Zanzibar 1845: The Mazrui Rebellion and the Fortress That Almost Fell

In 1845, barely two years after the clove boom crashed, Sultan Said bin Busaid faced a rebellion from the Mazrui clan—the old rulers of Mombasa who had never fully accepted Omani rule. Lucas and Luna dig into the Siege of Fort Jesus, where a few hundred Mazrui fighters held out for months against the Sultan's Baluchi mercenaries and British-backed navy. They explore how this revolt wasn't just a local squabble but a proxy war between the Busaid Sultanate, the British Empire, and the ever-present Indian merchant financiers like Jairam Sewji who bankrolled both sides. The episode also reveals the tangled loyalties of the Mazrui, who once allied with the British to expel the Portuguese, and how their 1845 defeat reshaped power on the Swahili Coast. Specific names, dates, and tactics bring this forgotten battle to life. #Zanzibar #Mazrui #FortJesus #Mombasa #SaidBinBusaid #SwahiliCoast #1845 #SlaveTrade #IndianOcean #Baluchi #JairamSewji #BritishEmpire #OmaniEmpire #Siege #History #FexingoHistory #EastAfrica #ColonialAfrica Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo