Fugitives and the political patronages on the peripheries of the Sultanate of Zanzibar in the 19th century
Keywords:
fugitives, political patronages, ZanzibarAbstract
L’article parle du patronage politique dont bénéficient les esclaves fugitifs (watoro), dans la zone d’influence du Sultanat de Zanzibar, au XIX siècle. Suite aux changements économiques survenus à cette époque, un grand nombre de personnes furent obligées de quitter leur groupe parental et ethnique. Les esclaves fugitifs constituent une des catégories de ces gens déracinés. Exposés aux attaques de propriétaires d'esclaves, certains choisissaient de vivre à l’écart, dans des bourgades fortifiées, loin des villes et des routes principales. Certains devenaient des pillards: ils attaquaient les caravanes, saccageaient les plantations, se procuraient des captifs, et pratiquaient le commerce d'esclaves. Leur économie avait également des composantes plus légales que celles énumérées plus haut, elles sont pourtant moins bien documentées.
La région costale de l’Afrique de l’Est, dans son développement, manquait de population. Malgré le caractère illégal de la fuite, les watoro pouvaient agrandir les réserves de mains d'oeuvre et intégrer les différentes armées. C’est la raison pour laquelle les dirigeants politiques leurs offraient leur patronage. Parmi eux, on compte aussi bien des chefs de communautés non-musulmanes de l'intérieur, que des dissidents originaires des anciennes élites de la région, écartés du pouvoir par les Bu Saidi vainqueurs au XIX siècle, comme Ahmed Simba al-Nabahani ou Mbaruk bin Rāšid al-Mazrūci. Les watoro qui devenaient leurs clients recevaient souvent des terres et tiraient d’autres bénéfices, en échange du service militaire. Les patrons toléraient les actes de pillage exercés par leurs protégés, apparemment ils en tiraient également profit. L’administration du sultanat combattait en principe les villages indépendants des watoro, mais leur liquidation ou leur soumission s’avéraient souvent très difficile. Certains étaient donc tolérés, et peut-être même soutenus par Zanzibar. De nombreux watoro servaient dans l’armée régulière du Sultanat, créée en 1877.
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