The East African Slave Trade

In the 1800’s, spices weren’t Zanzibar’s only major export. Zanzibar was home to East Africa’s slave market.

Islam was spreading and the Koran forbids the enslavement of Muslims. So the growing Muslim population in the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, and Indonesia needed non-Muslim slaves. (Slaves bound for the Americas were primarily sold out of West Africa) Accordingly, the slave market flourished in East Africa. Sadly, by the mid-19^th century, as many as 50,000 slaves were being sold in the markets of Zanzibar per year.

Many missionaries fought to end the slave trade in Zanzibar. The most famous of these was David Livingstone who spoke before Parliament in Britain and campaigned for the abolition of slavery. His death, in 1873 brought much publicity to his cause and on June 6, 1873, the world’s last open slave market was finally shut down. Sadly, the Sultan ruling in Zanzibar continued to secretly sell slaves out of a cave on the north side of the island. In 1907, the British used force to finally end human trafficking in East Africa.

The Zanzibar slave market has since been destroyed but some remnants of the slave trade remain.

The two rooms of the slave chamber still exist. These rooms were used to house 125 slaves while waiting for auction. All of the slaves were chained together and left in these rooms for several days without food and water and with sewage flowing on the floor. Sadly, many of the slaves died of suffocation or starvation here before ever reaching the auction block.

While marching from the interior of Africa and while in the slave chambers, each of the slaves was chained together. Care was taken to ensure that slaves were only next to those of other tribes. The slave owners didn’t want them to be able to communicate and potentially rebel.

Today, an Anglican Church sits on the site of the infamous Zanzibar slave market. Inside the church is a very meaningful crucifix. When David Livingstone died (in Zambia), he asked that his heart always remain in Africa. So his heart was buried under the tree he was sitting under when he died. (The rest of his body was returned to England and buried in Westminster Abbey). In honor of Livingstone’s tireless efforts to close the market in Zanzibar (which he didn’t live to see), a crucifix was carved from the wood of that tree. This crucifix hangs in the church at the site of the slave market he was instrumental in closing.

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The Spice Island

In the Indian Ocean, just twenty miles off the coast of Africa, lies the archipelago of Zanzibar.

Welcome to Zanzibar!

The largest island in the archipelago, Unguja, has been used for centuries by the Persians, the Portuguese, and later the Arabs as a stopover along the ocean trade routes. For over 200 years the islands were ruled by the Sultans of Oman. In the early 1900’s, the British took control of Zanzibar and ruled the country until its independence in 1963. In 1964, Zanzibar joined the country of Tanganyika and created the Republic of Tanzania (Tanganyika and Zanzibar Independent Association).

The largest city in Zanzibar is Zanzibar Town. The area of Zanzibar Town near the port, Stone Town, is centuries old – the oldest city in East Africa.

Although it’s called Stone Town, the buildings aren’t made entirely of stone – dried coral from nearby reefs was also used.

It’s fascinating to walk the streets of Stone Town. The architecture, with its Arabic and Eastern influences, makes Zanzibar feel so far from the rest of Tanzania.

The Beit el-Ajaib (House of Wonders) was built by one of the Omani sultans in 1883 as a ceremonial palace. At the time it was built, it was the largest residence in East Africa. It was also the first house in East Africa with electricity and the first with an elevator.

Stone Town is also home to a massive fort. The fort was built around 1700 by the Omanis for defense from the Portuguese.

The Arabs influenced more than just the architecture of Zanzibar. When they settled here, they brought spice plants with them for the highly lucrative spice trade. They built large plantations on the island growing dozens of different spices. These plantations earned Zanzibar its nickname – The Spice Islands.

The Tanzanian government nationalized the spice plantations in 1964. Since nationalization, only vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg are farmed for export. However, dozens of other spices are still grown and sold locally. 

During my visit, I took a tour of one of the plantations. It was so interesting to see the actual plants spices come from – I’ve only ever seen them in tiny bottles and tins!

Vanilla “beans” grow on a vine.

