# Destination: Zanzibar, on a
                                                    dhow

**Source**: https://ge.iitm.ac.in/rendezvous/destination-zanzibar-on-a-dhow/
**Parent**: https://ge.iitm.ac.in/rendezvous/

Did you
know
that
before
the 19th
century,
Indians
arrived
and
served
as
traders,
financiers,
agents
and
artisans
in many
of the
East
African
coastal
regions?
Here’s
an
interesting
piece of
history
that
connects
India
and
Zanzibar

**Santhosh
Abraham**

In early
July
2023,
while
browsing
through
the
India
Office
Records
in the
Asian
and
African studies
section
of The
British
Library
in
London
for
documents
related
to ivory
trade
that
happened
during
the
British
Raj in
India, I
stumbled
upon a
report
published
in 1919
on the
trade
conditions
that
existed
in the
East
Africa
Protectorate,
in
regions
such as
Uganda
and
Zanzibar.
The
report
was a
response
to the
British
colonial
inquiry
on the
possibilities
of
stimulating
trade
between
East
African
territories
and the
Union of
South
Africa
of the
British
Empire.

The
report
also
includes
an
interesting
map of
Zanzibar
along
with
notes on
its
people,
climate,
commodities
that
were
traded
and,
more
importantly,
a note
on the
Indian
trading
community
on the
island.
At the
time
when I
was
reading
this
report,
back
home in
Chennai,
IIT
Madras
was all
set to
start
its
first
global
campus
in
Zanzibar,
Tanzania.

My focus
immediately
shifted
towards
Zanzibar.
While
looking
at the
early
20th
century
map of
the
city, I
realised
that it
is
indeed a
small
island,
but as
historians
say, “It
is a
territory
with a
long
history
that has
evoked
romantic
notions
far
beyond
its
shores.
More
importantly, Zanzibar
has
occupied
a
prominent
place in
the
history
of East
Africa.”

Before
becoming
a
protectorate
of the
British
Empire’s
armed
forces
in 1890,
Zanzibar
port did
control
the
external
trade of
a large
part of
East
Africa
and
turned
into a
trading,
cultural
and
intellectual
hub.
Being a
vital
location
in the
Indian
Ocean
region,
what was
Zanzibar’s
connection
with the
western
coast of
India?

When I
teach
the
history
of the
Indian
Ocean to
my
Masters’
students
at the
Humanities
and
Social
Sciences
Department,
IIT-M, I
often
get
excited
introducing
the dhow
boats
that
sailed
through
the
Indian
Ocean —
during
the 13th
and 16th
centuries—
carrying
sailors
from the
Arabian
Peninsula,
along
the East
African
coast
and to
Indian
coastal
regions.

Before
the
Europeans
arrived,
these
wind-powered
dhow
were
historically
identified
as
representing
a
pulsating
and
cosmopolitan
movement
of trade
goods
and a
diverse
population.
This
also
meant
trade
and
exchange
of
knowledge
in the
Indian
Ocean.

According
to
historians,
before
the 19th
century,
Indians
arrived
and
served
as
traders,
financiers,
agents
and
artisans
in many
of the
East
African
coastal
regions.
The rise
of the
British’s
influence
in the
Indian
Ocean
during
the 19th
century,
and
passenger
ships
and
cargo
services
of the
British
India
Steam
Navigation
Company,
resulted
in the
dawn of
a new
era in
trade
routes
and
commercial
activities
in the
Indian
Ocean,
particularly
between
Western
India
and East
Africa.
During
this
period,
the East
African
coastal
regions
witnessed
a
flourishing
network
of
traders,
merchants,
indentured
labourers,
bankers,
officials,
and
professionals
who
originated
from
different
parts of
the
Indian
subcontinent.

Due to
the rise
in trade
networks
in the
Indian
Ocean,
the
island
of
Zanzibar
with
bazaars,
mosques
and a
cosmopolitan
society
effectively
became a
“huddled,
unplanned
block of
Asia”.
During
the 19th
century,
the
Indian
traders
from
Gujarat
had
reportedly
visited
Zanzibar
on a
seasonal
basis
that
further
allowed
trade
connections
to exist
between
East
Africa
and the
then
growing
markets
in
Western
India.

Though
it was
for
economic
reasons,
especially
trade,
that
made the
early
presence
of
Indians
possible
in
Zanzibar,
the
other
striking
aspect
as a
result
of
migration
was the
exchange
of
ideas,
practices
and
administrative
and
institutional
knowledge.
Rather
than
characterising
it as
imperialistic
or
hegemonic,
the
migration
of
Indians
to East
African
coasts;
for
example,
the transnational
migration
of
Indian
medical
professionals
during
the
height
of
British
rule,
was
perceived
as a
means of
social
welfare
projects.
Such
exchanges
between
East
Africa
and
India
under
British
rule
have
reflected
and
reinforced
the bond
between
the two
countries
and
created
a sense
of
mutual
trust
and
reciprocity.

