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ZANZIBAR. 



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ZANZIBAR, a state in Eastern Afrirn. It 

 attracted in 1873 the attention of the civilized 

 world by the treaty concluded between its 

 Sultan and England for the suppression of the 

 slave-trade. The sultanate obtained its pr. - 

 ent extent by Arabic princes, who were called 

 to these regions by native tribes to aid them 

 against the Portuguese. They established 

 their rule in 1698. In 1784 the Imam of Mus- 

 cat conquered the island of Zanzibar, which 

 was incorporated with the state of Muscat. 

 When the Imam Said-Said, of Muscat, died in 

 1868, one of his sons succeeded him in Muscat, 

 and another, Said-Medjid, in Zanzibar. Tims 

 Zanzibar again became an independent state. 

 Said-Medjid died October 7, 1870, and was suc- 

 ceeded by his younger brother Burgosh Ben- 

 Said. In 1873 the United States of America, 

 Knirland, France, and Germany, were repre- 

 sented in Zanzibar by diplomatic agents. 



The territory of the Sultan embraces the isl- 

 and of Zanzibar, with an area of 617 square 

 miles, and a population of 200,000 to 250,000 

 inhabitants, and the possessions on the oppo- 

 site coast, the most important of which are 

 Mombaa and Qniloa. The extent and the popu- 

 lation of these possessions are unknown. The 

 population of the island of Zanzibar consists 

 chiefly of enslaved negroes; the ruling class 

 are the Arabs. The principal cities are: Zan- 

 zibar, 80,000 ; Mombos, 13,000 to 15,000; Qui- 

 loa, 10,000 to 15,000. The chief source of the 

 revenues of the Sultan are the duties which 

 are fanned out by him for about $450,000. The 

 standing army generally consists of about 1,400 

 men. The fleet, which in 1871 consisted of one 

 sailing-frigate of 24 puns, one corvette (21 guns), 

 one steam-corvette (9 guns), one river-yacht (6 

 guns), and one aviso, was, on April 15, 1872, 

 almost wholly destroyed by a hurricane. 



According to the report of the German con- 

 gal in Zanzibar, the commerce of the island, in 

 1871, was as follows (value expressed in Maria 

 Theresa tlialers ; one thaler = $1.02) : 



The movement of shipping in the port of 

 Zanzibar wan, in 1H71. as follows: 



As Zanzibar is at present one of the princi- 

 pal slave-marts of Africa, the Government of 

 England toward the close of 1872 concluded to 

 force upon the Sultan a treaty providing tor 

 the abolition of the trade. To this etn! 

 Hritish vessels Glasgow and I)aphal, under the 

 command of Admiral Gumming and Com- 

 mander Bateman, arrived on December 

 at Zanzibar. On January 13, 1873, the Brit- 

 ish representative, Sir Bartle Frero arrived, 

 and, accompanied by the admiral and about 

 forty officers, at once presented his credentials 

 to the Sultan. The official negotiations I 

 on January 15th. The Sultan professed a 

 readiness to conclude the treaty, hut expressed 

 the fear that his life would be in danger. The 

 native merchants insisted that the .slave-trade 

 could not be abolished without ruining the 

 city. After acquainting the Sultan with the 

 demands of England, Sir Bartle Frei-e visited 

 several places on the east coast of Africa and 

 Madagascar. On returning to Zanzibar, on 

 March 12th, he found the Sultan entirely un- 

 willing to accede to the English dein: 

 He left a few days later in order to present let- 

 ters of Queen Victoria to the Imam <>!' Muscat. 

 This mission was successful, as tin- Imam 

 signed the demanded agreement for the sup- 

 | r< ssidii of the slave-trade. In the mean while, 

 English vessels watched the coast of Zanzibar 

 so efficiently that, during the month of May. 

 the number of slaves imported on board of 

 ocean-vessels, which generally amounted dur- 

 ing the month to about 5,000, was reduced to 

 711. This was only the preparation for another 

 more decisive measure of the English (HIM rn- 

 ment. On June 3d, the Hritish consul, Iir. 

 Kirk, personally presented to the Sultan an 

 ultimatum of the English Government, which 

 demanded from him the immediate conclusion 

 of a treaty for suppressing the transfer of 

 slaves on board of ocean-vessels, and at the 

 same time informed him that unless he ac- 

 cepted the ultimatum the admiral of the East 

 India squadron, who had been ordered to Zan- 

 zibar, had been instructed to adopt at once 

 warlike measures. As the American and the 

 German consuls, who were consulted by the 

 Sultan, emphatically indorsed the demands of 

 England, the Sultan deemed it best to yield, 

 and on June 5th the ultimatum was :HT, ptrcl, 

 and the treaty signed. The English reports 

 maintained that the French hod secret nego- 

 tiations with the Snltan, and had advised him 

 to resist the English demands, and that even 

 the establishment of a French protectorate over 

 Zanzibar had been under consideration ; how- 

 ever, when England showed a determination to 

 enforce its ultimatum, the Sultan lost all con- 

 fidence in the promises of France. On .Tune 

 13th the Sultan ordered the arrest of one of 

 the most powerful chieftains, on the ground 

 that he was implicated in the slave-trade. 



