In 1848, while the British pushed for abolition, one man controlled Zanzibar's clove trade and resisted with bribes, legal loopholes, and force. This episode dives into the story of Jairam Sewji, the Indian merchant who built a monopoly, and his clash with British consul Atkins Hamerton over the slave trade. We explore how the clove economy relied on enslaved labor, the financial power of Hindu and Khoja merchants in Stone Town, and the 1848 crisis that nearly collapsed the sultanate. Along the way, we touch on the role of the watoro overseers, the nyampara plantation chiefs, and the Maria Theresa thaler currency. A deep look at the intersection of commerce, slavery, and imperial pressure in the Indian Ocean world.
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