The French Agent Loophole How Indentured Labour Masked Slavery in Zanzibar

In the 1840s, as British anti-slavery patrols tightened around Zanzibar, French planters in Réunion and Mauritius found a cunning loophole: the 'engagé' system, where African slaves were reclassified as indentured labourers under fraudulent contracts. This episode dives into the shadowy trade that flourished under the French flag, focusing on the 1846 capture of the brig 'Jeune Adèle', the diplomatic showdown between British consul Atkins Hamerton and the French consul, and the Sultan's reluctant cooperation. We expose how the language of freedom masked a second slave trade that moved thousands from East Africa to French plantations until the 1860s. A tale of loopholes, legal fictions, and the limits of abolition. #Zanzibar #FrenchSlaveTrade #EngagéSystem #AtkinsHamerton #JeuneAdèle #Réunion #Mauritius #IndianOcean #SlaveTrade #Abolition #BritishNavy #Consul #StoneTown #1840s #History #FexingoHistory #SlaveShip #EastAfrica Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo