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Sayyid Jamshid, the last sultan of Zanzibar

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The story of the ruler who fled his homeland to live in exile in the English coastal town of Southsea.

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Sultan Sayyid Jamshid’s reign only lasted seven months. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

The relatively modest semi-detached house pictured below was, for over 50 years, the home-in-exile of Sayyid Jamshid Abdullah, the last sultan of Zanzibar. This was not the life he would have expected. How did he end up here?

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The sultan’s former residence is located at 24 Victoria Grove, Southsea, England. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

Sayyid was born into privilege on Sept 16, 1929 in Zanzibar and ascended to the throne in July 1963 following the death of his father, Abdullah Khalifa Al-Said.

He could not have imagined that his reign would only last seven months.

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Sayyid would have spent his youth flitting between residences like this country palace at Kibweni. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

Zanzibar is an archipelago off the East African coast that was ruled by Oman from 1698 to 1858. The islands are famous for spices, particularly cloves.

Zanzibar came under British protection from 1890 until December 1963, when it became an independent constitutional sultanate. A month later the sultan was deposed by a bloody revolt in which the majority black African population overthrew the minority Arab elite.

Many Zanzibaris of Arab or mixed African/Arab descent relocated to Oman in 1964, fleeing riots that left thousands dead.

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A branch of the Omani Al-Busaid royal family ruled Zanzibar, as commemorated in this stamp marking their bicentennial in 1944. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

Sayyid escaped to Oman, hoping to be granted permission to settle, but when this was denied he flew to London with his entourage of 61 close family members and retainers.

He spent some time in London hotels but was running short of money until he was granted a lump sum of £100,000 and a monthly allowance of £1,500 by the British government.

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For reasons unknown, Sayyid decided to settle in Southsea on the southern English coast. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

This money allowed him to settle in Southsea in England. Why Southsea? Perhaps he liked the look of Portsmouth’s crest, with its Islamic-style moon and crescent motif.

Or maybe the seaside reminded him of his island paradise of Zanzibar. Or perhaps it was just better value for money compared with living in London.

It must have been a major culture shock for the former sultan. He kept a low profile and his neighbours described him as a quiet and respectful man. Those who visited his home were often shown his complete collection of Zanzibari stamps from the 1860s to 1960s.

The stamps told the history of his life, with the first set of his reign commemorating independence (Uhuru) from Britain, which took place just six months after he became sultan.

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Sayyid’s collection of Zanzibari stamps bore portraits of himself and his 10 sultan ancestors. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

The following month he was deposed, and his portrait was defaced with an overprint proclaiming a republic (Jamhuri).

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Later that year, Zanzibar merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

Sayyid continued to lobby for permission to move to Oman, the country of his ancestry, but these requests were rejected on security grounds. Perhaps Oman felt that having two sultans in the country could be destabilising.

Many of his family members were, however, allowed to relocate there in the years that followed.

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Sayyid, age 91, arrived in Oman in September last year after 56 years in exile. (Thrifty Traveller pic)

As a humanitarian gesture, he was finally given permission to return to Oman in September last year to spend his remaining years. He will have plenty of company – tens of thousands of his former subjects and their descendants live there after being granted citizenship in the 1970s and 1980s.

Here are some old photos of Stone Town, Zanzibar:

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The main shopping street in 1936 decorated for the silver jubilee of Sayyid Khalifa Haroub, the ninth sultan of Zanzibar and grandfather of Jamshid Abdullah. (Thrifty Traveller pic)
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The same street from a different perspective. Perhaps taken during the 1960s, judging by the car and the movie poster for ‘Beau Geste’. (Thrifty Traveller pic)
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An older view of the same street, now called Kenyatta Road, with the Shangani post office on the right. (Thrifty Traveller pic)
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A look on Google Maps Street View shows the buildings are still all there, although the Indian tailors have been replaced with tourist souvenir shops. (Google Maps pic)

The building on the right also houses the Freddie Mercury Museum. The late Queen singer, real name Farrokh Bulsara, was born in Stone Town and came from a Parsi family.

He and his parents, along with many other South Asian families, also fled Zanzibar in 1964.

This article first appeared in Thrifty Traveller.

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