Sa‘īd ibn Sultān
Sa‘īd ibn Sultān was a pivotal figure in Omani and East African history, serving as the third ruler of the al-Busa‘īdi dynasty in Oman. Born in the southeastern Arabian Peninsula, he rose to power at a young age after navigating a tumultuous political landscape marked by internal strife and external threats. Sa‘īd's leadership was characterized by his astute diplomatic maneuvers during the Napoleonic Wars, allowing him to foster relations with both Britain and France. This diplomatic skill facilitated the expansion of Oman's trade network, particularly along the East African coast, where he established control over key ports such as Mombasa and Zanzibar.
In 1840, Sa‘īd relocated the capital of his sultanate to Zanzibar, which became a significant center for trade, especially in cloves and ivory. His tenure is notable for the introduction of clove cultivation, enhancing Zanzibar's economic standing. While he initiated treaties aimed at curtailing the slave trade, his commercial interests inadvertently perpetuated the institution of slavery on the island. Sa‘īd's death in 1856 led to a succession crisis, ultimately resulting in the division of his realm into two separate sultanates: Zanzibar and Muscat. His descendants continued to hold power in Oman well into the twenty-first century, while his legacy in Zanzibar is marked by both economic transformation and the complexities of the slave trade.
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Subject Terms
Sa‘īd ibn Sultān
Sultan of Oman, Muscat, and Zanzibar (r. 1804, 1806-1856)
- Born: 1791
- Birthplace: Oman
- Died: October 19, 1856
- Place of death: Aboard ship, Indian Ocean
Saՙīd was the dominating force in the western Indian Ocean through the first half of the nineteenth century. After moving his capital from Oman to Zanzibar, he controlled East African trade, opened diplomatic relations with the United States and European powers, and made Zanzibar the world center of clove production.
Early Life
Sayyid Saՙīd (SAH-yihd SAH-ihd) was born in the Oman sultanate at the southeastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. He would eventually become the third member of the al-Busaՙīdi dynasty to rule Oman. After a Persian invasion of Oman and a civil war, his grandfather Aḥmad ibn Saՙīd took control of Oman in 1749.
Oman had long been involved in trade from the major seaports of Suhar and Muscat, reaching as far east as China. During the early sixteenth century the Portuguese conquered Muscat and used that port as their trading base to India until 1650. Under Aḥmad ibn Saՙīd, a large Omani navy was established that drove pirates from the Persian Gulf and restored trade, especially with the east coast of Africa. Hamad ibn Saՙīd (r. 1783-1792) conquered the town of Kilwa on the coast of what is now southern Tanzania, installed a governor, and began exacting tribute.
The latter half of the eighteenth century was also marked by the ambitions of both Great Britain and France in controlling the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean. In 1798, Sultan ibn Aḥmad (1792-1804) concluded a treaty with Britain, the first between a Persian Gulf state and a European nation. However, the sultan also continued to nurture a favorable relationship with the French ruler, Napoleon I. At that time, Oman was also weakened by internal threats. The ultraconservative Wahhabi of central Arabia had moved eastward around the turn of the nineteenth century and had established a stronghold at Buraymi, two hundred miles from Muscat, from which they attacked Sultan ibn Aḥmad and exacted tribute from him. When he was killed in 1804, Oman appeared near dissolution.
For more than a year, the nine grandsons of Aḥmad ibn Saՙīd competed with one another for power. Among them was Saՙīd ibn Sulṭān. Saՙīd’s cousin Badr ibn Sayf initially prevailed by gaining control of Muscat with the backing of the Wahhabi. However, most Omanis did oppose the newly enforced puritanical practices of the Wahhabi. In early 1806, Saՙīd ibn Sulṭān, although only fifteen years old, assumed leadership by assassinating Bedr, personally stabbing him with a dagger. At first Saՙīd shared the throne with his older brother Salim, but Saՙīd eventually emerged a popular folk hero and leader. He chose for himself the title Sayyid, rather than the religious title Imam used by his predecessors, and signaled a style of leadership that would prevail for a half a century.
Life’s Work
In spite of his youth, Sayyid ibn Saՙīd proved an astute leader. He assumed a neutral position in the Napoleonic Wars that were raging in Europe and was able to acquire assistance from both Great Britain and France in expelling the Wahhabi from Oman and suppressing pirating. The latter achievement won him favor with Americans, whose ship Essex had recently been attacked by pirates who massacred the crew. Saՙīd took advantage of the situation to expand the role of Oman in trade along the African coast.
It was not long until Saՙīd was invited to intervene in political matters in Africa. In 1811, a war broke out along the coast of what is now Kenya, when the Mazrui rulers of the port of Mombasa began expanding northward to take control of Pate Island. This action was followed a year later by the Battle of Shela, a failed attempt by the Mazrui to take the island town of Lamu. Lamu sought Saՙīd’s support and accepted an Omani governorship on the island. By 1822, Saՙīd had established garrisons on both Pate and Pemba. He continued his involvement against the Mazuri until he eventually gained control of Mombasa. In 1828, he paid his first visit to the East African coast in order to sign a peace treaty with the Mazrui. He completed the visit with a three-month stay on the large island of Zanzibar.
