‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [‎97r] (33/114)

Arbitration of Government of India-
to the period referred to, they were doubtless regarded as a conquered race, as subjects, not
citizens, Tliey were ruled by local authorities generally sent from the seat oi government at
Muscat, and, as a people, were not allowed any part in the public administration. For obvious
reasons, such must necessarily have been the state of those countries on the accession of the
late Syed Saeed. Their conquest by his predecessor was of recent date, and their subjection
to Oman was, in many instances, merely nominal. Moreover, tbeir importance, both in a
political and commercial point of view, was then inconsiderable, the Arabs valuing them moie
as a nursery from whence they could readily procure an abundant supply ot slaves tlian for
any other cause. Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that the people of Zanzibui
and its African dependencies should have had no voice in the election of their sovereign.
" But during the reign of His late Highness Syed Saeed, extending over a period of
50 years, the general condition of those countries underwent a surprising chanfre : his
sovereignty over them was firmly established ; large numbers of Arabs from Oman settled on
the African mainland and the adjacent islands; agriculture and commerce were extensively
promoted; and Zanzibar, which, in 1834, was described by the Commander of Her Majesty s
ship Imogens as having r little or no trade/ possessed, in 1859, an aggregate trade estimated
at £1,66^,577 sterling. Moreover, the revenue derivable from those dependencies has in
creased in the same ratio. Colonel Rigby writes— f Twenty-five years ago the late Imam
did not receive more than 50,000 Crowns of annual revenue from his Airican possessions.
In 1847 it had increased to 185,000 Crowns, and at present the revenue amounts to ^06,000
Crowns/ In 1840 Syed Saeed removed the seat of government from Muscat to Zanzibar,
ruling Oman mostly through a deputy; and it was doubtless owing to the presence and
energy of the sovereign that the African possessions of the kingdom made such remarkable
and social commercial progress. Those possessions are actually more extensive, and far more
fertile and valuable in every way, than the Arabian territories, and their annual revenue
exceeds the revenue of the latter to the amount of 77,000 Crowns, or about £ 16,000 sterling.
"Such bein» the altered condition and circumstances of the African dependencies, it
seems consonant with reason and justice (considering the form of government which prevailed
in Oman) that the people of those countries should have a voice in the election of the
sovereign. They accordingly availed themselves of the prerogative on the death ot the late
Syed Saeed, and chose his son Syed Majid to be their ruler in preference to Syed Thoweynee
who had succeeded to the sovereignty of the parent State. Regarded from one point of view,
the act may be characterised as a national revolution, and as such Syed Ihoweynee, the
sovereign of Oman, was justified in counteracting it, and in attempting to establish his own
claims by an appeal to arms, if success Was unattainable in any other \vay. Apait fiom all
consideration of the alleged cause which eventually induced him to project an invasion of the
Zanzibar ierritories for that purpose, namely, the non-payment by Syed Majid of the stipulated
sum of 40,000 Crowns after the first year, the custom in similar cases which had invariably
obtained, especially in the family of the reigning dynasty on the demise of the sovereign, fully
warranted Syed Thoweynee in regarding the attitude assumed by Syed Majid as an usurpation
of the hereditary rights of the sovereigns of Oman.
"Syed Thoweynee prepared accordingly to contest the sovereignty of the African
dependencies with his brother Majid. With that object in view, he probably resorted to
every available stratagem to secure ultimate success; and there can be little doubt that
when his expedition sailed from Muscat, he had won over a party at Zanzibar, chiefly among
the El Harth tribe, who were ready to co-operate with him. Syed Majid, on the other hand,
made corresponding preparations to repel the invasion, and it may fairly be presumed that he
was equally active in the use of all the intrigues sanctioned by Arab warfare to thwart the
schemes of his antagonist. There is every reason, indeed, to believe that to this end he took
advantage of the misunderstanding which existed at the time between Syed Thoweynee and
Syed Toorkee of Sohar, and, by dint of persuasions and promises, succeeded in enlisting the
latter on his side.
«s,^ wa s the attitude of the belligerent parties when the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions.
interposed to prevent a collision between them. At the solicitation ot the late Lord
Elphinstone, Sved Thoweynee agreed to abandon the expedition to Zanzibar, and to refer his
claims to the" arbitration of the Right Hobble the Governor General of India, Syed
Majid at Zanzibar consenting, through Colonel Rigby, to abide in like manner by his
Lordship's decision.
ci The intrigues and counter -intrisues which followed this arrangement, and which in
October of last vear resulted in an insurrection of the El Harth tribe at Zanzibar, headed
In- Sved Buro-ash, call for notice, chiefly with a view to determine the culpability of the
respective parties in fomenting them. Under the plea of recalling a part of the expedition
2 5