Chapter 58 Conspiracy
Sultanate of Zanzibar.
Since the establishment of the East African colony, the East African colony and the Sultanate of Zanzibar have gotten along fairly well.
The expansion of the East African colonies to the inland of the west of East Africa affected the traditional business routes of Arab merchants, but the East African colonies were not interested in indigenous slaves and ivory.
Every time the newly occupied land is cleared, the East African colonies will bring indigenous people, ivory, and other products to the port of Dar es Salaam to trade with merchants from various countries.
Different from the previous Arab caravans that needed to deal with the inland Bantu tribes, the East African colonies directly turned the table, and every time they expanded, a large number of indigenous people fell into the hands of the colonies.
The East African colonies naturally wouldn’t keep these people, and directly lowered the price of slaves. The Arab merchants only had to wait at the port for the East African colonies to deliver the goods to their doorsteps.
The East African colonies only need Arab merchants to exchange food and other products.
However, the actions of the East African colonies still caused some people to be unhappy. They are the progressive forces of the Sultanate of Zanzibar represented by Bagash bin Said, the younger brother of the Sultan of Zanzibar Majid bin Said.
This matter also starts with Majid bin Said, the contemporary Sultan of Zanzibar.
Zanzibar Sultan Majid bin Saeed is the sixth son of the former Oman Empire King Saeed bin Sultan.
Sayyed bin Sultan is a very powerful figure. He once brought the Oman Empire to prosperity, and Zanzibar was brought down by him.
After his death, Majid bin Said and his third brother Suweini bin Said competed for the throne, but Suweini bin Said won the throne of Oman with superior skills.
He established himself as the Sultan of Zanzibar, and Zanzibar also split from the Oman Empire and became an independent country.
During his reign, Majid bin Saeed used the controversial Indian Ocean slave trade to consolidate power and amass the country's wealth.
During his reign, Bhagash ibn Saeed (also Saeed bin Sultan's son) tried unsuccessfully to usurp the throne and was exiled to Mumbai for two years.
The thing is that Bagash bin Said opposed the slave trade. He advocated abolitionism and was interested in Western science and technology. He wanted to promote the development of the Sultanate of Zanzibar through infrastructure (this is also the case in history made).
The East African colonies are eager to pack up and send away the aborigines, so large-scale shipments, in the eyes of Bagash bin Said, are simply helping the evildoers.
…
Port of Dar es Salaam, House of Bhagash bin Said.
"Everyone, we can no longer sit still, or Zanzibar will have no future!"
Bagash bin Said roared with red eyes.
"Majid bin Said is old and confused now, and the East African colonies of the Germans are helping to abuse the evil. Originally, Majid bin Said engaged in the slave trade to turn back the wheel of history. Now the world's great powers have abolished slavery. If we cannot abolish the slave trade, how can Zanzibar integrate into the civilized world in the future?
Those sitting below are all Bhagash bin Said's cronies. They have all seen the powerful power of Western civilization after industrialization, and they are also relatively enlightened people in the Arab world (maybe related to the British behind the Oman Empire) .
"That's right, Your Royal Highness, but relying on our strength may be difficult to deal with the Germanic armed forces in the East African colonies," said an officer of the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
"If we don't do it, who else can stir up the banner of Zanzibar's future! So no matter how difficult the road is, we must face it bravely. It is impossible to count on Majid. Now he only knows about pleasure and indulges in excitement. There is no cure," said Bagash bin Saeed.
"What's the matter! You must know that we represent civilization. His Majesty the Sultan relies on the slave trade to make money. This is a matter of anger and hatred. As long as we raise our arms, we will definitely wake up the compatriots in Zanzibar and join us to overthrow Slave trade." Said the young man in a suit and leather shoes.
"Aren't you out of your mind? You want to change Zanzibar with such a naive idea. Political struggle is not just a joke." An officer scolded angrily.
"I think some people are timid and dare not dedicate themselves to the great cause of Zanzibar. They are greedy for life and afraid of death!"
"Little devil, do you know what you are talking about? I am an old man who opposed the Sudan with His Royal Highness in the early years. I am not a young man like you who can only talk about things and pee his pants when something really happens."
"What! You can't say it and start a personal attack?"
…
The two sides quarreled like this.
Bagash bin Said watched his subordinates quarrel with each other with a livid face, raised his hand and slapped the table, and there was a loud "snap", instantly quieting everyone down.
Bagash bin Saeed said sharply: "Enough, what's the point of making noise all day long? Do you think it's fair to say that you are like this?"
"The solution to the problem is not relying on lip service, but relying on ability and methods. Instead of pouring bitter water here and criticizing each other, it is better to think of ideas, and everyone will brainstorm to find a solution to the problem."
Everyone is silent...
Looking at the speechless crowd, Bagash bin Said said earnestly: "I don't know, it's dangerous, but we have no way out, failure is not terrible, even if we fail, then It's also temporary, just like when we were forced to go into exile in India, aren't we still making a comeback now?"
Bagash bin Said went on to say: "If we want to abolish the slave trade, we must have two preparations. One is to cut off the source of Majid's goods, that is, the route and source of goods that the East African colonies provided Majid with slaves, and the second is to overthrow Majid's. Governance, that's the only way to fundamentally bring Zanzibar into the modern world, and we can't run away like we did last time."
"Now we have a large-scale army in our own hands. This is our capital. As long as we can quickly solve Majid and his entourage, we will be able to control the regime of the Sultanate of Zanzibar."
"I have learned about that East African colony. According to the information provided by Portuguese and British businessmen, except for two thousand retired Prussian soldiers (actually there are only more than one thousand), the rest are farmers called from East Asia."
"As long as we get the right to speak in Zanzibar, we can gather a professional army of more than 4,000 people, and at the same time, we can temporarily recruit some nationals to deal with the farmers in the East African colonies. Four thousand vs. two thousand, the advantage lies in us This side."
After listening to Bagash bin Said's plan, an officer said: "Your Highness, what about His Majesty the Sultan? If we succeed, shall we..." He made a pistol shape with his hand and pushed it on his forehead , "啪", the action of shooting.
Bagash bin Said shook his head: "That is the practice of barbarians. The monarchs of European countries often attack each other because of political struggles, but no one has ever persecuted the loser, even an ambitious man like Napoleon. In the end, the monarchs of all countries just chose to go into exile!"
The officer named Abdullah said: "Your Highness, you must not be soft! In case Majid Sultan makes a comeback..."
Bagash bin Said: "Okay, I have made up my mind. This is not for discussion. We will exile him to other countries when the time comes. I heard that he has a good relationship with the Osa Sultanate. He will be exiled wherever he is, anyway, he will not come back to get in the way when he is old, after all, he does not have the British endorsement behind us like us."
…
Such a conspiracy against the East African colony and the Sultan of Zanzibar, Majid bin Said, took shape.
If the officials in the East African colony know their plan, they will definitely complain. What kind of brain circuit is this? The slave trade was not initiated by us, so we can still be targeted even if we earn some extra money!
This is really a disaster for no reason. It is your own family business, and you have to involve outsiders, and how can you have the face to say that the East African colonies are bad people? And help the evildoers!
It doesn't make sense logically! Until the future, officials in the East African colonies will not understand the brain circuits of these Arabs.
(end of this chapter)