Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 11.djvu/178

 1 62 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

Comparatively few, however, make use of this opportunity ; thus, in the year 1899, the total number was only 3,757. As a matter of fact the slaves in Zanzibar have little to gain by seeking eman- cipation. They are usually bound to work for only three days on the lands of their masters ; in return for this they receive a house and a land-allotment. The word mtumwa, unlike our "slave," carries no stigma, and is simply a class designation. In fact, the relation is generally a mild kind of serfdom. The slaves often say: "Why should we seek freedom? We have a good home, plenty of food, and no hard work. Our master is kind, and we are fond of the children. What should we gain by being freed? " The serfs live in small communities around the master's house, where they enjoy fellowship and protection; emancipation, there- fore, means a loss of caste and home to them. When freed, they find life dull and monotonous, and have to work too hard for a living. They often come before the court, asking to be returned to slavery, and are deeply disappointed because this cannot be done. Among those who are liberated, a large number become vagrants and a public charge. For a time it was attempted to enforce Article VI of the sultan's decree, which provides that " any per- son who applies for emancipation shall show that he will have a regular domicile and means of subsistence." The usual method of showing this was by bringing in a labor contractor who was ready to hire the emancipated slave and give him shelter. While the two senior missions approved of this method as preventing vagrancy, the junior mission, less experienced in African affairs, objected on the ground that it was merely a way of transferring the slave from one master to another, and its view was adopted in England. Article VI is therefore no longer enforced, and vagrancy has again increased. This example is a typical one, and shows that domestic slavery does not press very heavily upon the serfs, and that those who seek freedom generally become a public charge.

The true and complete abolition of slavery can come only with a structural change in African economic life, and can only gradu- ally be brought about. The economic ruin of the large Arab plantations on the east coast, which is already beginning, as a