oman dominated the Indian Ocean slave trade during the 18th- and 19th-century. This continued after the union between Zanzibar and Oman was broken in 1856 and the Sultanate was split in the Sultanate of Zanzibar (1856–1964) and the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman (1856–1970).
After the unification of Zanzibar and Oman, slaves became the biggest industry of Zanzibar alongside ivory and clove.
The Arabian slaveships, dhow, were normally rented or were a part of a commercial enterprise, with an Arab and Swaihili crew, partially or fully enslaved, in which the profit was shared between the owner, the captain and the crew (the enslaved crew members having to give half of their salary to their enslaver).