T he Arabs o f Zanzibar, whether from more
frequent intercourse with Europeans or from
other causes, are undoubtedly the best o f their
race. More easily amenable to reason than those
o f E g y p t , or the shy, reserved, and bigoted
fanatics o f Arabia, they offer no obstacles to
the European traveller, but are sociable, frank,
good-natured, and hospitable. In business they
are keen traders, and o f course will exact the
highest percentage o f profit out o f the unsuspecting
European if th ey are permitted. T h e y are
staunch friends and desperate haters. Blood is
seldom satisfied without blood, unless extraordinary
sacrifices are made.
T he conduct o f an Arab gentleman is perfect.
Indelicate matters are never broached before
strangers; impertinence is hushed instantly b y
the elders, and rudeness is never permitted.
Naturally, they have the vices o f their education,
blood, and race, but these moral blemishes are
b y their traditional excellence o f breeding seldom
obtruded upon the observation o f the stranger.
After the Arabs let us regard the Wangwana,
just as in Europe, after studying the condition
and character o f the middle classes, we might turn
to reflect upon that o f the labouring population.
O f the Wangwana there will be much written
in the following p a g e s , the outcome o f careful
study and a long experience o f them. Few
explorers have recorded anything greatly to
their credit. One o f them lately said that the
negro knows neither love nor affection; another
that he is simply the “ link” between the simian
and the European. Another says, “ The wretches
take a trouble and display an ingenuity in opposition
and disobedience, in perversity, annoyance,
and villainy, which rightly directed would
make them invaluable.” Almost all have been
severe in their strictures on the negro o f Zanzibar.
The origin o f the Mgwana or Freeman may
be briefly told. When the Arabs conquered
Zanzibar, they found the black subjects o f the
Portuguese to be o f two classes, Watuma (slaves)
and Wangwana (freemen). The Freemen were
ve ry probably black people who had either
purchased their freedom b y the savings o f their
industry or were made free upon the death o f their
masters: these begat children who, being born
out o f bondage, were likewise free. A rab rulers,
in classifying their subjects, perceived no great
difference in physique or general appearance be tween
those who were slaves and those who
were free, both classes belonging originally to
the same negro tribes o f the interior. Thus, when
any o f these were brought before the authorities
convicted o f offences, the question naturally
asked was, “ A re yo u a Mtuma, a slave, or a
Mgwana, a freeman?” A repetition o f these
questions through a long course o f years estab