Lemongrass – one of my favorite smells!

Zanzibar was once the world’s leading producer of cloves – which are native to Indonesia. Cloves are the buds of this tree and can only be harvested by hand.

A clove tree – it wasn’t budding season when I was there.

The nutmeg tree is the source of two different spices: nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg comes from the seed inside the fruit, mace is the red coating around the seed.

Black, white, green and red peppercorns all come from the same plant – the color differences are from the timing of when they are picked and how they are processed (with or without skin) after harvesting.

Tumeric comes from a root – after boiling and drying, the yellow spice is produced.

I was the most fascinated by cinnamon. I had no idea that cinnamon comes from the dried bark of a tree. Thin slices of the bark are cut off, rolled and dried. The tree is able to regenerate its bark every 3 months! I  want to know who the first person was who decided to eat bark? How many trees did he or she try before finding the one that tastes good?

The plantations don’t just grow spices:

Pineapple Bush

Almond Tree

At the end of the tour, one of the workers climbed up a huge palm tree to get fresh coconuts! It’s incredible how easily he can shimmy up that tree!

I was even treated to some coconut juice (from a young coconut) and the meat which comes from more mature coconuts!

In addition to spices, Zanzibar is known for its beautiful beaches. Unfortunately, I visited during the rainy season. Sadly, my beach experience was wetter than usual!

But the rain didn’t stop me from enjoying the beauty of Zanzibar and its captivating mix of cultures!

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Part of the Solution

While in Malawi, I had the opportunity to visit a rural primary school – the Kande Primary School.

We were there on Saturday so school was not in session, but we met with the principal to learn more about schooling in Malawi. Of course, the local children were curious about why we were there.

Kande Primary School is for grades 1-8 (students ages 6-14). There are 1000 students in this school and only 12 teachers. The largest classroom has 220 kids most of whom sit on mats on the floor as the rooms do not hold enough desks.

Primary school in Malawi is free but not compulsory. The government pays for teacher salaries and books (often outdated) and parents must pay for all school supplies and the mandatory school uniforms. This is often a hardship for families so not all children are able to attend school.

This school relies on individual donations to sponsor 20 orphans who otherwise could not afford school. The donations are used to cover paper and pencils as well as other supplies, school uniforms, and food. These children live on the school grounds, sleeping in the classrooms.

Government donations have also provided some of the staples of the school such as book shelves, maps, and library books.

In many ways, classrooms around the world look similar with the usual trappings of a school around the room. . .

Even the rules seemed familiar. I especially enjoyed number 6 – a problem for teachers worldwide, even in rural Malawi!

Of course, the expectations of a teacher are the same:

Some of the subjects in primary school in Malawi are similar to those I took as a child: English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Others are quite different: Chichewa (the national language of Malawi), Agriculture, Expressive Arts (music, physical education, and making of handicrafts), and Life Skills (communication, sex education, and HIV prevention). I like that they offer courses that are practical for rural African children.

Another difference between Malawian schools and my school: the hours. Classes are Monday-Friday from 6:30a-4:30p with 1 ½ hours for lunch.

I must share one sign that surprised me (and made me laugh). This sign says so much. About social roles, gender roles, and views of education. Why is this hanging on the head teacher’s door?!?

After eight years of primary school, a national exam all students take a standardized national exam. All classes starting in year 6 are taught in English, the second national language of Malawi. The standardized exam is also in English.

Only those students who pass the exam with a score of 90% or higher are allowed to attend secondary school. At Kande Primary School, about 68% of students pass with a score of 90% or higher. Of course, not all of those who pass are able to continue their education. There are no secondary schools in the area – only boarding schools are available. This costs the family $50/term with 3 terms per school year. This is a huge expense in a country where the average annual income is (GET AVERAGE ANNUAL INCOME) Finally, about 50% of students who complete secondary school are then accepted into one of the four universities in Malawi.

While in Kande, I met Robert, who is currently in his second year at the university studying Mechanical Engineering.

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