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e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 12, Nº. 2 (November 2021-April 2022)

189

UNDER THE BREEZE OF THE PORTUGUESE INDIAN OCEAN:

TOURISM AND HERITAGE IN ZANZIBAR

MARIA JOÃO CASTRO

mariajoaocastro@fcsh.unl.pt

PhD in Contemporary Art History and integrated researcher of the Humanities Centre (CHAM) of

the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the New University of Lisbon (NOVA/FCSH,

Portugal). Member of scientific committees, organised and participated in academic events,

actions carried out in Portugal, Spain, France, Scotland, Romania, Italy, Dubai, Brazil, New

Zealand and Zanzibar, which resulted in the publication of articles. Her fields of specialisation

focus on the History of Art and Contemporary Culture, inflecting on the connection of Art with

Power both in relation to Travel and (Post) Colonial Studies and Tourism. She is currently a post-

doctoral scholarship holder of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia with the project

"ArTravel. Travel and Colonial Art in Contemporary Culture".

Abstract

Tourism is, in the 21st century, the largest industry in the world and a phenomenon

structured on the basis of a dynamic and tentacular articulation. Among the forms enshrined

in the phenomenon, the so-called "memory tourism" has gained relevance, based on a

colonial heritage whose values are formulated according to a reminiscence of a once shared

culture/ heritage: that of overseas empires. By gaining a new prominence, these post-

colonial places open themselves to new readings, responding to a societal challenge of

contemporary mobility by looking at the journey as a way of building culture and defining

identities, for which we propose to map the heritage of portuguese roots in the archipelago

of Zanzibar, a place integrated in the Lusitanian empire for two hundred years and a source

of multiculturalism and otherness that our time is heir.

Keywords

Colonial Empires, Indian Ocean, Heritage, Tourism, Contemporary.

How to cite this article

Castro, Maria João (2021). Under the breeze of the Portuguese Indian Ocean: tourism and

heritage in Zanzibar. Janus.net, e-journal of international relations. Vol12, Nº. 2, November

2021-April 2022. Consulted [online] on the date of the last visit,

https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.12.2.12

Article received on April 22, 2021 and accepted for publication on August 10, 2021

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 12, Nº. 2 (November 2021-April 2022), pp. 189-208

Under the breeze of the Portuguese Indian Ocean: tourism and heritage in Zanzibar

Maria João Castro

190

UNDER THE BREEZE OF THE PORTUGUESE INDIAN OCEAN:

TOURISM AND HERITAGE IN ZANZIBAR

MARIA JOÃO CASTRO

Introduction

Tourism is today the industry with the greatest impact on the world economy,

constituting a global and transversal phenomenon of tentacular scope. In its genesis,

tourism and colonialism are not phenomena of the same order, but tourism and

imperialism are products of the same context being intrinsically linked since they both

involve the possession of a territory and its exploitation.It is certain that the

ascendancy of European empires in the development of tourism has a strong impulse in

the Universal Exhibitions, showcases of overseas territories that, by crystallizing a

whole exotic and distant imagery, drove an elite to embark on the colonial journey that

would soon become massified, contributing to the contemporary global tourism

phenomenon.

The motivations behind such an impetus are based on distinct reasons,

but there is one that has been gaining weight when it comes to choosing a travel

destination: the post-colonial nostalgia that aspires to visit places stopped in a certain

stone-time, not yet fully contaminated by an accelerated urbanity, momentarily giving

back an experience that the daily life of Western society has long excluded.This kind of

"tourism of nostalgia" has been gaining fans and we can understand why. Whether for

the architecture, the cultural heritage, the appeal to the "Good Wild" in us, the artistic

legacy or another reason rooted in a common past, the former European colonies have

become tourist destinations of choice. On the other hand, the fact that tourism is a

fundamental ally of economic, social and cultural development, generating important

revenues, has increased pressure on the authorities, with the need to manage it

responsibly and with critical thinking, so that it is an issue on the government's agenda,

particularly with regard to the heritage to be preserved, whether material or

immaterial.

In this sense, the so-called "Tourism of Memory" has been gaining an increasing

prominence not only within national and regional government policies but also within

Article translated by Cláudia Tavares.

It is clear that tourism as a social phenomenon did not emerge with the Exhibitions; its genealogy dates

back to the late 17th and early 18th centuries with the Grand Tour, a movement born in the heart of the

English aristocracy that proposed to complete its education by verifying/visiting its civilisational past.

However, this tour was always channelled towards the great European artistic centres (first Italy, then

France and Greece) and did not therefore include the territories of the Empire, whose residents/visitors

were mainly missionaries, administrators and troops.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 12, Nº. 2 (November 2021-April 2022), pp. 189-208

Under the breeze of the Portuguese Indian Ocean: tourism and heritage in Zanzibar

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academic research. Hence, this reflection proposes to create a "Tourism of Memory"

route of Portuguese heritage in Zanzibar in response to the question: what heritage of

Portuguese origin can be found in the Zanzibar archipelago? Its justification is based on

the centrality of heritage as the legacy of a shared memory and its basic objective is to

facilitate the integration of tourists into history by making them part of it.In other

words: the stimulation of knowledge by the "other" makes us know ourselves better in

an effective and full interculturality. The attainment of this central objective requires

research in synergy, hence the chosen methodology is anchored in interdisciplinarity

(historical science, heritage, archaeology and art history) with a cross-border vocation

and valorisation with a pluricontinental emphasis. Since it deals with both material and

immaterial heritage, the sources are mainly bibliographical and archaeological and

range from the Portuguese national archives to the institutions responsible for

conservation in the Zanzibar archipelago. As for its relevance, it is based on the fact

that it responds to a tentacular societal challenge of contemporary mobility by looking

at travel as a way of building culture and defining identities between visitors and the

visited, producing knowledge and experiences capable of contributing to an enlightened

citizen science.

I. Historical-Patrimonial Context

As it is known, heritage is in its essence of a memorial order and that what

characterises it is its symbolic character "a kind of immortalising aura" (Lourenço,

2015a: 54), of a moment passed, since all human works have their time counted. Now

the cultural diversity resulting from human action over time in a given place has been

valued for its pluralism, a characteristic that allows the development of a plurivocal

knowledge. After a period in which anti-colonialism dominated public opinion, post-

colonial tension slowly gave way to a less exclusive understanding of the meeting of

cultures whose concern became centred on the preservation of the heritage

bequeathed. An example of this was the creation in 1998 of the ICOMOS

International

Scientific Committee network and, within it, the Committee for the Colonial

Inheritance Partition.

This organisation has been drawing attention to the need to join

efforts to preserve, study and promote heritage assets, given the importance of

cultural diversity as a source of exchanges, innovation and creativity for present and

future generations.

Thus, and within this dual dynamic (tourism-patrimony) UNESCO

has been classifying

places, practices and expressions, recognised as an integral part of a culture. And that

is what happened in 2000 with Stone Town, the old part of the city of Zanzibar on the

island of the same name that saw the first Europeans arrive in 1503, during the

voyages of exploration of the Maritime Route to India.

As the chronicles recount, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to settle in

Zanzibar. Vasco da Gama (1469-1524) on his return from India pointed out the island,

as recounted in the annals of the morning of 29 January 1499, when the Portuguese

passed in front of Zanzibar (Fonseca, 1998:56):

International Council on Monuments and Sites. Online: https://www.icomos.org/fr (accessed 24.4.2021).

Online: https://www.icomos.org/risk/2001/colonial2001.htm (accessed 23.4.2021).

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

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And on a Sunday, which was the twenty-seventh day of the month

(27.1.1499), we set sail from here (Bass de S. Rafael) with a very good

wind at our stern, and the following night we hovered. And when morning

came, we found ourselves upon a very great island called Zamgibar, which

is inhabited by many Moors, and the land is about ten leagues off. And on

the first day of February, in the afternoon, we landed before the islands of

São Jorge, in Mozambique.

In 1503, Rui Lourenço Ravasco imposed a tax on the sultan of Zanzibar to the

Portuguese crown. Years later, and already firmly established in Mozambique and

Melinde, Vasco da Gama's successors monopolised the East African traffic making

Zanzibar a Portuguese protectorate since 1522 (Campos, 1935:1-20), although the

feitoria and the hospitalization house were only established after Nuno da Cunha's

(1487-1539) visit to the island in 1527.

In 1580, with the loss of independence of the Portuguese crown to Spain and the

consequent weakening of the overseas empire, some overseas possessions were soon

lost, namely Muscat (in 1650), Melinde (in 1660) and finally Zanzibar in 1698.

Since then, and between the end of the 17th century and the 19th century, the

genealogy that reigned over the island gave it a new impetus, Arabising it and filling it

with buildings with clear Islamic features, among which emerged architectures of

Indian, African and colonial influences, the latter already in the 19th century, when the

English took over the government of the island, turning it into a protectorate. It was

precisely around this time - in 1879 - that Sultan Barghash (1870-1888) signed the

famous Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with the King of Portugal. In 1885, the

Kingdom of Portugal opened a consulate on the island and appointed Alexandre de

Serpa Pinto (1846-1900) as its first consul. In the 20th century, between 1911 and

1918, Aristides de Sousa Mendes (1885-1954). In those times, the predominant

population with portuguese roots on the island came from Goa, and dozens of families

settled there, mainly dedicated to trade. The Portuguese colony was the second largest

in number (about 400 people), after the British one (Mello, 1890: 89).

Focusing on the Portuguese heritage on the island, during the two hundred years that it

captained Zanzibar, the crown of the kingdom of Portugal and the Algarve undertook

buildings (trading post, church, hospital) and movements (change of capital) that

would reconfigure its territory, although little has survived until today. But traces know

how to speak to those who are willing to listen to them; you only need to look at some

of the testimonies to be able to formulate a heterogeneous itinerary capable of

rediscovering part of the Lusitanian heritage on the island.

It is worth mentioning that even before Vasco da Gama, Pêro da Covilhã had already advanced along the

East African coast, passing off the island, and he gives an account of this in his diary, although in an

unclear manner. It is known that travelled for a long time the coast of Azania, having integrated vessels

of Arab traders who regularly visited ports such as Mombasa, Melinde, Zanzibar, Kilwa or Sofala. See Leal

Freire, Pêro da Covilhã, Gráfica S. José, Castelo Branco, 1964, p. 10.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 12, Nº. 2 (November 2021-April 2022), pp. 189-208

Under the breeze of the Portuguese Indian Ocean: tourism and heritage in Zanzibar

Maria João Castro

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Image 1 - Reproduction of the frontispiece of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce,

Lisbon

Source: National Press (1940). Historical Diplomatic Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

However, this presence and heritage building in the Zanzibar archipelago is one of the

least studied facets of Portuguese expansion and presence in East Africa. The direct

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 12, Nº. 2 (November 2021-April 2022), pp. 189-208

Under the breeze of the Portuguese Indian Ocean: tourism and heritage in Zanzibar

Maria João Castro

194

contributions of Duarte Barbosa (c. 1480-1521), Gaspar Correia (1492-c. 1561) and

João de Barros (c. 1496-1570). Meanwhile, more recent studies by Abdul Sheriff and

Mark Horton have highlighted the issue, but only now, with the growing importance of

tourism in countries' GDPs, has the challenge been set for other historians to explore

the subject. Two orders of reasons may justify such a gap. Firstly, the focus on the

objective-destination - India - relegating the anchorages of the Route to a secondary

place; then the reduced and punctual sources, dispersed among documents of a very

diverse nature, make it difficult to draw a clear picture of the presence and experience

of the Portuguese in the lands of Zinj. Data with wide chronological hiatuses,

documents spread across several archives without being catalogued and that include

chronicles, reports, administrative notes and letters exchanged between Zanzibar

officials and the authorities based in Lisbon, condition and explain the rarity (not to

say absence) of studies of this specific historical reality. Even so, the information

gathered points to guidelines on the Portuguese presence in the Zanzibar archipelago

at a turning point of great historical and cultural potential.

II. Subsidies for a Portuguese itinerary in Zanzibar

Designing a tourist itinerary through the material and immaterial heritage of

Portuguese heritage in Zanzibar recovers a history registered at the time of navigation

and exploration of the contours of the world, in consequent voyages that configured it

on a global scale introducing the modern era. It is therefore important to bear in mind

that history is made of layers, layers that overlap each other, the oldest ones sinking

beneath the most recent ones, in an accumulation of sediments and testimonies that

embody fractions of the historical narrative. In fact, it is in this past substratum that

part of contemporary Zanzibar is enclosed and justified, so that listing this legacy

constitutes an excellent access to understand and promote Zanzibar as a tourist

destination.

