03 September,2026 04:35 PM IST | Mumbai | Nandini Varma
Barghash bin Said with his ministers. Pics courtesy/Wikipedia; File pics
When the Arabs arrived in Zanzibar, they changed its topography importing rice and sugarcane from India. The British established a consulate at the island and continued to assert themselves. Once India was declared a British colony in 1858, Zanzibar became an administrative outpost reporting to the Bombay Presidency government. Bombay shared a rich trading history with East Africa but a small number of Zanzibaris too resided in Bombay. At the same time, many Goans moved to Bombay and worked in the city, making it a key stop for migrating people, before finding their way to Zanzibar.
Selma Carvalho
When the ruler of Oman, Sultan Sayyid Said, who made Zanzibar his capital, passed away, his son Majid assumed he was the heir apparent. Majid's younger brother Bargash bin Said revolted but was defeated, and Majid became the first Sultan of Zanzibar. However, Bargash's attempts to overcome his brother did not cease.
Selma Carvalho's new book, Guts, Glory and Empire (Speaking Tiger), traces the journey of Goans to Zanzibar, East Africa. Pic courtesy/Speaking Tiger
Eventually, they were thwarted and he was exiled to Bombay. Here he remained for two years living among the Parsis and was inspired by the architectural and civic influences in the city. When he returned to power in Zanzibar, he employed several Goan traders as links between his empire and the British, allowing transoceanic trade.
Mails and telegraphs became important for the European imperial power as they enabled faster communication, which led to better imperial control in the late 19th century. An official post office did not exist in Zanzibar. Hence, an Indian Foreign Post Office was set up in Bombay and the Bombay postmaster general took over the authority for all mails. Indian stamps were used, and a meagre allowance given to the postmaster. About 20 years later, in 1894, an independent post office was set up in Zanzibar, severing the island's ties with the Bombay post office, but with predominantly Goan staff.
Pic Courtesy/mvcmafsu.ac.in
In 1893, the new sultan Hamid bin Thuwayni was determined to establish a slaughter house outside the city and hire a veterinarian to work on cases of disease in cattle and horse. The royal horses had been suffering for days. For this, the government decided to look for a veterinarian from Bombay. Bombay Veterinarian College and Hospital had been operating in Parel since 1885 with Parsis, Hindus, and Goans attending it. Damao-born (Daman) Luis Antonio Andrade, who had studied in Lisbon and Bombay, was finally appointed to treat the horses. He was known to have studied at Bombay Medical School.
After losing to his brother, the exiled sultan of Zanzibar, Barghash bin Said, lived in the Parsi Bazaar Street neighbourhood in Fort for two years.
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