‘Siendi’ (I won’t go): concubines’ activism in the abolition of slavery in the Zanzibar Protectorate

Abstract

ABSTRACTBetween 1897 and 1909 British officials debated over whether, when and how to fully abolish slavery in the Zanzibar Islands, particularly the emancipation of enslaved women claimed as concubines. These debates offer insight into the gendered aspects of abolition as well as the activism by enslaved women who worked with Friends missionaries to demand the British completely abolish slavery in the islands. Abolition was not bequeathed by a magnanimous colonial power but rather claimed and demanded by young women who sought their freedom by challenging the perception that their enslavement made them immoral.