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Capitalism and Cloves: An Archaeology of Plantation Life on Nineteenth-Century Zanzibar PDF

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Capitalism and Cloves Sarah K. Croucher Capitalism and Cloves An Archaeology of Plantation Life on Nineteenth-Century Zanzibar Sarah K. Croucher Department of Anthropology Wesleyan University Middletown, CT USA ISBN 978-1-4419-8470-8 ISBN 978-1-4419-8471-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-8471-5 Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2014942446 © Springer New York 2015 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) This book is dedicated with love to my parents, Sue and Keith Croucher. For always being there for me, even when I’m far away. Acknowledgements The acknowledgements for this book are nearly too numerous to mention. Fund- ing for the fieldwork research was provided by The Arts and Humanities Research Council, a grant from the William Edwards Educational Trust, Kenilworth, and a Langton Bursary from the University of Manchester. Fieldwork was supported by an Emslie Horniman Scholarship from the Royal Anthropological Institute, two minor grants from the British Institute in Eastern Africa, and a Zochonis Special Enterprise Award from The University of Manchester. Funding for further archival research was supported by a project grant from Wesleyan University. I was gen- erously supported in the writing of this manuscript as a Weatherhead Residential Scholar at the School for Advanced Research (SAR), Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2010–2011. On fieldwork I have had the help and support of the Department of Archives, Museums and Antiquities, Zanzibar, who have been continually generous with sup- port throughout my research. I would like to thank in particular the head of the Department, Mr. Hamad Omar. Head of Antiquities on Zanzibar, Dr. Abdurahman Juma has been enormously kind, and has given invaluable logistical advice on set- ting up my fieldwork projects. I was also assisted on fieldwork by several staff from the department; Ali Abdalla Dade assisted on survey, and on excavations I was assisted by Salim Seif Yusuf, Khamis Ali Juma, Kombo Khamis Bakar and Kasim Ali Juma (‘Super Pilot’). I am forever indebted to Hajj Mohammed Hajj, an excellent friend, ever knowledgeable of all aspects of Zanzibar history. He provided support and translation during excavations at Mgoli in 2004 and translation for the further interviews carried out in 2005. I was also assisted by people too numerous to mention here, in Dunga and Mahonda on Unguja, and in Mtambile, Piki, Wete and Chake on Pemba. Staff at the Zanzibar National Archives, and at the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House were ever helpful in enabling me to locate documents and sources for my research. Laura Holt, librar- ian at the SAR Catherine McElvain Library was always helpful in locating sources for me from afar during my time in New Mexico. Further assistance was provided on fieldwork by several friends who joined me on Zanzibar at various stages. Ange Brennan assisted on the Zanzibar Clove Planta- tion Survey 2003. During the 2004 excavation season Sophie Pullar was present for vii viii Acknowledgeme nts the entire season of fieldwork, and carried out initial cataloguing of artefacts. Sa- mantha Bolton, Shaun Mackey, Wayne Johnson and Darren Griffin also Sp. artifacts assisted on excavations, and I would like to thank them all wholeheartedly. Several people have provided advice in regards to artefact analysis. I would particularly like to thank Chris Cumberpatch, Duncan Brown, Nigel Jeffries, Antonia Malan, Jane Klose and Henry Kelly. I have also benefited from communications with Jeffrey Fleisher and Adria LaViolette, who have provided a wealth of information with regards to researching on Zanzibar. Dr. Paul Lane, director of the British Institute in Eastern Africa has provided much advice since I was first on graduate attachment with the Institute in 2000. It was he who first suggested that I consider the period of Omani colonialism on the coast, and he has been continually encouraging and supportive over the years. I would particularly like to thank him for making avail- able ceramic data from the site of Kwa Fungo. Dr. Stephanie Wynne-Jones has also provided much valuable advice; alongside many discussions of East African coastal archaeology and some fun fieldwork adventures. Her longstanding generous friendship has contributed hugely to the work presented in this book. Lydia Wilson Marshall and Tom Biginagwa have been generous colleagues as they have worked on their own research in Eastern African historical archaeology. It has been excit- ing to talk to them about comparisons between sites, and both generously shared their PhD theses with me. It has been exciting to be joined by more archaeologists examining Nineteenth-Century Eastern Africa, and my work is far the richer for the comparison I have been able to draw between our different contexts. Their work has helped me formulate and strengthen my ideas in many ways. From the time of my PhD research I am indebted to the support and advice of my two supervisors. Professor Timothy Insoll first introduced me to African archaeol- ogy, and pointed me in the direction of the East African coast. He has provided continual advice and encouragement, and without him this research would never have been envisaged. Dr. Eleanor Casella has been similarly supportive, and guided my education within the field of historical archaeology. She continually provided sound theoretical and practical advice over the course of my research, and continues to direct me to new theoretical ideas. Both have been hugely influential in my think- ing, and have helped me through many early crises in my writing. Tim and El have always pushed me toward ever-stronger theoretical arguments, and allowed me to develop a sound foundation for this book and my career. My friends and colleagues at Wesleyan University have also been ever-support- ive of my research. I would like to thank my colleagues in the Anthropology Depart- ment, Archaeology Program, and Feminist Gender and Sexuality Studies Program for their discussion of various aspects of my work and progress toward publication. I want to especially thank Doug Charles for being a wonderful mentor, and always asking me when I was going to be finished; it’s finally done! At the School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe, I benefitted from an amazing group of scholars and friends who read through my work and provided extensive feedback. For initial ac- ceptance into the SAR scholar program and for their support throughout my time there, many thanks to James Brooks and John Kantner. My wholehearted thanks go to Linda Aguilar, Jamila Bargash, Gloria Bell, Cathy Cameron, Aric Chopito, Acknowledgements ix Santee Frazier, Doug Kiel, Steve Lekson, Teresa Montoya, Melissa Nelson for rich conversations about archaeology, history, and theory. Linda Cordell had a special place in these conversations, and pushed me to think about pottery in new ways. This work has benefitted from editorial assistance provided by Nathan Richards and Annalies Corbin through the Society for Historical Archaeology. Two anony- mous reviewers provided excellent and detailed commentary on my work, pushing me to be more rigorous in my interpretations, clarifying my use of archaeological data, and encouraging me to articulate more clearly the value of this book to the field of historical archaeology. At Springer, I am ever grateful to Teresa Krauss for her patience and guidance. The support of Teresa, Nathan and Annalies through the years of manuscript revision has always been valuable (although I may have driven them a little crazy at times), and has pushed me to produce stronger work. I hope that reviewers and editors will be happy to see that “whilst” has been removed from my vocabulary. Earlier versions of a portion of Chap. 5, “Plantation Households,” appeared in Croucher, S. K. 2011. “A Concubine is Still a Slave”: Sexual Relations and Omani Colonial Identities in 19th Century East Africa. In Voss, B. L. and Casella, E. C. (eds.), Intimate Encounters, Postcolonial Engagements: Archaeologies of Empire and Sexuality. pp. 67–84. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Portions of Chap. 6, “Global Goods,” appeared in Croucher, S. K. 2011. Exchange Val- ues: Commodities, Colonialism and Identity on Nineteenth-Century Zanzibar. In Croucher, S. K. and Weiss, L. M (eds.), The Archaeology of Capitalism in Colonial Contexts: Postcolonial Historical Archaeologies. pp. 165–191. New York: Springer (Global Contributions to Historical Archaeology Series). Finally, I would like to thank my family. Firstly Todd Szoka for the emotional support he has given me during the final stages of writing this manuscript. And last, but not least I could not have completed this book without the support of my family; Keith and Sue Croucher, Ellie, Benjamin, Emily and David Overland, throughout my PhD studies and early career. Without them, for so very many reasons, this book wouldn’t exist. Contents 1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 Global Historical Archaeology ................................................................... 3 Feminist Archaeology of the African Diaspora .......................................... 10 Methodology .............................................................................................. 14 Organization of the Book ........................................................................... 16 References .................................................................................................. 21 2 Why Clove Plantations: East African Archaeology, History, and Anthropology ..................................................................................... 29 Urbanism .................................................................................................... 30 Early Colonialism ....................................................................................... 35 The Caravan Trade, Arabs Move Inland .................................................... 38 Clove Plantations ....................................................................................... 41 Slavery ........................................................................................................ 44 Immigration ................................................................................................ 46 Swahili, Arab, and African Identities ......................................................... 47 Historical Archaeology in East Africa ........................................................ 50 Directions of Research ............................................................................... 52 References .................................................................................................. 53 3 Plantation Landscapes ............................................................................. 59 Gazing at Plantations .................................................................................. 59 The Plantation As an Object ....................................................................... 60 The Scopic Regime of Plantation Landscapes ........................................... 64 Cartography ................................................................................................ 68 Methodologies ............................................................................................ 69 Mapping Zanzibar ...................................................................................... 72 Land Ownership ......................................................................................... 75 Owning Land on Zanzibar ......................................................................... 77 Capitalist Production, Alternative Spatial Logics ...................................... 81 References .................................................................................................. 82 xi xii Conte nts 4 The Archaeology of Slavery �������������������������������������������������������������������� 87 The Archaeology of Slavery on Zanzibar �������������������������������������������������� 87 Islamic Slavery in Africa ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 89 Remembering Slavery �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 94 Autonomous Landscapes of Slavery ���������������������������������������������������������� 97 Slavery, Resistance, and Swahili Culture ��������������������������������������������������� 104 Slave Housing �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 105 Religion and Resistance ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 111 Islamic Practice on Zanzibar ���������������������������������������������������������������������� 116 Violence and Benevolence ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 123 Freedom ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 133 The Nature of Zanzibari Plantation Slavery ����������������������������������������������� 136 References �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 138 5 Plantation Households ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 145 Households as Units of Analysis ���������������������������������������������������������������� 145 Stone Houses ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 148 Omani Identities ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 155 Wattle-and-Daub Planters’ Houses ������������������������������������������������������������� 159 Networks of Power ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 164 Female Plantation Owners Practicing Patriarchy ��������������������������������������� 166 Sexual Slavery �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 170 Plantation Households �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 179 References �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 180 6 Global Goods �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 185 Global Trade on Zanzibar ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 185 Trade Beads ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 188 Imported Ceramics on Nineteenth-Century Zanzibar �������������������������������� 193 Wealth and Reciprocity on Zanzibar ���������������������������������������������������������� 199 The Purchase of Goods on Zanzibar ���������������������������������������������������������� 203 Global Capitalist Relations ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 205 Meanings of Exchange ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 207 References �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 209 7 Pemban People: Local Ceramics and Changing Identities ������������������ 213 Ceramics in Clove Plantations ������������������������������������������������������������������� 214 Regional Style �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 217 Contemporary Production �������������������������������������������������������������������������� 224 Food and Identity on Zanzibar ������������������������������������������������������������������� 229 Communities of Practice ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 232 Slavery and Ceramics ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 235 Pemban Identities ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 239 References �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 240 8 Capitalism and Cloves: East African Historical Archaeology ������������� 245 References �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 249 Index ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 251

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This study of nineteenth-century clove plantations on Zanzibar provides an important contribution to debates in global historical archaeology. Broadening plantation archaeology beyond the Atlantic World, this work addresses plantations run by Omani Arab colonial rulers of Zanzibar. Drawing on archae
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