In 1799, Saՙīd’s father had established an Omani cogovernorship over Zanzibar. Saՙīd was soon able to achieve a monopoly for the trade of slaves and ivory. The importance of Zanzibari trade became so great that he paid several more visits during the 1830’s. Finally, in 1840, he moved the seat of his government from Muscat to Zanzibar. One of his first decisions during his visits was to introduce the cultivation of cloves and other spices to Zanzibar, which had fertile soil and favorable growing conditions. At that time, cloves were in demand in Europe and North America for use as preservatives for meat. The international clove trade soon dominated Omani commerce. In addition, Saՙīd financed trading caravans that reached deep into the interior of East Africa, extending as far as Lake Tanganyika in 1837.
Meanwhile, in 1833, Saՙīd signed a trade agreement with the United States. Over the next two years no fewer than thirty-two American ships docked at Zanzibar. In 1845, John Bertram and Company of Salem, Massachusetts, opened offices on Zanzibar and was beginning to purchase local gum, cloves, and other products in exchange for American cotton and hardware. Zanzibar’s extensive trade with Salem is documented by the Peabody Museum in Salem, where the only known authentic portrait of Sayyid Saՙīd is housed. British and French interest in Zanzibar also continued. The British followed the United States by signing a trade agreement with Saՙīd in 1839, and the French signed an agreement in 1844. Soon western consulates were established on Zanzibar.
Because of strong British opposition to the slave trade, diplomatic negotiations with Saՙīd focused on the most affective way to end slavery. In 1822, the British signed the Moresby Treaty with Saՙīd to curtail the spread of slavery. In 1845, the sultan signed a further treaty with Colonel Atkins Hamerton, the first British consul in Zanzibar, to limit the trade to territories within the sultan’s possessions. This agreement left a number of loopholes that allowed the external slave trade to continue. Meanwhile, the great increase in spice production on Zanzibar fostered the growth of large plantations that depended on slave labor. Although Zanzibar continued to export slaves, with some restrictions, the greatest need was for slaves to work in clove and coconut production on Zanzibar and neighboring Pemba Island. Essentially a merchant prince, the sultan prolonged the slave trade to serve his commercial needs. Slavery would not be abolished on Zanzibar until 1897.
Sayyid Saՙīd had a large family. His principal wife was Azze bint Sef, of the royal house of Oman. It is estimated that he also had as many as seventy-five secondary wives and concubines and many children. At the time of his death, thirty-six of his children were known still to be living.
After Saՙīd died in October, 1856, conflict among his sons centered on his succession. Two years earlier, he had returned to Muscat to deal with local matters, leaving his son Khalid as acting governor on Zanzibar. When Khalid died a few months after Saՙīd left, another son, Majid, took his place. Saՙīd had entrusted to the British consul Hamerton the guidance of his sons in his absence, so the transition went smoothly. When Saՙīd finally sailed back to Zanzibar in October, 1856, he died aboard his ship midway through voyage. His nineteen-year-old son Barghash attempted a plot to take over the throne that involved secretly carrying Saՙīd’s body ashore and burying it near the palace. However, Hamerton put down the rebellion and installed the twenty-one-year-old Majid as the new sultan. Afterward, the sultanate split when another of Saՙīd’s sons, Thuwain, took over the rule of Muscat. The governments of Zanzibar and Muscat were never reunited. Zanzibar’s al-BuSaՙīdi dynasty was overthrown in 1964, but Saՙīd’s descendants were still ruling Oman in the early twenty-first century.
Significance
Sayyid Saՙīd is known for transforming Zanzibar from a minor island fishing community to a major trade center with connections throughout the Indian Ocean and the rest of the world. His decision to move the capital of Oman to the island opened the door for the transformation of East Africa through contacts with non-African nations. In addition to the Arab influx that influenced East Africa’s Swahili language and helped foster the spread of Islam, he encouraged merchants from India to manage trade, and he signed important trade agreements, not only with European powers such as Great Britain and France, but also with the United States of America. His interest in farming led to the introduction of cloves, making Zanzibar the spice capital of the world.
Saՙīd has also been credited with beginning the negotiations with the British that eventually abolished the slave trade in East Africa. However, his trade policies actually increased the numbers of slaves moving through Zanzibar, and that fact actually prolonged the institution of slavery through his introduction of large plantations on the island.
Bibliography
Bennett, Norman Robert. The Arab State of Zanzibar: A Bibliography. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1984. Comprehensive bibliography of Zanzibar, with many references to works discussing Saՙīd.
Coupland, Reginald. East Africa and Its Invaders: From the Earliest Times to the Death of Seyyid Said in 1856. New York: Russell & Russell, 1965. Originally published in 1938, this study has been criticized as not always accurate, but it remains a useful resource.
Nicolini, Beatrice, and Penelope-Jane Watson. Makran, Oman, and Zanzibar: Three-Terminal Cultural Corridor in the Western Indian Ocean, 1799-1856. Leiden: Brill, 2004. Historical study that focuses on relationship between the sultan of Zanzibar and European powers.
Oliver, Roland, and Gervase Matthew, eds. History of East Africa. Vol. 1. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1963. A scholarly and detailed treatment that includes the sultan’s life.
Ruete, Emily. Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar. New York: M. Wiener Publishers, 1989. Generally accepted as an authentic memoir of life in the sultan’s Zanzibar palace by one of Saՙīd’s daughters. Born in 1844 as Sayyida Salma, Emily Ruete married a German merchant and left the island in 1866. Her memoirs were first published in German in 1888 and in English in 1907.