Disease and state patronage in Africa: the case of cholera epidemics in Zanzibar 1800-1970

This work examines the role of political power in influencing the introduction, emergence and spread of infections diseases in society. The state patronage system approach employed in this work entails power relations which are responsible in organization, control and utilization of various resources in society. In the course of time, this process produces changes, which in turn lead to new levels of health. It underscores that disease environment is the function of social dynamics in time and space. However, aftermaths of epidemic diseases have also put new demands to those in power and the general public. The study of cholera in the island of Zanzibar during the 19th century demonstrates that factors for a particular disease are both biological and social. They intertwine in an inseparable manner. Such combination constitutes the context in which disease is produced, defined, experienced, spread and controlled. It acknowledges the fact that the importance of Africa on the international scene grew sharply during the 19th century. But Seyyid Said made Zanzibar experience more intense integration into the international mercantile and capitalist economic order. The intermediary position played by this island allowed convergence and divergence of people and trade as well as the rise of alien diseases like cholera