The 1880 Khoja Schism That Split Zanzibar's Merchant Elite

In 1880, Zanzibar's Khoja community — Indian-origin merchants who had long served as financiers and customs masters under the Busaidi sultans — fractured in a bitter religious schism. This episode traces how the split between Ismaili and Ithna'ashari Khojas, triggered by the arrival of Aga Khan Hassanali Shah in Bombay, reshaped Zanzibar's commercial landscape. Lucas and Luna explore the role of Tharia Topan, the Bhatia merchant who became a key figure in the Ithna'ashari faction, and the economic fallout that saw the once-unified Khoja network divide into rival trading houses. They also discuss how the schism intersected with British abolition efforts and the declining clove trade, forcing each side to forge new alliances with European powers. The episode reveals how religious identity became a tool of economic survival in a crumbling sultanate, and how the Khoja diaspora's internal conflicts still echo in Zanzibar's Stone Town today. #KhojaSchism #ZanzibarHistory #ThariaTopan #AgaKhan #Ismaili #Ithnaashari #BusaidiSultanate #IndianOceanTrade #StoneTown #CloveTrade #SwahiliCoast #BritishAbolition #KhojaMerchants #BhatiaCommunity #1880Zanzibar #IndianDiaspora #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo