African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 59 Zanzibar Palace Coup

   January 23, 1867.

  Zanzibar Sultanate, Dar es Salaam Port Barracks.

  Bagash bin Said is planning to overthrow the Zanzibar Sudanese regime with his cronies.

   "Abdullah, how many people can you get?" Bagash bin Said asked his subordinates.

   "His Royal Highness, I originally controlled more than 80 people in the army, and with the few officers we have placed in the army, the army under my control has more than 300 people."

   "Very well, I also have more than 800 people in my hand, and the total is 1,200 people. This is already one-third of the army of the entire kingdom." Bagash bin Said analyzed.

"As for Majid, he still doesn't know our plan, and he is probably still in the palace. As long as we can catch all the cronies in Majid's army by surprise, then the Sultanate of Zanzibar will be ours," Bagash said. Bin Said said excitedly.

   Several officers and aides under his command were also in high spirits. After all, the chances of winning this time were great. If the coup d'etat was successful, he and others would be able to become extremely powerful ministers in the Sultanate of Zanzibar.

   "Your Highness, only you are the one who can bring a bright future to the Zanzibar Sultanate, and we are all willing to follow in your footsteps." An aide flattered him.

   "His Royal Highness, please arrange tasks! It's time for us to change this backward country!" Other military officers and staff also persuaded them to come in.

   Bagash bin Said was very satisfied with the fanaticism and flattery of his subordinates.

   This is the feeling of being in power. Bagash bin Said is indeed dissatisfied with the status quo of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and he also advertises himself as the leader of the Sultanate of Zanzibar in his heart.

  But Bhagash bin Said was also a layman, and when he felt the charm of power and the enthusiasm of others, he felt very comfortable in his heart.

  He excitedly walked to the table and began to assign tasks.

"This is the palace of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. There are about 120 guards, but they are scattered all over the palace, and there is no time to gather in a short time, so we have to send people to take it down in a very short time. The dominance of the palace, and I lead the soldiers to hold Majid hostage, so that the guards of the palace will have no leader, and they will automatically give up resistance."

  Bagash bin Said pointed to the location of the Palace of the Sultan of Zanzibar on the map and said.

"This is the first line of troops. As long as Majid is dealt with, basically no one can fight against us. But to be on the safe side, we will use 500 people to take charge of the operations in the palace. Abdullah has been in the army all year round, so you I was responsible for disarming the soldiers in the barracks outside the city, and I led people straight to Majid's bedroom to control Majid."

Bagash bin Saeed went on to say: "The second route, led by Abdullah, is responsible for controlling the military camp outside Dar es Salaam. The military camp gets up at eight o'clock every morning. At this time, the guns are all Put it on the shelf in the soldiers' bedroom, as long as we break in tomorrow morning, before the soldiers get up, and control the guns, the soldiers in the barracks can surrender."

   "The time for the operation is five o'clock tomorrow morning. We broke into the palace when the palace guards were lax. In order to carry out the plan in an orderly manner, our troops must be assembled by three o'clock tomorrow."

   "As long as we control the palace and the army, we will be sure of victory. When the time comes, we will gather the whole country's army to drive away Majid's accomplices, the Germanic personnel in Dar es Salaam Port and Tanga, and we will be completely victorious."

   "Now, first divide the number of people who have completed each task, and we can act tomorrow morning..."

  …

  What was Sultan Majid bin Saeed doing while Bhagash bin Saeed assigned the mission?

  In fact, Majid bin Said was completely unaware of the conspiracy of his subordinates. When he was young, Majid bin Said was relatively accomplished, otherwise he would not have won the right to the independence of the Sultanate of Zanzibar.

   But Majid bin Said in his later years has completely let himself go, indulging in pleasure and drug stimulation every day.

  Historically Majid bin Saeed was

   Those who died in the past two years, people speculated that the cause of death was related to excessive use of "stimulants".

  …

  The next day, the Palace of the Sultan of Zanzibar.

  It was just dawn, and the guards were standing lazily in front of the palace gate, when suddenly Bagash bin Said came to the gate with several people.

  The guard naturally knew the king's younger brother, Prince Bagash bin Said, and thought that Bagash bin Said would discuss matters with the Sultan as usual.

   Walking in front of the guard, suddenly the two people behind Bagash bin Said took out two revolvers from their cuffs and pressed them against the chests of the two guards.

   "Don't move around, or you will be killed!" Bagash bin Said's men threatened.

Then, Bhagash bin Said beckoned, and a group of people came out from an unknown corner. Bhagash bin Saeed led the team straight to Majid's bedroom, and the rest of the people were in charge of controlling it. Guards and servants in the palace.

  Majid was sleeping with the queen on the bed when suddenly a maid broke in from the door.

   "Your Majesty, it's not good. His Highness Bagash bin Said broke in with his troops."

  Majid, who was awakened by the maid's yelling, was still in a daze at the moment, and was about to reprimand him.

  Bagash bin Said walked in directly with a group of people.

   "What are you going to do, Bagash? Are you going to rebel?"

  Bagash bin Said said mockingly: "My dear brother, don't you still not see the situation clearly? It seems that you are really confused. Yes, this is a coup d'état!"

   "You...you...ah!"

   After being relieved, Majid Sultan sighed decadently, and it was too late to say anything now.

  …

  When Bagash bin Said took control of Majid Sultan, Abdullah also led people to control the barracks, and the entire coup basically encountered no resistance.

  At eight o'clock in the morning, Majid's ministers came to report their duties as usual, and they saw Bagash bin Saeed sitting in the seat of the sultan.

   "Everyone, His Majesty the Sultan entrusted me to be in charge of the country's political affairs because he was old and sick from overwork, so he entrusted me to take charge of the country's political affairs." Bagash bin Said said to the ministers with a smile.

   It has to be said that the ministers of Majid, like their old king, were full of lifeless food. After seeing the guards with live ammunition, they immediately jumped into the camp of Bagash bin Saeed.

  …

  When Bagash bin Said carried out the coup d'état, Bazel, the head of the East African colony stationed in the port of Dar es Salaam, also observed anomalies in the Sultanate of Zanzibar.

   After all, hundreds of soldiers rushing back and forth on the streets must be abnormal. In the past, soldiers from the Sultanate of Zanzibar would not appear in such a "large-scale" neighborhood in Dar es Salaam.

   After all, Dar es Salaam is currently the political and economic center of gravity of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and the Sultan of Zanzibar will not allow soldiers to roam around the streets like this.

  Even if Majid travels on weekdays, the royal guard is in charge. The royal guard still has a good appearance. They will line up relatively neatly, wear relatively gorgeous and uniform Arabic costumes, and march without rushing.

  The soldiers who appeared on the street today are obviously not the royal guards, and they are marching in a hurry. At the same time, the meticulous Bazel also noticed that the guns of these soldiers are all loaded, and they are obviously going to fight.

The more Bazel thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong, and he found his assistant Dürer, and ordered: "You go to the border and report to our people now, let them report to the East African colonial government, and say that the Sultanate of Zanzibar may have something to do. It seems that it may be a coup d'état, and the colonial government and the border army should pay attention to the changes in Zanzibar."

  Dürer nodded and was about to set off. Bazel stopped him suddenly: "Go change into Arab clothes first, don't go out in military uniform."

  So Dürer, disguised as an Arab businessman, rode a horse and left from the back door of the East African colonial office in the port of Dar es Salaam.

  (end of this chapter)