‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [‎117r] (73/114)

CHAPTER V.
Events in Zanzibar from the death of Syed Majid,
74. A ccession of S ted B urgash— P roceedings of M r. C hurchill on
the death of S ted M ajid .—When reporting the death of Syed Majid,
Mr. Churchill submitted to Government, in a letter dated 7th October 1870,
the following report of his proceedings with regard to the choice of a successor;
and it must be here noted that these proceedings were taken a few hours before
Syed Majid's death:
" I sent Dr. Kirk to Syed Burgash, inviting him to come to the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. with a view to
seeing what his intentions were, and before I shaped my course, for there were several pretenders
to the throne,—one, Syed Kulfan, a young prince of about thirty years of age, a younger brother
of Syed Burgash ; another, Syed Hamed bin Salem, of Muscat; and a third, Ali bin Soond—this
latter was very objectionable on account of his declared fanaticism and vicious propensities.
Syed Burgash came immediately, and the result of the interview was that he pledged himself
not to do anything without first consulting this Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. . He repudiated all fanatical ideas,
and promised to satisfy Her Majesty's Government with regard to the ultimate suppression of
the slave trade ; he pledged himself to take my advice with reference to Syed Majid's stand
ing debt to Messrs. Jairam Sewjee, of Bombay, and to honor and respect Sheik Sooliman, whom
I was determined to protect on account of the services he had rendered to Her Majesty's Gov
ernment during the lifetime of Syed Majid.
" I spoke very plainly to the prince, and told him that I required to be assured, before I
pledged myself to back his candidature, that he would be f riendly towards England, and would
not revert to bigotry or to mutawa principles with which Her Majesty's Government could
have no sympathy."
In the afternoon of the same day, after the Sultan^ death, Mr. Churchill
waited upon His Highness Syed Burgash, in company with the officers of the
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. and those of Her Majesty's ship Teazer, and congratulated him as his
brother's successor. He advised Sheik Sooliman, who was in command of the
troops, to proclaim to the soldiers the change that had taken place in the
head of this government, and he undertook himself to see some of the most
influential Chiefs of the place in order to prevent disturbances. Next day Mr.
Churchill wrote to Government—
" I am happy to say that everything is quiet in Zanzibar. The decided attitude of this
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , with regard to the succession of Syed Burgash, has closed the mouths of many who
were inclinded to reject his candidature. In reality there was not a single man in Zanzibar
who could have opposed him with success, while the prince was made to understand that he
himself had no chance if Her Majesty's Government were against him."
On the 10th, however, Mr. Churchill wrote to the Bombay Government—
" Since I last had the honor of addressing you on the subject of Zanzibar politics, mat
ters have developed themselves unfavorably : Burgash has thrown off the mask he had put on
just before and after his accession, and makes no secret of his inclinations to the fanatical
party of which the head quarters are at Muscat.
« A council of priests is to direct the affairs of the State, the law of the koran is to be
revived, and there is now a talk of making the Zanzibar dominions an appena^e of the
Imamat of Muscat, as it was in Syed Saeed's time. It is to be regretted that there should not
be at the present moment any one in Zanzibar to dispute the succession. Syed Burgash's
promises regarding the slave trade are all repudiated.
" I shall lose no time in bringing His Highness to book for this glaring instance of want
of faith, and it is urgent that in these troubled times a man-of-war be sent to Zanzibar to
protect British interests."
The Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. transmitted copy of a letter he had written to Syed
Burgash, asking for an explanation of his proceedings, to which the latter
replied that he did not recollect making any pledges, and added—
" If, even, the question referred to at the time were in my hands, I could not have pro
mised you its fulfilment before calling together the great men of the State from all parts of
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