Oman's Sugar Plantations: The Sweetening of Zanzibar

In the mid-1800s, the Omani Sultanate of Zanzibar became a global sugar producer. This episode follows the rise of clove and sugar plantations on the island, the forced labor of enslaved Africans from the Great Lakes region, and the boom that enriched the Busaidi dynasty. We meet Sayyid Said bin Sultan, who moved his capital to Zanzibar to profit from cash crops, and examine the brutal conditions in the sugar mills. The episode also explores the environmental toll—deforestation and soil exhaustion—and the eventual decline when British antislavery patrols disrupted the labor supply. A little-known chapter of Oman's African empire. #Oman #Zanzibar #SugarPlantations #SayyidSaid #Busaidi #CloveTrade #Slavery #IndianOcean #BritishAbolition #DhowPatrols #MoresbyTreaty #HamertonTreaty #Mzizima #Unguja #SwahiliCoast #CashCrops #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo