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East Africa And The Arab Slave Trade

Decent Essays

The interactions between Africa and the peoples of Asia, Europe, and the Americas have been transcribed through hundreds of accounts since the beginnings of civilization. Every conqueror within reach of this continent has attempted to seize the opportunities and resources Africa holds one way or another. What is arguably the most impactful attempt of controlling Africa was as seen through the European colonization since the arrival of the Portuguese during the age of discovery. While the European explorers were at work in Africa, another group of colonizers had their own foothold for centuries prior, the Arabs. For centuries the Arabs have had interactions and attempts of imperial expansion in Africa for the benefit of its many resources, most notably the slave trade. This was seen particularly by the Omani Arabs during the 19th century and their slave trade in the Indian Ocean. The Omanis expanded their borders into Zanzibar, only to be met with the hegemonic force known as the British Empire soon after their expansion. Despite East Africa’s proximity away from the British Empire and most of their colonial interests in Africa, they seemed to have an obsession with intervening in Zanzibar. Particularly, with the Arab’s slave trade in East Africa. How did the British colonial presence in East Africa impact the Arab slave trade? The answer may seem obvious as to the British’s goal to end the slave trade for sake of liberating the oppressed Africans, but the reality is much

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