THIS BOOK IS MY own portfolio of debts, and I would like to acknowledge the range of creditors and patrons who have made my own mobility and modest success possible. The financial support of a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, the Mathy Junior Faculty Fellowship from George Mason University (GMU), and small grants from the Department of History and Art History at GMU and the Department of History at Ohio State University made the research and writing of this book possible. A subvention grant from the Arts and Humanities division of OSU’s College of Arts and Sciences supported the publication. I am grateful to the librarians and archivists who maintain important collections in Tanzania, Oman, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Zanzibar National Archives are at the center of this book, and I am grateful to the staff and leadership there who maintain this wonderful collection. The magic of libraries—Thompson Library at Ohio State, Fenwick Library at GMU, and Sterling Library at Yale—and their assorted book-sharing consortia have made it possible to complete the research. Several people have provided me with research assistance at various stages of this project, and I am grateful for their aid: Mohamed Abdou, Sylvia Alexander, Pearl Harris-Scott, Steve Harris-Scott, Melvin C. S. Jenkins, Hamisi Ally Jumalhey, and Matthew Smith Miller. Likewise, Rob Squires was a patient cartographer.

An early version of chapter 6 was published as “Deeds of Freed Slaves: Manumission and Economic and Social Mobility in Pre-Abolition Zanzibar,” in Indian Ocean Slavery in the Age of Abolition, eds. Robert W. Harms, Bernard K. Freamon and David W. Blight, (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013): 162–179. An earlier version of one section of chapter 4 originally appeared as “Being Baysar: (In)flexible Identities in East Africa” in The MIT Electronic Journal of Middle East Studies 5 (Fall 2005): 34–42.

For the opportunity to present and refine my work I am grateful to Gwyn Campbell and his crew at the Indian Ocean World Centre in Montreal; to Kai Kresse and Edward Simpson at the Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin; to Pier Larson and the African Studies colloquium at Johns Hopkins; to Hans Gaube, Michaela Hoffmann-Ruf, and Abdulrahman Al-Salimi for inviting me to their Ibadi Studies conference at Tuebingen; to Engseng Ho and his Indian Ocean workshop at Duke; and to Ann Biersteker at Michigan State University. Anne Bang, Jonathan Glassman, Mandana Limbert, Brian Peterson, and Scott Reese provided important feedback on the book proposal.

Robert Harms has helped this book grow from a seminar paper to a dissertation, a series of articles, and now, a book. I hope that this book reflects his astute criticism, keen editorial eye, and commitment to good stories. I have also benefited from Abdul Sheriff’s generous mentorship and his willingness to share the research he collected for his own first book decades ago. The year I spent as a fellow at the Zanzibar Indian Ocean Research Institute was formative for this project.

The editorial team at Ohio University Press has made this book better. I am grateful to the series editors Jean Allmen, Allen Isaacman, and Derek Peterson for their careful reading and feedback. Derek was an early champion of the manuscript, and his earnest encouragement is greatly appreciated. Two anonymous reviewers helped me sharpen my focus. Gillian Berchowitz’s kind leadership, patience, and professionalism set a high standard, and I am happy to join the ranks of authors who she has published.

In Oman, in Zanzibar, and mainland Tanzania, many people have been extraordinarily welcoming. I am particularly grateful for the hospitality and friendship of the following people and their families: Mariam Aboud, Taha-ria Said Aboud, Hamisi Ally Jumalhey, Fatma Khamis, Hilda Kiel, Leyla Said, Ibrahim Noor Shariff, Salum Saidi Suliman, and Ali al-Zefeiti. I regret that several people who influenced this project did not live to see its completion. I acknowledge my debt and sense of loss for Zein Hafidh al-Busaidi, Jan-Georg Deutsch, Suleiman Ali Suleiman al-Murjebi, and Randolph Whitfield.

This book has been written in many places, and several wonderful families have hosted me for writing retreats of various lengths including Croom and Sandy Coward, Christopher and Heather Gergen, Jonathan Holloway and Aisling Colon, and Jennifer Siegel. I owe an extra special thanks to Mike Thomas and Nancy Balfour, Chris and Dennis Harrington, Tim and Maggie Hobbs, and Randy and Suzanne Whitfield who, due to their weeks-long hospitality, got to see just how boring I am while working. Their generosity created this book.

I have benefitted from smart, engaged departmental colleagues at George Mason and at Ohio State. I am grateful to Benedict Carton, Michael Chang, Rob DeCaroli, Matt Karush, Brian Platt, and Joan Scully for their encouragement in Fairfax. In Columbus Sarah van

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