The plantation economy during the protectorate period in Zanzibar (1890-1964)
No Thumbnail Available
Date
1977
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
"The Plantation Economy during the Protectorate Period in Zanzibar" is a study of the history of the islands' clove based economy in its particular relationship initially with European industrial capitalism, and later with imperialism of finance capital. The first led to the ultimate declaration of the protectorate over Zanzibar. The second determined the character of the modes of production that had to articulate with the world wide capitalist mode of production. It was British imperialism in the epoch of finance capital that was instrumental in the abolition of the slave trade (1873) and slavery (1897) not because slave trade and slavery were "evils" as it used to be moralised, but because the slave mode of production on the islands became an anachronism and was incompatible with the operations of the world capitalist system. So the social relations of production of the slave mode of production in Zanzibar had to be changed to conform to the dictates of British imperialism without effecting a social revolution. Hence there was the abolition of slave trade and slavery followed by an all out effort to turn the slave into a wage labourer on the plantation, and a concerted effort to acquire migrant labourers from the adjacent mainland.This was not one of those "civilizing missions" of the whiteman in darkest Africa. It was rather for reasons of furthering British capitalist imperialism and satisfy the need for the acquisition of cheapland, cheap labour and raw material sources, as well as opening up markets for British manufactured goods. Hence understanding the history of the Zanzibar's plantation economy calls for an understanding of the metropolitan connection and its system of exploitative relations. This is viewed as the correct approach to bring the history of the islands, plantation economy into its wider and more correct perspective. With this approach it can be more clearly explained as to why there was indebtedness of landowners and why it became acute in the first forty years of this century. Why was it that the British sided with the plantocracy against the commercial bourgeoisie and the labouring masses?. It can also be explained why the British had to adopt a racial ideology to camouflage their real imperialist aspirations. In short it can be explained how the imperialists exploitative relations were established to draw colonial profits and super-profits leading to affluence of the appropriating metropolitan bourgeoisie and the abject poverty and squalor of the labouring masses at the periphery. For Zanzibar, the approach can give a better appreciation of the development of classes and class struggles. And as the toiling masses rose to fight to extricate themselves from exploitation, the immediate appropriating classes of plantation owners, rich peasants and the commercial bourgeoisie led by reactionary intellectuals and the petty bourgeoisie banded together with the outgoing British imperialism to take over power. This was conveniently handed over to the appropriating classes as they would thus form ancomprador group whose interests coincided well with those of imperialism. That would help to easily institute the new relations of neocolonialism. The plan could not take root. Within one month of flag independence, the exploited masses rose against the new regime to topple it in a few hours of fighting on the 12th of January 1964. The dissertation ultimately seeks to evaluate and explain the contribution of plantation economy to that revolution.
Description
Keywords
Agriculture, Zanzibar, Economic history, History
Citation
Jabir, M. H. (1977) The plantation economy during the protectorate period in Zanzibar (1890-1964), Masters dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam. Available at http://41.86.178.3/internetserver3.1.2/detail.aspx?parentpriref=