African Business Chronicles

Chapter 66 – The "East-Zanzibar Treaty"

February 20, 1867.

East African Colony.

"Your Majesty Sultan Majid, once you sign this agreement, you and your government will be free again," said von der Leyen, handing the treaty over to Sultan Majid.

Sultan Majid's face darkened as he read the document, inwardly cursing both the East African Colony and that traitor Baghish. In his view, this was no friendly cooperation agreement; it was clearly turning the Sultanate of Zanzibar into a puppet of the East African Colony.

Other than Zanzibar Island, all continental territory of the Sultanate would effectively be taken over by the East African Colony. Except for the royal guard, the entire Sultanate's army had to be dissolved and restricted to the island. Even Zanzibar's few aging warships were confiscated by the East African Colony: small as they were, every "morsel" counted, and for the colony, capturing additional ships was valuable.

In the past, the colony did not rely on the coast and had no need to emphasize naval forces. But with the war's outcome, Dar es Salaam, Bagamoyo, Tanga, Mombasa...all were fine harbors, and the colony needed its own fleet to protect the shoreline.

"Sultan Majid, from your vantage point, this might seem like we're asking for too much. But for us, this is already quite lenient. Consider: you took the East African coastal areas for slaves and ivory, right? Now we'll be the ones directly offering you slaves and ivory, so you no longer need those coastal lands." Von der Leyen tried to reassure Majid.

"Von der Leyen, yes, slaves and ivory are indeed important. But losing the East African coastal strip concerns Zanzibar's national security, and the people living there need land." Sultan Majid looked troubled.

"Alright, does Your Majesty not trust the friendship of our East African Colony? Without our intervention, you'd still be in the dungeon. And as for the people on that land, they can always move to Zanzibar Island. Meanwhile, for security, we'll be in charge of defending you and the Sultanate." Von der Leyen's tone hardened slightly.

Seeing that Majid seemed at a loss, von der Leyen continued: "To show our sincerity, we'll allow the Dar es Salaam slave market to be relocated to Zanzibar Island, where you can still run it. So you needn't be worried."

In reality, Ernst wanted to keep the East African Colony from directly getting tangled up in the slave trade. Though it was very profitable, engaging in it could tarnish his image even further: colonialism was already harsh enough, but joining the slave trade would make them "complete villains."

Hence, the East African government decided that it would only "send" those captured people to Zanzibar, letting the Sultanate handle the dirty business. Officially, the East African Colony would say, "We aren't selling slaves; we're offering free, civilized folks longing to see the world, while those cunning Zanzibaris are the ones turning them into slaves." Meanwhile, the colony portrayed the ceding of the East African coast by Zanzibar as "payment" for the colony's help in quelling the coup.

"Lord von der Leyen, please allow me and my ministers to discuss this. We will then give you an answer," Sultan Majid asked.

"Of course, but please be quick. We can't waste too much time," von der Leyen said.

Majid withdrew to consult privately with his ministers.

"Everyone, you've read the demands. What do you think?" Majid asked them.

"Your Majesty, I say we accept. We're at their mercy. The key is to secure our freedom now," said the foreign minister.

"Yes, if we remain away from power for too long, who knows what will happen back on the island? It's best to recover our freedom," other ministers chimed in.

Reluctantly, Majid yielded. After all, the ministers argued that the sultanate's real profits came from slaves and ivory, so losing that continental strip would hardly matter—Zanzibar Island would remain as their base of power.

And so, Sultan Majid and his advisers, representing Zanzibar, signed the agreement.

Historically known as the "East-Zanzibar Treaty," it states:

From now on, Zanzibar Sultanate will "offer" its continental territories to the East African Colonial Government.Zanzibar dissolves its military except for a two-hundred-man royal guard, stationed only on Zanzibar Island.The East African Colonial Government is responsible for Zanzibar's security and may station troops on Zanzibar Island.

As a result, the Sultanate of Zanzibar effectively became a colony of the East African Government. The latter enjoyed every privilege in Zanzibar but, to keep the local government calm, aside from stationing troops, they did not interfere too much in Zanzibar's internal affairs.

By the treaty, the colony absorbed the entire coastline of Tanzania and even areas of Kenya under the sultanate's control. With that and the soon-to-be-developed central and western Kenya, the East African Colony now totaled about 1.2 million square kilometers.

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