⋙ [PDF] Zanzibar under Colonial Rule Eastern African Studies Abdul Sheriff Ed Ferguson 9780821409961 Books

Zanzibar under Colonial Rule Eastern African Studies Abdul Sheriff Ed Ferguson 9780821409961 Books

Download As PDF : Zanzibar under Colonial Rule Eastern African Studies Abdul Sheriff Ed Ferguson 9780821409961 Books

Zanzibar under Colonial Rule Eastern African Studies Abdul Sheriff Ed Ferguson 9780821409961 Books

I think a class-based analysis of any society is well-worth doing. What I don’t like, however, are writers who think the truth resides solely with them, that mastery of the doubtful “science of history” is theirs alone, that all others are mere ideologues who have deliberately “Missed the Point”. The Marxist writers who put this volume together cleave unmercifully to a single ideological line (OK, I can even accept that), they use a certain variety of vocabulary which goes along with that line (which is tiresome), and they never, ever accept that they might not possess all the truth. Is it possible to know the Truth about anything, including the modern history of Zanzibar? I would say no. I think even fifty shades of gray is too few. That’s why I find such super-self-confidence on the part of historians more than irritating.
Zanzibar, that small island of the coast of East Africa, has an interesting history. Set up as an entrepot in pre-colonial times, the Africans, Arabs, and Indians who traded there dealt in slaves and ivory for the most part. The Sultans of Oman gradually extended control over the mainland coast, having defeated the Portuguese, and by the early 19th century, a branch of the sultans’ family had established itself in Zanzibar. As European influence spread and turned into control, Zanzibar became a slave-trading center. Indian moneylenders financed expeditions into the continent to trade for or kidnap slaves. But, slavery was an outmoded means of producing anything. Cloves were introduced from Indonesia. Soon, Zanzibar became Clove World HQ. When it was time to harvest the cloves, a lot of labor was necessary. The British, who had become paramount on the two islands of Unguja and Pemba (collectively known as Zanzibar), decided that free labor would be more efficient than slave labor. They imposed this view. By 1897, slavery had come to an end. The big landowners, Arabs or mixed Arab-Africans, who had profited both by the slave trade and then from slave labor, ran into a wall. They were not efficient or organized enough to change. Large amounts of their land were mortgaged to Indian moneylenders, smaller peasant clove growers also began to control production. The British, once they had supplanted the Sultans, encouraged the growth of a wage-earning laboring class---often brought over from the mainland. Contradictions between all these groups plus the introduction of modern politics and labor unions led to a violent, chaotic revolution soon after Zanzibar’s independence was declared. A socialist future seemed likely, but Tanganyika suddenly merged with Zanzibar, forming Tan-Zan-ia, thus frustrating the plans of leftwing leaders.
This story, in great, sometimes stultifying detail, is told in the present volume. I found a couple of chapters unreadable, except for those who need incredible detail about clove and coconut production in the first half of the 20th century in Zanzibar. The use of Marxist “in-group” vocabulary is not a plus. I would argue that most historical events occur through a slow but steady accumulation of trends in certain directions, (class analysis helps to understand these trends) leading to particular results, often bad or unexpected. Plots are few. The best laid plans of mice and men…etc. The Zanzibar story is an interesting one. This book provides a lot of interesting material, but its presentation gets low Marx.


Tags : Zanzibar under Colonial Rule (Eastern African Studies) [Abdul Sheriff, Ed Ferguson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div>Zanzibar stands at the center of the Indian Ocean system’s involvement in the history of Eastern Africa. This book follows on from the period covered in Abdul Sheriff’s acclaimed <I>Slaves,Abdul Sheriff, Ed Ferguson,Zanzibar under Colonial Rule (Eastern African Studies),Ohio University Press,0821409964,General,World - General,Social conflict;Tanzania;Zanzibar.,Zanzibar;History.,General & world history,History,History General,History World,History: World,History: World & General,SOCIAL SCIENCE General,Social conflict,Tanzania,World history,Zanzibar

Zanzibar under Colonial Rule Eastern African Studies Abdul Sheriff Ed Ferguson 9780821409961 Books Reviews

I think a class-based analysis of any society is well-worth doing. What I don’t like, however, are writers who think the truth resides solely with them, that mastery of the doubtful “science of history” is theirs alone, that all others are mere ideologues who have deliberately “Missed the Point”. The Marxist writers who put this volume together cleave unmercifully to a single ideological line (OK, I can even accept that), they use a certain variety of vocabulary which goes along with that line (which is tiresome), and they never, ever accept that they might not possess all the truth. Is it possible to know the Truth about anything, including the modern history of Zanzibar? I would say no. I think even fifty shades of gray is too few. That’s why I find such super-self-confidence on the part of historians more than irritating.
Zanzibar, that small island of the coast of East Africa, has an interesting history. Set up as an entrepot in pre-colonial times, the Africans, Arabs, and Indians who traded there dealt in slaves and ivory for the most part. The Sultans of Oman gradually extended control over the mainland coast, having defeated the Portuguese, and by the early 19th century, a branch of the sultans’ family had established itself in Zanzibar. As European influence spread and turned into control, Zanzibar became a slave-trading center. Indian moneylenders financed expeditions into the continent to trade for or kidnap slaves. But, slavery was an outmoded means of producing anything. Cloves were introduced from Indonesia. Soon, Zanzibar became Clove World HQ. When it was time to harvest the cloves, a lot of labor was necessary. The British, who had become paramount on the two islands of Unguja and Pemba (collectively known as Zanzibar), decided that free labor would be more efficient than slave labor. They imposed this view. By 1897, slavery had come to an end. The big landowners, Arabs or mixed Arab-Africans, who had profited both by the slave trade and then from slave labor, ran into a wall. They were not efficient or organized enough to change. Large amounts of their land were mortgaged to Indian moneylenders, smaller peasant clove growers also began to control production. The British, once they had supplanted the Sultans, encouraged the growth of a wage-earning laboring class---often brought over from the mainland. Contradictions between all these groups plus the introduction of modern politics and labor unions led to a violent, chaotic revolution soon after Zanzibar’s independence was declared. A socialist future seemed likely, but Tanganyika suddenly merged with Zanzibar, forming Tan-Zan-ia, thus frustrating the plans of leftwing leaders.
This story, in great, sometimes stultifying detail, is told in the present volume. I found a couple of chapters unreadable, except for those who need incredible detail about clove and coconut production in the first half of the 20th century in Zanzibar. The use of Marxist “in-group” vocabulary is not a plus. I would argue that most historical events occur through a slow but steady accumulation of trends in certain directions, (class analysis helps to understand these trends) leading to particular results, often bad or unexpected. Plots are few. The best laid plans of mice and men…etc. The Zanzibar story is an interesting one. This book provides a lot of interesting material, but its presentation gets low Marx.