Paradise

The caravan arrives at the large city of Tayari. Uncle Aziz tells Yusuf its history, how it had been divided into 14 districts by the Arabs (Omanis, specifically) who had come to Zanzibar and spread out from there. The Arabs enslaved people from the area, some whom they captured and some who were sold by family or neighbors. The Indian Mukki were businessman who financed the Arabs. The German Amir Pasha approached the sultan of Tayari to provoke him into war and demand that he fly the German flag. The sultan, having heard of the Germans’ ferocity, relents and give up gifts but not their guns. By capitulating, the sultan lost the support of the Arabs. After Amir Pasha came German commander Prinzi, who killed the sultan and his family and oppressed the Arabs before eventually pushing them out. According to Uncle Aziz, the Indians oversee the area with the Germans over them. When Mohammed Abdalla complains about the Indians being money-grubbing, the merchant responds that the Indians know how to deal with the Germans, and so they must work with the Indians.