‘Précis of correspondence relating to Zanzibar affairs from 1856 to 1872. Prepared by Captain P D Henderson, attached to the Foreign Department’ [‎114r] (67/114)

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(Of
11 >
;h of Syed Majid-
jnity of his Government
I His Excellency that upon this
it of other Governments; that
or Minister residing in a State,
ise of Portu^al^ in her relations
rtaguese territories contiguous
Zanzibar of Ambassador from
there could be no necessity for
y and His Highness. What
Consul, having daily access to
ome unforeseen occasion from
)s, inconvenient in itself, and
s of political communication.' ,
i Government of India.—
In March 1862 Colonel
[. of the Treaty with Zan-
iter, reside in, trade with,
s, there had, nevertheless,
;o evade these obligations
elling through, his pos-
pff, who had been strongly
by the Foreign Office,
reported to have been
, place only 40 miles from
ith the Sultan against this
ime a satisfactory reply,
id himself to Pangani and
, the captives were releas-
in disgrace, and a proper
All the European Consuls
uing a circular to all his
'eaty provisions. Colonel
mt and the Government
the regret of Government
ardy reparation afforded,
f the negotiations Colonel
s senior naval officer at
nvey him to Pangani, if
j prisoners, raised numer-
Ities, and other causes, so
proceed in a Native dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. ,
'elly proposed that a war
he disposal of the Agent.
-{Political, A, May 1862,
'jst rebels on the majn-
63 to head in person an
Events at Zanzibar from the arbitration to the death of Syed Majid-
expedition against the town of Sewee on the mainland, which had thrown off
its allegiance to him some time previously. The expedition was successful in
re-establishing the authority of His Highness, who was now strong enough to
impose taxation at Lamoo, the commercial capital of the District which had
hitherto been exempt from the payment of any duties.— (Political, A, April
1864, Nos. 29-30^1
64. Concessions made to the French in the Comoro Islands .—In
January 1865 Colonel Playfair, 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. , reported that on the death
of the King Consort of Mohilla (one of the Comoro group of islands), who
was a connection of Syed Majid, the Queen had made important concessions
to a Frenchman, named M. Lambert, of Madagascar notoriety. It was sub
sequently ascertained that M. Lambert had been offered any amount of land
for the purpose of sugar cultivation on almost nominal terms.
" If," said Colonel Playfair, " this be all, M. Lambert's settlement at Mohilla must be
considered as an important step towards the civilization of that island, and, as such, a sincere
matter of congratulation to all who have the interest of that beautiful group of islands at
heart; but it is too well known that it has long been a favorite scheme of the French
Government to unite them all into a French colony, and there is reason to believe that it is
rather as a step towards the attainment of this object than to develope the resources of the
island, or to benefit himself that M. Lambert has been induced to settle there.
" His Highness Syed Majid lately informed me that the Chiefs of Angazilla (Great
Comoro) had invited him to assume the sovereignty of their island, and he asked my advice as
to whether he should accept it. I strongly dissuaded him from doing so, as the island is
barren, without water, and its possession would only be a source of weakness to him ; besides
which it would probably bring him into unpleasant relations with the French—a contingency
by all means to be avoided/"'
In a subsequent letter of February 1865, Colonel Playfair wrote—
" While the French steamer Loiret was at Mohilla, Sultan Ahmed, one of the Chiefs of
the Great Comoro (Anga Tihei) residing at Maroni, a port on the south end ofthe island, wrote
to the commander of the Loiret to represent that his sons had rebelled against him, and soli
cited the aid of the French. The Loiret proceeded thither, landed a party of 27 men to lead
the King's followers, and with these the insurgents were completely routed. The French lost
one man killed and several slightly wounded. The numbers actually engaged were about
1,700 on each side."— (Political, A, April 1865, Nos. 9-10, fy May 1865, Nos. 76-77.^
65. French protest against introdttction of a new tax at Zan
zibar .—The French Consul at Zanzibar protested in 1863 against a tax*
• The nature of thi* tax i. M t stated, recently introduced by the Sultan, on the ground
but Colonel Playfair says it must be
regarded as a moderate land tax.
f This treaty, which was concluded with
the late Imam, is published in the
Bombay " Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Selections,"
No. XXIV., new series.
that it was a contravention of Articles X. and XI.
of the French treaty.f The former of these articles
merely provided that the duty on imported French
merchandize should not exceed five per cent., and
the latter prescribed that, subject to the above
duty, all import and export trade should be per
fectly free. The Advocate General at Bombay gave it as his opinion that there
was no article in the treaty which deprived the Sultan of the right to impose
a tax on lands. No further information regarding the protest made by the
French was reported.— (Political, A, May 1865, Nos, 255-256.)
66. Differences between Syed Majid and Abdool Azeez.—A serious
disagreement took place in March 1865 between Syed Majid and his younger
brother, Abdool Azeez, then a youth of eighteen. On the latter demanding in an
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