Zanzibar 1853: The Great Comet Panic and the Slave Trade

In 1853, a bright comet appeared over the Indian Ocean, and Zanzibar's population saw it as an omen. Lucas and Luna explore how this celestial event intersected with the island's volatile politics—Sultan Said bin Busaid's declining health, British Consul Atkins Hamerton's pressure to end the slave trade, and the Khoja merchants who read the stars to protect their clove fortunes. They discuss the comet's appearance in Swahili oral traditions, the panic in Stone Town's markets, and how Jairam Sewji's astrologers advised him during the crisis. This episode weaves astronomy, superstition, and power into a single night in 1853. #GreatComet1853 #Zanzibar #SlaveTrade #SaidBinBusaid #AtkinsHamerton #JairamSewji #Khoja #SwahiliCoast #StoneTown #IndianOceanHistory #AstronomyHistory #Omen #CloveTrade #19thCentury #BritishAbolition #BusaidSultanate #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo