This book examines the history of the European Scramble for Africa from the perspective of the Omanis and other Arabs in East Africa. It will be of interest not only to African specialists, but also those working on the Middle East, where awareness is now emerging that the history of those settled on the southern peripheries of Arabia has been intimately entwined with Indian Ocean maritime activities since pre-Islamic times. The nineteenth century, however, saw these maritime borderlands being increasingly drawn into a new world economy, one of whose effects was the development of an ivory front in the interior of the continent that, by the 1850s, led the Omanis and Swahili to establish themselves on the Upper Congo. A reconstruction of their history and their interaction with Europeans is a major theme of this book. European colonial rivalries in Africa is not a subject in vogue today, while the Arabs are still largely viewed as invaders and slavers. The fact that the British separated the Sultanates of Muscat and Zanzibar is reflected in European research so that historians have little grasp of the geographic, tribal and religious continuum that persisted between overseas empire and the Omani homeland. Ibadism is regarded as irrelevant to the mainstream of Islamic religious protest whereas, during the lead up to establishing direct colonial rule, its ideology played a significant role; even the final rally against the Belgians in the Congo was conducted in the name of an Imam al-Muslimin. Back home, the fallout from the British massacre that crushed the last Arab attempt to reassert independence in Zanzibar was an important contributory cause towards the re-founding of an Imamate that survived until the mid-1950s.
John C. Wilkinson, D.Litt, is a former Reader at Oxford University and an Emeritus Fellow of St Hugh's College, Oxford, where he taught from 1969 until his retirement in 1997. He has advised several governments in the Middle East on their frontier disputes, including as Counsel for Bahrain in Qatar vs Bahrain, the longest running case to have appeared before the International Court of Justice at The Hague. He is author of numerous articles and several books, notably: Water and Tribal Settlement in South-East Arabia (Clarendon Press, 1977), The Imamate Tradition of Oman (Cambridge University Press, 1987), Arabia's Frontiers (I.B. Tauris, 1991), A Fatal Duel: "Harry Alis" (1857-95), a behind the scenes figure of the early Third Republic (Antony Rowe, 2006) and Ibadism: Origins and early development in Oman (Oxford University Press, 2010).
"This is an almost overwhelmingly dense and richly detailed investigation into what is probably little known to most of the Western world: the movement of the Omani people into Africa in the 19th century and the subsequent interaction, competition, and conflict that emerged there between them and the European powers that were also "scrambling" into Africa for colonial power, glory, and wealth. More than that, the work also represents an almost sociological passion for the Omani people: their traditions, beliefs, movements, and internal attributes. Thus the work operates incredibly well on the historical and sociological level for all those interested in this time period, this geographical region, this aspect of international dispute and engagement, and, finally, this particular people. Given that these are the long-standing intents and goals of Wilkinson (emer. fellow, St. Hugh's College, Oxford Univ.), it is hard to find fault with the book. A work such as this begs for others to utilize it as a foundation for future work on how the Arab peninsula and Africa interact today-mixing cultures, religion, conflict, and cooperation-and is clearly crucial for international affairs, politics, intelligence, and diplomacy. Summing up: Highly recommended. All readership levels." --M.D. Crosston, CHOICE, August 2015, Vol. 52 No. 12

John C. Wilkinson