50 (No. 98 HISTORY and external affairs of the Protectorate , and new officials and a Council were created . On July 1 , 1913, the control of the Protectorate was transferred to the Colonial Office, with legal effect from 1914, and a Zanzibar Order in Council (January 21 , 1914) deter ( minedthe existing system of administration (see below ).

On February 1, 1892, Zanzibar was declared a free port, but this worked badly, and a 5 per cent. duty on imports was reimposed in 1899, and raised to 74 per cent. 10 years later.

In March 1894 Sultan Ali died , and was succeeded by his grand-nephew , Hamed bin Thwain . On the latter's death on August 25, 1896, his cousin Khalid usurped the power and defied the British representa tive. His palace was bombarded two days later. Khalid fled to the German Consulate, whence he was removed to the mainland, and Hamed bin Mohammed , brother of the dead Sultan, was installed in his stead .

The institution of domestic slavery now received final attention . In April 1907 the legal status of slavery was abolished in the Protectorate , and all slaves could henceforth claim their freedom if and when they liked . A more direct and instant abolition of all slavery would certainly have entailed consequences disastrous to the peace and economic stability of the Protectorate. As it is, emancipation has proceeded gradually and smoothly, without exciting resentment among the Arabs or seriously disturbing economic conditions. Those who voluntarily remained slaves enjoyed all the better treatment at the hands of masters who knew that other wise they could not hope to retain the slaves' services. Up to the end of 1907 , however, 11,000 slaves had claimed their freedom , and 6,000 had been liberated voluntarily by their masters.

Hamed bin Mohammed died in July 1902 , and was succeeded by Ali bin Hamed. In 1907 the local army was disbanded, and two companies of the King's African Rifles garrisoned Zanzibar in its stead. In this year also the consular jurisdiction exercised by other European Powers was abolished. In 1910 direct