Migration and Settlement.

In the days of Da Gama, Arabs tended to settle in East Africa and built mosques and houses and small cities, whereas most Indians were merely temporary settlers who travelled with the winds of the monsoon. They went with the ‘winter monsoon’ [ December to February] from India to Africa and back in the ‘summer monsoon’ [April and September] from East Africa to India. The main trade consisted of ivory, slaves, species, textiles, potteries etc.

In the nineteenth century a major shift happened in this routine. The Arab ruler Sultan Said Seyid, who had ruled Oman since 1806, transferred his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar in 1832. The importance of Muscat was gradually decreasing, as a result of the growing competition with the Arabs and the Sultan rightly expected a growing trade in Zanzibar with the main land of East Africa. Many Indians from Muscat followed the Sultan to Zanzibar. In Zanzibar the Sultan continued his tradition to appoint an Indian Custom Master at the harbour. The sultan appointed the Indian Muslim Jairam Shivaji as the customs collector. His fellow community members flourished in the shade of Shivaji’s position and many South Asian residents in Oman followed him to Zanzibar. During the establishment of the British empire in East Africa the relation with Asian traders again toughened. British political support for British Asian merchants was growing. A commercial treaty between Seyyid Said and Britain guaranteed Britsish subjects to enter Zanzibar, to reside and trade within the Sultans dominion. The establishment of a British consulate in Zanzibar further encouraged Asians to settle because of the sense of security and expectation of protection in their dealing with the Arab aristocracy.The number of South Asian traders in Zanzibar grew steadily from 2.500 in 1870 to 6000 in the early 1900s.(1) These included mainly Muslims and a very small section of the Hindu community.(2)