Said Said, Sultan of Muscat and Oman,…

Said Said, Sultan of Muscat and Oman, had first visited Zanzibar in 1828, and had shortly acquired the only two properties on which cloves are grown.

In a reversal of the ancient system of trade by which African products had been brought to the coast by African caravans, the Zanzibar caravans, Said's among them, now actively seek ivory, slaves, and other products, creating an entirely new commercial system reaching beyond Lake Tanganyika and into present Uganda.

By 1834, Said seems intent on the transfer of his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar, but he continues to divide his time more or less equally between them.