Sultan Barghash bin Said's journey to Europe in 1875 AD

Abstract

Sultan Barghash bin Said ruled the Sultanate of Zanzibar from 1870 to 1888 AD. His reign was marked by many achievements in the cultural, civilizational and economic fields, as Sultan Barghash was a lover of science and eager to develop and introduce civilization to Zanzibar. On the cultural level, he established the Royal Press, attracted scholars to Zanzibar, and printed books. In the field of construction, he focused on building palaces and introducing electricity and water networks to Zanzibar.

Some researchers believe that Sultan Barghash's idea of development was the result of the Sultan's trip to Egypt and European countries in 1875 AD, during which he saw the development those countries had achieved in all fields. When he returned from his trip, he began implementing some of the civilisational projects he had seen.

From this perspective, this paper discusses Sultan Barghash's journey to Europe in 1875 AD, examining its route, the Sultan's companions, the Sultan's observations in the countries he visited, and the extent to which this influenced Sultan Barghash's development policy in Zanzibar after his return from that trip.

The researcher will rely mainly in covering this topic on the book “Tanzih al-Absar wa al-Afkar fi Journey of Sultan Zanzibar” by its author Zahir bin Saeed, considering that it is the main source for the details of Sultan Barghash’s journey to Europe, as Zahir bin Saeed was accompanying the Sultan.

It describes the events and what the Sultan and his companions witnessed on that journey from their departure from Zanzibar in 1875 AD until their return in the same year, in addition to the sources and references that dealt with the reign of Sultan Barghash.