It should be noted, however, that the aim is not to draw up an exhaustive list of the

Lusitanian heritage on Zinj soil, but rather to create a patrimonial corpus with its own

identity, and that this survey will always be provisional and subject to multiple

readings.

ZANZIBAR ARCHIPELAGO

UNGUJA (Zanzibar Island)

I – Material Heritage

1. Stone Town

With garrisons established in the ports of Zanzibar, Pemba and Mombasa, the

old capital of Zanzibar situated at Unguja Ukuu, about twenty-four kilometres

south of the present capital, was gradually relocated to a site further north-

west, which was later to become known as Stone Town. As stated in the

Portuguese manuscript of the Relação made by Father Francisco de Monclaro of

the Company of Jesus, this was due to the port to the south, which was

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 12, Nº. 2 (November 2021-April 2022), pp. 189-208

Under the breeze of the Portuguese Indian Ocean: tourism and heritage in Zanzibar

Maria João Castro

195

small

for the Portuguese ships to anchor. With the growing affluence of ships

coming from India, the new capital made possible an increase in the port calls of

maritime traffic in Zanzibar, reiterating the importance of this port on the Indian

coast.

2. Trading post, Hospital, Church

In Stone Town, and after the visit of Nuno da Cunha in 1527, a trading post and

a hospital house would be built, which surely coupled with a chapel-church. This

was located in the so-called Old Fort (re) built by the Arabs after the conquest of

the island from the Portuguese in the late 17th century. The indications are that,

in 1612, there would have been an Augustinian church there, such occurrence

appearing in the papal bull (Gray, 1958:174) of 21 January of that year, which

shows the Lusitanian ecclesiastical commitment to East Africa. From the few

things that are known, it seems that the Lusitanian missionary power found here

a tolerant society but deeply convinced of its (Muslim) religiosity, so that the

evangelisation was reduced to occasional conversions. According to the article

by J. J. Campos, there was a building where the trading post and the Portuguese

church would function, which would be protected by a wall later erected by the

Arabs. In 1774, Alexander Dalrymple - the Scottish geographer - would state in

his Collection of Charts etc. in the Indian Navigation, that this "fortress" looked

like a ruined church. An inscription in the museum of Beit al Ajaib informs:

Portuguese remains indicate that there was a Portuguese chapel of

cruciform design, with rectangular windows, built in the 16th century, and of

which traces remain on the west wall of the old fort.

And, a few metres away, at the Old Fort, a plaque reiterates that this was:

Erected by the Omani Arabs around 1700 on the basis of the materials of

the old Portuguese chapel and adjoining residence.

Recent studies and excavations - in 2017 and 2019 - confirm the church's

authorship

and move towards new formulations of questions concerning its function

and importance.

Relation made by Father Francisco de Monclaro of the Society of Jesus, of the expedition to Monomotapa,

commanded by Francisco Barreto, Portuguese Manuscript no. 8, pp. 241-265, V., BNP, Lisbon, 1573, p.

344.

Online: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2017/august/early-portuguese-churches.html(accessed on

24.5.2021).

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e-ISSN: 1647-7251

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Under the breeze of the Portuguese Indian Ocean: tourism and heritage in Zanzibar

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Image 2 - Information plaque at the entrance of the Old Fort, Stone Town.

Source: Photograph by Maria João Castro.

As for the old hospital, it was built after the visit of the future governor of India, Nuno

da Cunha, who, after definitively conquering Mombasa in 1527, landed with his captain

of the guard Manoel Machado in Zanzibar, where he left 200 patients in the care of

Aleixo e Sousa Chichorro.From that date onwards, the island would figure as a port of

hospitalisation for the sick on the Indian Route, since it was less palustrine than

Mozambique (Strandes, 1961:118) and it was only with the expulsion of the

Portuguese, in 1698, that the Real Hospital (on the island) of Mozambique became

essential as a place for curing the sick soldiers and crew members coming in the ships

of the kingdom.

The creation of the Royal Hospital (on the Island) of Mozambique dates back to the 16th century and, in

1681, its administration was entrusted to the religious of the Order of São João de Deus. In the following

year, 1682, the hospitallers transferred the hospital to the south of the town, in an area considered to

have better air.