Sultan Of Zanzibar’s Medal

 

The Colonial Wars In East Africa 1893 - 1895.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The Sultan Of Zanzibar’s Medal was a campaign medal presented by the Sultan for service in East Africa. The medal was ‘instituted’ in 1896 and was awarded in conjunction with the East And West Africa Medal 1887 - 1900, that had been presented to non-naval personnel who also qualified for the; ‘Witu 1890’, ‘Witu 1893’ clasp and the ‘Mwele 1895-96’ medal naming - see the East And West Africa Medal 1887 - 1900 medal entry.

 

It was also awarded to a number of Zanzibaris, Indians, Africans and some members of the East Africa Rifles. Some notable individuals such as General Robert Raikes received their medal in gold.

 

 

The medal is circular, 36mm in diameter and was struck in gold and silver. The obverse of this medal bears the bust of the Sultan Hamid bin Thwain surrounded by a Suaheli inscription in Arabic that reads; ‘EL SEYYID HAMDI BON THWAIN, SULTAN OF ZANZIBAR, AH1313’.

 

The reverse is plain with the exception of the repeat of the inscription found in the obverse which is across four lines.

 

The ribbon suspender is of a plain, straight and swivelling style, attached to the medal by a claw mount.

 

The medal was issued un-named.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and is scarlet in colour.

 

 

This medal was issued with the following clasps:-

 

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Sultans Of Zanzibar.

- The Witu Expeditions.

 

The Sultans Of Zanzibar - The Sultans of Zanzibar were the rulers of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, which was created on 19 October 1856 after the death of Said bin Sultan, who had ruled Oman and Zanzibar as the Sultan of Oman since 1804. The Sultans of Zanzibar were of a cadet branch of the Al Said Dynasty of Oman.

 

In 1698, Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings of Oman, falling under the control of the Sultan of Oman. In 1832, or 1840 (the date varies among sources), Said bin Sultan moved his capital from Muscat in Oman to Stone Town. He established a ruling Arab elite and encouraged the development of clove plantations, using the island's slave labour.

 

Zanzibar's commerce fell increasingly into the hands of traders from the Indian subcontinent, whom Said encouraged to settle on the island. After his death in 1856, two of his sons, Majid bin Said and Thuwaini bin Said, struggled over the succession, so Zanzibar and Oman were divided into two separate principalities; Thuwaini became the Sultan of Oman while Majid became the first Sultan of Zanzibar.

 

During his 14-year reign as Sultan, Majid consolidated his power around the East African slave trade. His successor, Barghash bin Said, helped abolish the slave trade in Zanzibar and largely developed the country's infrastructure. The third Sultan, Khalifa bin Said, also furthered the country's progress toward abolishing slavery.

 

Until 1886, the Sultan of Zanzibar controlled a substantial portion of the east African coast, known as Zanj, and trading routes extending further into the continent, as far as Kindu on the Congo River. That year, the British and Germans secretly met and re-established the area under the Sultan's rule. Over the next few years, most of the mainland possessions of the Sultanate were taken by European imperial powers. With the signing of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty in 1890 during Ali bin Said's reign, Zanzibar became a British protectorate.

 

In August 1896, Britain and Zanzibar fought a 38-minute war, the shortest in recorded history, after Khalid bin Barghash had taken power after Hamid bin Thuwaini's death. The British had wanted Hamoud bin Mohammed to become Sultan, believing that he would be much easier to work with.

 

The British gave Khalid an hour to vacate the Sultan's palace in Stone Town. Khalid failed to do so, and instead assembled an army of 2,800 men to fight the British. The British launched an attack on the palace and other locations around the city. Khalid retreated and later went into exile. Hamoud was then installed as Sultan.

 

In December 1963, Zanzibar was granted independence by the United Kingdom and became a constitutional monarchy under the Sultan. Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah was overthrown a month later during the Zanzibar Revolution.

 

Jamshid fled into exile, and the Sultanate was replaced by the People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba. In April 1964, the republic was united with Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which became known as Tanzania six months later.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Witu Expeditions - In accord with the 1890 Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty, on 18 June 1890 a British protectorate was declared, and on 1 July 1890 imperial Germany renounced its protectorate, ceding the Wituland to Great Britain to become part of British East Africa.

 

There were widespread protests from the inhabitants of the territory, who wished to remain under Germany's protection.

 

Shortly afterwards several German merchants were murdered, and a mixed British & Zanzibari punitive expedition was sent out. The troops landed and descended on Witu on October 26, 1890.

 

After a series of shoot-outs, Sultan Fumo Bakari ibn Ahmad fled from the town, with roughly 3,000 of his remaining gunmen. He was deposed by the British and died soon afterwards.

 

After a short reign by Bwana Shaykh ibn Ahmad, the rulership (now reduced to a shaykhdom and made a vassal of the Zanzibar Sultanate) was given to Fumo `Umar (or `Umari) ibn Ahamd. Slavery was also formally abolished in Witu, in March 1891, and Indian police were brought in to enforce the new agreement.

 

A brother of Fumo Bakari, by the name of Fumo Oman, resisted the new regime and began leading increasingly violent raids on villages and farms around the nearby town of Jongeni, northeast of Witu. A brief attempt at diplomacy failed and the British and Zanzibari governments prepared a second naval expedition to sail to Witu.

 

A small expeditionary force landed at Witu in July and a second request to negotiate was sent to Fumo Oman. It was rejected and the marines marched on the principal towns under rebel control.

 

Thick forest and camouflaged pits with sharpened stakes surrounded the strongly fortified towns, and the rebel gunmen had prepared defensive positions that allowed for heavy fire. However, after prolonged and intense shoot-outs, the naval marines fought their way into each town, and destroyed the fortifications. Fumo Oman fled and Fumo 'Umari bin Hamid was reinstated.

 

Fumo `Umari moved the capital to Jongeni, but the growth of British power and of the regional importance of Zanzibar saw Witu's position and independence gradually decline.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.