Omani Arab colonization of the Kenyan and Tanzanian coasts has brought the once independent city-states under closer foreign scrutiny and domination than had been experienced during the Portuguese period.

Like their predecessors, the Omani Arabs are primarily able only to control the coastal areas, not the interior.

However, the creation of clove plantations, intensification of the slave trade and relocation of the Omani capital to Zanzibar in 1839 by Sayyid Sa'id has the effect of consolidating the Omani power in the region.

Sa'id, building impressive palaces and gardens in Zanzibar, has improved the island's economy by introducing cloves, sugar and indigo.