Zanzibar Quotes
I will never again listen to the advice of the French … nor of anyone except the British Government.
As a young man, upon the death of his father in 1856, he tried to sieze the throne from his older brother upon the advice of the French. The British Consul with a detachment of Royal Marines put down the coup, but saved his life by not turning him over to his brother. Later he assumed the throne and tended to follow the British line.
The slave trade had been banned in the rest of East Africa but was legal in Zanzibar. The British Navy had great difficulty interdicting slave ships who would claim they were participating in the legal slave trade. The British decided that Zanzibar should ban slavery, but the Sultan and his advisors did not wish to give up their own personal involvement. Kirk was sent to deal with the Sultan, who under threat of naval embargo, signed the Frere Treaty. The slave market was thus closed.
German pretensions will not bear examination for a moment if judged by any rule of truth or justice.
Germany had designs on Zanzibar and had created a noble pretext for sending warships. Kirk wanted the government to oppose Germany observing that their intervention rationale was but a pretext. However, that was true of almost all the rationales for European military involvement in Africa.
