Dotting East Africa’s Swahili coast, Zanzibar, Lamu and Mombasa are synonymous with pristine waters and white sandy beaches. But many tourists are unaware that these UNESCO World Heritage Sites were the scene of a gruesome chapter in history. For centuries, the Swahili coast was central to the slave trade.
Between the 16th and early 20th centuries, Zanzibar, Lamu and Mombasa enjoyed immense wealth. The three locations were a key hub for trade between Africa, Oman, India and Europe. Ships that docked there left laden with spices, wood, ivory and gold… and enslaved people. Merchants like infamous Zanzibari slave trader Tippu Tip would capture men, women and children inland – sometimes even in the heart of the Congo – before bringing them back to the Swahili coast. Many of them were sold, while others were put to work in the fields. At the height of his dark enterprise, Tippu Tip forced almost 10,000 men to work on his clove plantations.
