Balti 41 East British rica] ZANZIBAR UNDER OMAN 1 On the collapse of the Portuguese power an anarchic period of piracy had ensued in the Indian Ocean. Said -warrior,shipbuilder , merchant , and cultivator, “ pro bably as enlightened a prince as Arabia ever pro duced ”—co-operated with the naval forces of the East India Company to restore order on the seas.

From Zanzibar, which he purchased from the Swahili chief then in possession of it, Said extended his rule , by conquest and diplomacy, till it stretched from Moga dishu on the north ( 2° 10' N. ) to Cape Delgado on the south ( 10° 42' S. ). Indian and European traders were attracted to Zanzibar in ever- increasing numbers . A commercial treaty with the United States was concluded in 1833 , and a United States consulate established in 1837. France secured a similar treaty , and established her consulate in 1844. By this time the British were on the scene . Since the visit of the first Englishman to Zanzibar in 1591 no British vessel is recorded as having paid the island a visit until 1799, the time of the first treaties of the East India Company with Muscat (in 1798 and 1800) . It was not, however, until ) 1841 that the first British consul and East India Company agent was appointed to Zanzibar, though a commercial treaty with Great Britain had been con cluded two years previously . Throughout his rule, however , Said was a firm friend of the British , who alone had actively aided him to establish his authority .

After a noteworthy reign of fifty -two years, Said died, late in 1856 , leaving instructions for the division of his territories between the eldest of his thirteen surviving sons, Thuwainy, and the fourth son , Majid (born 1835). Tothe former he bequeathed his posses sions in Oman , Arabia , and the Persian Gulf ; to the latter the whole of his African dominions. Thuwainy, discontented with this arrangement, threatened to in vade Zanzibar, but was checked by the fear of British cruisers. The two princes finally agreed to submit their dispute to the arbitrationof Lord Canning, Governor General of India.

1 Burton .