October 17, 1870.
Zanzibar Island, Palace of Wonders.
The Palace of Wonders stood at the western end of Stone Town and was part of the Sultan's Palace. This magnificent structure had forty thick columns, beneath each of which sixty Black slaves had been buried alive.
Old Sayyid had died the previous year. With the support of the Kingdom of East Africa, Young Sayyid became the new ruler of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. Young Sayyid had a clear understanding of his own abilities: he only needed to maintain the Sultanate of Zanzibar's political status quo.
"Minister Lemons, what does your country mean by this? We Zanzibaris can barely make a living by relying on the slave trade. If the slave trade is abolished, to be honest, I personally do not care, but the ministers and merchants below certainly will not agree. If I accept your country's terms, then I might as well step down." Young Sayyid complained to Lemons, East Africa's minister to Zanzibar.
"Your Excellency Sayyid, please do not misunderstand. It is not that the Kingdom of East Africa is forcing Zanzibar to abolish the slave trade. At its core, this is for Zanzibar's own good."
Taking a sip of coffee from an Eastern teacup imported by the Zanzibar royal family from the Far East, Lemons continued his analysis at an unhurried pace. "Europe's efforts to ban the slave trade are growing ever stronger, especially in Britain and France. They are the ones enforcing it. East Africa does not care much about slaves, but neither can we sway European public opinion. Your country should have felt it these past few years as well. The British have recently intensified their inspections of the slave trade in the Indian Ocean."
Young Sayyid sighed. "We know that too, but those below will not