When comparing slavery in different historical contexts, it is important to remember that it is always a form of subordination and that the acts of violence at the core of any slave society's mechanisms of social control are those of "the enslavement process itself" (Cooper 1977: 156). Enslavement always entails the painful separation of persons from their homes and communities. The new lives that slaves make for themselves, insofar as they are permitted to do so, are shaped by prevailing norms where they reside. Slavery on the East Coast in the early nineteenth century was much like that in other Islamic societies of the region (see below) and thus very different from the plantation complex of the Atlantic world. Frederick Cooper argues that Zanzibari paternalism was different from that of the American South, because on Zanzibar, "the agricultural roles of slaves grew out of a form of slavery that had emphasized the relationship between leaders and followers, within a society characterized by closely knit communal groups and patriarchal relationships," whereas in the South "paternalism grew out of the plantation" (1977: 156).
By the early nineteenth century, the slave trade was rapidly expanding and centered on Zanzibar rather than Kilwa, yet this expansion was not sufficient to "transform the slave sector" (Sheriff 1987: 34 to 35; 48 to 60). This transformation did occur, but in conjunction with the development of clove plantations on Zanzibar and Pemba, where "the lives of slaves... were altered by the demands of plantation agriculture" (Cooper 1987: 156). The word plantation should not lead to misconceptions, for "clove trees are not sugar cane," and growing cloves did not allow the economies of scale possible in the sugar industry. After examining the reports of a variety of observers, Cooper concluded that the evidence is "accurate enough to confirm that nothing like a Caribbean work routine befell Zanzibar's slaves" (1977: 160).
Living in Slavery
Clove production requires much skilled labor during the two harvests each year. The buds have to be picked carefully to avoid damaging the trees, and it is necessary to repeat the task a number of times for each tree. On Zanzibari plantations, slaves normally worked five days a week until noon and sometimes until 4 PM, but when harvesting, they worked seven days and longer hours, and they were paid for the two extra days. As they worked, they were supervised by an older, more experienced slave. Female slaves detached buds from the stems and set them out to dry. Slaves carried the dried cloves to Zanzibar town.
Each slave or family received a plot and built its own house. Slaves were expected to grow their own food on their plots, and they were allowed to raise goats and chickens. They could market any surplus, so surpluses were common. This self-reliance gave them "more control over the rhythm of daily lives," as was also the case even in Jamaica, where slaves also produced their own food. This does not mean that masters did not try to control slaves, but the evidence suggests that they rarely resorted to harsh measures. European sources mention punishments and occasional acts of cruelty, but "European officials and visitors made it clear that they had not observed overwork and brutality of the sort evident in accounts of West Indian slavery" (Cooper 1977: 167). Cooper explains how the master-slave relationship was shaped by certain features of the Zanzibar context: 1) rural life was dominated by Islamic law and local custom; 2) both masters and slaves had adapted to the agricultural requirements of clove cultivation; 3) Zanzibari masters did not have external means of coercing slaves or exacting punishment (no police, no militias, no slave patrols). Nevertheless, "the slaves' means of enforcing these norms on the master were weaker than the master's means of coercing his slaves" (Cooper 1977: 169).
The lives and working conditions of slaves providing agricultural labor in mainland towns were different. In Mombasa, there were a few large farms producing grain with slave l