Lost History-Somali,slave

[BruceLee]

Somali slaves in Zanzibar: Letters on Slavery on the South-East Coast of Africa-Zanzibar. By: Chown Francis H. 1868

[Oxy-]

Dear Oh Dear...

Us somalis slaves ?

[BruceLee]

Dr Kirk's April 1873 tour of inspection of East Africa.

Zanzibar, May 31, 1873
Consul-General at Zanzibar.


My Lord,


Passing Melinda, which is one of the richest corn-producing regions on the coast, we proceeded to Mogdeesho, a Somali town north of the Equator, the natives of which are reputed the must dangerous on the whole coast to Europeans. I was here struck with the considerable export of corn that went on, proving how very rich the country must be behind the barren ridge of sand and rock that skirts the coast, extensive and rich plantations being found on the banks of the river that passes Ahmed Yoosoof's country at *****. Unfortunately we could not land and meet the elders of the place, the principal of whom is styled a Sultan, and also an Imam of religion.
9. The flag of the Sultan of Zanzibar was displayed on our arrival, but he has neither influence nor power. The town is evidently worth a careful study; there are many buildings and towers with curious inscriptions, of which at Brava I have seen specimens well cut in an Arabic character more simple than the Kufic, but quite illegible to the people now. Being unable to land here on account of the surf, we sailed on our return voyage the same day, passing Merka, which seemed also a very considerable and thriving town. There were nineteen dhows at anchor laden with grain, which they had shipped here.
10. At Brava we anchored and landed. Although here received without any deference, there was nothing in the behaviour of the Somali or town-people objectionable, and I soon found that being able to converse freely with them in person, and without an interpreter, I had no reason to fear a misunderstanding. On the contrary, we arranged a party for next day to cross over the hills and into the Somali plains. In conversation with the natives, on this excursion, I gained much information that at a formal meeting in town they never would have given; nor had we the smallest reason to suspect the people of the treachery usually ascribed to them, for some of our party overcome by heat and fatigue fell behind, and did not return until sunset, when they came straggling in; and another, unacquainted with a word of the language, was brought back safely the following morning from the endless plain on which, after spending the night alone, he had again set out in search of the sea-coast, but in the wrong direction. For notes on the Somali Slave Trade I beg to refer to inclosure marked No. 2 herewith forwarded.
11. After Brava we anchored at the mouth of the River Juba, but finding the bar impassable, proceeded to the harbour south of Cape Bissell, known to the natives as Kismayo, although that name has been transferred on the Admiralty charts to an island further south, to which it does not apply. This is a harbour first brought to notice by His Highness Seyyid Majid, and here there are two distinct settlements of Somalis, both foreign to this part of the country. These live near the mouth of the River Juba, where good pasture is found for cattle. Although at present the trade of Kismayo is insignificant, there can be little doubt in time it will rise to importance as the natural harbour for the River Juba, which possesses so very bad an approach at its mouth, and from the fact that north of this is no other refuge to be found on the whole of the Somali coast available during the monsoons.
12. Here, as at Brava, having special objects in view ides forming a collection of the rare vegetation, I again set out with the people upon a long walking excursion that occupied the whole day. Nor did I find any difficulty either among the Somalis in the village or outside its limits. The information collected here bearing upon the reported captives in the Galla land I have thrown into the inclosure No. 3.
13. After Kismayo we visited the Shamba River, a mere creek of the the Tola River, which although larger is nothing more, and thence came back to Zanzibar without communicating at any other spot along the coast


Inclosure 2.
Memorandum on the Somali Slave Trade.
THE southern Somali towns of Brava, Merka, Mogdeesho, and Worsheikh, commonly known as the "Benadir," or the "Harbours," from being the only points at which native vessels are able to call along this part of the coast, have been long marked as chief places at which slaves are yearly landed in thousands; and the general belief has been that so barren a country and so wild a race as the Somalis do not require slaves, all taken there being destined for reshipment to Arabia and elsewhere.
That this was to a considerable extent at one time done, there can be no doubt; but it is equally certain that at present a large part of the slaves now taken to the Benadir and retained, and used as slaves in the interior of the Somali land itself.
On the occasion of my recent visit, I was much struck with the development of the grain trade from Merka and Mogdeesho, at each of which places we found nineteen or twenty good-sized native vessels laying at anchor, some fully laden, and all with bags ready to load with native grain. Many other vessels, provided with empty bags, were also communicated with on the voyage there. To this must be added the enormous amount of orchilla weed, which, until very lately, was exported from those places, and crops of the best kind of sesam oil-seed, that forms a very important item in the Zanzibar trade, not to mention ox-hides, that, arriving from the Benadir in great numbers, constitute one of the chief exports of the latter place.
A comparison, however, of the average prices of slaves ruling at Muscat and on the Somali coast will show that the export from the latter could not have been effected of late years, unless at a loss. I therefore reported, in 1871, that, in my opinion, the Somali land retained at least 3,000 slaves yearly - a number that I am now convinced was far below the truth; that, in fact, the demand for slaves in that country itself has been one of the chief supports of the Quiloa Slave Trade, as the transport thither was so profitable and, at the same time, so easy, while the Sultan issued passes in favour of any one who applied, securing the cargo as far as Lamo.
Once at Lamo, there is no difficulty, if ships are known to be in the vicinity, in moving the slaves for a considerable distance by water behind the island, when s short voyage took them to Brava, or elsewhere, as information led the owners to think the boats of our cruizers were stationed.
While the feuds subsisted between the Somalis of the north of the Juba with their rivals (new settlers at Kismayo, to the south of that river), many captures of slave-vessels were made by our cruizers, as the disposition of the boats was not known to the Lamo traders; but now, the land communication being open, intelligence is speedily passed to Lamo when the boats of Her Majesty's cruisers have taken up any one station.
This year, knowing that greater difficulty would be met with, the land route, which I before informed the Government would be a resource to which the Arabs would fall back when the sea became too dangerous, has been tried; and, at the time of our visit to Brava, in April, one caravan had already passed, having marched through Kismayo and Brava to Mogdeesho.
As there is every reason to believe that the present enormous demand for slaves in Somali land itself is but of comparative recent growth, it seems the more necessary at once to call attention to it, and to take means for its suppression.
The Somalis are a cruel treacherous race; described to me, by those who have been among them, as the very worst of all slave-masters, and who, from their behaviour generally to Europeans, although to me personally they were not uncivil, do not deserve the smallest consideration.



The representative of Sultan of ******** and his batch of slaves in Zanzibar: Letters on Slavery on the South-East Coast of Africa-Zanzibar. By: Chown Francis H. 1868

[BABYGIRL123]

Its referring to the tall guy with the gun

[BruceLee]

The image has a qabiil name on it ^

[BABYGIRL123]

"The Somalis are a cruel treacherous race; described to me, by those who have been among them, as the very worst of all slave-masters, and who, from their behaviour generally to Europeans,"



U idiot the somalis are the slave owners

[DR-YALAXOOW]

those somali slaves are from darood clan. darod was slave.even before they come to somalia. they were run away slave from yemen.


maskiin darood

[abdi ilyas]

thats trua jaberti was slaves from yeman

[abdi ilyas]

they come 2 somali 100 years ago

[BABYGIRL123]

Deport all Jabertis

[MzBeautiful]

Somalis are the only Africans that have NEVER been enslaved, we have been colonised but never enslaved..

[WasteMan]

those somali slaves are from darood clan. darod was slave.even before they come to somalia. they were run away slave from yemen.


maskiin darood

[djibsomali]

kids have you heard something call photoshop?