India’s
long
history
with its
relationship
with
Africa
and the
similarities
two
countries
share –
in the
struggle
against
colonialism,
non-aligned
movement
and
concerns
over
various
socio-economic
and
demographic
challenges
in the
Indian
Ocean,
are some
strong
reasons
that
forged a
mutually
beneficial
relationship.

The new
IIT
Madras
campus
at
Zanzibar
is but a
natural
step to
further
revive
the
historical
and
transnational
associations
that
characterise
the East
African
regions
of the
Indian
Ocean.
As far
as
Humanities
and
Social
Sciences
is
concerned,
the
latest
offshore
campus
certainly
gives us
the
opportunity
to
understand
the
development
of
transnational
cultural,
economic
and
intellectual
exchanges
between
India
and
Zanzibar
– both
from a
historical
perspective,
and in
the
current
socio-political
context.

*The
author
teaches
history
at
the
Department
of
Humanities
and
Social
Sciences,
IIT-M.*

A
STREET
IN
ZANZIBAR

A
STREET
IN
THE
NATIVE
QUARTER,
ZANZIBAR

**Nuggets
of
history**

- Indians
  were
  part
  of
  Tanzanian
  society
  long
  before
  Tanzania
  appeared
  on
  the
  world
  map
  as a
  nation
  in
  the
  1960s.
  For
  centuries,
  trade
  between
  the
  Indian
  continent
  and
  East
  Africa
  was
  controlled
  by
  the
  pace
  of
  the
  monsoon
  winds
  and
  was
  at
  times
  dangerous
  for
  tradesmen.
  The
  main
  trade
  items
  that
  were
  transported
  by
  dhows
  included
  cotton
  fabrics,
  ivory
  and
  spices.
  Before
  Arabs
  occupied
  the
  East
  African
  Coast
  where
  they
  introduced
  a
  new
  architecture
  by
  constructing
  strong
  towns
  and
  mosques,
  most
  Indian
  traders
  had
  a
  few
  temporary
  establishments
  in
  African
  ports.
  However,
  if
  the
  great
  sailor
  Vasco
  da
  Gama
  is
  to
  be
  believed,
  it
  is
  possible
  that
  there
  was
  a
  large
  number
  of
  Indians
  in
  the
  two
  towns
  of
  Mombasa
  and
  Malindi.
- When
  Zanzibar
  became
  the
  capital
  of
  Oman
  in
  1832,
  many
  Indians
  who
  were
  living
  in
  Muscat
  followed
  Sultan
  Seyyid
  Said
  to
  Zanzibar
  where
  they
  benefited
  from
  his
  protection.
  Indians
  were
  appointed
  to
  key
  administrative
  positions
  like
  port
  captains
  and
  heads
  of
  customs.
  Once
  again,
  Indian
  communities,
  especially
  those
  that
  had
  acquired
  British
  citizenship,
  benefited
  a
  lot
  after
  the
  arrival
  of
  the
  British
  in
  East
  Africa.
  A
  trade
  agreement
  between
  Seyyid
  Said
  and
  the
  British
  gave
  Indians
  the
  right
  to
  live
  in
  Zanzibar
  and
  trade
  under
  the
  protection
  of
  the
  sultan.
  With
  the
  establishment
  of a
  British
  consulate,
  the
  number
  of
  traders
  from
  the
  Indian
  subcontinent
  grew
  progressively
  from
  2,500
  in
  1870
  to
  6,000
  in
  the
  beginning
  of
  1900.
- Most
  Tanzanian
  Indians
  speak
  Gujarati.
  According
  to
  reports,
  Gujarati
  was
  an
  optional
  subject
  in
  schools
  apart
  from
  languages
  such
  as
  English,
  French
  and
  Swahili.
  Apart
  from
  Gujarati,
  some
  of
  the
  other
  languages
  spoken
  among
  immigrants
  are
  Hindu,
  Punjabi,
  Urdu,
  Konkani,
  Dalda
  and
  Goan.
  Interestingly,
  some
  of
  the
  Swahili
  words
  such
  as
  kabat
  for
  kabati
  (cupboard),
  madaf
  for
  madafu
  (coconut)
  and
  fagyo
  for
  fagio
  (broom)
  were
  added
  to
  Gujarati
  language.